Hello Gents,

I did some quick searches and couldn't find any threads with my exact symptoms.

My truck dies every time I drive it, I can be cruising at speeds from 5mph to 50mph it really doesn't matter, it also occurs after driving for 5 minutes or 5 hours, towing or empty I can't seem to find a pattern when the engine will die, it doesn't sputter, cough or choke, it just dies.

When it first started dying i would pull over, pop the hood and moving the lever in the photo below in the direction of the arrow 3 or 4 times.



Now when I drive, I no longer listen to the radio, I pay attention to the engine while it running and can now catch it right when it dies, at that point, I pump the accelerator pedal a few times and it will come back to life, then it will die again, then I pump the pedal again. Sometimes I will have to do this anywhere from 2-5 times while the truck is rolling down the road before it returns back to normal.

I've checked the connections at the solenoid, they seem fine. What should I do next?

Anybody else have this type of problem?


Thanks,
JOE

 

I still would not rule out the connection to the shut down solenoid. I see that you still have the stock female connector on it so there could be some corrosion or resistance there. What I would do is to connect a hot wire from the battery to the solenoid and run it to see if it still does the same thing. You wont be able to shut it down without opening the hood and manually pulling the fuel lever, but it will rule out the wire to the solenoid by doing this. Good luck and keep us informed.

 

What's with the spring on the shutdown lever? That shouldn't be there and may be strong enough to pull the lever while going down the road and shutting you down...

 

I highly doubt that spring is strong enough to pull the shutdown lever, but it is in the wrong place. It should be on the cable that goes to the transmission so it pulls it towards the throttle.

Like Timb said, check the electrical connections to rule them out. Its possible its not the connection at the solenoid, but could be the wire.

 

It really sounds like the Shut Off is engaging.. try jumping it like timb suggested, and replace teh stock connector with a ring like in this pic. Even if this isnt the problem right now, it can prevent a problem later, but I'd bet its the Shut Off......and that spring is in the wrong place......

 

You guys were correct about the female connector I cut it off and took it apart the connection appeared fair at best. I went ahead and crimped another terminal on the wire like Chrisreyn's picture. I also added a hot wire from the battery to the solenoid like TimB recommended. I'm going to start driving it again to see what happens.

As far as the spring being in the wrong location, I attempted to relocate it onto the transmission cable but the spring was too tight and it hit the other end of the shutdown lever, maybe I have the incorrect spring on? The spring that's on there is not very taut. Is there a photo somewhere on the board with the correct setup?

So if I drive the truck everyday for a week, the following conclusions should be accurate:

1. When running the hot wire and the engine does not die, this means that there is probably a bad connection in the wiring somewhere.

2. If I do not run the hot wire and the engine does not die, the connection at the female connector was bad.

3. If the engine does die when running the hot wire, it is probably a bad solenoid.


Thanks,
JOE

 

that sounds about right Joe, but running the "hot wire" is simply a test to confirm teh Shut Off is working. Basically it is a plunger with a rubber tip, that shuts off the flow of fuel to the pump, therefore the engine, when you shut off the key. Leaving a hot wire connected will prevent you from being able to shut the engine down with out popping the hood all the time. Several have bypassed it and use a pull-cable on teh shut offlever( the one you had the spring on) to shut down.
If you replaced teh connector, and it is running properly,I wold just run it that way, unless the problem reoccurs, then I would look further.

 

Any update on the problem yet.

 

I agree with what the others said regarding the shutdown solenoid. I just replaced mine when the same problem ocurred. It solved the problem for awhile, but it returned. What was happening in the end was that my injector pump was failing and dumping filings into the solenoid, thus gumming up the works/stopping things off. It would also prevent the truck from shutting off occaisionally.

It might be a good idea to take out the solenoid, and eliminate this as the source of your problems. If you find filings there, my condolences to your bank account. I sure hope it's just connections, or just the solenoid.

If it's the solenoid, order one for a late 80's volkswagon diesel. (much cheaper). There's a thread somewhere in the forum with the exact details.

Good luck with it.

 

Update:

I drove the truck into town and back for a couple days while running the hot wire, the engine did not die. Then I ran the truck without the hot wire and drove it probably 600 miles or so, the engine never died. It sounds like it was most likely the connection to the solenoid .

I'm grateful for all your advice.