30 minutes ago!!!!!

[corvette66]

30 minutes ago, i went out and fired up my 86. Was gunna go to walmart. Had her runn'n for about 5 minutes. It sounded real bad. And i thought hmm thats weird, sounded like all my rocker arms were loose. had that tapp'n kinda sound. was real bad sounded though. and so i decided not to take it. Well i shut it off, and went to start it back up. I turned the key, and all the dash lights came on, then everything went out like a power failure. So as of right now it is DEAD!! I get NOTHING. No power at all. no lights, no nothing. so i checked the battery and all the dash fuses. it's all good. So I figure maybe an ignition switch or something. But if you have any idea let me know please.
thanx dan

 

[LittleRedFlatBack]

I've found that the computer will do some weird things when the amps drops below a certain level (11 amps I think). It will systematically shut down systems in the car. Just a shot in the dark, but check the alternator and battery. I'm sure there are people with better knowledge on this that will chime in here. Good luck Dan.

Dennis

 

[69MyWay]

Dan...any updates?

A bad ground wire from the batter to frame will do this, as well as a poor connection to the starter terminal from the main power line...or just a very defective battery.

Start out by getting a voltmeter on that battery, then checking all the connections if the battery has good volts.

You need to run a test light or volt meter to different areas such as the battery, starter terminal, fuse panel...etc. to determine where your power starts and stops.

Let us know.

 

[RedRagTop]

Would a dead battery cause that valvetrain noise due to timing fluctuation or something?

 

[69MyWay]

Would a dead battery cause that valvetrain noise due to timing fluctuation or something?

No, but if the battery connection broke off or something right after you started it, the alternator would be trying to charge like mad...pulling the idle down low and causing the engine to load at the belt.

 

[RedRagTop]

Ahh so...:BOW

 

[corvette66]

haha

well when it first happened i got out my meter and testd the battery, and it was showing 13 volts. Then i went around and checked random wireing harness's and what not. Well turns out that the positive terminal came loose. After a while of messing round i figured i'd pull the battery and try another one just for kicks. well When i was taken the battery out i noticed that the positie terminal was only finger tight. All that ****'n around for nothing, hahaha well thanx for the advice anyway. sometimes you get the elivator, usually you get the shaft. in this case i got lucky

 

[Robertwav1]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I would think that if battery voltage was the culprit such as in this case it would definitely cause the engine to do all sorts of weird things due to computer malfunctions. I would think the rocker noise was directly related.

 

[The Car Whisperer]

I don't see how a battery problem could possibly cause valve train noise, the two sytems are totally unrelated unless I'm missing something here.

 

[69MyWay]

I don't see how a battery problem could possibly cause valve train noise, the two sytems are totally unrelated unless I'm missing something here.

I doubt it was valve noise. However, it probably sounded like it. What he heard was the sound of the engine lugging really hard as the charging system kicked into full charge mode when the battery cable came loose. So, it drug the engine down low, gen kicked in, the serpentine belt was whacking tight/loose/tight/loose as the gen was kicking. It would have made a clacky clunky noise.

I hope the charging system is okay. Usually when you hit one that hard it blows them out.

 

[corvette66]

..

Well actually i do have valve train problems. I can't seem to get rid of the play in my rocker arm. So I am just gunna replace those stamped steel rockers with a set of good roller rockers. Maybe they are just worn to far. I have 140K on it now. I fired the car up, and decided to adjust them the old sloppy way. (adjust them while the car is runn'n) but they still come loose. Maybe i need new nuts. Just gunna get a whole new set of rockers.

 

[vee93]

Yep, a dead battery will cause the Vette systems to go capital 'W' wiggy!!!!!!

The bodyshop boneheads who worked on my Vette left the hood up ALL da*n day :nono. When I got it at the end of the day, it had to be charged. Voltage reading was like 11.2

After I turned the key, the cockpit lights flashed on and off a few times, peaked and died. The alarm went "BAMP!" once and all the while as I had the car switched on I could hear a low grade and constant, "eeeeeh, eeeeeeh, eeeeeeh"- like the starter and/or altenator was/were trying but didn't have any help, with some of the "clacky-clunky" noises thrown in as 69MyWay stated.

New battery, problem solved. Fired up like the beast that she is!!!!

 

[Robertwav1]

If the engines timing is thrown off by a faulty computer signal....guess what? Remember pinging and knock because of improper timing? Valve train noise....very possible due to erratic voltages.

 

[The Car Whisperer]

The movement of the valve train is directly related to the rotation of the camshaft which is mechanicaly driven by a chain from the cranckshaft to the camshaft. I just don't see where battery voltage comes into the picture here at all. I doubt the noises you heard were valve related unless you already had these noises due to a pre-existing valve train problem previous to this incident. It is also very difficult to have an engine knock at idle when the engine is not under load. If the timing went out that far at idle the engine would in all likelyhood stall.

 

[vettepilot]

Re: ..

Well actually i do have valve train problems. I can't seem to get rid of the play in my rocker arm. So I am just gunna replace those stamped steel rockers with a set of good roller rockers. Maybe they are just worn to far. I have 140K on it now. I fired the car up, and decided to adjust them the old sloppy way. (adjust them while the car is runn'n) but they still come loose. Maybe i need new nuts. Just gunna get a whole new set of rockers.

Check the height of your rocker arm studs. Sounds like they could be pulling out of the heads. If they are, then you won't be able to adjust any rockers you install. If they are pulling out, you may have to remove the heads and get the old press fit OEMs removed, have the holes tapped, and threaded studs installed. After that you should never have any stud related problems, and you can install whatever rockers you wish with confidence they can be adjusted and remain so.
Other causes for adjustment not being retained: Collapsed lifters, or bent push rods, however those problems are usually isolated to one or two valves, not the entire set. Whereas studs pulling out could be caused by somebody cranking the rockers down too tight and over time the excess pressure / thermal expansion & contraction allowed them to begin pulling out.

vettepilot

 

[The Car Whisperer]

I think the heads on these engines already have the threaded studs, not 100% positive about it, but pretty sure. Maybe someone else on this forum knows that for sure.
If you over tighten the rocker arm nut you will cause the valves to hang open, this can cause some serious damage to the valve train, such as bent valves and bent pushrods as the valves could make contact with the piston on the compresion stroke and exhaust stroke. Check the adjusting nuts, they should be hard to turn even with a wrench, if not then they need to be replaced. The nuts are the prevailing torque type. I have never had a problem with the OEM nuts on any Chevy I have owned and I have had a lot of Chevys over the years. The areas that I have had problems with in the valve train with the small block chevy engine has been the camshaft itself. I have replaced 4 camshafts in various Cevys I have owned over the years, one of them was a small block Vette. The lobes of the camshaft sometimes begin to wear down and become rough, I even had one chew it's way right through the bottom of a lifter. Once this happens the lifter can no longer hold oil and then it cannot be correctly adjusted. Maybe you have this problem. You can check for this condition by rotating the engine by hand while you have a dial indicator mounted to read the amount of valve lift at the pushrod bulge on the rocker arm. There are specs for the amount of lift your cam should provide for intake and exhaust. Check each valve through a complet rotation of the crankshaft. The lift for all of the intake valves and the exhaust valves should be very very close to the specs for your camshaft, if not then you may have a problem with the camshaft itself. Your valves must first be in proper adjustment for the lift readings to be correct.

 

[corvette66]

..

All these good suggestions... thanx guys

I'm still deciding weather ot not to just pull the motor and put in a whole new one. I want to do it at some point. Still thinking about that 502.

But ya know I never get through a week without running into some minor problem. Today i went down to auto suprermarket to get exhaust clamps. When i got home i turned the car off, and the fan kept on runn'n. ???????
So i just yanked the negative terminal, and said F**K it!!!! I had enough for this week. On top of that my overdrive unit is shot. i push the button and nothing happens. When it does come on, it runs like crap.

Anyone watch HORSE POWER TV this morning? You can win a free car makeover. Send a pic and desc. of why your car is in need of a rebuild. My car would be a great project for them. And the whole nation could sit and laugh at my wheels.

it's still my baby

 

[geekinavette]

When i got home i turned the car off, and the fan kept on runn'n.

Sticking relay most likely. Very common. About 15 bucks to fix.

Bill

 

[RedRagTop]

Re: ..

Maybe i need new nuts.

Easy! This is a family site!