Help! 86 corvette coupe

[james hench]

86 corvette coupedies while driving

I just traded my 2000 jeep wrangler for my 86 Vett, two days ago, while driving along at 60
the engine just stopped. No lights came on no stalling nothing. I pulled over put it in park turned the key, and she started right up. She did this 6 times in the next 40 miles. I was using 87 oct, from Wallmart. could this be the problem, or does it sound like a short. Any advice would be a lot of help, but take it easy on an old man I am 74 years old and a 2nd time Corvette owner. My other Corvette is an 82, I gave it to my son about 14 years ago. I have to say in my 82 I used 87 oct always and never had a problem with it. Again any help thanks.

 

[ecss]

87 octane should be no problem. Doesn't sound like bad gas because you can immediately restart the vehicle.

First verify the check engine light works.
With the ignition on and engine not running the Service Engine Soon indicator should be on solid.

If the light works pull codes by doing the following.
The Diagnostic connector is located above the drivers right knee.
Short pin A to pin B with a piece of wire.
Turn the ignition On (don't start the car) The fan will run which is normal.
The Service Engine Soon light should blink 12 three times in a row. Any codes three times then 12 again three times signifying the end of the codes.

Example code 12 would be Flash pause Flash, Flash long pause next code.
Example code 23 would be Flash, Flash pause Flash, Flash, Flash longer pause next code.
All codes are two digits.



If no codes are set you're going to have to do more detective work. I'd first ask the seller if he knew about this problem.

To eliminate the fuel pump you need to attach a fuel pressure gauge to the schrader valve on the passenger side fuel rail. Tape the gauge to the windshield . Fuel pressure should be around 40 psi.

Strange the stalling only occurs at high way speed.

If it's electrical could be the ignition control module located inside the distributor or could be the pickup coil which senses the rotation of the distributor. They can cause stalling with no Service Engine Soon light.

Also look closely under the hood at all of the relay sockets. On the early C4's the wire insulation would shrink back and wires would short to each other at the relay sockets. The fuel pump and Mass Air Flow relays are on the firewall.

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

ok heres what i have so far when i turn the engine on, (not started) the service engine soon light comes on but does not blink. you say to bring up the codes the diagnostic connector is above the drivers rt knee, now are you talking about the thingamabob under the dash or the one alongside the steering coluum with the one screw holding it on. i did not want to go pok9ing around withpout being sure of where to poke i asked the previous owner about he said he never had that problem. now that i think about it, later in town at slower speeds it did it also. where and what is the schrader valve . i checked all the wires and connecters that i could see under the hood, i could find no burnt or damaged ones, or at least no obvious ones. thanks for your help any further suggestions would be great. remember i am an old person, and come from the days when you could actually stand inside the motor well with your feet on bothb sides of the motor and you could even stick your hand down there

 

[ecss]

Quit complaining about your age. No one is getting any younger.
Do you have your bifocals on? otfl

If the car restarts that easily after it stalls, throw the shifter in neutral and restart.
No need to come to a complete stop. Once restarted, shift to drive and go. :cool

Guess the guy you traded the Jeep with took advantage an old man. ad

The Diagnostic connector pin outs are as shown in the picture below.
With the ignition off you short pin A to pin B.
Turn the ignition On.
The radiator cooling fan will turn On which indicates you are in diagnostic mode.
Look at the Service Engine Soon light and count the flashes.

Here is what the diagnostic connector looks like. It's bolted to a bracket under the dash on the carpeted panel. It's closer to the transmission tunnel than the steering column..

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

tried starting from neutral, didn't happen tried from stop and it cranked right up. now i have a differant prob, just noticed a puddle of trans fluid under her, have to figure whats up with that. to tired now startt again tomorrow. thanks get back to you

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

ok got my bifocals on. if i did it right and didn't miss any, it,came out 12 12 12 32 32 32 12 12 12. now i dont know what any of that means, i have a haynes manual and thats not covered, my owners manual hasn't come yet, but i doubt if the codes would be in there. so maybe could you interpet for me

 

[ecss]

32

32 is a Exhaust Gas Recirculation circuit problem.

The computer at cruising speed grounds the EGR solenoid that allows vacuum to the EGR valve. The EGR valve opens and allows exhaust gas from the passenger side exhaust manifold back into the intake manifold where it cools the combustion chamber gases to reduce pollution. :L

If you look on the passenger side exhaust manifold towards the back you will see a metal pipe that goes from there to the intake manifold. Screwed into that pipe is a temperature switch. Make sure the wire is connected. The top of the sensor is ceramic and sometimes breaks off. Below is a picture of the sensor and
the single wire that goes to it.

The EGR solenoid is located on the front of the engine driver side bolted to one of the bolts of water neck where the top radiator hose connects to the intake manifold. Should also see a small vacuum line going to the input of the solenoid. From there a vacuum hose goes to the EGR valve. Looks like a metal piece shaped like a mushroom under the intake plenum. You would need a hand vacuum pump to test the EGR valve.

The most common problem is the temperature switch needs adjusting or replacing. When EGR is commanded, the exhaust gas passes thru the metal tube and past the switch. The computer monitors the EGR switch which should close.

Click on the link below. It describes how the switch works and how to adjust it using a propane torch. :L

EGR temp. switch




Here's a picture of what the switch looks like.



I doubt this is causing your high speed stalling. If the EGR circuit is defective and is active at idle it usually causes a rough idle or a complete stall due to the improper fuel mixture.

Clear the codes by disconnecting the negative battery terminal and see if the code comes back.

If you Private message me your e-mail address I can send you a PDF version of the service manual which contains most of what's in the soft copy version.

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

i do not know how to pvt message, i will have to wqait till my wife gets up, she is ill and asleep, also she tells me our black ink is out so it will prob. be tomorrow i looked at the temperture switch and it seems to be intact a little oily but intact. i looked on the driversengine where the water hose co nnects, underneath and aroumnd on both sides icould not spot it. now i may have seen but didnt know what i was looking at. the person who owned the car two owners ago, did some modifications to the radiator and along side the motor above the manifold there looks to be a hose or pipe missing it is capped off and directly below it in a horizontle posistion is a short pipe uncapped or open . im told the radiator was replaced or new, i think that was the modification.

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

that pipe under the one capped off was perp not horz.

 

[WhalePirot]

12 12 12 32 32 32 12 12 12.... i have a haynes manual and thats not covered, my owners manual hasn't come yet

the ECM sends eacdh code three times, as you see. The 12s indicate test mode, beginning and end.

Hopefully, you await a service manual (FSM), not the owner's manual. the latter is of little use for repair; minimally so for routine maintenance. Haynes, et al, suck, IMO.

 

[james hench]

to ecss from jim hench

nope just an owners manual, waiting for some money to get a service manual or a used one, so using the haynes for now. by the way did you get my email add. going to col ga tomorrow for my newest great grandson, wont be back till Sunday. please send the manual you were talking about. thaksks jim

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

ok. back from columbus, yesterday i recieved your manual, got ink and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to print it. thought we had it figured out, but when we got to the suspension chapter it called for more ink. now we can't get it started up again, except one page at a time. so still working on that. I disconnected the neg. side of the battery,then reconnected it, both sides were looser than i liked, not floppy but not tight. I then ran my codes again, got al 1 2s, so don't know what that means. I hope you know that this help you are giving me is greatly appreciated. any further assistance will be also. jim

 

[james hench]

To WhalePirot from James Hench

the ECM sends eacdh code three times, as you see. The 12s indicate test mode, beginning and end.

Hopefully, you await a service manual (FSM), not the owner's manual. the latter is of little use for repair; minimally so for routine maintenance. Haynes, et al, suck, IMO.

Thanks for the info, sorry it took so long to answer, thought I was talking to someone else. Thats what happens when you don't look at the name on the address

 

[ecss]

ok. back from columbus, yesterday i recieved your manual, got ink and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to print it. thought we had it figured out, but when we got to the suspension chapter it called for more ink. now we can't get it started up again, except one page at a time. so still working on that. I disconnected the neg. side of the battery,then reconnected it, both sides were looser than i liked, not floppy but not tight. I then ran my codes again, got al 1 2s, so don't know what that means. I hope you know that this help you are giving me is greatly appreciated. any further assistance will be also. jim

Get a laser printer. Or just use the manual in PDF format when you need it.
You can print individual pages as you need too.

When you disconnect the battery, all codes are cleared in the computer.
12 indicates no problems are found.

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

when you say use the manual in pdf form how does that work. as you must be able to tell i am not computer literate.

 

[ecss]

when you say use the manual in pdf form how does that work. as you must be able to tell i am not computer literate.

A file with the extension .PDF ( Portable Document Format) is a file format created
by a company called Adobe.

They offer a free reader to read this type of file.

You save the file I e-mailed you to your disk drive.
Then click on the file you saved and the Adobe reader will read the file.


Before you download the Adobe Reader

****Make sure you uncheck the box that says download a free version of McAfee antivirus software.*****

Then you check to agree with the terms and conditions and click download. After the program downloads you install the program which it may do automatically. This is not a full version of the program but it will allow you to read and print any PDF document.

Click on the link below

Adobe - Adobe Reader download - All versions

 

[james hench]

to ecss from james hench

found problem, muffler came off pipe, was heating gas causing vapor lock indiscremantly. fixed. new problem, dash cluster goes off every now and then, then comes back on, whenever it wants to. do i need to buy a kit or send it off to be refurbished. it might be beyond my capabilities? what do you tyhink.

 

[ecss]

found problem, muffler came off pipe, was heating gas causing vapor lock indiscremantly. fixed. new problem, dash cluster goes off every now and then, then comes back on, whenever it wants to. do i need to buy a kit or send it off to be refurbished. it might be beyond my capabilities? what do you tyhink.

There are 4 bulbs that illuminate the dash cluster. They get very hot and eventually the sockets burn up along with the connector that joins the two circuit boards together. This causes intermittent power to the bulbs.

The top circuit board provides 12 volts to the bulbs which are located on the bottom board. I take a piece of wire and bypass the pin that supplies the 12 volts. In the Batee video he shows how to replace the molex connector.

If you know how to solder you can fix the problem yourself. If you don't know how to solder, send it out to Batee for repair.

Click on the link below.

84-89 Corvette Gauge Fix #1 Diagnosis - YouTube