I Just wanted to share my tale with this truck. I got this truck about 12 years ago. I still has less then 300,000km. I got it on a good deal, and it has served me well. I did an intake manifold gasket, fuel pump, and I think that is it. Ever since I got this truck the engine light has been on, up until about a month ago. I have no clue why it went out, I did nothing, It chose it all on its own. About 2 weeks ago my truck stalled. It started right up and off I went. Over the last two weeks it has been stalling more and more. First thing I do is change fuel filter. Drives nice but stalls. I check the fuel pressure at the rail and all good. I realize it isn’t really hot yet so I take it for a boot, it was low on transmission fluid, so went to get some. It stalls outside the gas station and I cripple it to the parking lot. Shut it off and lock it. I get the fluid I need and the key pod doesn’t work. So I use the key and the alarm goes of, weak as ever like it was dying, and the key pod still won’t shut off the alarm. I pop the hood and the alarm increases in volume and the key pod shuts off the alarm. I cripple the truck home and it comes to me…I started heavy duty mechanics about 1984, and the owner said to me, regarding electrical, " If it’s random it is always a ground!" so I decide to take the water pump pliers and tighten every bolt that was used to connect power . IE the battery posts, body ground, starter power and so on. I got almost 1/4 turn on the battery posts with a 14" pair of water pump pliers. That was yesterday. The truck runs perfect, and still no engine light. My parts should arrive in the next couple days and my OBD2 scanner will be here tomorrow. I don’t think I need them lol.
Got any pictures of the ol girl?
After 12 years of it running nonstop I can only imagine the bulb burned out! Have you tried checking the computer codes to try and figure out why it was on in the first place?
I’ve had a couple vehicles where people didn’t want to fix what was wrong (usually EVAP related) and left them with their light on all the time, but I don’t know any non-mechanics that would bother keeping up with checking the codes in case something new comes up. So it definitely isn’t something I’m a fan of because I’ve seen too many people turn cars into expensive paperweights over something that would have been relatively cheap to fix.
I have an 89 K3500 and I had to replace the entire instrument cluster due to everything eventually failing. Pulled one from a junk yard and went on my way.
This one might still be throttle body, if that’s the case I would probably just pull it apart and clean everything. Maybe just get a rebuild kit, I rebuilt the one on my big block a few years ago but eventually just switched to EFI.
No, actually I do not, have any pictures.
I got a Launch OBDII scanner, apparently the EGR valve is starting to act up.
All in all though she is running pretty nice now, with only a slight rumble in the idle.
From 1996 to 2005 check engine light is usually an evap canister fault (dirt in the carbon pack)
But at the age of the truck it could aslo be egr valve, o2 sensors, or maf sensor.
That is as long as there are no vacuum leaks!
But its an ongoing thing for people to learn about the user maintainance of their vehicles.
No one usually takes the time to learn about them aside from putting fuel in them or for the more energetic, changing a tire.
The usually have their music up loud enough they dont hear the brake wear clips chirping when they will need new brake shoes or pads.
So they only notice it when the bare pads grind against the rotors or drums.
It should be a weekly routine of checking fluid levels, inspecting battery terminals for corrosion or looseness, and inspecting tires for low air conditions.
But thats for people who actually do care about their vehicles.