So I have a little issue with starting my truck as of late. Last winter, I noticed my truck had real hard issues starting. Seems like when it's warm out, it cranks right up. But when it gets chilly/cold out it has to be turned over 4 or 5 times to crank. Last night, it didn't want to catch. I also noticed flashes behind the distributor against the firewall, but noted no arc from any of the wires. The dizzy cap is ok, no cracks. It's fairly new, however, I did have to sand the points/contacts a bit. Could the issue be my plug wires? Maybe temp difference in seasons causes a bad spot to contract and expand affecting contact? I have a battery that is under 1 yr. old. It's good. Fuel injection is good considering it runs great when started. Plugs are less than 1 yr. old. Fuel pump doesn't seem to be going bad. Whenever it doesn't want to crank in the cold, one spray of starting fluid gets the job done. I'm perplexed. Any help would be appreciated. I will be getting new plug wires tomorrow... Should I pick up a rotor button too? It's a 93 with 4.3 Vortec.

 

If you see flashes, then spark is escaping somewhere. This could very well be the cause of your hard start issue. Spark intensity has a lot to do with the ease of cold starts.

 

Going to get a new set of Bosch wires tomorrow. Will update. Thank you

 

I bought some new wires AND an ignition coil. Still having problems starting, and still seeing some flash on wires and firewall. Let me ask a couple of questions here... Are Vortecs vacuum advanced? Also, this was a transplant to another Vortec. The battery grounds to the exhaust manifold, and there is a braided cable from the firewall grounded to the furthest bolt back on the drivers side intake manifold. There are also a bunch of wires grounded to the same bolt. Would that cause my problem? Should I zip tie the spark plug wires so they are not near any metal? As for the bunch of wires... Are they supposed to be grounded there, or can I spread them out and ground them elsewhere? Alot of the spark flash seems to be anywhere near the manifold.

 

Factory ground location to the engine was on the back of the passenger side cylinder head, not to the exhaust manifold. I would reposition those grounds to the appropriate location.

You should not have a light show under your hood unless you purposefully added lights to do so. You are leaking spark somewhere.

 

OK... I solved seeing some of the spark. Turns out, my factory clips that keep the plug wires running parallel were all brittle and broken, so plug wires were criss-crossed in places. I'm sure that would cause spark to jump around. So I rigged it by tying them off strategically to suit me for now. I am still seeing flashes. behind the distributor. But the cap is not cracked, and it's seated properly, so I'm at a loss as for what that's about. I will relocate the grounds to where factory says it should go, or at least off the intake. Still not wanting to start unless I use starting fluid...? If my F.I. was going out, wouldn't it run like crap? Also, if I want to make sure the TPS is set properly, do I just use a meter, readjust it until I show continuity, and tighten it then? I'm trying to figure out what in the hell is causing my problem!!! When I get the chance, I'll be replacing all the vacuum lines in it. If that, and repositioning the grounds don't work, I will assume it's either my fuel pump, or F.I. I doubt it would be the fuel pump though. Don't those just die? I mean, fuel pressure isn't affected by a fuel pump is it? It either works or doesn't, right? Also, I'm still trying to find out if you can adjust the timing with the dizzy. Could ya answer that for me?

 

You cannot adjust timing on the newer engines. The computer does that for you.

You really should test fuel pressure if you think that is a contributing factor. A fuel pressure test gauge needs to be used. You should have 60+psi with the engine off, key on.

Further information on TPS values can be found in other threads.

 

X2 on check the pressure.

My fuel pump gave proper pressure most of the time but not always during cranking. It finally stalled and I had to thump on the bottom of the tank to jar it loose and get it home to a heated garage to change the pump. New Delphi pump made our 01 Blazer start like a dream.

Also If you can find no other source of spark leak maybe your plug wire connectors need some dielectric grease. This will help if the spark is leaking out around the boots on the ends of the wires.

Blazeme

 

Appreciate the suggestion, however, when I put the new wires on, I did just that. Will see about a new fuel pump but will wait until I test the pressure this weekend. How much for a new Delphi?

 

My local big O sells the Delphi module for $367.00. I by a lot from them and own my own business (not car repair) I got a installers price and paid $307

Check the forum and you will find AC delco or Delphi are the recomended pumps. I have had my blazer fro 8 years and 119,000 miles(141,000 total miles)I have replaced the module with the Airtex brand twice before, hopefully the Delphi will last a lot longer than they have. The Airtex module is$267.00 here,$252.00 with my discount.

Blazeme