I was going 75 and I lost all power on the freeway and had to pull over. I tried to start it again and it would crank but not turn over, I was getting about 9 amps on the dash gauge when trying to get it to crank over.

I figure it would be the alternator since it died while driving, but could it be the battery since it would not start again, or was the amps on the battery just too low to start the car again?

Are the alternators easy to replace? From what I can see it looks straightforward.

 

before you jump into it being the alt, did any lights come on the dash making you think it would be the alt? if the alt goes bad, the truck would run on the battery until the battery dies.

 

Probably not the alternator or the battery. If/when the alternator fails, the engine will still run until the battery goes dead. The fact that the starter cranked the engine over means that the battery is not dead.

Check for a blue spark at the ignition coil while cranking, it should easily jump half of an inch. Also check fuel pressure and leakdown, then post the results.

 

Battery light came on when it died, it still has some of a charge but won't turn over. not even enough wpoto roll down my windows. I don't know how to check leakdown. but I think I have a guagr on my dash for fuel pressure or oil pressure I'm not sure. sorry I'm somewhat of a novice when it comes to anything electrical

 

you need to put a battery charger on it....if you cant roll down the window, the battery might as well be dead. the gauge on the dash you are thinking of is oil pressure. i would check your ground at the battery, if the car died while you were driving it you could have a poor connection that caused it. make sure the ground at the battery is tight, just dont over do it, the side post strip out easily. then go from there.

 

I checked all the grounds and they are all tight and secure. I am seeing about 12v on the dash guage when trying to start it now after charging it for a few hours but it's still not starting.

Does the battery light coming on just mean it's an electrical issue? For now I think it could be the distributor or something? I am hoping to figure this out this weekend I use my blazer for work, I really appreciate the help.

What other tests can I do? Where would I see the blue spark from? I see the top cap where all the wires come from at the back of the engine by the firewall, is that the coil?

 

The questions you have to answer is it fuel, spark or timing. If you have a timing light you can put in a plug wire and check for spark while cranking. You could also try pouring a small amount of gas directly in the TB and try cranking. If it trys to start or starts and dies you have a fuel problem.

 

alrighty,guys he's not mechanically inclined when it comes to knowing about automobiles etc. We gotta break it down for the guy.

First off lets check for spark. No,the thing in the back with all the plug wires,thats your distributor. the part the wires connect to is the distributor cap. the coil, on your motor is on the passenger side,behind the alternator. its got 1 single plug wire on it that runs to the distributor. This takes 2 people to do this,so grab a friend.


Pop off the plug wire at the coil. Now,gently lay it back on the post it was on. Make it kinda crooked so u can see the insides when your friend turns over the engine. Now tell em to turn the key. If you have spark,you will see it jump from the post into the plug wire,and you will probably hear a tick tick tick tick.

got spark? cool reconnect it and move into the next deal. take the air intake hat off the top of the throttle body. its the big black round plastic thing in the middle of the engine. Pour 1/4 cup or so of some gas into the engine. turn the engine over. if it starts then dies,you got a fuel issue. Probably the pump and they are a known problem for our blazers. ONLY buy a ac delco brand pump. Nothing else.

 

Thanks for breaking it down for me, I am going to check both this evening when I get home. I just moved and had to get my garage cleared out so I could actually do some work on it.

So does the battery light coming on when it died just mean it lost power?

 

yea,its no different then turning your key on and the dash lights turn on.