I have a 1988 S-10 Blazer that has been in the family since 1990. It's basically junk that keeps running and we use it for a backup vehicle. Yesterday it was idling and just stopped running. It started back up, ran for a few seconds, then stopped again. I drove it home and once I got in my driveway, it stopped again. This morning I checked the plug going to the fuel pump, as I couldn't hear the fuel pump running when the key was on. It started right up after I unplugged the fuel pump at the tank and added a little dielectric grease into the plug. I let it run for at least a half hour after that....and mysteriously it stopped running again. It just as mysteriously started back up.

Here's where it gets more weird.

As it was sitting there running. I opened the passenger side door. When I did, the engine stumbled. I walked around to the driver's side, opened the door, and it stalled altogether. The dome light also was out. I tried to start it and it would not start, period. A few seconds later, the dome light came back on and I was able to start the engine. Since that time, I have removed and checked every fuse, regardless of it's designation. One really dumb thing I did was unscrew the dome light switch from the door frame....I have no idea how that works, all I know is that I have a switch in my hand with a long plastic piece sticking out of it. It looks like I may have to remove the fresh air vent in order to try to put THAT back together.

When it was idling and the door happened to be open, it seemed to stall at the same time the dome light would go out. In addition, the radio would reset itself to 12:00 and the display would be wonky, with only part of the clock display lighting up and "seek" and "scan" both lit up.

All I know is that I don't dare trust this to drive it until it's resolved. Is it possible the fuse box itself has a bad ground? I know whenever a ground gets "iffy", some strange things can happen.

Thoughts?

 

Maybe consult an exorcist?

 

That the radio reset itself would tell me that there is a voltage and/or ground problem. Well, either that or you need to find an exorcist.