Help with gremlins - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

1969 C/K CST · 12-14-2005, 11:04 AM

My '84 has me puzzled. At any driving condition, even sitting at idle. The engine rpms will fall to a sluggish pace, then come back up to normal on it's on. This is driving me crazy. I have never had a truck do this. Being an '84 with a guadrajet, I don't know of any electronics. The truck is an '84, bone stock, except for the removal of the emmisions pump. I have drove the truck for 5 years and all of a sudden this starts. I have changed the vacum advance, rebuilt the carb, changed old vacum hoses, and replaced the weird looking goose neck on the intake. I finally don't know what else to look for. I need help before I get to the "go or blow" stage.

86 GMG · 12-14-2005, 12:12 PM

my 84 died on the road on day i thought i ran out of gas but come to find out the distributer crapped out on me. it has some kinda esc ecs something to that affect and that was my headache. have you looked into the dist. just a suggestion and really dont know much else i had a friend assist me in this situation there is a thread about this a little info there but not much if i can remimber right. best luck and hopefully you wont be on the side of the road.

84 PUMPKIN · 12-14-2005, 12:20 PM

If your truck is "bone" stock then you might want to take a look at the ESC (Electronic Spark Control). The ESC box is located behind the glove box and connects to the distributor via a wiring pigtail. My '84 C10 starting running bad and I traced the problem to the ESC. I removed the box and replaced the distributor with a "regular" HEI and fixed the problem.

If your ESC is gone already then this info is useless.

Looks like 86 GMG was posting the same suggestion as I was typing.

86 GMG · 12-14-2005, 12:27 PM

yeah later after it was fixed i found out that i could have done what you did and put an hei normal distributer which i had in the garage on a shelf

so about 80.00 bucks later i had a rebuilt dist. and was running again oh well i will use that damn dist one of these days

82c10 · 12-14-2005, 01:05 PM

on www.73-87.com he has a way to wire around the esc, i can't find the link, i am sure swervin, or n2trucks will

**Captkaos** · 12-14-2005, 01:38 PM

The link is here for the ECS removal/upgrade:
http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/drivetrain/escrepl.htm

1969 C/K CST · 12-14-2005, 03:09 PM

Thanks guys. I'll definitly take a look at it. I think it does have the retard when you hammer it. Idiot proof device to save the trans if you ask me. I like the swapping to regular HEI idea. It was weird. Fine one day, all to he!! the next. You'll have to excuse me, I'm not used to all this high tech stuff.

crawdad · 12-14-2005, 06:32 PM

Read the article in the link posted above. You don't have to buy another distributor. All you need is a short jumper wire and you're in business. I had a post about this a few weeks ago and I even posted a pic of the jumper. HTH

12-14-2005, 11:04 AM	#1
1969 C/K CST A.K.A- Crummy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NC foothills Posts: 3,025	Help with gremlins My '84 has me puzzled. At any driving condition, even sitting at idle. The engine rpms will fall to a sluggish pace, then come back up to normal on it's on. This is driving me crazy. I have never had a truck do this. Being an '84 with a guadrajet, I don't know of any electronics. The truck is an '84, bone stock, except for the removal of the emmisions pump. I have drove the truck for 5 years and all of a sudden this starts. I have changed the vacum advance, rebuilt the carb, changed old vacum hoses, and replaced the weird looking goose neck on the intake. I finally don't know what else to look for. I need help before I get to the "go or blow" stage. __________________ 2003 Silverado Z71 Are fishermen all liars?

12-14-2005, 12:12 PM	#2
86 GMG Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Tulsa Oklahoma Posts: 943	Re: Help with gremlins my 84 died on the road on day i thought i ran out of gas but come to find out the distributer crapped out on me. it has some kinda esc ecs something to that affect and that was my headache. have you looked into the dist. just a suggestion and really dont know much else i had a friend assist me in this situation there is a thread about this a little info there but not much if i can remimber right. best luck and hopefully you wont be on the side of the road. __________________ square body trucks an addiction or an investment either way they consume all my extra time and money

12-14-2005, 12:20 PM	#3
84 PUMPKIN Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 166	Re: Help with gremlins If your truck is "bone" stock then you might want to take a look at the ESC (Electronic Spark Control). The ESC box is located behind the glove box and connects to the distributor via a wiring pigtail. My '84 C10 starting running bad and I traced the problem to the ESC. I removed the box and replaced the distributor with a "regular" HEI and fixed the problem. If your ESC is gone already then this info is useless. Looks like 86 GMG was posting the same suggestion as I was typing. Last edited by 84 PUMPKIN; 12-14-2005 at 12:26 PM.

12-14-2005, 12:27 PM	#4
86 GMG Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Tulsa Oklahoma Posts: 943	Re: Help with gremlins yeah later after it was fixed i found out that i could have done what you did and put an hei normal distributer which i had in the garage on a shelf so about 80.00 bucks later i had a rebuilt dist. and was running again oh well i will use that damn dist one of these days __________________ square body trucks an addiction or an investment either way they consume all my extra time and money

12-14-2005, 01:05 PM	#5
82c10 needin' money Join Date: May 2005 Location: Chickasha, Oklahoma Posts: 1,106	Re: Help with gremlins on www.73-87.com he has a way to wire around the esc, i can't find the link, i am sure swervin, or n2trucks will __________________ *SWB Stands for Short Wide Bed*

12-14-2005, 01:38 PM	#6
Captkaos www.73-87chevytrucks.com Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 6,935	Re: Help with gremlins The link is here for the ECS removal/upgrade: http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/drivetrain/escrepl.htm __________________ Chris Lucas 1973 Chevy C-10 1978 GMC Jimmy (2WD) - SOLD 1987 R10 twin turbo LS 1991 R3500 SRW CrewCab 1985 K5 diesel swapped project 1989 K5 2WD conversion w/ Vette susp Project Captkaos Customs 73-87chevytrucks.com

12-14-2005, 03:09 PM	#7
1969 C/K CST A.K.A- Crummy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NC foothills Posts: 3,025	Re: Help with gremlins Thanks guys. I'll definitly take a look at it. I think it does have the retard when you hammer it. Idiot proof device to save the trans if you ask me. I like the swapping to regular HEI idea. It was weird. Fine one day, all to he!! the next. You'll have to excuse me, I'm not used to all this high tech stuff. __________________ 2003 Silverado Z71 Are fishermen all liars?

12-14-2005, 06:32 PM	#8
crawdad Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Georgia Posts: 614	Re: Help with gremlins Read the article in the link posted above. You don't have to buy another distributor. All you need is a short jumper wire and you're in business. I had a post about this a few weeks ago and I even posted a pic of the jumper. HTH __________________ 2012 Silverado LT 1500, 5.3, 6 speed auto '86 SWB C-10 Silverado



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