truck backfired, ran rough, and now has no electronics

[hcaz095]

well, thats the story... I ran into town 7 miles to get some lumber to finish our wood shed.... going up a hill the truck backfired, ran rough for 1-2 mins, and now has no electronics. At first I thought it was sucking fumes as I had over 130 miles on the tank, and the uphill with turning led to it not getting enough gas.... i turned around downhill to go back to town... truck was still running, but quite poorly, but i limped it close enough to the gas station, that i only had to push it half a mile to the gas station... filled up a few gallons, but there is nothing working as far as electronics... not even the gages or ignition cranking... nothing.

I'm thinking it is prolly an ignition problem, as although it sounded bad, there is no oil/ fluid leaks, truck has ran great for the first 800 miles of ownership.

Dad said it might have had the points arc... any input? I planned on doing a tune up in the next few weeks, so I guess this just sped things up.

What else should i check?

Should I upgrade to HEI at this point? as I might have to replace distrubutor/ rotor...and plugs, wires, etc.

How much am I looking at as far as cost total to do that?

~Zach

[tcb-1]

check to see if the points didn't burn and ground out.

I had that happen once, and my luck, it was the last thing I checked.

[cdowns]

clean your battery terminals and cables

[americanmusc1e]

If you have nothing. check the battery conections, then work your way back with a 12v test light until you find the place where you stop getting power.

[leddzepp]

If you have to replace all the stuff listed, you might be better off going with an HEI. I have the stock points style ignition in one of my trucks, and HEI in the other. The HEI is awesome, never had any problems. I do not have any problems with my stock set-up for the time being....but when I do, I am going to swap it out for HEI as well.

[muddobber]

alternator?

[Camper Power]

maybe your engine wasnt turning your alternator fast enough for it to charge the battery, does it have power anywhere (starter, lights, horn?) or is it completely dead

[hcaz095]

It is completely dead... I had my battery heat up yesterday.... was running fine... proper voltage etc...and battery wasn't hot (checked once before it died when I stopped at a local store en route). Every time before that it has starte immediately, even when cold. It would be running smoothly before the noise of the starter was gone. Although, sometimes as of late, it seemed the idle was high on startup as if the choke was too much. Would blip the throttle to slow it down.

It could be a multitude of things... going to look at the points in the morning. and start from the battery, which is not dead (i touched a screw driver across it) going back. Like I said, was planning on doing a full tune-up anyways. Was thinking of going HEI from Skip White as I read on this thread...I do like the wire routing clips shown in that thread as well...


http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...apa+hei&page=2


I'm not sure what the difference/ benefit would be from the 50k volt and 65k volt? What voltage are the rebuilds from napa... seeing as its in town, it is somewhat convenient. Then going with the 74/75 corvette wires... any suggestions on what heat/ # for the spark plugs? Was thinking mid level from napa (NGK?) not sure if you have to 'upgrade' due to the HEI from what they will recommend at the parts counter.

Also, I am fairly sure the altenator is original, what can I do about rebuilding it? Who should I contact (store)?

Thanks for the help everyone, I've had older dirtbikes, but this is my first old truck, never had a point ignition go bad, not even on a lawn mower, and mostly I've driven mid-90's jeep cherokee's, that efi has its advantages.

~Zach

[67ChevyRedneck]

Check all grounds (and make sure the truck has them all.) Battery cables as suggested and also check out the junction block on the PS fender. That little booger gave me hell last year a couple times. Look for broken/frayed/burned wires. HEI is a great upgrade as long as you do it properly with the correct 12V wire feed. Up in your area rust is common and grounds and electrical connections get corroded/rusty more easily.

Your local parts stores should be able to test your alternator for you. They can also load test your battery to tell if it's still good or not. Hey, it's free...

Touching a screwdriver across the posts of a battery does not mean it's still good. I got a cheap voltmeter at wal-mart for like 10 or 12 bucks a couple years ago and I've used it on lots of little projects after messing with my trucks issues.

[attack eagle]

IF I could make a recommendation it would be instead of $15-$20 on a no name offshore DMM from autozone, get an older fluke off ebay. Mine are 8024s iirc, not auto ranging (I hate that) and are push button units handed down from Bell South via my Grandfather... but I've seen them and the entry level yellow flukes on ebay going for $10-$20.

personally I like the non autoranging because the 20V setting is already perfect for 12v automotive and stereo work, and they are faster reading without needing to range, and if I ever want new cables, an induction pickup, a thermocouple, etc, I can get one (or many) cheap.