Cel

[Mr_Rich]

I was driving south on the freeway late Sunday night. I suddenly turned on a CEL on the dash. My truck is normally rock reliable and had just turned 234K on the odo. I had a steep grade to climb and midway up the grade my truck started bogging down to 35 mph; no power. Uh-oh. I barely made it to the summit and I pulled off on the next exit where the engine died at the stoplight. The engine restarted and I pulled in to a shopping center. I pulled the codes and came up with a code 44. My old Chilton manual I had with me didn't list that code, and/ or I didn't find it. I didn't see anything unusual under the hood so I restarted the engine and drove normally on surface streets for a couple of miles. It seemed okay so I jumped back on the freeway and made the fifty miles back to the house without incident.
I went online to check up on code 44 and one of the causes was "Water in the gas". I had just filled up my tank about ten miles prior to getting the CEL. I think that nailed it. My truck seems to be running okay now. I stopped at the hardware store and bought a quart of denatured alcohol. I poured about a pint in the tank to pick up any residual water that might still be there. I'll change the fuel filter and a tune-up is due soon since I'll have to go through a smog check this year.

[ChevLoRay]

Back here in Arkansas, we just throw a couple of pine knots in the tank every few months.

If you had water in your fuel, and you had just fueled up....you'd think that you had found a source.

You should have been able to do a search on this forum for that code. I didn't so I don't know if anyone else has had that same problem.

Glad you seem to have found a solution.....and a solution that resolves the water contamination. Good tip.

[Mr_Rich]

I think it's good to share this kind of info. I'm not quite ready to do any major work to my old Chevy yet. I'm still trying to get my '98 Firebird out of the garage. I've made good progress there, but I still have to wait for parts.
I did want to share the denatured alcohol tip. I know that the alcohol is hygroscopic and will pick up the moisture in the tank. A little bit of gasohol won't hurt every now and then.