JMUBullnose Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Finally got Old Red's fuel leak fixed - just had to snug the filter one little bit more to the carb and voila. Found out a week ago that my solar battery tender stopped working so I had to put my plug in battery charger on it. Finally got a chance to drive it today! Drove to get gas and some groceries... Came back out and dead again! Stupid me left the headlights on after getting gas. Couldn't get a good jump going either - went in and bought a new battery threw it in the truck to no avail. Now it just cranks non stop and will 'kinda' catch if I floor the accelerator while cranking. As soon as I let off gas it dies - and its almost like the engine is half idling - puffing white at the tail pipe. So right now I've got the old battery on it's charger and am at a loss as to what's going on. Truck is still in the parking spot I chose. Any ideas tips to get it rolling to at least back home? Can't believe the battery dying caused all this. Maybe the battery I got was too big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Flooring the accelerator is the key I'll bet. That should open the choke. So, I'm guessing the choke is on fully and the engine is flooded. Pull the air cleaner and check the choke. If it is closed either back the three screws out slightly on the black cover and turn it to open the choke, or somehow block it open - but not with anything that can fall down inside the carb. And then try to start it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Flooring the accelerator is the key I'll bet. That should open the choke. So, I'm guessing the choke is on fully and the engine is flooded. Pull the air cleaner and check the choke. If it is closed either back the three screws out slightly on the black cover and turn it to open the choke, or somehow block it open - but not with anything that can fall down inside the carb. And then try to start it. Thanks Gary- I was starting to feel like I had flooded it on accident while trying to jump it. So I tried the old trick of flooring it while starting to try and open up the choke plate. Probably just made it worse. I'll have to go back over when my wife gets home and just try it with the new battery (sucker had some power!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Thanks Gary- I was starting to feel like I had flooded it on accident while trying to jump it. So I tried the old trick of flooring it while starting to try and open up the choke plate. Probably just made it worse. I'll have to go back over when my wife gets home and just try it with the new battery (sucker had some power!). Flooring it should do it. But, not all carb linkages are adjusted such that they fully open the choke. And when you floor it you inject some fuel via the accelerator pump, so that doesn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Flooring it should do it. But, not all carb linkages are adjusted such that they fully open the choke. And when you floor it you inject some fuel via the accelerator pump, so that doesn't help. Great point, thanks Gary. It'll have been sitting without me futzing with it for at least 3 hrs by the time I get back over there. Think I should try to normally start it (no pumping accelerator) and then go the route of keeping the choke plate fully open? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Great point, thanks Gary. It'll have been sitting without me futzing with it for at least 3 hrs by the time I get back over there. Think I should try to normally start it (no pumping accelerator) and then go the route of keeping the choke plate fully open? I'd try to start it normally, briefly. If it doesn't light off quickly then pull the air cleaner and check the choke. But it may well go easily by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 I'd try to start it normally, briefly. If it doesn't light off quickly then pull the air cleaner and check the choke. But it may well go easily by then. Will do Gary- thanks! Was so happy to have it up and running - that experience was frustrating to say the least! Hopefully I'll be able to report back in an hour or so that I have it safely parked back at home. Now to figure out if I should keep the be battery or use the old one that is currently on a charger. (It's a Type/size 56) new one is a bigger one - 65. What came up in the book for the 87/99 5.0Ls (Costco interstate batteries) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Will do Gary- thanks! Was so happy to have it up and running - that experience was frustrating to say the least! Hopefully I'll be able to report back in an hour or so that I have it safely parked back at home. Now to figure out if I should keep the be battery or use the old one that is currently on a charger. (It's a Type/size 56) new one is a bigger one - 65. What came up in the book for the 87/99 5.0Ls (Costco interstate batteries) I think I'd keep the bigger one, especially if it is new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Flooring it should do it. But, not all carb linkages are adjusted such that they fully open the choke. And when you floor it you inject some fuel via the accelerator pump, so that doesn't help. And to be clear, "floor it" means pin the gas pedal to the floor and keep it there. Don't pump the pedal, don't move it at all. Just keep it flat on the floor. I'm sure most people here know that, but I stopped to help someone in a parking lot with his hood up one winter day. He said it wouldn't start. I could smell gas so I told him to just floor it while he cranked it. He said that's what he had been doing and asked me to watch under the hood while he tried again. The throttle was moving rapidly back and forth between WOT and closed. I grabbed it and held it open and the engine started within about 5 seconds. I held it open a few more seconds while the guy seemed a little panicy that his car wouldn't go back to idle! So I realized that some people's definition of "floor it" is a lot different from the rest of us! By the way, this was a fuel injected car, so it didn't have a stuck choke. But it still works much the same. Pump it and the computer gives it more fuel and it'll flood. Hold it wide open and the computer usually shuts the fuel off while cranking, and the open throttle plate allows in more air and it'll clear a flood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Flooring it should do it. But, not all carb linkages are adjusted such that they fully open the choke. And when you floor it you inject some fuel via the accelerator pump, so that doesn't help. And to be clear, "floor it" means pin the gas pedal to the floor and keep it there. Don't pump the pedal, don't move it at all. Just keep it flat on the floor. I'm sure most people here know that, but I stopped to help someone in a parking lot with his hood up one winter day. He said it wouldn't start. I could smell gas so I told him to just floor it while he cranked it. He said that's what he had been doing and asked me to watch under the hood while he tried again. The throttle was moving rapidly back and forth between WOT and closed. I grabbed it and held it open and the engine started within about 5 seconds. I held it open a few more seconds while the guy seemed a little panicy that his car wouldn't go back to idle! So I realized that some people's definition of "floor it" is a lot different from the rest of us! By the way, this was a fuel injected car, so it didn't have a stuck choke. But it still works much the same. Pump it and the computer gives it more fuel and it'll flood. Hold it wide open and the computer usually shuts the fuel off while cranking, and the open throttle plate allows in more air and it'll clear a flood. Well y'all, finally got back to it and the truck fired right up. Gary nailed it, must've been wicked flooded. Now to drive it back home! (And then do some research for a bigger battery hold down!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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