How to make the 6.2 not start?

[Barrman]

I had to haul 17 Scouts and 3 leaders 60 miles away last Saturday. The other leaders in their normal vehicles and my 2000 Suburban were the only vehicles that would work for that trip. That meant my wife would have to drive a MV if she went to town.

She called me up and said she was in the M1009 and the WAIT light wasn't coming on when she put on the key. I told her to recycle the key. She did and the light didn't come on. I have had this happen before and reaching down to jiggle the card always fixes it. Or, I just count to 10 and the truck fires right up.

I told her to just turn on the key, count to 10 since it was 65° or so outside and fire it up. She did all of that with me listening and the engine failed to start. She cranked on it for about 3 seconds. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat with her cranking for up to 8 seconds. She had smoke, but no fire. I didn't want the starter to die, so I told her to forget about it, go fire up the M715 and do the trip that way.

I had her try it one more time after we had been talking a few minutes and after cranking about 5 seconds, it started. Her trip went fine and the truck ran great.

I tried it when I got home and it fired up in less than a second. Tried it again Sunday and same result. Same thing today. Super fast fire up on the first crank like I have been getting no matter what the temperature for the past 6 or 7 months.

She claims she wasn't doing anything besides what she told me she was doing. I have to ask though. Can anybody think of what she could have been doing that prevented the engine from starting?

 

[ssgtcampbell77]

I don't know about your truck, but my ignition is a little stiff and my wife can never get the ignition too the wait to start spot. She is always a sixteenth of an inch away so the plugs never cycle. Just a thought.

 

[kipman]

Tim, you were not there, it would happen to any of us, even if the truck was brand new.

 

[doghead]

Did you ask her to get in and start it, now that you are there? I would try that and watch her to see if she is doing anything "odd" that might cause it to not start.

 

[ssgtcampbell77]

Thats how i figured it out!!

 

[sandcobra164]

My truck sometimes suffer's from injector fouling. It's never been a big deal for me when it happens while driving down the road, I just lay my foot into it and the non-firing cylinder jumps back to life. I let my wife drive the truck to town the other day and throughout the stops, it died on her. Fired right back up though. When I met her, we traded vehicles and I couldn't believe my ears. It was down a cylinder but of course I knew what was going on. She said that it started to smoke out the exhaust and idle rough before it stalled. I then asked her if it started sounding a little metallic like a hammer hitting a nail very quickly just out of nowhere when she noticed the smoke. Of course she admitted she did but just figured they do that sometimes. These trucks are temper-mental sometimes, it's best not to put a driver with the same qualities behind the wheel.

 

[OL AG '89]

Tim,
Sounds like she needs to get herself a good mechanic friend she can call.......... But only if you're not around!!!!
Seriously, I bet if you had been there and she decided to "jump in" and go for a drive, it would of never happened.
Sounds like the Gremlins are alive and well

 

[Flyingvan911]

I think she just wanted to drive the 715. I would.

 

[WARWAG]

No problem with your truck just a Females lack of understanding on how to start it. Have you done the DogHead conversion yet?

 

[Barrman]

She didn't want to do a re enactment and I didn't make a deal about it. She did watch me start it with just my hand inside the truck that night. She claims nothing was touched. I will get her in the drivers seat one of these days and watch.

I was amazed at how loud the starter was over the phone. However, once she got it running. I couldn't hear the engine. I really couldn't tell over the phone if she had the key right and the starter all the way on. She claimed "all the lights are on except the yellow one in the middle."

The starter is newly rebuilt with the improved starter relay. Which means it probably could have handled 20-30 seconds of cranking with no problems. But, since I don't like cranking anything more than a few seconds. It was torture to me hearing it go and go on the phone.

When we met 19 years ago, she was driving a '67 Galaxy with a 4 barrel 390. She knows about how to hold your fingers just right while trying to start something. Of course, we got to know each other because she burned up the engine, then the transmission, then the engine again on the old Ford before she caught it on fire while going down the road one day. So, for her getting something started is just the beginning of how she can cause damage.

 

[ssgtcampbell77]

That is HILIARIOUS!!!!

 

[Armada]

Did she press the accelerator partially down while trying to start it? Mine always cold start quicker by giving it some pedel. Not pumping it, just depressing about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way.

 

[Barrman]

Mine has never liked starting with any throttle applied. Just enough for the fast idle to hold it down a little. She might hae been pumping enough to make that happen and holding it down further. That is the only theory that makes sense so far.