What the heck did I do?

[KidKodiak]

So this suburban I bought a few months ago was missing the air duct going to the vent closest to the driver's door. A few weeks ago I found a suburban identical to mine that I could completely strip down.

Since it's summer, I want air to come out of the vents, so I put the duct in. The previous owner of my suburban added a secondary cigarette lighter/power outlet. He ran the wire directly from the fuse panel to the outlet.

As I was putting in the duct, I accidentally pulled the wire off the outlet. When I finished putting the air duct in, I plugged the wire back on to the outlet.

DUMB!! sparks happened. I should have known to disconnect the battery. I guess I was tired, but I'm Polish too. So I'm blaming my moment of stupidity on being Polish.

Now dome lights don't come on. Radio switches channels when I open any door. When I hit the horn, the courtesy lights under the dash go on, but no horn, and again my radio switches channels.

I checked all the fuses and they all look good. There are some metal ones on the fuse panel, and I have no idea what they are.

Where the hell do I begin? People are stupid drivers these days and I actually really need my horn. LOL

Thank you for any advice you can give.

[DmaxMaverick]

It sounds like you are missing a body ground. When this happens, accessory circuits "ground" through other circuits, causing what you are seeing now. Try using jumper cables (temporarily, for testing) to connect a battery - directly to bare metal or a bolt on the firewall. If this runs off the gremlins, add a bonding strap (ground cable), or clean the existing one, from the engine block to the firewall. Happy hunting..... Unless you find it right off and obvious, it ain't gonna be fun.

You shouldn't blame your mistakes on your heritage. The second smartest person I know is Polish.

[KidKodiak]

Thanks Dmax. It certainly isn't going to be fun.

You're very right. If a Polack could crack the enigma machine, I think I can crack this wiring issue.

I bought this suburban to learn more about auto mechanics and such. It's just turned into more than I anticipated.

I think I have a bad IP and/or injectors. I have a pretty bad warm start issue, and when I get down to a half tank I'll try Robyn's trick of adding motor oil to the tank.

I'll keep you updated (most likely with more questions) on my progress.

[DmaxMaverick]

Be careful what you wish for. You'll likely get more education than you paid for.

Good diagnostic tool, using oil in the fuel. However, I recommend using 2 cycle oil instead of motor oil. 2 cycle oil is formulated to burn. 4 cycle engine oil is formulated to not burn (same goes for ATF), and will leave significantly more deposits in the combustion chamber.

[KidKodiak]

I think I am in fact getting more than I wished for. I suppose I just accidentally enrolled in the accelerated course instead of the go-at-your-own pace course.

I'm glad you told me about the 2-cycle oil. I was actually debating whether or not to use 4 cycle. I was concerned about fowling up my injectors.

Going back to my electrical issue... I remember one incident prior to my goof up.

One day after work, and a very strong thunderstorm I noticed the windshield wipers came on as I put it in park.

I looked and the wiper arm was in the off position. I shifted to drive, waited for a moment and shifted back to park. Same thing happened.

That has never happened since.

Any thoughts?

[DmaxMaverick]

The wipers may or may not be related. They can have issues all their own.

Your best attack, at this point, is to carefully examine a wiring diagram and search for a common point of failure. Just so happens, there's a complete 1985 wiring diagram at the "truck stuff pics" link in my sig. It's a copy of old paper, but is legible. Make a list of all the affected systems, and trace them. You should be able to narrow it down to one, or more, common point.

[KidKodiak]

Thanks for the link. I'll have to dig up my webshots user info so I can save the images to my computer.

I think the issue with the wipers may be with something in the steering column. May need new wiring or repair inside.

So two days ago I replaced my idle stop solenoid thinking that would solve my hot start problems. It didn't. Should I turn that screw/bolt thing a little bit to make tighter contact with that metal plate it contacts on the bottom side?

Not sure if this link will work. But hopefully you can see what I'm talking about from the images. This suburban is truly a humbling experience.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BWD0/21981.oap?year=1985&make=GMC&model=K2500%2BSuburban&vi=1300396&ck=Search_idle+stop+solenoid_1300396_3355&keyword=idle+stop+solenoid#

[DmaxMaverick]

You should be able to save the images without logging in to Webshots. Try right-clicking and select "save image....". If you can't, don't sweat it. If you want, I can email the original, higher resolution copies to you.

The "high idle", or "idle stop" solenoid won't prevent a start. Even if the idle position is too low, it will still "try" to start (stumble, at worst). During this time of year, it's hardly ever engaged, as it is. Adjusting it, if it helps, is no indication of the reason for the initial problem. It has 2 positions, on and off. The engine will start fine without it, although it may be rough when really cold. I bypassed the OEM wiring on mine, and have a toggle under the dash that controls it. I know when it's needed, same as the glow plugs (which aren't needed during summer months). I use it primarily for idle A/C use, or winter warm-up. Hardly ever any other time. I'm sure that just thrills the EPA. If you need more than "hot idle" throttle during a hot start, something else is wrong. Most often, it's the pump. Find a local Stanadyne shop and have yours rebuilt. They should be able to get it done for about 1/2 the cost of parts stores and other "swap out" stores. If this isn't an option, do yourself a favor and stick with the TDP advertisers. You won't find better service, anywhere.

I don't think your problem is rooted in the column. The ignition switch, wiper switch (the delay control and "park" circuit, of the tranny and wipers, are elsewhere) and/or signal cluster (crab) may have issues, but it/they won't cause all the problems you are experiencing. It has to return to a common point of failure, and that point can only be pinned down with good, ol' fashioned troubleshooting. No easy way out on this one!

[KidKodiak]

You're right about no easy way out of my electrical issue. And you're right about TDP advertisers being the best. I live about 40 minutes from Peninsular Diesel, and I gotta tell ya, Matt and his crew are exceptional. I've gotten the feeling that they know they're stuff, and refuse to do you wrong. If I elaborate any further I think my testimonial might lose credibility.

I'm getting my fuel pump from them, and when my bank account is fat enough, I'll certainly buy a complete motor from them as well.

The oil has seemed to help with the hot restart in the two short trips I've made today.
However, after I added 2 quarts of no ash 2 cycle oil to half a tank of fuel (31 gallon tank), I blew a tire. It's the second tire in two consecutive weeks. So I'm gonna park it til my Michelin Latitudes come in.

Good thing I have a 1984 M1009 CUCV with 60k original miles on it. I just hope the suburbans illnesses aren't contagious.

[KidKodiak]

I spent all weekend tearing off the injector lines, intake, etc and put the new injector pump in place.

And that was my problem. Damn this burb runs nice. 218k miles on it and my uncle who watched me do all 89% of the work had an ear-to-ear grin on his face after we got it back up and running. He watched over me, really helped direct me what to do. But since I told him I want to learn, he let me learn.
He couldn't stop talking about what he's gonna do with both of his 6.2s when he gets a chance.

My burb runs so smooth that you really can't feel any vibration with your hands on the hood. It also has plenty of power now.

I honestly gotta say thanks to you Dmax, and Robyn, and all the others on here who've helped me all this way.

And a big thanks to Jim. Without TDP I wouldn't have known about Peninsular diesel. They saved me loads of cash by rebuilding my pump for me, instead of my going to NAPA. They even had all the gaskets I needed to do the job, and even showed me a motor they had on a stand and walked me through it.

You can't get that at any other parts store. :)

I didn't win any races swapping the IP, but I did it and did it right. This is my first real mechanic project. Thanks TDP.

[JohnC]

Thumbs up to ya!

[KidKodiak]

Thanks John.

Tuesday felt like graduation day when I drove off into the sunrise.