97 T100 starting problems????

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Lately my truck has had difficulty starting. The first time it happened it sounded like the battery was dead. I clicked it several time and it started right up, plenty of juice. The next time it did it again and I noticed that it seemed to be trying to backfire or I had to click it until it reached a downstroke. I got to poking around under the hood and found that if I removed the vacuum line from that little box on the drivers side wheel well that it would turn over easily once again. When I connect the line again it gives me about 5-6 starts and then starts acting up again. What's up with this?

Thanks,

Alan

[BamZipPow]

Can you post a piccie of this box yer talking about?

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

The "Box" is the "Charcoal Canister" and the lines that I disconnect are the vacuum lines going into and out of it.

Alan

[new echo owner]

Do you mean your truck start easier if you create a vacuum leak? Is the engine turning over at all when you try to start it ?

N.E.O.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

With the lines connected it goes: click-click-click werrr-click werrrrrruuhhh-clickrunhhh and starts.

With the lines disconnected it goes: clickrunnhhhh and starts, then runs like heck until I get he lines hooked up again.

Then it will start normally for 5-6 more starts. Then back to the first scenario.

Alan

[new echo owner]

So the starter just clicks but won't turn the engine over? Have you try removing the gas cap to see if it makes any difference?

N.E.O.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

It will eventually turn the engine over but it takes several tries. No I have not tried removing the gas cap.

Alan

[new echo owner]

From your description, it sounds like you have a starter problem, possible bad contacts; however, can't explain why disconnecting the hoses would help in getting the engine started.

N.E.O.

[BamZipPow]

If yer flexplate is cracked/warped...it could cause the starter problems cranking the engine...

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

The starter is less than one year old. I do not believe it is the starter. I check the starter for tightness and electrical contacts. All cables and wires are tight and in good shape. The thing that prompted me to experiment with the vacuum hoses was that periodically in the past one or more of them would come loose when I was starting the truck. There is some kind of back-pressure that would blow them off. The truck would run rough and that's how I would know that they had come off.

Thanks for the replies.

Alan