Is my baby dying?

[RicMan]

Recently my 98 with 236000 miles has been acting up and neither I nor our trusted mechanic can figure out what is wrong with it.

For the longest time I have had small electrical problems that have been very localized (like my headlights cutting off when my blinker turns off until I jiggle the handle, my cigarette lighter outlet is unreliable at best, delivering a varying amount of power) but now I am concerned that these issues may be a sign of a larger electrical problem.

Recently I have had trouble with my engine knocking and "lurching", for lack of a better word. I first noticed this when I was driving in town and my engine would lose power and start to knock at around 2500 rpms and my speedometer seemed to be laggy. Of course, when I took it to the mechanic they could not reproduce the problem.

Fast forward 3 weeks, the same issue happens again but this time at highway speeds and around 3000 rpms.

The weirdest thing about this issue is the unpredictability and inability to recreate the problem.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

I have a video I can upload of the first occurrence if that would help anyone.

 

[thatoneguygeoff]

How does your engine oil look?

 

[RicMan]

Oil is good. I never go past 5,000 without it getting changed. I drive around the southeast a lot and make sure to check the level periodically.

 

[02SE]

As I started reading your post, I was thinking: This sounds like a flood vehicle. Then I get to your sig pic..

I would start by checking every electrical connection and wire on the vehicle for corrosion and continuity.

 

[jgue467]

These vehicles aren't really prone to electrical demons. Have you checked the Basics like well clamped battery connections? How about the wiring after the battery, how does it look? Then continue from there to the fuse boxes and on to the trouble spots. There is no other way unless you've got CEL codes to lean on. Check for continuity and voltage along the way before and after fuses. Luck. :cowboy:

 

[white_n_slow]

And stop bashing through large puddles (avatar pic)

 

[wc11]

Recently my 98 with 236000 miles has been acting up and neither I nor our trusted mechanic can figure out what is wrong with it.

For the longest time I have had small electrical problems that have been very localized (like my headlights cutting off when my blinker turns off until I jiggle the handle, my cigarette lighter outlet is unreliable at best, delivering a varying amount of power) but now I am concerned that these issues may be a sign of a larger electrical problem.

Recently I have had trouble with my engine knocking and "lurching", for lack of a better word. I first noticed this when I was driving in town and my engine would lose power and start to knock at around 2500 rpms and my speedometer seemed to be laggy. Of course, when I took it to the mechanic they could not reproduce the problem.

Fast forward 3 weeks, the same issue happens again but this time at highway speeds and around 3000 rpms.

The weirdest thing about this issue is the unpredictability and inability to recreate the problem.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

I have a video I can upload of the first occurrence if that would help anyone.

Sounds like you have a defective light stalk if you can recreate it by jiggling it.


Minor issue with the lighter. Wear & tear. It cant vary power. It's just intermittent. 12 volts on or off.
Either get a new one and replace it or wire up an auxiliary from the fuse box.

Stalling and/or hesitating could be dirty injectors, throttle body or clogged fuel pump or fuel filter

 

[RicMan]

And stop bashing through large puddles (avatar pic)

Advice I wish I had when I was a young and naive (made for a cool picture though)

 

[St Runner]

Check all your grounds carefully. Take the bolts off check for corrosion and clean the connection. Your symptoms are all over the place but poor grounding could cause all of that.

 

[TheDurk]

Check all your grounds carefully. Take the bolts off check for corrosion and clean the connection. Your symptoms are all over the place but poor grounding could cause all of that.

Really weird electrical problems are almost always poor grounds or low system voltage. Do the above, especially the fender to battery negative and the ground by the diagnostic plug on the engine. Verify that running engine has 13.5 - 14.5 Volts at the battery. Inspect both battery cables, remove and clean terminals. Make sure they are tight.

 

[diverscale]

I doubt the first problems are related to the engine problem

I would firstly do the simple fixes, and see;

Change wires and spark plugs. I would use NGK for both wires and plugs. Always got good results from that. Check battery connexions, loosen and re-tighten the ground, like durk said.

Then look at your ''check engine light'' when you start-up your truck. Does it light up (bulb burnt or not). If it is not burnt, you didn't get a check engine. If it is, scan the truck.

Try those easy fixes, then if it still does it, move over to something else.