1995 blazer - engine stalls, gauges and brakes act up

[jbreitbach]

This is a 95 blazer with the 4.3, 4x4, 80,000 miles....actually my brother's truck that is at my house while his reserve unit is active over seas.

Anyway, Basic Problem....the engine stalls and won't restart...has happened when started/running cold or after its warmed up. The longer you let it sit after it stalls the more likely it seems to be to restart. How long it runs varies and seems independant of being in/out of gear, having your foot on the gas or brake. There are a few weird quirks that accompany the engine stalling...when its running the brake pedal goes soft as soon as the engine starts to stumble...and when I say soft I mean to the floor....if you pump it twice it gets hard again, though by now the engine has stalled and you have no power assist. I have found no brake leaks, and the fluid level is good...and the brakes are fine when the engine is running fine. Also, when the engine starts to stumble the tachometer and speedometer gauges peg wide open or close to it...even if parked.

I have no menas of checking codes, and its not driveable enough to get it somewhere to do so. Battery is good, tank is full, and when its running, runs great.

I am a pretty good wrench, but an electrical gremlin like this is byond my diagnostic abilities....I am hopping some one tells me this is simple problem from a bad ground or a faulty sensor somewhere....but where to start...?

Thanks in advance for any help.
John

[douglas vance]

Just a quick suggestion just in case you think no one is reading your problem. I had the identical symptoms with an old Porsche 924 that I had repaired by a garage for a blown head gasket. After I got it back I had very erratic gauges pegging and engine stalling. I finally found a large cable floating above the engine with an end connection that looked like it belonged to someplace. I grounded it and all my problems went away. Sorry I can't suggest where to look on your Blazer. I'll look tomorrow and see if I can find a ground wire somewhere on my '88 Blazer.!

Originally Posted by jbreitbach

This is a 95 blazer with the 4.3, 4x4, 80,000 miles....actually my brother's truck that is at my house while his reserve unit is active over seas.

Anyway, Basic Problem....the engine stalls and won't restart...has happened when started/running cold or after its warmed up. The longer you let it sit after it stalls the more likely it seems to be to restart. How long it runs varies and seems independant of being in/out of gear, having your foot on the gas or brake. There are a few weird quirks that accompany the engine stalling...when its running the brake pedal goes soft as soon as the engine starts to stumble...and when I say soft I mean to the floor....if you pump it twice it gets hard again, though by now the engine has stalled and you have no power assist. I have found no brake leaks, and the fluid level is good...and the brakes are fine when the engine is running fine. Also, when the engine starts to stumble the tachometer and speedometer gauges peg wide open or close to it...even if parked.

I have no menas of checking codes, and its not driveable enough to get it somewhere to do so. Battery is good, tank is full, and when its running, runs great.

I am a pretty good wrench, but an electrical gremlin like this is byond my diagnostic abilities....I am hopping some one tells me this is simple problem from a bad ground or a faulty sensor somewhere....but where to start...?

Thanks in advance for any help.
John