1981 350 Idling Problem
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 68
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From: New Hampshire
1981 350 Idling Problem
My 1981 350 has an idling problem that came on suddenly. I typically give the pedal a couple of pumps and it cranks and fires up. I let it warm up and kick the idle down and it runs great. Today it started a little hard, idled rough and the 'CHOKE' and battery lights illuminated on the dashboard. While it was idling, I noticed that the battery gauge reading looked high. It does have a battery shut off switch that I use.
What could be causing this?
Thanks
Ken
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 68
Likes: 12
From: New Hampshire
I have an update. On Sunday my wife and I took the Vette for a very long ride. It fired right up and the CHOKE light came on but the battery light did not. The CHOKE light stayed on for a few miles and went out and never came back on all day and the car ran great. As I was backing into the garage, after the ride, my wife said that her window went up slowly and pointed out that the battery gauge was at zero. I turned off the engine and tried to restart it but the battery was dead. I took the battery out, charged it and had it load tested this afternoon and the battery is fine. I'll now be looking for an alternator.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Might be bad battery cable[s] or corroded connections. Sounds like some grounding paths are getting confused. Check all ground connections and cables.
Old cables can have internal 'rot' where the strands have become corroded and deteriorated. Usually this is near a terminal where water can get inside the end of the insulation sheath. So dig around a bit with a pick or small screwdriver to assess the condition of wire adjacent to terminals or connectors. Best to remove all joints, clean them and put some dielectric grease on them before re-installing.
Old cables can have internal 'rot' where the strands have become corroded and deteriorated. Usually this is near a terminal where water can get inside the end of the insulation sheath. So dig around a bit with a pick or small screwdriver to assess the condition of wire adjacent to terminals or connectors. Best to remove all joints, clean them and put some dielectric grease on them before re-installing.
