The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay electric power drop while accelerating ?!?!

alright. I start the truck, all good. then hit the gas, electric power drops (radio cuts out). drive at constant speed, not too much trouble. that is until yesterday, no it sounds like when I hit the gas (going from 35 to 45 for example) the engine has a few misses. my guess is that there's something off with the distibutor, does that make sense?

seetz,

You might be right...it does sound like your engine is missing under load. I'm not quite sure how this ties in with the radio or 'power drops' but those could be clues.

If the engine is missing under load, the plug wires could be bad, which would (could) create some static on your radio..this might be a connection.

If you haven't tuned the rig up in eons, it might be worth checking the plugs, wires and ignition system. The problem could be carburetion too.

I would start with the simple spark plugs first. If nothing else, make sure they are new and gapped properly and that the plug wires are not crispy and broken. If the wires are old and leaking, they can crossfire under load and cause problems.

Do a little more research and see if you can pin it down. Static on the radio can be a troubleshooting tool too, but don't let it lead you astray.

Stuart

thanks, I'll start with that. but there's no static on the radio, it cuts out completely. it's actually a modern radio/cd player, and i shuts off completely. the wiring on it is good, I know that 100% sure. I accelerate, it shuts off then is on real fast again. I was thinking then when rev the engine, there's some big current draw somewhere, and that's when I started thinking about the distributor. pfff, I don't like this problem too much

Is there a good ground strap between the motor and the frame?

Seetz,

With the modern solid state radio unit, my thought is it might be much more sensitive to over voltage than under voltage. I don't know what kind of charging system your truck has..if you have a voltmeter you might take a check!

I would start out treating these problems as unrelated, and look for the cause of your stumbling by itself.

Stuart

Posibly a loose or broken wire around the engine. When the engine torques to one side under acell. it loses contact. With the engine running & the radio on move the wires connected around the engine to see if you can duplicate it.