Questions and Answers
Good Jump Gone Bad?
Q. Hi, I have an 1981 Z-28, which needed a jump start, I used an 1988 Chevy Blazer with a 4.3 liter TBI, A/T, P/S and other options. I have done many jump starts as well and never had a problem I checked the manual on the Blazer and connected everything appropriately.
My problem is after jump starting, I disconnected the cables shut off the Blazer for about 10 minutes, restarted it and put it into reverse and it stalled, would not start again. I then popped off the distributor cap, which had moisture in it and all the contacts were badly tarnished (has not had a tune-up in two years), I replaced the rotor and cap, still no spark, put a new coil in as well, no spark. I then proceeded to check the module in the distributor, when taking it out I noticed that the electrical connector coming off from the pick up coil that plugs into the module was corroded and may have grounded out. I went and bought a Chiltons book and performed a diagnostic on the ECM. It gave a reference pulse only which according to the book is normal.
We had the car towed. The mechanic that has done work on the vehicle in the past said that when I jump started the car I caused a spike to feed back through the cable and I blew the computer, so we had him replace the ECM, CALPAK & PROM. He called back later that day and said that it still was not getting a spark and that he would have to replace the module, so we had him replace that as well. Still no spark, and he calls my roommate and tells her that it now needs a distributor. So we have the distributor replaced, and now we have spark.
My roommate drives the car to work the next day, the vehicle stalls and won't stay running, so we have it towed back to the same shop, the mechanic says that a fuel line ruptured and has to be replaced, vehicle is running again, she drives to work the next day and the same thing happens again, so she has it towed elsewhere and they are saying that it is her throttle body that it is not allowing air into the engine. This is turning out to be the most expensive jump start in history, I hope it is all coincidental, I don't see how jump starting could have caused all these problems (the fuel line), and it did not sound like it was the computer to me, or would not it have had spark after replacing? Well let me know what you think, I appreciate it.
Shawn
A. I don't know Shawn, it seems like they replaced everything there is to replace.
The possibility of a voltage spike taking out the ECM is always a possibility, but if you did indeed hook up the jumper cables correctly, then the chances of that are small. If it was replaced and the car still didn't start, then it's safe to assume that was not the problem and the ECM was replaced needlessly. Same with the other parts.
I would say at first glance that the diagnostic skills of the first mechanic leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like all he did was to keep throwing parts at the problem until it was fixed. A very expensive way to find a problem to be sure.
As for the fuel line rupturing, that would be coincidence, if it did rupture. That would be pretty easy to determine just using your sense of smell. If the line ruptured, it would have pumped out enough fuel to create a very noticeable puddle and smell.
I don't know what to say. It is possible the jump did cause a spike and burned out the items that were replaced and maybe not. It's possible the mechanic did a proper diagnosis and replaced bad parts as he found them. I know I have had similar situations where I tested a system and found more than one bad part. You have to replace the first bad part just to finish checking the rest of the system.
If it were me, I would have replaced all the parts that tested bad until the car was running. Then I would go back and retest the bad parts so I could confirm they were indeed bad. When I was certain of all of my facts, then I would call the customer and inform them of what I found and the cost of repair.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
