'94 Chevy S-10 pickup won't idle and dies when given more gas

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Here’s one for you guys. Chevy S-10 pickup V-6 and haven’t had any engine trouble to speak of. 195,000 miles on the clock.



Driving home from work, truck begins to idle very roughly, give it more gas and it changes nothing and then dies while stopped at a light. Start up the truck and it’s running fine.



I go about 3 blocks and then it starts to run very rough, give it more gas and it changes nothing and then it dies.



Pull to side of road, start it up and it’s running fine and then three blocks later it dies again.



BTW I replaced the spark plugs about 5 weeks ago and it has been running fine until today.



Any suggestions or hints as to what is going wrong with my engine? Thanks for the help.

2

Check your ignition module.

3

I was afraid it might be some of that electrical stuff. Thanks for the tip, I’m going to remove it and get it tested.

Someone at work mentioned that the coil might also be to blame, is this a possibility and how do I test it?

Thanks for the help.

4

Sounds like a lack of fuel to me. A dirty fuel filter has those symptoms.

5

I pulled the ignition module and had it tested and it passed so that’s not the problem.

Thanks for the fuel filter info, I’m going to get a new one tonight and install it.

Man,I hope that is the problem and that a new fuel filter will fix it.

6

Thanks for the help man.

I put in the new fuel filter and so far so good! Engine idles fine and I haven’t stalled yet.

I love it when $8 fixes work.

Thank you Car Talk guys for having such a great website!

7

Just wanted to say thanks again for helping me fix my truck. The engine is running better than I can remember for a long time. It just passed its smog test and I can’t stop smiling when I’m driving thinking about how much money I saved by fixing it myself.

You know your car repairs sir!

8

This is what we (me) like …feedback! It’s even better when it’s positive feedback.

For anyone who has a vehicle with more that 50,000 miles, and it starts to sputter to a stop, change the fuel filter. Even, if that doesn’t fix it, you’ll know that it’s NOT the fuel filter. If you don’t, you won’t know.