My pickup started acting goofy the other night. Went to start it at -25*F, wouldn't start....strange, because it almost always starts, no matter the weather. Battery didn't seem to be real strong, so I threw a trickle charger on it that night. Went to start it up the next night, at around 30*F, and kind of the same thing....wouldn't crank long without the battery wanting to give up, but could get it running if I gave it just a little gas. It would keep running as long as I fed it just a little gas. Let off the gas, and it would sputter and die. This was the first year Chevy ran EFI on the V10, and I was careful not to flood it.

I took the battery out last night, thinking maybe it was the 2015 battery that had finally gone bad. Noticed some corrosion on the negative terminal, but the pickup had been running fine a few days prior to all this, so didn't think much of it. Charged the battery back up, then load tested it, and the load test actually shows it's a good battery still. Now I'm scratching my head....why wouldn't the pickup keep running? Even if the corrosion was bad enough to break the connection, once the pickup was running, wouldn't the alternator still be able to keep it running for the time-being? A few days ago I left it running in the driveway for about an hour just to warm up and let the alternator charge up the battery a little. I know an hour is long, but I got busy with my kids and wife in the house and forgot about it for a bit. Any ideas from the Tman crew?

I'm getting a new battery tonight just in case. A seven year old battery isn't going to have a whole lot of life left in it, and this is my icefishing and coyote hunting pickup, so I need it to be reliable.

Should I start looking at spark plugs and plug wires? Test the alternator?

Fuel filter?

Learn something new every day I guess. I was confused when I first read your post, I had never heard of a Chevy V10. Its their designation for the truck, not the engine. Thought I had missed something.

As to you problem, is the throttle body and/or idle control valve dirty? This can cause it to not get enough air to idle, but when you give it a little gas, you are also opening up the throttle plate a bit.

Some batteries you have to clean the corrosion off about every 2 months. Like farm tractors exposed to poultry manure. I hope you get it figured out. I know I am not very helpful.

Sorry, I guess I should have made that a little more clear. It's a V8, 5.7L 350. I'm not very mechanically inclined. I'm not even sure what a throttle body or idle control valve look like to be real honest with you. I'll have to do some research.

As far as I know, there is no fuel filter...there may be one on the pump in the tank, but I don't recall. I replaced the tank and pump (pump is inside the tank) about 6-7 years ago, as the tank had a pin-hole leak. LMC Truck shows their fuel filter selection is for carb models only.

The throttle body is under the air cleaner. There are two butterfly plates that open and close with throttle, right under the 2 big fuel injectors. They like to carbon up and get sticky. I am not super familiar with those throttle bodies (I got all the cadillac warranty work in those years), not sure exactly what the idle control valve looks like.

There should be a fuel filter along the truck frame underneath the truck. Somewhere where it gets good and rusty.

can you keep it running on starting fluid?

if so , fuel is the issue

then it is a why is fuel the issue

Sounds like not getting fuel. Fuel filter is where I would start. Dont booger up the fasteners.
Look it up on rock auto website if you need to see what one looks like.

Try unplugging coolant temp sensor. It will give you starting problems and running problems when bad.

had one go bad. the computer thought it was -40 degrees out when it was 85. replaced it and it ran like a champ(on a 94 z71)

What side of the engine is the coolant temp sensor on?

Going to try that on mine if I can find it.
Wish I could have you guys over lol.

Same here!!! We'd have 'er spinnin' like a top in no time! Also, my wallet would be empty

Should be on the intake manifold iirc

Sir, first off some of those truck were /are notorious for starter selinoid (sp) trouble due to the plastic tops on them being so close to the exhaust manifold, don't know if yours is one of those.

Second a little less known but still widely known problem with that generation of EFI is the computers tendencies to have a small amount of corrosion at the connection points causing incorrect voltages to be relaid to the EFI system therefore causing a very hard time in determining the problem.

Now for the really bad news, the only way to make the correct determination is to find a mechanic with the proper diagnostic pig tale for that vehicle, many will have a generic pig tail but one for that specific truck is what is needed. The voltages are in the milli-micro voltages or amps. Don't recall which, it will be expensive up front but will save money in the long term, if you decide to keep the truck. And if you do have to replace the computer do not buy used, same problem different day insist on new.

I know it's not what you want to hear but that's all I got. I did my best, good luck.
Case.

I would bet it's the distributor cap and rotor. I bet there's a hairpin crack allowing moisture to get in.

On mine the temp sensor is between first two spark plugs on drivers side.
Unplugged it and no start. Plugged back in and no start. Dang computers lol.

Thanks fellas. I'll be picking up a new battery tonight to see if that makes any difference after cleaning the terminals. Then if there are still issues, I'll replace the fuel filter, and look at the distributor cap and coolant temp sensor and possibly the throttle body and idle control valves. I'll report back in a few days if I have time to work on it.