vettefest

My car will crank but won't start. First a little history. My car sat in storage for 6 months. Before I stored it changed the oil, and filled gas tank with premium and disconnected the battery.

April connected the battery and tried to start the car. The battery was dead. Replaced the battery. Now the car cranks but won't start. Tried again 3 days later. The battery died. Determined that there must be a draw. It was a loose ground.


I drained the gas tank and filled it with premium.

The car still cranks but won't start. I've opened full throttle and the car still won't start.

I've changed the fuel pump, fuel filter, distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs.

Checked fuel pressure. injectors seem to pulse, I'm getting plenty of spark and fuel pressure.

When I spray starting fluid into the throttle body. The car starts and runs until it dissapates. This is the only way I can get it to start. I floor the gas pedal and it still sputters and dies.

PLEASE HELP !!!!

chicagomods@yahoo.com

SK.LT1

If your car will run on starting fluid,then you have a fuel delivery problem.Possibly your fuel pump is not pumping.I would check the conections to the pump,or the screen filter on the pump.

vettefest

I've installed a new pump

SJW

You don't have an ignition problem. If you did, it wouldn't run on ether.

You don't have a fuel delivery problem. If you did, you wouldn't have fuel pressure at the rail.

You don't have a compression problem. If you did, it wouldn't run on ether.

Your injectors aren't injecting. Check for electrical pulses with a noid light.

Be well,

SJW

madmatt9471

How long ago did you replace the fuel pump?

Is it possible your main pump fuse is blown?

Have you checked the pressure on the line to see if your getting fuel delivery?

Have you checked the TPS senser for voltage?

Despite replacing the fuel pump, at times wird things happen to cars that sit just be careful to check all sytems and if you have a scan tool perhaps you might have a CODE stored you could check! But it does sound like you have a fuel delivery problem and or pulse rpoblem to the injecters. (Remember you need air,fuel,spark to ignite-when you spray starter fluid you are compensating for the your one MISSING element;FUEL-and then it runs)

Hope this will help! Please let us know what you find so if anyone else get's this problem they'll be able to attack it too!

Thanks, Matt

vettefest

I replaced the fuel pump yesterday. I can hear it turn on. I'm really at a loss. Someone told maybe its the fuel pressure regulator or TPS. Are these easy and cost effective repairs?

Thank you,

rick lambert

When you hooked up the fuel pressure guage and turned the key to on..you should have seen 40-42 lbs., but how long did it stay there? if it bled down fast..it's either FP, FPReg. or injectors. You might want to ohm your injectors..they should read around 15-16 ohms, but the main thing is they should all be very close together..1 or more low readings and you'll know what the problem is. You may also want to run a wire from the positive post on your battery to terminal G,on the ALDL,this should activate the fuel pump, just to confirm. BTW, just read the above, you should be able to pull the hose off the FPReg., if you see signs of gas...it tells you it needs replacing.But, I think you should do the pressure test, ohm the injectors and let us know.

SJW

If the fuel pressure at the rail is within spec, forget about a fault with the pump or pressure regulator.

Be well,

SJW

vettefest

The pressure guage says 47. Could it be a vacuum leak?
Could I have a bad MAF or TPS?

rick lambert

And after the key was turned off..how long did the pressure hold???
Anything is possible, but from what I've seen and read, a MAF, or TPS will usually throw a code before it totally pukes.And I wouldn't suspect them to go bad from just sitting. Have you checked for any codes?

SJW

Will it start if you hold the throttle wide open? If not, I'd forget about a vacuum leak.

MAF or TPS? Unlikely for these reasons:

Car ran fine until parked for the winter, then would not come to life

Car runs on ether.

47PSI at the rails exonerates the fuel pump and FPR. Running on ether exonerates the ignition system and any compression-related issues. Look elsewhere.

Lift the covers from the fuel rails, and check for rodent damage to the injector wiring harness.

Get a noid light on the injectors to verify presence/absence of pulses.

How did things look when you were in the tank swapping the pump? Did you see anything ugly? I would ordinarily expect fuel to keep for the few months that this car was stored, but you may have some fuel that went bad, gumming up the injectors, etc. If necessary, hang the injectors over a bucket and see if they spray fuel when you crank the engine (do this carefully, and with a fire bottle handy).

Be well,

SJW

rick lambert

47 lbs does not exonerate anything if the pressure drops rapidly after key is turned off, quite the contrary.If it does drop rapidly it points to either injector(s) fuel pump or pressure regulator.That's why I asked how long it held in the first place.

vettefest

According to my friend we're getting pulse on the injectors. Explain how do I hold the injectors over a bucket? Please forgive me if this is a dumb question.

SJW

I would agree that if the FP falls off quickly after key-off it could cause slow starting. But if it develops 47PSI at the rails, the car should at least start and run.

Be well,

SJW

SJW

Yank the fuel rail and injectors, and hang 'em over a bucket. Crank the engine. Exercise appropriate cautions when working with uncontained fuel (no sparks or open flames, fire bottle handy, etc).

Be well,

SJW

rick lambert

unless he has stuck injector(s) dumping all that fuel and flooding or fouling the plugs with gas.Checking with a noid light only tells him if the injectors are getting the signal, an ohms test will tell if the injector coils are working.And watching HOW long it takes for the pressure to drop will tell him the health of either injectors, regulator or check valve in the fuel pump.That is still my question, how long does the pressure hold?

SJW

Good point, Rick, about flooding due to leaking injectors. But the fact that the car will start when he feeds it ether still makes me think it's a fuel starvation issue, rather than an excessive-fuel issue...

Be well,

SJW

jfb

SJW has it right. Running on starter fluid only proves that the engine is NOT getting fuel, the injectors clearly are not spraying fuel !!!!!!!!!
Use a noid light or a low power 12v lamp and see if the injectors are receiving pulses during cranking (in spite of what your friend told you). Check both injector fuses with an ohmeter.

vettefest

thank you for your help it was the tps/