Help! Car quit...
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 86
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From: Hampstead North Carolina
Help! Car quit...
while going down the street today. I turned on the air conditioner and it just died. Now it won't start. I checked for spark (arc bewteen screwdriver and header). It seems to be fuel delivery since I put carb cleaner in the TB and it fired up for a second. I will start tomorrow with fuel pressure and throttle position sensor/switch. Does anybody have any idea if the TPS can be tested with a voltmeter. I know it has to be set as I have replaced it before. Any other things I should check on? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,212
Likes: 10
From: Sun City West Az
Re: Help! Car quit... (Skydiver)
With it fireing up with carb cleaner, I'd suspect the fuel sysetem. Get a pressure guage on the schrader with the key on to see what kind of pressure the fuel pump is making.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,952
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From: Little Rock Arkansas
Re: Help! Car quit... (ittlfly)
The fuel pump should prime for 3 seconds and then shut off when you turn the key to "on"...Then once it sees oil pressure during start it will turn on. Before you check to see if there's fuel at the rail; go look at your fuel pump fuse... It sounds pretty coincidental that you cleaned the t-body; but if the TPS is WAAAYY off it may not start. However, check the fuse first; if it's fine check the ECM fuse, if it's fine then look to see if you have pressure at the rail. You can check the voltage on your TPS; it should be set around .5 V closed and should increase to 1 V or a little less as you open the throttle; if it doesn't you have a TPS problem. I'm betting fuel though, unless you've had an ignition module go south. Sometimes they will still have a very weak spark but not enough to withstand the A/F load. It could be several things; hard to diagnose a problem online.
-Jeb
-Jeb
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
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From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Re: Help! Car quit... (Skydiver)
First check if you have any stored error codes. If TPS and fuel pressure are ok, then put a low power 12v lamp across each injector socket and crank the engine. You should see the lamp pulse indicating that the ECM is pulsing the injectors.
[Modified by jfb, 10:54 PM 6/17/2003]
[Modified by jfb, 10:54 PM 6/17/2003]
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 86
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From: Hampstead North Carolina
Re: Help! Car quit... (Skydiver)
Gentlemen, thanks for the quick response. Here's an update. I checked all the fuses with a tester and visually and they are okay. There is no fuel pressure at the rail. I can't hear the pump running out back, so I know it is either the pump or a pump fuse/relay. Are there any other relays (i.e., under the hood or anywhere other than the fuse panel) that control the fuel pump? I am going to pull the pump tomorrow and apply 12v to it to see if it runs. Any thoughts? Thanks.
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Joined: Mar 2000
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From: Hampstead North Carolina
Re: Help! Car quit... (Skydiver)
Update. I have tested the fuel pump out of the vehicle and it runs fine. I replaced the relay and checked all fuses. I am not getting a reading on my voltmeter at the relay. Additionally, I only read 1.2 volts at the pump. Does anyone have any new suggestions on what to check. I beleive my problem is before the relay, but I am not sure.
