skullandbones

I took the vert out for a Saturday drive up into the mountains for a visit to the Arboretum for a little nature hike. Oh well. It didn't turn out to be that way at all. About 5 miles from the house, it just stopped running so I pulled over to the left side as we hadn't even gotten off the entrance ramp yet. It had stopped abruptly in the neighborhood which was odd but I just restarted it and went on. So after a not so good experience with my auto club and tow company, I got it back and into the garage about three hours later.

So here's where I am with this issue. The battery is dead after all the activities on the road (trying to start and hazard lights, etc). I think the battery is sub optimal so it may require a new one. But first I will be charging it up to usable status. If it starts after this, I will be upset and very confused. I don't expect that to happen. The only other time this sort of thing happened with a EFI car was when my Nissan truck had a failed fuel pump. It was pretty simple to trouble shoot. I'm not expecting this to be that straight forward being a vette. I've heard the circuitry is more complicated.

If I can't hear the pump when I first try to start, I will probably apply 12 volts directly at the tank to see if it works and pressurizes. I will check the pressure at the shrader valve on the rail if I can find it. I have not studied up on the FSM yet. I suppose if I can get the pump to operate directly, it could be a relay. I believe that is under the dash if my memory is correct. If my pressure is not very high, it could be the pump crapping out. They don't always stop completely and running doesn't necessarily mean it's actually pumping. I know there a lot of possibilities including it could be non pump related. I will also check to see if I am getting spark just to be sure.

Wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with their 91 L98 vette. I would rather eliminate as many possibilities as I can before starting to throw parts at it. If it is the fuel pump is there one on the market that is favored? I don't want this to be a serial experience.

Thank you,

WEK.

alankb

After being gone all summer. my 88 was dead. I jump started it and went to move it, thinking the alt would keep her running.....wrong. After about 5 minutes I had to jump start again! Battery is less than a year old and after a long trickle charge all seems OK. FWIW.. I learned long ago you can't start testing things until you have a fully charged battery.

skullandbones

alankb,

I agree. I will have to sort out the battery issue first. We have such extreme conditions here in the "valley of the sun" that batteries usually don't last very long. So I expect I will have to change this one out before I really get started trouble shooting.

Thanks,

WEK.

hcbph

There are those that like trickle chargers, personally I have a battery disconnect on my car so when it's not being used it's easy to unhook the battery. That keeps the battery from running down due to natural draw on the battery.

Having said that, without a fully charged battery IMO you're not going to be able to do a proper diagnostic check as it can affect your results. Same thing with driving, if the battery is down it can affect the way your vehicle operates.

81c3

I would say after you get the battery up to par, check fuel pressure at the fuel rail. Then check for codes. If you have an LT1, start thinking possible Optispark..... especially if it starts right up after the battery is charged. Anytime I had an opti go bad, it was hit or miss.... sometimes it would start fine, other times not.

kael

Get the battery load checked first, don't assume it's good or bad. I took mine to NAPA to turn in when getting a new battery, they load tested and told me, nope, you don't need a new one. Surprised and Happy.

JrRifleCoach

First thing to remember is the alternator was not designed to charge a dead battery. To do so will shorten the life of the alt. Always keep a float charger hooked up when you're not driving the car. Unless its a DD.

AND you are very correct to ensure the battery is fully charged/healthy before troubleshooting!

Cjunkie

Just buy a new one they are cheap enough and you live in AZ why play around?
When I drove through your state a couple time this past July it was hot everywhere except Flagstaff.

skullandbones

This is slightly off topic but it may help to get the on going battery issue settled. I have a remote battery post setup in the trunk of my Cobra replica. It makes it very easy to keep the battery charged by raising the trunk lid and hooking the trickle charger in the garage which is also insulated so it keeps the car in a sub 95 degree environment. However, the Corvette which is in it's barn out back, I don't have this setup. Would a cigarette lighter plug arrangement attached to a solar panel work to keep the battery topped off? I have that device but have never used it. It sure would be easier than raising the hood and setting up the trickle charger on the engine. It's just a pain in the a** to do and undo. Also, I don't have as much room to maneuver in the close quarters of my Corvette garage (converted from a 12x20 barn). When I do get the battery issue solved, I need to have a convenient way of keeping it up to par. I've noticed I am not as diligent about trickle charging it as I am the the other car. In our extreme environment here in AZ you can ruin a battery pretty quickly.

PS: we have almost continuous sunny days here so a solar panel actually works. I have the yard ornaments to prove it.

Thanks,

WEK.

confab

If the alternator is charging it should be putting out about 14 volts. A quick multimeter check is a good place to begin with these things.

I had a cheap solar thing from Harbor Freight someone gave me. I dunno if it really charged the battery or not, but it seemed to offset the parasitic load from sitting for short periods.

Good luck!!!

skullandbones

These units I have are premium grade as they were marine items for the boating industry. I will have to find the paperwork to get the specs but I can use the multimeter to see how the output is.

Thanks,

WEK.

Yukon Corleone

I have unfortunately been in the same situation where I was stuck on the side of the road or blocking a lane traffic another time. I did have the fuel pump go out in one of those situations not sure if that's what your problem is but once you get the battery fixed you can check it out. Once the fuel pump was fixed everything was fine but at the time I did not know what it was. The car actually died out twice that night. I had it towed to the dealership and when they went to go check it out it started right up. It's took them a little bit to figure out what is wrong but they were able to do it and they fixed it and it runs perfectly fine now. That was 2007.

topfuel67

My friends vette had the issue of being incredibly difficult to start and then would die after seeming to be running fine. Ended up being the icm. My 89 was running fine. I did my oil pan, trans pan, valve cover gaskets etc, and when I finished she was difficult to start and then would die. I replaced the ICM and she runs perfect.

ghoastrider1

Jr Rifle Coach is spot on about the alt. not designed to charge a dead battery.
One othert thing comes to mind and I am not sure this fits your car. If it was (your car) older, I would check to make sure its getting spark to the plugs. Sometimes a coil will act like that when going out. Best of luck.