stranded won't start

[DMC3165]

Ok so i've been having Ã* persistant cold start issue that no one can seem to figure out. Well now I'm dead in the water and it just won't run. It's been idling low until it warms up. It was doing that for about a minute today when I tried to drive away and it stalled. I tried to start it again and all it did was crank. I got some ether and gave it a shot and it ran on the ether and then quit. I tried this 2 more times but no luck and don't really like using ether so I gave up. Any suggestions?

[dmc6960]

Does it start if you give it partial throttle? What about the plug swap? Both?

[DMC3165]

What plug swap? No foot to floor and it won't start

[dmc6960]

What plug swap? No foot to floor and it won't start

The "plug swap" is a method of forcing the cold-start valve to fire continuously. Its a quick and dirty method of starting the engine if you have warm or hot start issues. It also works for cold starts with faulty thermo-time switches.

To do the plug swap, remove the blue and grey connectors from the cold start valve and the CPR respectively. Plug the grey plug into the cold start valve, and leave the blue one dangling. Go start the engine, and if it does start immediately go back to the engine and unplug the grey connector from the cold start. Since the cold start would be running continuously in this situation you need to remove it as soon as possible to prevent flooding the engine. Also, avoid prolonged cranking with this setup, because it'll bypass the thermo-time switches 7-second cutoff for the cold start valve.

If it STILL does not start with partial throttle, and swapped plugs, BUT it DOES starts for a second with ether, then your fuel pump isn't delivering the goods, and this problem is unrelated to your previous problems. At that point start fuel pump troubleshooting (jump RPM relay, check inertia switch, etc).

[DMC3165]

The "plug swap" is a method of forcing the cold-start valve to fire continuously. Its a quick and dirty method of starting the engine if you have warm or hot start issues. It also works for cold starts with faulty thermo-time switches.

To do the plug swap, remove the blue and grey connectors from the cold start valve and the CPR respectively. Plug the grey plug into the cold start valve, and leave the blue one dangling. Go start the engine, and if it does start immediately go back to the engine and unplug the grey connector from the cold start. Since the cold start would be running continuously in this situation you need to remove it as soon as possible to prevent flooding the engine. Also, avoid prolonged cranking with this setup, because it'll bypass the thermo-time switches 7-second cutoff for the cold start valve.

If it STILL does not start with partial throttle, and swapped plugs, BUT it DOES starts for a second with ether, then your fuel pump isn't delivering the goods, and this problem is unrelated to your previous problems. At that point start fuel pump troubleshooting (jump RPM relay, check inertia switch, etc).

Ok swapped plugs and no good even with ether. Where is the rpm relay and how do I jump it.

[dmc6960]

Ok swapped plugs and no good even with ether. Where is the rpm relay and how do I jump it.

RPM relay is in the electrical compartment behind the passenger seat. It mounts under the metal tray furthest to the rear of the car. Its possible it could also be sitting loose in that vacinity. It may be black or green. It has a 6-pin connector on it. Unplug the wiring harness from it, then jump the BROWN wire with the WHITE/PURPLE wire. They are at opposite corners of each other. Dont let this touch a vehicle ground, that brown wire is live 12V at all times. Also check the condition of Fuse #7 while your in there, thats the power source for that brown wire. Once jumped, you should now here the fuel pump running continuously. If you cannot hear it at all (put your head down in the spare tire well to check for sure) then the fuel pump either died or something else is preventing it from getting power. If you DO hear it, great. Make sure your cold start and CPR plugs are back to normal and try starting the engine.

[uhhair]

This is sounding like a fuel pump issue at this point.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?1155-How-To-Jump-the-RPM-Relay&highlight=rpm+relay

That shows how to jump the relay.

[TTait]

This is sounding like a fuel pump issue at this point.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?1155-How-To-Jump-the-RPM-Relay&highlight=rpm+relay

That shows how to jump the relay.


I agree. If you remove the air filter box you will find a 4" round opening into the throttle body. Turn the key from off to run, wait 1 second, back to off, and repeat 5 times. See if you can hear the fuel pump priming for about a second each time. Then go back and push gently on the round disk at the center of the round opening and see if it offers a pound or two of resistance, or if it just pops down with no resistance.

If you feel resistance, the fuel pump is building pressure, if not, your fuel pump is not turning on. Its a quick check - and it tells us a lot...

Even if the pump works you may not be getting sufficient pressure to run the engine. the Inlet hose on the bottom of the fuel pump could have collapsed, or the filter screen at the end could be clogged as well, but check for pressure at that disk and let us know.

[DMC3165]

It was the pump. Replaced it and it fired right up. Thanks for the help guys. It saved me a tow :-)