Hey guys,
I know, I know, not a Mustang blah blah, I need some help with my Sonoma.
I recently bought a beater 95 TBI 4.3L Sonoma and have begun to have a no-start issue that I cannot for the life of me figure out.
-2nd day after I bought it, the truck would not start. Hit it with a small squirt of starting fluid and it fired right and drove around fine for a couple weeks after. The truck has been sitting so I thought maybe it had some gunk in the lines, added some fuel cleaner in it and have been driving it a lot over this past weekend problem free, adding fresh gas every time it got down to 3/4 tank, no issues for nearly a week
-Went to get into it yesterday, and same issue, would not start. Came back home after work, hit it with starting fluid and it ran fine. Drove up and down the road and came home, let it idle for a few minutes. Shut it off, started right back up on its own. Let it idle for a few more minutes while checking a few things out, shut it off and tried again and no start.
-Thought fuel pump might be on its way out so bought one and when I got in it to move it to my shop today, it fired right up again. Drove it down the road and back, let it sit, shut it off. No start. Went ahead and changed the fuel pump thinking maybe it was just getting weak and not 100% done yet but no change with new pump.
-Watched TBI setup while cranking and it does not look like the injectors are spraying anything on start-up. Once started with starting fluid, fuel is very noticeable.
-Little bit of Google research pointed to possible ignition module failure. Replaced it, no change.
Some things I noticed while messing with all this:
-I'm not 100% sure the fuel pump primes when turning the key on first. The buzzer in the cab is too loud to really notice for certain by myself, but I'm pretty sure I have heard it at least a few times. The fuel pump does pump while the key is being turned and the truck is cranking over and the pump will continue to run for around 2 seconds after you stop cranking. I would think that if I had a fuel pump relay/fuse issue, the pump would not run at all.
-The cap, rotor, and well the rest of the distributor look like shit. I do not believe I have any sort of spark issue simply because it will fire up on starting fluid and runs great but if the ignition module is something that could cause a no-fuel at startup problem, then it seems like it could be a possibility.
-TBI setup does not have typical Schrader valve (WTF Chevy!?), not sure if Fuel Pressure tester at work has adapters for it or not. If we do, I will check my pressure tomorrow evening and see what's up.
tl;dr version: Stupid Chevy cranks but doesn't start. Will start on starting fluid. Runs fine once started. New fuel pump, new ignition module, no change. Ideas?
I know, I know, not a Mustang blah blah, I need some help with my Sonoma.
I recently bought a beater 95 TBI 4.3L Sonoma and have begun to have a no-start issue that I cannot for the life of me figure out.
-2nd day after I bought it, the truck would not start. Hit it with a small squirt of starting fluid and it fired right and drove around fine for a couple weeks after. The truck has been sitting so I thought maybe it had some gunk in the lines, added some fuel cleaner in it and have been driving it a lot over this past weekend problem free, adding fresh gas every time it got down to 3/4 tank, no issues for nearly a week
-Went to get into it yesterday, and same issue, would not start. Came back home after work, hit it with starting fluid and it ran fine. Drove up and down the road and came home, let it idle for a few minutes. Shut it off, started right back up on its own. Let it idle for a few more minutes while checking a few things out, shut it off and tried again and no start.
-Thought fuel pump might be on its way out so bought one and when I got in it to move it to my shop today, it fired right up again. Drove it down the road and back, let it sit, shut it off. No start. Went ahead and changed the fuel pump thinking maybe it was just getting weak and not 100% done yet but no change with new pump.
-Watched TBI setup while cranking and it does not look like the injectors are spraying anything on start-up. Once started with starting fluid, fuel is very noticeable.
-Little bit of Google research pointed to possible ignition module failure. Replaced it, no change.
Some things I noticed while messing with all this:
-I'm not 100% sure the fuel pump primes when turning the key on first. The buzzer in the cab is too loud to really notice for certain by myself, but I'm pretty sure I have heard it at least a few times. The fuel pump does pump while the key is being turned and the truck is cranking over and the pump will continue to run for around 2 seconds after you stop cranking. I would think that if I had a fuel pump relay/fuse issue, the pump would not run at all.
-The cap, rotor, and well the rest of the distributor look like shit. I do not believe I have any sort of spark issue simply because it will fire up on starting fluid and runs great but if the ignition module is something that could cause a no-fuel at startup problem, then it seems like it could be a possibility.
-TBI setup does not have typical Schrader valve (WTF Chevy!?), not sure if Fuel Pressure tester at work has adapters for it or not. If we do, I will check my pressure tomorrow evening and see what's up.
tl;dr version: Stupid Chevy cranks but doesn't start. Will start on starting fluid. Runs fine once started. New fuel pump, new ignition module, no change. Ideas?