Pulled into the gas station this afternoon to fill up. Upon filling the car refused to start but cranked fine. Having just done intercoolers I thought perhaps I'd popped a hose off. I pulled the electrical connector off the MAF and tugged the intercooler hoses which all felt secure. Turned the key and it fired right up, I figured the MAF might also be dead. Drove the car home, shut it off, plugged in the MAF and it started fine! Puzzled I shut it off and tried again, no start. I pulled the MAF connector again and it refused to start. Rolled it up to the garage and tried again, fired right up. WTF?!

I haven't got a laptop with Durametric handy but am going to work on it, what should I be looking for other than codes? Does the ECU track fuel pressure? I've got a spare MAF but after it not starting with the existing one unplugged I'm not sure that's the issue. Reading John's issues with his pump has me wondering if my pump has decided to take a hike too.

Summary: cranks but doesn't start intermittently MAF plugged or unplugged. Hasn't ever set a CEL in the past.

 

One thing you can check, and it's fairly easy, is the fuel pump lines in the tank, otherwise known as the "Octopus". I seem to recall some people having issues with the stock fuel pump hoses "splitting" in the tank. The factory hoses "split", and leak in the tank, losing pressure and volume. Just pop the cover off and take a look inside. Better to take it out and inspect it anyway. Even if you have to pop it out, not too bad.

 

First pic of first post.


https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-pictures.html

 

Naturally I have returned home and the car starts as if nothing has happened, MAF plugged in or not. I can hear the pump priming with a slight touch of groan that seems to come from someplace other than under the plastic cover. There's some hot glue on the retaining ring that's been cut so I think someone has been in there at least once - not me. Hard to troubleshoot this if it refuses to act up and knowing my luck it will fail again in bumper to bumper on a two lane road I have to take

Pulling the assembly out for inspection seems wise to me, I'm going to hold off on swapping in the MAF for now. Irish also told me to check the battery cables and that seems a prudent thing to do but not tonight! Car has been rock solid so this is annoying when it's so close to getting the fuel system seriously upgraded with SRM parts and pumps. Appreciate the response!

 

have you checked the fuses? it looks like fuel to me. if the car cranks, and wont start, spark/fuel. you may have some shortage.

 

If the MAF has a failure mode that will prevent the engine from starting I've never come across it in all the posts. 'course, there is always a first time. But what I have gathered is while a bad MAF may cause the the engine to run poorly it won't cause the engine to not run at all.

My WAG is there are two possible explanations. The first is an intermittent fuel supply problem. The pump and hoses are probably fine. The fuel pump relay could be marginal.

You can throw a new relay at the behavior if you want. Wouldn't hurt to check the electrical lines at the fuel pump to make sure all are secure in their connections and all the connections are ok.

The other possible explanation is the crankshaft position sensor is acting up. If this acts up and generates no signal the ECU will not know the position of the pistons and will not trigger fuel or spark. The engine cranks just fine but it won't so much as try to fire and run.

Based on my second hand experience neither the relay or the crankshaft position sensor will register any OBD2 fault codes. I'm not sure there are any other codes, proprietary codes that you might get with the Durametric.

 

One thing to consider is the check valve on fuel line that keeps pressure in place. As the cars again this part tends to fail. When cold, car will start but once full warmed, if left alone for some time (to allow fuel to drain in the tank) All you get is crank but no start.

Next time crank for a good 10 sec. Stop, try again and if it starts then, you found your problem.

Just a thought though, and good luck

 

Didn't dare drive it today for fear it would die in bad traffic so no news. Good thing too, got rear ended and shoved into another car coming home today in my daily. Dodged a bullet! I'll tinker with this more when I get home, it's not a fuse though. Could be a check valve although I keyed the pump to prime and cranked a good bit. Next time it refuses I'll be listening to the pump for sure!

 

my first thought/instinct mirrors ttboost. fuel pump heading south.

had similar symptoms then, zip.

i'd eliminate the maf for now as even causal.

 

Fired up fine tonight, my spidey sense says it will have issues when warm. IF I get up early enough I might drive it to work and see. Otherwise it'll be the weekend before I can do much I think. If it's the pump I just need it to make it to NJ in a few weeks lol

 

try to warm the car all the way, go around the block....do not turn it off, let it reach full temp. let it idle for 5min more, shut the car down wait 1 min , turn it back on, see if its starts. maybe coolant temp sensor?

 

pump doesn't give "much" warning. maybe one or two false start/stalls then gives up the ghost. if it's a split line then perhaps even less or wont start at all.

 

Fired it up tonight, cranked and started perfectly! Warmed it, free revved it, running great! Shut it off - no start! Pump appears to prime but perhaps a slight groan at the end which is consistent, need to listen to another car to compare. Waited a bit and primed it multiple times then cranked - fired up! Revved and ran fine. Shut down and had issues starting but got it running, died at idle and refused to start. Betting if I wait it'll fire up again.

I expect I'll be trying to get a Durametric on it soon. I also expect I'll be popping open the tank to have a peek. What do I need in the way of gauge and fittings to check fuel pressure at the fuel filter?

 

when my two pumps failed on 2 separate cars. it would start, idle. no throttle, would die. then work intermittently, but you knew a flatbed was in the immediate future. 2nd one fuel line split. smell of fuel. no idle, nothing. nothing i could help w mechanical as i just had new ones put in and i wasn't standing there as i try to do.

 

How many miles on the car?