Starts, but stall immediately.

Engine Performance problem
1991 Chevy Lumina 6 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 85,000 miles

Car has new Coils and Module and crankshaft postion sensor,and fuel filter. Car wont start have spark and fuel delivery to rails, But fuel is coming out air cleaner and back firing out intake. Antbody have an idea what may be causing problem?????

PJW

if you are getting fuel in the airwould suggest checking the fuel pressure regulator. disconnect the vaccum line and try to start vehicle. does fuel spray out of the regulator? if so you have a bad regualtr and it needs replacement.

how did you check for spark and how did you check for fuel?

I used a spark tester for spark at the plugs and the coils-Module. Fuel is being delivered good by the pump to the block, I pulled the fuse so it would stop dumping. I checked the valve on the rail which fuel is there. However not to sure if fuel is being pushed through injectors to cyclinders. I would think all injectors did not go bad at one time .The plugs look dry. I will look into the regulator now. Do you know where it sits on the body? Thanks for helping

what did the spark look like?

pushin on the valve on the fuel rail isnt really good because you cant tell how much fuel is there. yes there is fuel but may not be enough.

the fuel has to be going to the cylinders if the regulator is good and the filter is being soaked with gas! the regulator is on the fuel rail at the begining of the return line. there will be a vaccum line going to it, which is how it can get to the air filter!

you were right

It was dumping fuel out the vacum on the regulator. It is replaced and no more dumping. Now the car runs for a min then shuts off. Will not stay running what could be the cause now? Again most all parts new except fuel pump. Could this be my problem? Since replace of regulator I got pressure and the car wanting to start, or start for a min then shut off

getting closer

check the MAP sensor. if you have one. you could have it filled with gas from the bad regulator.

or if you have a MAF sensor it could be gummed up with dirt from the fuel getting on it and causing the dirt to stick.

whats the pressure like? is it high enough?

disconnect the tps and IAC module. will it start and run?

ok...I've replaced everything from the pump to the rail.....won't start.....hit it with a little carb clean into the TB....boom...fires right up.....please help....many thanks.

yes...1991 Z34 Lumina....still nice shape...140K.....& of course....the 3.4L.....man i put alot of $ into this car....don't want to give up now....

Think Pressure! Here's some testing routines!

I think you have a low pressure problem...

Injector pulse?

Electrical problem
1991 Chevy Lumina 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 215000 miles

I'll start with the most recent one, just this morning I started my car, pulled out of my parking spot, drove to the end of the driveway and it died completely. No power at all, not even the flashers turned on. I tried to start it again but it did nothing, no noise or anything. I took my son out of the car and went back in the house, woke up roomate to help me push the car back in my parking spot. When we got out there I tried to start it again and nothing. We pushed it back to the spot, then tried to start it again. It worked! I drove it a few blocks to my son's school and back, it drove "fine" except for the power steering sounded and felt horrible. Haven't driven it since then. Is it something electrical? My dad said it wasn't the alternator and not the battery because he just checked it a month or so ago and it was fine. I have a lot of other problems with the car too but this is the most annoying at the moment and the newest. Any help is greatly appreciated!

No power, even the flashers means that there was no battery power at all, at that moment. You probably have a loose battery cable, lose/dirty ground cable, something like that. Have someone look at the main wires going to the battery. They should be clean and tight.

Thank you, last time I saw the battery it did look pretty beat up (the wires and whatnot). Is everything supposed to be held together with colorful tape?
Of course the whole darn car looks like that, everything electrical in it is messed up, why should the battery be any different? lol
I'll take it somewhere this week, maybe a battery store can look at it?
I'll give it a try anyways, thanks again!

drove car parked overnight,next morning wouldn't start..car cranks but won't start. it's getting fuel, has power from battery.. coil pack plugs & wires were replaced last year.

does it have fuel pressure?? what is the pressure?? try starting fluid in the air filter to see if it starts

check for spark to the plugs

Roy

1991 Chevy Lumina

I have looked on here for answers to my problem and found a problem similar to mine. "Question: 1999 Chevy Lumina Minivan. This van has never failed to start cold. If the van was just shut off hot and then restarted; it starts and drives without issue. However, drive the van around and get it warm, park it for 30 minutes the problem starts. It will start without failure but if you try to drive away it stalls and dies. To correct the issue you must feather the gas pedal for around 30 seconds until you can build the engine RPM up and hold it high until it smoothes out. Then drivability is fully restored, but if you stop the car will cut off again and you have to do it all over again. I just bought this van and the person I bought it from did not tell me about this problem, and when I test drove it it did not do this. I understand the anwer that was given to the other person the had this problem, but what should I have fixed on to stop this from happening? I just had a thermostat put in and coolant and the mechanic said it should've been fine. Please help?

try using choke cleaner on the throttle plate as they load up with oi and juk and cause what you experieince a lot of times. Make sure to clean it onboth sides and spray around he oblong hole as that is the idle air control and that may be sticking. Also change the fuel filter as it may not be gettting proper fuel and have the fuel pressure checked. if this doesn't cure it or help it, it maybe the purge valve for the cannister is stuck open as those aren't supposed oopen until 30 mph. an easy test for that is to block off the vacuum line and see if that helps. If that still doesn't help then have your mechanic run a code test for an intermittent problem. they can do this with a scanner tool...

I was driving my chevy lumina one day and when i turned off the car and came back to it, it would not start but once i let it cool down it started right up momentarily then shut down again. There wasn't any smoke or anything but it was running hot and shutting down. Took it to a mechanic his scanner gave and error code that stated there was an electrical problem but after about 4hrs he still could not find out what kind of problem it was. Now my battery is dead because the car was overcharging it and it won't move at all..what do i do now? can this problem be fixed? is it extremely costly? and a 1991 lumina with 170,000 miles on it how much is too much money to put into it?

dywilder22,

I am by no means a professional mechanic but I have the exact same vehicle and had the exact same problem that you are having. It turned out to be a faulty crank sensor. The crank sensor is located in the back of the engine and about half way up fron the bottom. Had to put the vehicle on a rack to be able to change it, although you could do it with a jack - just be sure to put stands under before you go underneath, its pretty far up in.