Engine turns over but won't fire

Hello,

When you turn the key on without cranking the engine over do you hear the fuel pump in the tank turn on? Here is a gudiet hat will walk you through the steps on what to look for.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

Please run down this guide and report back.

I have been told that it will do me no good to scan for codes if the engine is not running.Should I check for spark by removing plug wire and then go from there ?

If something failed it will be stored in the computer sensor wise. and yes check for spark it should be very big and blue, stick a screwdriver in it and don't put your hands on the wire because of shock.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system

Thank you for the response. I went out to the location where the location where it is stranded and it does have spark,however it is more of a yellow. The fuel sending unit does not make any noise when the ignition is engaged.I exchanged the fuel pump relay with a working one and the engine failed to start. I am assuming that the fuel pump has probably failed.Do you think this is the problem ?
By the way the person that told me the code reader would do me no good is from Oreilley's Aoutoparts Seymour, Indiana.

To really see if it's a fuel pump you'll have to put a gauge on it, maybe Oreillys will have one to rent your fuel pressure should be 41-47 psi if below that then fix that an it will probably start. By the way best and easiest way to fix pump is if you have helpers around take the box off, there are only 8 bolts and a electrical connection to remove. you don't need to take it right off just slide it back so you can reach the pump in the tank, otherwise you have to drop the tank, much harder to do.

Once again Thanks. The truck belongs to a friend of mine who is dying from cancer,he was on his way to a lab in Bloomington,IN.No funds to tow or get to a regular tech. I called a few places and found an aftermarket pump for $175.I will have to install it in the parking lot where it is stranded. So you're saying slide the bed back and pull the old one out then drop in the new from the top and that should cure the problem ? Do you think i should be able to do this in a parking lot and how long should it take ? I will have to do it on Thanksgiving day.

you'll need help to lift the bed if you are going to do it that way. and the aftermarket pump may be just the pump and not the complete sending unit. if it's just the pump you have to take the old one apart and replace that. if its' a unit you just take the old one out and put the new unit in and hook everything up. you'll need a special tool to remove the fuel lines you may be able to do this in 2 hours , maybe sooner depending on your ability. to remove lines, push towards the pump, insert tool and remove line.

Here is a ugie that will walk you through the steps with diagrams below to show you on your car.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-an-electric-fuel-pump


Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what happens.

I have the fuel pump powering up and I have replaced Fuel filter. I have spark and it still won't start. So I replace the fuel pump and it fired right up. Thanks for your help

Glad you could get it fixed, that kind of problem can be tough. Please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.

I am having trouble starting my truck i keep blowing a fuse under the hood in the fuse box (15 amp ECM B)
I noticed that it would blow as i was driving or standing and idling the truck after driving 1 km and changing 3 fuses every 1000 feet i decided to put in a 20 amp and that worked perfect......for a while. now wants it warms up after 5 hours of driving and then i shot it off i cant start it anymore until the next day. but i notice that the 20 amp fuse does not blow anymore but if i take it out and put if back in it will start but shot down with in 3 seconds. i am thinking it could be my fuel pump what do you think???? or do i have a short somewhere???

ecm b fuse is an orange wire that powers pcm check for a short someplace or it may be a bad pcm as well. but have a pro check for the pcm problem

Thank you for the reply.... so it can't be the fuel pump is that correct ??

I will Check the wire to see if there is a short.and will let you know.

My truck starts easily, but will not go, and makes a grinding noise, what could be the problem?

Hi there,

If the engine is running and you can't select forward or reverse, i would say with the grinding noise you mention, that your transmission of differential has suffered a major failure, i would be towing it to a work shop for an appraisal.

mark (mhpautos)

drawing of wiring don't show what you want they are just straight line then they say where the connections are yours would go to junction box on firewall then to ignition switch. but you should check where it motor is hitting and fix mount if it' hasn't been already.

I Just ordered the motor mount. so i want to fix it, i will check to see if there is a wire that is pined.

Thanks David

1998 GMC Sonoma V8 Two Wheel Drive 160,00 miles

The ignition "clicks", have power to battery, alternator, and starter (all new). Need to locate neutral/safety switch or ignition control panel, if any.

The wiring diagram below is part of your starter circuit.

my truck will turn over but wont start

Have a helper crank it while you visually check for spark at the spark plugs. If you have spark everywhere use a gage and check fuel pressure. To check for spark, you can use a spark tester or known good spark plug. Don't pull a spark plug out of engine. Your local autostore should sell a spark tester, doesnt cost much. Pull spark plug wire off engine spark plug, stick tester in plkug boot, ground tester to metal part of engine. Have helper crank, watch for spark at tester. Make sure the tester gap is open.

I have a 1998 Gmc Sonoma 4 cyl 2.2, has 162k manual transmission. I bought it about a year ago and it has been a good truck. It had a new clutch when I bought it. Every now & then it wouldn't start but always ended up starting. I recently replaced the battery as well. Things were fine until a couple days ago. I went out in the morning to go to work and it would not start. My starter is working- you can hear it, you can hear the fuel pump. I took the starter off, had it tested by two shops to make sure the first one did it right because I did not want to mess with the flywheel. I went home put it back on. I took the cover off the flywheel and it was only missing 1 tooth and the ring gear is fine and in the correct location. I had someone turn to key to try to see what the problem was. ( I have checked battery terminals also.) It seems like the starter is just not catching the flywheel properly. my starter is the gear reduction one. It is sitting at a very slight angle and it was like that when I took it off too. So I am not sure what is going on. Is it suppose to have that slight angle? What else could be wrong? Any ideas and any help I would greatly appreciate. I can push start it and it starts and goes.

Need a little more info before anyone could offer advice bro.

What does the car do before it cuts off?
Is the temp guage going up or stable?
Does it sputter, kick or back fire?

We'll need as much information as possible before we could help.

If you shut the car off after 15 min of driving, instead of letting it cut out will it immediately restart? It sounds like you're running rich and the Power Steering adds a load to the engine causing it to stall. Let me guess at this one, it stalls when you're performing a slow speed turn under no throttle? I've owned about 5 different vintage (but all 302 box body) Grand Marquis. and every one of them benifited from half a turn clockwise of the throttle body idle adjustment screw. I had two that would actually stall under hard turn, or when I put them in reverse that this solved the problem. The no restart is what concerns me tho. Have you tried to give it a little throttle while you crank it? If it IS stalling because of a rich mix, the extra air you allow through the throttle body by giving it some throttle while it cranks might be just the trick it needs to restart. These also have a history of bad ignition modules, especially the ones built in canada. A bad module could cause a weak spark, resulting in a stall at extra load, and no restart when hot. to check if it is a canada car, look at the build sticker on your drivers door jam. should be on the door itself.

I have a 98 GMC Sonoma 2.2L that seems to start only when it wants to for no particular reason. It was in a flood about 2 years ago, up to the headlights. No problems until now. Half the time, the fuel pump will audibly kick on with ignition, the other half, it won't. Obviously doesn't start without fuel. BUT... if the pump won't start, all I have to do is jump it to another vehicle or put it on a starter and the pump starts EVERY TIME. Otherwise, there is no factor that will change when it starts or not; cold nor hot engine, cold nor warm weather. I have checked most connections from the battery to grounds, and to the starter, etc. as well as chassis grounds to electrical componenets such as the pump. Recently haven't tried anything else because it ran fine with no problems for three days, until today. Please HELP.

check the relay and it's contacts, they might be coroded.

That was the first thing I checked. We took the bed off to look at the fuel pump, checked that the pump itself worked, and continuity from the relay center to the pump-all good. We also checked the relay and coil itself, even switched it with the smae number from neighbor relays. Anything else you can think of? I've now stumped the mechanic from my neighborhood Autozone, from AAMCO, and my friend's dad - A master mechanic for Ford, Chrysler, and Chevrolet. Please reply.

my truck is a 2.2 98 gmc sonoma manual trans and it has a kill switch on the dash sometimes it wont start (switch is in the on position) wont make a sound other times it will try to start then i leave it sitting for awhile come back and it starts what is it?

check to see if it's a bad kill swtich first, then try resetting yor anti theft.system.

1998 gmc sonoma cranks but wont start after it rains. This happened a few days ago
and I was able to just keep cranking it while feathering the throttle enough to get it to go down road, all the time feathering, the longer it ran the better it ran till normal. Since then it has ran
just fine. Then yesterday it rained again, cranks, no start, no feathering to even get it to run at all. It will
however start and run with starting fluid, but stops with no fluid. Prior to this in dry conditions it runs like a top.
If I take out fuel fuse under hood, with key on, I can hear something click/engage on top of motor as I put fuse back in.

Any ideas?

p.s. The Mitz is sitting for now as I have no money, but thanks again for you help on it. Its either the TCM or the trans itself need rebuild. Now I'm having the issue with our only running vehicle.

I looked at info for the 4.3L sonoma. It appears you have the spider fuel system on the 4.3L engine. that fuel system is noted for problems. Not sure why it only happens in the rain. Just a thought, when the problem is ongoing, check fuel pressure and fuel injector pulse.

If you've done a lot of cranking, you may need to charge the battery?

Hi JDL,

This Sonoma is a 2.2 motor 4 cl. Its only happening "after" it rains. Truck ran normal and well when its
dry. I will check the pressure and pulse. Wont it happen more often?? What could be getting wet and causing
no fuel into the engine?

Thanks again for any help!
Tim

I looked at info for the 2.2L engine. The fuel pump relay sends voltage to the fuel injectors as well as the fuel pump. If no voltage at the injector with engine cranking, that's where I would start looking. The load side of fuel pump relay gets voltage from the ecm B fuse 20 amp. When problem is ongoing check for voltage at that fuse.

I was driving and I lost all power to my truck but it still ran then I turned it off and the power came on but it wouldn't start like the battery was dead a little confused

Id say since this happened to me not once but twice, the altinator, has died, hopefuly not taking out the battery with it. I had a brand new Delco put in as a replacement this past spring, drove it less then 2 months and it fried out on the expressway, and yes it too the battery out with it by over charging it.

I have a 1995 GMC Sonoma with a rebuilt 4.3 liter Vortec v6 and CMFI injection. the engine turns over but will not start before it would start sometimes and if it started the first try you were good. if not it would not until hours later or the next day. i replaced the fuel pump and ignition module they both work.. the engine will start on ether (starting fluid) so i know it is a fuel problem it is not the crankshaft position sensor and i do not think i have enough fuel pressure, but i think the only thing before the test port and past the pump is a filter and it sounds like a mechanical failure. can anyone help me figure out the problem?

Hi,
I had the same problem with my 1094 vortic engine,
It would start when starting fluid was sprayed into the air intake.
I was convinced that the fuel pump was good because when i would disconnect fuel line from output side of filter it would pump a stream of gas for about a foot. Based on this i thought the fuel pump had to be good. But not so, I found out that it was working. But it did not have enough pressure. I replaced the fuel pump and filter and solved the problem.
Good luck

what happens on these cars is the spider fuel injector goes out not allowing fuel to enter the engine. To confirm the issue remove the upper intake manifold and remove the injector then with it still plugged in cranks the engine over to see if fuel comes out.

Here are diagrams to show you how. You can get the injector on Amazon.

Check out the diagrams (below).

Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem.

Cheers, Ken

Yep, that was the problem with my truck.

I have a 95 chevy s10 2.2 heard a loud pop almost like I ran over a bag truck died and wont restart. it cranks over but will not start. I am getting spark, fuel, changed the ignition coils, and coil wires, has new starter, you can hear the fuel pump turn on when I turn the key. please help hoping its not the timing belt

Hello,

Will it run on starting fluid? Also I can tell how the engine is compression wise if you can you please shoot a quick video with your phone so we can see what's going on, that would be great. You can upload it here with your response.

this guide can help

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

Please run down this guide and report back.