the gtaman

lastnight after i stopped to get some gas ,my car wouldn't start.it just spun over like it had jumped time .it's getting plenty of fire and fuel .i was told it could be the distributor , it started and then died again .any ideas

Pontiacdaddy

This is probbably not it but worth a try. If you car is an 89 or later it could be the vats module or the resistor in the key. if it is getting fuel and air and spark. I was a car audio installer for 3 years and when doing remote starts on gm cars with vats or passlock factory anti theft systems if you dont bypass them correctly when you remote start it, it will start for half a second and then die every time. you might check that.

Jed

Maybe you got a tank of bad gas. I've seen it happen before. Take a sample of the gas in your tank (unhook the fuel line and cycle the pump) and put it in a glass. Let the glass sit. If there is an excessive amount of water in the gas, the water and gas will seperate over time. One will sit on top of the other, I forget which. I think the water will sit on top of the gas, and you'll be able to see it.

If the car ran fine up until the point that you got gas, I'd suspect the gas. Just my 2 cents.

the gtaman

i even tried starting fluid .

Leahs88irocz

u dont need to sample the gas......just go buy the dry gas its like $1.25...and put it in there. its not gonna hurt anything if bad gas isnt ur problem.

the gtaman

where can i find this at ?

PLANT PROTECTION

iTrader: (6)

WIll the car even stumble? How did you check for spark and fuel?

cronsformula350

definitely check the vats if its an 89 or later, and the dry gas, is just gasline/tank antifreeze, it has alcohol in it, that absorbs the water in the tank and stops it from freezing, and also helps keep the gas longer, how do you know the car has spark? Your pressure regulator may have failed, you could try flooring it to clear it out, if thats the problem when you pull the vacuum line off the regulator gas will drip out. Also your coil module may have failed, they just fail outright, with no notice, that will stop all the spark, my 87 iroc had this problem when I worked on it before I even bought the car, lol. Also try removing the fuse from the ecm, sometimes this helps if theres a little problem that became larger, we need more info to help you diagnose the problem.

DON'T START CHANGING PARTS YET, DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM FIRST!!!

the gtaman

i got it started for about 3 seconds. i checked the spark by pulling the plug wires 1by1 and turning it over . i'm gonna check it out when i get off work today !

PLANT PROTECTION

iTrader: (6)

Will it start for 3 seconds every time you crank it over, or did it do that one time? I don't know how you verified spark just by pulling a wire. The easiest way is to hook up a timing light, it should flash once every engine revolution. Your tach should also jitter when cranking. If it doesn't stumble every time you try to start it, then it definately sounds like a no spark condition. BTW, I'm pretty sure that the car won't even crank if VATS is bad, but don't quote me on that.

the gtaman

it only did it once,i didn't know about the timing light thing though . i always puled the plug wires to check the spark ! i will try that when i get home from work. learned something new today thanks for the input :hail:

Screamin'87GTA

I had the same thing happen to my GTA. Drove fine when i got to the gas station, then when i filled up, it wouldnt start. I sat there for like 10 minutes waiting, then i let it sit for a half hour (While i was standing in a thunder storm under the steel over hangs of the gas station) still nothing. The flat bed came and drove the car home. I tried to start the car as soon as the flat bed set it down and Varooom, one try!

The Answer!

I think there might have been something in the tank blocking the filter?

Leahs88irocz

well i was stuck at the gas station when i had a bad tank of gas, it'd start for a few seconds then die. i got the dry gas from the gas station that i was stuck at.....they have it everywhere...k-mart, walmart, autozone...the gas station that i was at was a big gas station so i dont know if all gas stations have it.

the gtaman

i finally got it started again today ! it won't start on it's own though,only starting fluid .but after it's running it's like nothing is wrong . any input

cronsformula350

if your cars an 88, which It seems to be by your sig, Your cold start injector may not be working.

the gtaman

it's a 89 !

Pontiacdaddy

check to see if you have any trouble codes set. there is a code for fuel pump voltage or fuel pump relay voltage. when the fuel pump in my sisters camaro went out my dad and i checked everything related to the fuel system before we changed the pump itself because it is a pain to do.

also the fuel pump relay is supposed to energize for 2 seconds when you first turn the key on (but dont start it) , and then drop out. the relay is near the brake booster on the firewall. put your hand on the 3 relays up there and get someone to turn the key to the "run" position and see if one of the relays clicks and then after 2 seconds clicks a second time. it will click again after the car is started. im not sure if it is possible for it to NOT prime the fuel system at first but then work after the car is started or not. also when checking it you have to wait a little while between tries because it wont try to prime the system if the pressure is up already.

there are things that keep that relay from working like the oil pressure saftey switch, that way if you dont have oil pressure the engine quits.

thats all i can think of man.

cronsformula350

yeah 89, no cold start injector. Perhaps one of your components in your fuel system is going or is gone. When you first turn on your ignition do you hear the pump prime for about 2 seconds? One of your relays like someone else mentioned could be coming and going causing your trouble, you should run the aldl terminal with a wire, like mentioned in a service manual and check for trouble codes.