Go Back   Third Generation F-Body Message Boards > Tech Boards > V6
Sign in using an external account
Register Forgot Password?

V6 Discussion and questions about the base carbureted or MPFI V6's and the rare SFI Turbo V6.

Welcome to ThirdGen.org!
Welcome to ThirdGen.org.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, join the ThirdGen.org community today!


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 12-02-2008, 10:57 AM   #1
Junior Member
 
90Camaro4ever's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mount Airy, Maryland
Posts: 25
Car: 1990 Camaro
Engine: 3.1 V6 LHO 189T

Classifieds Rating: (2)
Not your typical won't start - I think

I have read this forum for several weeks, and cannot find a post that fits my problem. I am looking for more help. I bought the car new, and plan to keep it forever J

I have a 1990 3.1 MPFI Camaro that will not start. The car has 175,000 miles. No major engine work has ever been required. Every 5 years or so I end up replacing the ECM (not the prom). Besides oil and antifreeze changes, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, brakes, air pump (1), alternator (1), water pump(1), exhaust(many) and battery(many), the car is all original. I only mention this as the fuel injectors are original.

In June, the car was hit in the driver side, and I drove it 3 miles home. The next day I took it out for a ride and it lost power and then died. The first thing I did was to replace the ECM. No Start. After some troubleshooting, I determined the fuel pump was bad and replaced it.

I now have 42 psi on the fuel rail. The car will turn over, so I do not believe it is a VATS issue. I pulled a plug and turned the engine and found an orange spark at the plug. Both sides of the engine spark plugs have an orange spark. Many of the post on this site recommend replacing the coil. I also noticed that all the plugs were carbon fouled which also indicates that the coil could be bad. I decided to replace the coil, cap, rotor, wires and spark plugs since the car had been sitting for 5 months.

Still, no start. I replaced the ECM that I put in two months ago with a different ECM. Still no start. If I spray starter fluid in the intake, the car will run for 2-3 seconds. This is where I get confused. I have 42psi of fuel, I have spark, and I have air. What am I missing???

I do not see any fuel on the spark plugs after trying to start the car. I have a Haynes manual, and it does not have a really good troubleshooting guide. Many post on this site reference an “A-3 chart”, but I cannot find that on the web. Can you recommend a book that has the chart?

I also read that the injectors should have between 12-14 ohms of resistance. Can anyone recommend how to check these without taking off the plenum? I also though I read that a shorted injector will leak. My issue seams to be that the injector is not opening. Is there a way I can test the injectors to see if they actually open any allow gas to flow? Does anyone know what else may cause the injector to not open? How can I check the signal going to the injector? I verified both fuses for the injectors are good.

Should I get a scanner? Would this help me troubleshoot a no start condition?

Any suggestion are welcome J
90Camaro4ever is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-02-2008, 02:39 PM   #2
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: North Liberty Ia
Posts: 466
Car: 89 Firebird
Engine: 2.8L out of a 89 camaro
Transmission: 5 speed
Axle/Gears: ?

Classifieds Rating: (0)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

noid light will help with the injectors.. definatly not fireing.. could be a ground issues or injector power issue. also check the injector fuses under the dash.
enswrob is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-02-2008, 03:33 PM   #3
Member
 
SageMoonblade's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 130

Classifieds Rating: (0)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

I would check all the wiring in the injector system, this can usually be done with a person turning over the engine while the harness ends are probed with a volt meter. If you find good voltage then its time to replace the injectors, they are only built to last a few years anyway. If you don't find good voltage you will have to look into the wiring o the system better.

REMEMBER: when using a volt meter for this task with the engine turning over the number will flash through quickly.
SageMoonblade is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-02-2008, 04:17 PM   #4
Junior Member
 
90Camaro4ever's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mount Airy, Maryland
Posts: 25
Car: 1990 Camaro
Engine: 3.1 V6 LHO 189T

Classifieds Rating: (2)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

Thanks guys. I will use the VM this weekend to see if I have a signal to the injectors when cranking (I will watch for the flash on the VM). This will verify the signals from the ECM. I will wait to but the noid based on if I need to take apart the plenum.

Until I looked at the wiring diagram, I always thought that only one injector fired at a time per cylinder. If I am reading the schematic correctly, it looks like 3 injectors fire at the same time because they are wired in parallel. Am I thinking correctly? It looks like there are only two command "ground signals" that are applied from the ECM to ground (fire) the injectors (C11 and C12). Can someone confirm this? Could I simply measure the resistance at the connector plug near the fuel rail to see if I get a resistance around 4 ohms (1/12+1/12+1/12 = 1/RT ~ 4ohms) for parrallel resistance? If at least one resistor is bad -4ohms, I would read around 2 ohms 1/12 + 1/12 + 1/4 = 1/RT.
90Camaro4ever is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-02-2008, 04:27 PM   #5
Supreme Member
 
project89's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Utah
Posts: 3,691
Car: 89 RS 89 iroc 87 firebird
Engine: 3.1 w/ 60-1 Turbo/ 350 / 3.0 turbo
Transmission: a4 w/ 4500 stall/ a4 / t5
Axle/Gears: strange s60 /w 3:42's

Classifieds Rating: (1)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

u are correct, the ecm has 2 common grounds.,the ecm fires all 3 injectors per bank alternating sides.
project89 is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2008, 05:26 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: California
Posts: 317
Car: 1989 RS Camaro
Engine: LT1
Transmission: T56

Classifieds Rating: (0)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

Im having a similar problem with my camaro, v6, 5 speed, 130K. Well i was driving and it just died. So i replaced cap, rotor, plugs, wires, ign module, coil. It has a excellent bright BLUE spark. it has 42psi at the fuel rail, so i checked that the injectors were getting the pulsed ground signal from ecm, they all are. so that means its firing fuel and spark. So now its either a timing or compression issue. if u dont have a noid light, to test injectors, just touch a screwdriver to the injector and put ur ear on it, have someone crank it. You should hear a clicking noise from each of the injectors, if u dont, well it could be the ecm, or wiring. you'll probably have to take off the intake plenum to get to the injectors though, well i did. So good luck man.
89' RS/blue is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2008, 04:22 PM   #7
Supreme Member
 
Maverick H1L's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: LeRoy, NY
Posts: 5,575
Car: 1987 Firebird... in pieces.
Engine: 3.1L V6 LH0 soon to be 3100
Transmission: Borg-Warner T-5
Axle/Gears: 2HL 3.42 open

Classifieds Rating: (6)
Send a message via AIM to Maverick H1L Send a message via Yahoo to Maverick H1L
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

Just about EVERY GM injector I have tested that was GOOD has 12.6 ohms resistance. If you have one that is outside of 10% (1.2 ohms high/low) of your highest resisting injector, replace it.
MPFI-- Multi Port Fuel Injection, aka Tuned Port Injection (with runners that are actually "tuned" for length to the engine, similar to headers for exhaust) fires one BANK of injectors at a time, aka batch feed.

Check your timing, as was suggested above. Where on the car did you get nailed?

Last edited by Maverick H1L; 12-07-2008 at 04:29 PM.
Maverick H1L is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2008, 04:21 PM   #8
Junior Member
 
90Camaro4ever's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mount Airy, Maryland
Posts: 25
Car: 1990 Camaro
Engine: 3.1 V6 LHO 189T

Classifieds Rating: (2)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

I took the plenum off and measured the resistance to each injector.
#1 - 12.3 ohms
#3 - 7.5 ohms -- bad ???
#5 - 12.5 ohms

#2 - 2.2 ohms -- BAD!
#4 - 12.3 ohms
#6 - 12.3 ohms

Looks like I have two bad injectors. The ecm is firing, and I smelled gas in the intake 5 minutes after I attempted to start the car.

Has anyone ever tried to start a car using only 2 good injectors per side? I would like to try this, but only if others think this is a GOOD idea?

Can any one recommend a place to by injectors? What I have read is that most folks think you should replace all injectors and just not the ones that appear bad. I am in Maryland.

Last edited by 90Camaro4ever; 12-27-2008 at 05:10 PM.
90Camaro4ever is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2008, 12:41 AM   #9
Junior Member
 
Dakine858's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 18
Car: 1991 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: 3.1L V6
Transmission: 700r4

Classifieds Rating: (0)
Send a message via AIM to Dakine858
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

Quote:
Originally Posted by 90Camaro4ever View Post
I took the plenum off and measured the resistance to each injector.
#1 - 12.3 ohms
#3 - 7.5 ohms -- bad ???
#5 - 12.5 ohms

#2 - 2.2 ohms -- BAD!
#4 - 12.3 ohms
#6 - 12.3 ohms

Looks like I have two bad injectors. The ecm is firing, and I smelled gas in the intake 5 minutes after I attempted to start the car.

Has anyone ever tried to start a car using only 2 good injectors per side? I would like to try this, but only if others think this is a GOOD idea?

Can any one recommend a place to by injectors? What I have read is that most folks think you should replace all injectors and just not the ones that appear bad. I am in Maryland.
Yeah it's good policy to replace all of your fuel injectors at the same time. Check out Summit Racing for a set of Accel injectors.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
Dakine858 is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2008, 12:48 PM   #10
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Kouts,IN
Posts: 247
Car: 88 Firebird, 86 T/A
Engine: 3.1/305 short block
Transmission: 700r4 w/ transgo, vette servo/700r4

Classifieds Rating: (0)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

Quote:
Originally Posted by 90Camaro4ever View Post
I took the plenum off and measured the resistance to each injector.
#1 - 12.3 ohms
#3 - 7.5 ohms -- bad ???
#5 - 12.5 ohms

#2 - 2.2 ohms -- BAD!
#4 - 12.3 ohms
#6 - 12.3 ohms

Looks like I have two bad injectors. The ecm is firing, and I smelled gas in the intake 5 minutes after I attempted to start the car.

Has anyone ever tried to start a car using only 2 good injectors per side? I would like to try this, but only if others think this is a GOOD idea?

Can any one recommend a place to by injectors? What I have read is that most folks think you should replace all injectors and just not the ones that appear bad. I am in Maryland.
if the injectors are your only problem, then you can unhook those 2 and it should start. electricity follows the path of least resistance, so if you have 1 or 2 injectors bad, they'll get all the juice and it won't start if it's got batch fired injectors...
dodger65 is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2008, 02:43 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: peterborough UK
Posts: 470
Car: 88 T firebird
Engine: 2.8
Transmission: t5

Classifieds Rating: (0)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

i would be very suprised if your car will run on four cylinders, ive herd accel are not good, if i was you id go to the scrappy and pull a set, test them and get six working injectors.
zs&tas is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-2009, 04:32 PM   #12
Junior Member
 
90Camaro4ever's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mount Airy, Maryland
Posts: 25
Car: 1990 Camaro
Engine: 3.1 V6 LHO 189T

Classifieds Rating: (2)
Re: Not your typical won't start - I think

I replaced two of the fuel injectors (received them from from Dave MC), and the car is running now. Thanks!!!
90Camaro4ever is offline vBGarage Page   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-2009, 04:32 PM
ThirdGen
1992 Camaro




Paid Advertisement


Reply

Go Back   Third Generation F-Body Message Boards > Tech Boards > V6

Tags
1990, 1991, 31, 31l, bank, batch, camaro, ecm, fired, injection, mpfi, problems, prom, rs, start, troubleshooting, v6, vats
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

 


1982 Camaro '82 || 1983 Camaro '83 || 1984 Camaro '84 || 1985 Camaro '85 || 1986 Camaro '86 || 1987 Camaro '87 || 1988 Camaro '88 || 1989 Camaro '89 || 1990 Camaro '90 || 1991 Camaro '91 || 1992 Camaro '92


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright © 1997 - 2012 ThirdGen.org. All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without the expressed, documented, and written consent of ThirdGen.org's Administrators.

Emails & Contact Details