Well for the past couple of weeks my firebird has been getting harder to start. it doesnt matter whether the engine is hot or cold. when i go to start it i have to crank ForEver (like 8-10 seconds) in order to get it to start. once running the engine acts fine. has great oil pressure (30 psi at 220 degrees and in Drive w/ foot on brake). sometimes when i go to start it after the engine is warm it will fire right away for about half a second and then die. then i have to crank and crank.

is this the fuel pump goin out? or maybe the relay is bad and after cranking for awhile the oil pressure gets high enough for the alternate power to kick in to the fuel pump?

I have the base timing set at 4* advanced but i dont think this is enough to cause a problem

Any help is appreciated this is really embarrassing at school i like my cars to start and run well.
thanks

 

Only thing that comes to mind is your starter might be going out the engine bay AKA out the door. You might want to look into a new starter.

I am not 100% sure this is the problem but my buddy has the same problem and his starter is gone, he hasnt replaced it yet (hes lazy as hell) but yeah its probably the starter.

 

The timing shouldn't be causing an issue. My 88 had a 7 deg adv on base timing and a lumpy cam without an ECM tune. Sure it would want a little bit of throttle untill it leveled out the idle but, if it died it would crank right back up.

I don't have any advice on what the cause is though. Anytime I've had a starter go out, it's just been a little hard to start and then it gives out at some random start up.

 

Is the engine turning over but just not starting? If it is look at the fuel filter. If it is not turning over....starter.

 

the engine cranks over real quick so i dont think the starter is the issue, and i changed the fuel filter about a month ago. any more ideas? im goin to try a few things tomorrow and see if i can figure this out.

 

Changed the fuel pump relay and it solved the problem!

 

Hey red, I am going to change my relay too. I have 2 relays right by the brake booster. Looking from the front of the car at the relays, is it the one on the right or left (closest to or farthest from the booster)?


Thanks

 

On my firebird it was the one on the left (closest to the engine) when facing the firewall .. hope this helps

 

Thanks red, I got home and verified the same positioning, via wire colors.