Hoffy91

Ok, so I have a 1989 Iroc Z camaro, TPI 5.0L. I bought it cheap, i mean cheap, it was sitting around for about 6-7 years. It needed a fuel pump, I installed a new in tank pump and fuel pump relay today. I turned the key, and with a few tries of sputtering and attempting to start, it finally came to life. It didnt run the best (I mean, 7 years of sitting I assume its gonna need some cleaning) but it ran. I turned it off, did some checks, started it again and it ran. Then I changed the oil, put a new filter in, started it and let it run for about 5 minutes, Oil change checks out, no leaks, nothing. However, now it wont start. I didn't change a SINGLE thing.

So, basically it was running, then I shut it off, now it wont even fire. It just spins over. It has fuel in the rails, pump is working, ecm fuse is good, power is pumpin through the plug wires, but it wont even TRY to fire now. WHAT DO I DO?? Im going NUTS right now

lunaticinaZ

check the fuel filter injectors and fuel lines for them being clogged. and is the 7 yr old gas good?

Hoffy91

No, the gas was terrible. I pumped out as much as I could, then put 2 gallons of fresh gas in it. It was yellow and smelled like varnish. It actually ATE apart the old strainer and the surrounding foam on the fuel pump. There is still a little of the old fuel in the tank, but it is diluted by the other gas I put in. I havent changed the filter, would this cause it to all of the sudden not even fire?? The car was RUNNING literally 5 minutes prior to this problem beginning. It wasnt running GREAT, it has high idle, and anytime i hit the gas it bogs out, not sure what this means yet, but I was happy to hear it come to life . Is there like a series of sensors or something that could be tweaked? I have never owned or worked on a TPI, so I have NO clue where to start

lunaticinaZ

oh ok i think i got it..... my car did the same thing and it turned out the throttle position sensor was bad. it was dumping way to much fuel and whe i would hit the gas it would bogg down and die. and most of the time it wouldnt start at all. so change the fuel filter and check your tps sensor. it should read between 0.46-0.62 volts anything more than that then replace the sensor.

Hoffy91

thanks for the quick reply. How do I test it? Does the car need to be running? Sorry for the noobie question, I do carburetors not FI haha

lunaticinaZ

you can test it with the key on engine off. just unplugg the tps connector. and get 3 paper clips (bent out straight) and put the paper clips between the tps connector and the tps sensor.(the paper clips act as jumper wires between the sensor and connector) with the key on engine off get a volt meter and check the voltage between the top and middle terminals (get the voltage readings from the paper clips)marked as A and B on the tps sensor. it should read between .54 to .62 volts. i hope this makes sence lol

Hoffy91

yeah i understand but that thing is pricey. is there a way to test one off another car with no battery? i was thinking a stop to pick n pull may be in the near future

osirus

There should be no reason to go pull a part if you don't know whether or not you even need it. A multimeter can be purchased fairly cheap and is quite invaluable because you need to use it A LOT. Why do you want to test it off another car anyways? yours is the one that you're troubleshooting.

Hoffy91

not what I was saying. I have a multimeter by the way. I was asking because IF mine was messed up (Which it actually IS) is there a way to test one off of a different vehicle to see if it is in operable condition without having a battery hooked up to the car (for example a JUNKYARD vehicle that doesnt have a battery). I wanted to try this first because it is MUCH cheaper than spending a hundred dollars on a new one.

osirus

Bring your own battery to the JY. if not, ask them to supply you with one for testing purposes. They kinda have like pallets full of batteries. hahahaha. battery fight!