First off I'd just like to say that I've read a couple of posts from this forum and you guys seem really helpful and knowledgeable! Hopefully you can help me out.

Ok so I'm a 16 year old kid and I wanted my first car to be a fixer-upper. The Late 80's camaros were always my favorite car so I bought one from this lady who didnt want hers anymore. I think I may be in over my head a little.

It's a 1987 2.8L V6 and when I bought it, it wasn't running. She said that the car just up and wouldn't start one day. She said that one mechanic had said that it was a fuel pump. So I bought a fuel pump and put in. Nothing. The engine will crank and will even fire when you put starting fluid in there but no fuel is getting delivered. So I checked the fuses to make sure none were burnt out. They all were fine. I also noticed however, that the wires in the back that lead to the fuel pump had been cut. I wrapped them back together and tried to turn the key (without cranking the motor) to see if I could hear the pump pressurizing. I didn't here anything. So is it an electrical problem? My fear is that I'll have to rewire everything back there or fork up $300 to get a new fuel sending unit. Also, when I crank the motor, all of the meters up front reach max. Like the RPM meter moves to max along with oil pressure.

Any help would be really appreciated. I don't know much about cars but I feel like I've tried everything. The car is admittedly in rough shape but I thought I could fix it. It only has 73XXX Miles. Thanks in advance!

 

ok first off dont drop money on a new sending unit, that would just be a waste it wont help your wiring at all, if there are still wires coming out of the top youll be ok, just reconnect the wires using butt connectors, not e-tape...that will fail fast, im not sure about the v6's but i wanna say it has a schraeder valve, thats gonna be for your fuel, it looks like the tube youd see on a bycycle tire (the brass part) just turn the key forward and try to get FP, than push on the schraeder valve and see if you get fuel coming out, make sure all your injectors are plugged in etc, unfortunately you got what you wished for, wiring just happens to be one of the biggest pains on these cars IMHO.

There is no reason for a car to just not start as far as an electrical bug goes, the fuel pump makes sense, repair the wires and try to figure out the next issue, if you have a DVOM (a meter) i would check for power going to the fuel pump, NOT on the tank side, on the side that comes from the power source ( i cant remember where it comes from i havent payed with the tank in years) if you have power there then you know its going to be from the broken wire back to the pump i would get a haynes manual at your local parts store and read up on the wiring diagrams, thats the first actual step, that way you can say the red wire or the white wire for the power etc is cut, it will make this a lot easier for us to help you with

 

DON'T OPEN THE KEY TO THE ON POSITION AND TAP THE SHRAEDER VALVE... it's a recipe for disaster unless you are using the proper equipment (fuel gauge) ... what you want to do is open the key so it pressurizes, or you can use the diagnostic port and ground the PCM so that the fuel pump is triggered to prime, you should hear a buzzing from the fuel pump... I am not sure on the 2.8, but the fuel injectors should have a pulse when firing them up, if there is no pulse, then there will be no fuel... now on the V8, there is no pulse if there is no communication between the ECM and the distributor... so if you say the car cranks and fires over when you introduce starting fluid, then you are having spark, but no fuel... this brings us back to the shraeder valve... open the key pressurize the system, turn off the key and with a screwdrive tap the valve, if fuel squirts, then your fuel pump most likely is not the problem.... you will now have to begin diagnosing the problem... a no start on a 2.8 could be a faulty ignition module, most likely if the car has been sitting for a while, it would be a good idea to buy a new module along with a distributor cap and rotor... since you're young and learning, I would suggest you start a log of things you have tried already and the result, you can later on refer back to it .... good luck...

 

"Proper equipment"?? maybe i didnt clarify how i do things, im from the poor side of the track, so there are ways to do things without the "proper" tools, it works it works, hes 16 and chances are money is gonna be tight, only get the things you really NEED. Ive never had a single problem tapping a schraeder valve, ever. Key on or off it wont matter, MAYBE MAAAAYYYBE the thing can get stuck open, oh no...get jumpin and yank the fuse, if he gets fuel that means hes good and he can move on then test for pressure

also if his wiring is cut up the FP wont prime any way. there is no power going to it, hes gotta start from scratch and fix that first then move on to diagnosing ignition module.

It could be any number of things from your injectors to that ICM like mentioned, something isnt happening for the injectors to pulse now you gotta figure it out

 

yep.. I agree, but he's 16, so safety first... does the oil pressure switch come into play on the 2.8 when it comes to the fuel pump?

 

Trial and error is the learning tool that sticks the best lol

I'm not sure on the oil switch, I'm not big on v6's I've only torn them out before

 

lol... lets make sure he makes it to 18 with eyebrows intact...

 

Thanks Alot for the feedback guys! I'm from the poor side of the track too BluFBody

I forgot to mention that I did pull off the distributor cap and once I got to the ignition module I pulled it out and took it to O'Reiley's for diagnostics. They did it for free and tested it five times. They said that it was working perfectly. I didn't know about that valve though. I'll probably take a look at that today along with purchasing a manual sometime this week (once I get paid). What's going on with the gauges though?