Hey guys,

So I just bought my first car which is a 1989 Camaro RS. My dad and I drove it home yesterday, the trip was about 34miles and it ran great! Once we got it home we drove around town a little and again this car ran great. We parked it and it sat for about an hour before my brother wanted to go for a ride. When we started the car it sputtered a bit but not enough for us to really notice it. Once we pulled out of the driveway and got up to the stop sign and turned left, it died. We tried to start it again and it would crank but not fire. The gas gauge read 1/4 tank. We assumed the gauge did not work and put 5 gallons of gas into it. Again it cranked but would not start. We could also no longer hear the fuel pump turn on. It was dark and we couldn't really check it out too much. We took off the air filter and looked into the carburetor as we pumped the gas pedal, there was fuel but very little. After we pumped the gas pedal and tried to start it, it would fire for a couple seconds and then die. So after about 3 hours of trying to fix it, we had to tow it home. Still clueless to what happened. It's obvious that it is not getting fuel. But hopefully the fuel pump is not getting power which would be an much easier fix than if the actual fuel pump is broken. So do you guys agree that the problem is either the fuel pump is not getting power or the that the fuel pump itself is not working?

Thanks,
Brock

 

Well, first thing to do is check the fuse for the FP and replace it if its broken.

After that, I would try to listen for the fuel pump to prime when you turn the keys to "ON".

A quick test is to spray starting fluid down the carb and see if it starts ok and runs for a few seconds.

It sounds like it may be time for a fuel pressure test.

 

is it still TBI injection or has somebody converted it to
carb? TBI resembles a big 2-barrel carburator,but has 2
injectors on top spraying into each barrel.Does sound
like the pump has failed or an electrical fault has cut
power to the pump.

 

We checked the fuse and it is still good. And it will start with starting fluid. Yes it is carbureted. I just got off work so I'm going to go make sure the fuel pump is getting power using a voltage meter.

Thanks for the replies!