Hi guys I put this question in the tech section also but I think it might belong here instead.

I hope someone here might be able to help me. A problem occured at the end of last season before putting my TA into storage for the long cold winter and it has continued into this year.

I have a 305 TPI 1987 TA. It has a awful hard time starting when cold. It takes a good three long cranks before it fires up and runs. When it finaly starts I get a "service engine" light.

If I let the car run for about 10 to 15 min then shut it off and let it sit for a few, she will fire right back up and run perfect with no idiot light.

I took it into the shop and they said the fuel pressure was low, they replaced the fuel pump and pump regulator, along with a few other issues that I wanted done. (No lift at home so under car repairs are a pain)

Well, got the car back yesterday and it ran fine. But it was warm out and it had been ruinning earlier. Whet outside this morning and the same starting problem is there. The seal on the MAF seems ok and the fact that the car starts and runs fine after warming up had me lost.

The plugs, wires, distrubuter where all change a few days before going into storage, after this issue first popped up. The tune up did not help.

So, anyhelp would be greatly appreciated.

 

did you or the shop run any codes? pull the codes see if you have any, post any you might have.

 

I will get the code when I get home today from work. I would have hoped that the shop pulled the codes before settling on a bad fuel pump.

One thing I have noticed is that I am not hearing the puel pump prime when the key is turned to the "ready" position anymore. I can hear it run when the engine is cranked.

Would that be a relay issue?

Which brings me to another question...where is the fuel pump relay?

 

I know that your plugs were new before you stored it but pull a few on each side and see what is what.

I clean mine with a tooth brush compressed air and carb cleaner

 

Fuel pump relay

 

Hey thanks for the referance photo....great stuff.

I pulled two of the plugs yesterday, one right and one left. Both looked new and I checked the gap just to be sure. All good there.

I phoned in a order for the FP relay today to NAPA. The part will be here on Monday. I will be PO'ed if that fixes the issue after haveing a new FP and Pressure Reg put in. Plus the new pump is noisy as hell.



"Sigh" we'll see. Thanks for all of the help guys I will let everyone know my progress.

Doug

 

Well....put a new fuel pump relay in today after work. No change. Still tossing a service engine light and not starting when cold.

Still can not hear the fuel pump running, only when cranking.

How can I retrieve the code? I know there is a way with a paper clip. Anyone want to clue me in?

 

Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC)

 

Once again thanks for the information.

It is only tossing one code. Code 54 - Fuel pump circuit.

Sooooo....any ideas. I have replaced the FP relay. Could the "wired" end of that connector be bad? I do not have a voltometer to check. The wires and the connectors look pretty grimy, and I think that the relay was the origional on the car. Its go 108k on her.

Like I said earlier the fuel pump was already replaced. I can here the pump running when the car is cranking but the pump will not prime when the key is turned to ready.

The car runs once it starts but not as good as it should.



Any other suggestions?

 

One more thing. While I was working under the hood and searching for any broken wires I noticed something on the passenger side that I never noticed before. Can someone tell me what it is. The first pic highlights it and the second is a close up.



Thanks guys.

 

If the fuel line is already pressured up, the pump won't make any noise, or very little for just a fraction of a second. Buy a digital Volt/Ohm meter, it is going to be needed for everything you do on these cars. Your cold start injector could be bad and causing problems, that will hurt your cold start. Have you checked your EGR valve? If it is stuck open you may have a hard time starting the car (too lean) it will also tend to run hot. You may need to leave the car at a shop long enough for them to catch the problem...... Not fun!!!!

As far as the fuel pump code goes, check "ALL" the connections front to rear. Also, be sure to use that new meter to check the voltage at the pump. If it isn't close to 12V, run a 10 ga. wire from the battery to the fuel pump. Use the original fuel pump wire as a trigger for a relay to send all that high octane voltage to your fuel pump..... Just a thought....

 

Yea It will be going back to the shop.

The starting only happens when it has been sitting for a while and the gas has flowed back to the tank.

It is realy fustrating because this is the only major issue that the car has had. Not counting the trunk pull down of course.

Is there anything else that could cause a code 54?

Any noone know what that object is in the pictures?

 

PROBLEM SOLVED!!

It was the fuel pump relay. The origional owner of the car must have done some work on it before I bought it 5 years ago because the relays were not in the correct order and had been replaced once already. So I was swapping out the MAF burn off relay instead of the FP relay.

Hat off to NAPA who help me research the aftermarket part numbers to sort out what relay belonged to what. Now they are all labled correctly and the car is starting and running like a champ.

The shop that replaced my fuel pump will be doing some work for free since it seems that I did not need the pump after all.

Thanks to all who posted there help here. F-BODIES RULE!!!