Hello Guys.. I have a 1991 Firebird Formula that I bought back in 1999, with a 350 WS6 Performance Suspension Package TPI Auto.. I am having trouble getting it to start, and after all that I have read so far, I am beginning to wonder Is it really worth having,keeping, dealing with. ???.. I'm from the old school, 1969 Firebird 400 Convertible,Trans Am Clone...& 1968 Camero RS/SS 396 4 speed... A little history about the 1991 Firebird I bought back in 1999, I have always liked this body style.. I really like this car, I am the second owner, it has under 97,000 miles on it... it ran last fall, It has about 4 miles on it since 2001.. last fall I had a new GM fuel pump installed because the old one died.. It ran fine then and I drove it home (4miles), Now this spring I tried to get it started so I could get it painted.. The problem is this:.. It cranks over, but won't start, if I shoot starting fluid into the Plenum it will fire up and run untill the starting fluid runs out.. I can hear the fuel pump run, I checked the valve on the fuel rail, it has pressure and gas,, I used the noid light on "one" of the injectors and it lite up and blinked.. I used a multi- meter and checked all the injectors which read 16 and above.. Now one of my many questions is, if none of the injectors are shorting out, can they still be clogged up and not letting fuel into the cylinders????.. (all the cylinders),????.. Remember, the engine runs with starting fluid... It has old and new gas and 5 year old synthetic oil in it also,, I assume the distributor modual must be okay because it will run with starting fluid.. Can anybody help me with this problem,???, it's about to make me pull my hair out and question whether leaving the TPI system on this engine or trying to go back to the old style carburator... Please HELP!!!!

 

If these helps any I had the same problem on my TPI when i swapped the V6. After wiring harness was put in it would crank but would not start. I to could hear the fuel pump, I checked the injectors and everything was fine, and I also started the car with carburetor cleaner until it ran out. After a week of tinkering with the car I found this one red cable that ran with the harness into the car and was not connected to the positive post on the battery. As soon as I put it on it turned on right away. SO maybe there could be a loose cable that you haven't seen?

 

Thanks chevy_camero_ss,,, I really appreciate your input... You possibly could be onto something there.. I did have to take the battery out and charge it up after it last ran... I went out and looked, but I don't see any red wire loose or disconnected.... It's imput like this that might help me narrow it down till I find the problem... I've just got to get this car running so I can get it painted.. It's originally black and the body is in excellent shape, so I want to paint it black again.. Black is the coolest.......

 

Sounds like your injectors are not pulsing, hold your finger on a fuel injector and have a friend crank the motor, you should feel the injector clicking, if not change the ignition module.

Also remember that the starting fluid does not got through the injectors it goes to the intake thru the plenum

 

My Formula did this when the pick up coil went out. The distibutor also has something to do with the fuel pump and pulsing the injectors. I would check this and the module.

 

John 89 Formula; I used the noid test light on one of the injectors, and it flashed.. does'nt that mean they're pulsing,????.. Also where is the ignition module,??????... is it in the distributer,???.. One other thing that just started to happen that did'nt happen before, is the service engine light is staying on now...

 

Thanks Bingo;.. Can you tell me how to test these two things to see if thats it????.. I wonder also why the service engine light is just now staying lit up.. it has'nt done that over the last couple of weeks and the car would'nt start then either..

 

The module is easy. Take it off and take it to a parts store. Have them test it at least three times so it gets hot. The pick up is tested with an ohm meter. The chart is in the chiltons manual. Sorry, don't have one handy. These can go bad from sitting. The pick-up can corrode and fail. Be sure to put di-electric grease back under your module.

 

1. if you have spark your pickup module and ignition module and coil are probabley okay (just went through all this on my son's '91 RS)
2. The check engine light stays on all the time?? When I bought my oldest son an '83 Z28 the check engine light stayed on all the time (but it ran - HO 305 with a carb). We finally found a single red wire running up the passenger side frame rail that was no getting a good connection to the positive post on the battery. That single red wire is 12 volts to the computer (on the '83 model anyway). It had a small (don't remember the rating) inline fuse in it as well.
3. Check the computer. Turn the key on, jump across the correct terminals in the aldl port (I don't remember which ones are correct - I bought one of the little code reader things from WalMart for $20) and see if the first code is flashes is a 12 (one blink, pause, two blinks, repeated 3 times).

Hope you get it figured out. I know how bad I hate it when I can't drive mine.

 

I had spark to all plugs and the injectors would fire when cold. When warm, The injectors would cut out and the car would stumble. I replaced the pick up coil and the car was fine. I am not saying this will fix your problem, only that it should not be overlooked.

 

Also check to make sure that your fuel pump relay is operating correctly, and that the fuel pump itself is operating. Sounds to me like you've got air, spark, and compression, but no fuel

 

i had the same problem the wire has a small connection about 1-1.5' from the battery. it would crank like no tommorrow but wouldnt start.

 

check how much fuel preasure you have . The noid light only tells you the ECM is trying to run the injectors . You can use an extension hold it to the injecotor and the othe4r side the that flap on your ear , should feal a slight ticming through it . If not it usually means it's not fireing

 

i love my TPI, i wouldn't trade it for anything,... other than a LS1

i had problems with my injectors on my swap. everything checked good but the injectors still wouldn't fire.
from the time i pulled the motor from the still running wrecked camaro to the time i was ready to fire it up was around 6 months or so. the injectors had all gotten stuck. with a tool used to check the flow & spray pattern i lightly tapped on each injector with a 1/2 inch wrench while triggering them until i heard them start clicking. i did all 8 & i have had no other problems with them sense then.

 

Believe it or not, I had the same problem, I was getting fire to the injectors, I had 41psi of fuel pressure at the rail, and a good spark to all new spark plugs. The problem was the injectors were sticking. I was told to tap on them with a screw drive on the thickest part of the injector body, and would you believe that worked! When the injectors situp for that lenght of time they will become stuck and a good tap will free them. Sound like BLL SHT, but it worked!

 

I want to thank you guys for the info, if it stops raining long enough this weekend I'll give it a try.. I still need to check the fuel pressure.. but I'm hoping that pecking the injectors with a wrench will do the trick.. I suppose the injectors could be plugged up too.. but I just can't imagine all of them being plugged at the same time.. I'm going to give the car a tune up.. I know it needs that anyway... I can't wait to get this car back on the road again... I just hate throwing money at the car in hopes to finally fixing the problem... I'll let you know what I find out tomorrow....

 

Hey Guys,, I don't know if anyone will read this post now or not, it's been awhile since I have been on here, but,,,, I finally got the car to start,, and guess what,, I pecked on each one off the injectors, shot a little starting fluid in the plenum, and it started right up and ran!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....... Thanks For All Your Help...