this saturday i tried starting my lt1 and it didnt even sound like it wanted to start, however last week it did for a second at a rough idle but i had suspected that the distributor was on its way out or the timing chain was off. the timing chain was right on the two dots on. the gears lined up at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock with the cam shaft at 3 o'clock, and the number 6 cylinder was at tdc. I went ahead and installed a brand new gm optispark and standard coil. last week i could hear the fuel pump prime but yesterday it didnt even make a sound. what could be wrong here? im certain the timing is perfect because i tripple checked it on shbox.com. Im thinking that it may not be the fuel pump and just may be a vats issue. Is it possible for the engine to crank over and shut off the fuel pump? or does it sound more like just a dead fuel pump? Or could it be something else? any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! this car is turning into a money pit for me

-steve

 

did you check your fuel pump fuse?

 

i checked the injector fuses but couldnt find one for the fuel pump....where is that fuse located?

 

The fuse for fuel pump power through the relay is the ECM fuse (#5) 15A in the dash panel.

 

thanks i tried the fuse but it wasnt blown....in fact if the fuse was blown my motor wont even crank because when i removed to fuse and tried to turn it over it did nothing.

 

any other suggestions? im in despirate need of assitance
- Steve

 

you could try checking power to the relay itself to see if it is getting energized. if it has power, the pump or wiring could be screwed up.

shoebox has a pic here:


you can try this to energize the pump without the ecu. (also found on shoebox's site)

 

If you have a voltmeter, you can always check to see if the harness for the fuel pump is getting power, if it is, then you know the rest of the circuit is in good working order.

 

does the harness have connections in the rear where the fuel pump is or is it a bunch of long wires which need to be spliced into?

 

kinda stupid question but no one addressed it yet....

can you hear the pump turn on?

 

his original post said he could not hear it prime.

 

and that's why it was a stupid question.

the pump does kick on when in ACC mode, and kicks right off if they engine isn't cranked.... just fyi

 

of coarse thats the only whay the fuel rail can be primed to start the engine. however could it be that i have tried to start the engine so many times that it realizes that the line already has presure and doesnt need to engage itself anymore when the key is turrned to the acc position

 

the only way to be 100% certain about the fuel pump/pressure is to put a gauge on the schrader valve, turn the car on, see what you get. if the pressure doesnt come up, there is a problem with the fuel pump circuit. it should prime anytime you turn the key on, no need to try to start the car.

as previously mentioned, you can also use the prime connector to energize the relay and turn on the pump without the key.

 

i put the guage on the fuel rail and there was no fuel pressure. i have a feeling that it could be a lose connection due to the fact that i was using a hammer and sawsal to remove my old exhaust. could this be a possibility because those sawsals shake the crap out of the car.