I'm having an intermittent starting issue....more often when the engine is cold ....but occurs also when it's warmed up too. first thing in the am....turn the key and the engine will turn over but not fire ( or maybe fire once) ....after a few days of this I find that the fuel pump is not running, also I noticed a few times that the starter wouldnt activate ....unless....I wiggled the key a little or let it come back from the "start" position ....when I go slow with the key to the second on position, sometimes the fuel pump runs and sometimes it doesnt . It seems that when the pump doesnt start running...if I leave the key in the second on position and maybe wiggle it some ...the pump runs and away we go. This all leads me to believe that the switch is going bad . I know the multi-function -relay under the hood has a part in this procedure.....and I swapped it out with another used one.....no difference.

I searched and didnt really find what I wanted to know ( and my RAVE has become "corrupt" according to my 'puter) are there any other relays to be concerned about as far as the fuel pump is concerned ...or is the multifunction black box the only one ? the pump is only 2 years old and puts out a steady 35 psi when it runs...all the connections at the pump appear to be good and clean. I'm leaning toward replacing the ign switch first since that appears to have issues..
as always, your thoughts are greatly appreciated

 

Check out my thread on immobilization bypass in the stickies.

 

Just those relays, but inertia switch is also in series with it.

 

You might want to try some CRC spray in the ignition switch. Another thing I recently read a little about was the ECU solder joints and corrosion especially around some of the ground planes.

 

thanks ! guys for the comments....I never even considered the security system aspect before as the PO's never gave me the fob, and someone of them installed an aftermarket system also and didnt give me that either......the "immobilizer" makes sense...sometimes turn over but no fuel pump.....sometimes fuel pump runs but a delay in the starter activating.....I think it will be time well spent for me to immobilize the immobilizer.....weather it's working or not. I will check out the other items as well. I'll come back with the results....
thanks again !
Rod

 

If it has "aftermarket" systems, I would strongly reccomend the removal of all that junk as it may very well be a major contributor to your issues. Often times people modify a vehicle and the results are not as desired.

Especially if they tapped into the normal power and ground connections, you may have unintended circuits, referred to as "sneak circuits".

I recently came into possesion of some older PLC cabinets and power panels, I may have some switches available if someone needs a few.

 

Well boys, never trust the PO(s).
all the symptoms of my issue here certainly made it look like the infamous immobiliser problem. So I decided to take the dash apart to get at the pesky black box....after an hour of honing my swearing abilities to perfection...much to my disappointment....the immobiliser WAS ALREADY GONE ! there wasnt even a wiring harness where it used to be ! Instead, tucked in behind everything was the biggest mess of an aftermarket security system I have ever seen. In my wildest days of pre-high school tinkering I would not have created something as bad as this. Four wires of this mess were were still connected to my truck in tucked away places...so I did away with them and tried to return the wiring to "stock" . Now , this stuff has been attached to my truck since I bought it, so not completely satisfied this was the problem...I turned my attention to the ECU. The wiring TO it looked good, but I decided to remove it just to have a look....glad I did. There was a 2" hole in the fenderwell which apparently had been soaking the ECU for quite a while....the corrosion underneath the computer was unreal ! I was afraid to open it up but did anyway. pretty bad inside too....alluminum oxidation and moisture aplenty. Other than being lightly coated with crap the circuit boards looked ok, so I cleaned it all up gently and resealed it back up. There was actually a hole corroded through the bottom of the ECU !! ( plugged the hole in the fenderwell too). For now the problem seems to be cured (knock on wood) I feel the corrosion in the ECU had more to do with my issues than the botched security system, but glad I got rid of it anyway.

 

I think I know your PO - Howard J. Muckenfuss - an attorney, and he left a multi-volume set of Murphy's Law in the truck..... amazing that it ran at all. Good, but scary pix.

 

I think this Howard guy really gets around !!