After learning this and to test and see if it was really a bad pump or if it was the inertia switch. I went out to the parts car that has the old pump in it since I had swapped them out already (it was newer anyways, old one looked original honestly so it wasn’t a bad thing to do) tried starting and it started right up with no hesitation. No where near as much trouble as I was having with the original pump in the daily driver car.

I haven’t had the chance to try the pump yet or reset the reset the switch in the daily driver car. I just got the car not too long ago and I’ve had it in pieces these last few days doing a dash swap. Now I’m resealing the engine because caked in oil. Thankfully pressure tested the cooling system and it held pressure.

Nonetheless, coulda saved myself a day worth of work with just a simple press of a button on the inertia switch since the pump wasn’t bad after all. Oh well at least I got a newer pump lol

 

I thought I had found the smoking gun however, issue still prevails. Even with a new pump, reset the inertia switch by pressing the button.

It still does not fire up right away, it takes several seconds of cranking for it to catch.

After a few cranks of nothing, turned it off and back on, tried again and it fired but ran for a couple seconds but ended up dying out/stalling on itself.

Tried it again and it fired up and stayed running. Any ideas on what it might be?

 

Bad coils maybe

 

Check your fuel pressure while cranking. Just because the pump is new does not mean it is good. Sounds a little like the FPR is not sealing all the way, so that is why you need to check the pressure while cranking.

 

To give an update to this problem, I thought that it was fixed but it still is there. It has actually gotten worse.

Yesterday I went out to the car and tried to start it, didn’t start right away as I was hoping. In fact it actually started but seems like it only started in a few cylinders and the rpm’s started high then dropped that it stalled. I finally got it started right after a few cranks and it ran good. I let it idle for a good 5 minutes maybe more then decided to go on a drive to run it through. Since it’s probably been sitting for the last who knows how long. First few feet of slowing giving it gas out the driveway and it misfired and stalled. No codes. Then got started back up Drove it for maybe 10 min and decided to stop into a store…bad idea. Came out to the car tried to start it and now it wont start at all. Had to get it towed back to the house.

Today I tried starting it again and nothing. I’ve tried starting it so many times and it won’t start again. It sounds.

I got p1668 code at a point but I’m assuming it’s because my battery got low from trying to start it so many times. My dash is not flashing at all.

I can smell the fuel in the engine bay after trying to start it. I have checked random spark plugs on each sides and they all have spark. I haven't checked fuel pressure at crank though. But I’ve reset the inertia switch several times.

the weird thing is, that when it was running and I tried to give it gas, it would misfire (no codes) slightly.

I am at a total loss.

 

Still think it is fuel pressure.

 

I will rent the fuel pressure gauge tomorrow and hook it up. Will check for constant psi and while cranking.

I heard the pump priming before I tried to start it. I primed it twice and heard it both times. Tried starting it, sounds like it’s going to fire/ start right up for a split second in the being but doesn’t then just endlessly cranks with no firing.

I took the key out for a bit and turned to listen for the pump again. I heard nothing and I tried to listen for it a few times.

I’m thinking that the p1668 code I am getting is my scanner not being working with the disco. I tried to read the BCU and the car went dumb. Everything turned off and the dash had no miles only a single small 0. Hopefully it’s relevant because even after I cleared the codes it didn’t change anything.

So what’s cutting my fuel pressure? I checked the relay and it’s good

 

Maybe try unplugging the MAF and see what happens. My experience is a bad maf will start and idle, but die when you give it any beans at all, but an erratic MAF signal could cause all kinds of oddness. If it is unplugged the ECU will default to an "open" loop map based on RPM and TPS.

Also make sure idle air is moving freely.

Assuming the fuel pressure is constant when you test while running, I would next suspect somewhere there is a sensor telling the ECU that you are either very lean or very rich. The smell of gas makes me think it is reporting lean and it is getting flooded out. I hate these kinds of problems. That could be TPS, MAF, O2, etc. I suppose it could also be a flakey CPS causing timing issues. The right amount of fuel not getting burned would give you a gas smell too.

In the end the right way to troubleshoot this is to start back tracing sensors and make sure all of them are producing values in the right range. WatchWesWork on Youtube does this kind of thing all the time, but it is a pretty steep learning and tool cost curve. Most guys just load up the parts cannon instead.

 

I tried unplugging the MAF and it had no changed. idle air is good I believe.

I’ve changed the both upstream O2 sensors after I got a code for them. I had lean air codes on both banks but I believe that was because I had the intake breather hose off while checking for spark.

I’ve changed the CKP however it was with one from auto zone. So to rule out that I just ordered a Bosch one to be sure, hopefully it comes soon.

Today I’m going to check the fuel pressure, while I’m at it I will do a smoke test to see if I have a vacuum leak. I will report back.

 

Got a pressure gauge hooked up to it again, turns out that pump is only pushing 20 psi barely. So I’ll be getting a new pump after all.

However, while doing some more testing, I’ve found that I’m actually not getting any volts for the pump to prime. From my understanding I should be getting power to it while I have the key in position 2 for a few seconds. I’m not getting anything for it to prime.

I am getting power to the pump while cranking but that’s it.

What’s making it not get power for it to prime?