93 dime 4.3 tbi wont start

[fah-q]

i have a 1993 4.3L tbi dime..it has 170,000 miles on it and it has always ran fine other then it idles a lil rough.....i went to my friends house the other night and hung out for a few hours....when i came out to leave the truck would not start...it would crank but didnt even act like it wanted to start i could not smell any gas so i dont think the truck was flooded....i left the truck there and got a ride home....the next day i went back to have it towed put my key in the ignition and turned it to show my friend what it was doing it cranked for about 5 seconds and then started right up and ran perfectly fine.....i woke up the next morning to go to work and the only thing that i have noticed is that it takes a couple extra seconds of cranking before it starts...anyone have any ideas of what it might be?? i would be much happier if i would have had to fix something rather then going out every morning wondering if the thing is gonna start or not... the only thing that i did differant the night it would not start was turned the key to the on position and sat there for about 5 or 10 minutes without starting it...any help would be wonderful

[laydout97]

it sounds like a weak fuel pump. There is no fuel pressure test port on the tbi engines. You have to put in a guage in the return line to check fuel pressure. Yogi wil correct me/ explain more to you.

[fah-q]

well atleast i have somewhere to start now that makes me feel a little better....by the way like the name laydout97 its my gamertag...

[lesterl]

Fuel pump relay may be bad, oil pressure sender has to see pressure before it kicks in and turns pump on, which means it will have to crank a little to fire up the pump, might listen for the pump to run with the key turned to run position (assuming relay is good should prime 3 seconds.)

[blazerguy89]

i usually put a bridge in where the fuel filter goes and it has a fitting where u can screw ya gauge into it. you can buy them through matco tools but as expensive as they are i wouldn't recommend buying one unless u work on them alot or unless u have the extra money to spend. another way to do it is get a T- fitting and use 2 peices of rubber hose one on each side of the T-fitting going onto the lines and clamp them and put ur gauge on the T-fitting. i wouldnt recommend doing a dead head test as you really need to know more of how much pressure it has at normal flow. i could be wrong in some opinions but this is my $.02.

[Yogi]

Quote: Originally Posted by laydout97

it sounds like a weak fuel pump. There is no fuel pressure test port on the tbi engines. You have to put in a guage in the return line to check fuel pressure. Yogi wil correct me/ explain more to you.

You want to test the pressure on the supply line, not the return. The return is after the regulator and the pressure will be very low or none at all.

[fah-q]

thanks for the opinions..it ran fine for the last few days other then having to turn the key a few times to get it started once in awhile and then all of a sudden today it died right in the middle of an intersection...that is the first time that has ever happened..i could not get it started back up...would it dying like that be caused by a faulty fuel pump also?

[Yogi]

It's possible.

[fah-q]

im a baller on a budget here lol..trying to figure out how much it is going to cost me to fix cant really afford to replace stuff if it is not going to fix it.. but from what i have heard fueal pump it is...any idea on how much one of those run?

[shadow32]

What about the Ignition Control Module being on its way to the grave?

[Yogi]

Quote: Originally Posted by fah-q

im a baller on a budget here lol..trying to figure out how much it is going to cost me to fix cant really afford to replace stuff if it is not going to fix it.. but from what i have heard fueal pump it is...any idea on how much one of those run?

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,6256

I would get a pressure test before I spent any money on a pump. And get the ICM tested too.

[fah-q]

Sorry for my lack off car knowledge ...icm?

[Yogi]

Ignition Control Module.

[fah-q]

maybe i should go and get a manual lol or i am going to be asking alot of crazy questions

[lesterl]

Quote: Originally Posted by fah-q

im a baller on a budget here lol..trying to figure out how much it is going to cost me to fix cant really afford to replace stuff if it is not going to fix it.. but from what i have heard fueal pump it is...any idea on how much one of those run?

WTF is a baller?

[lesterl]

Fuel pumps are around $70, get an AC DELCO pump only (spend the little extra) unless you like replacing them regularly. And replace the sock and fuel filter. Might also check the voltage/ grounds back at the pump, I would suggest checking the pressure also as previously mentioned.

[fah-q]

where the hell is the relay for the fuel pump at? i was also told to check this by my friend but i have no idea where it is at...and how big is the gas tank? i have been looking for pumps online and they are listing a 20 gallon pump and a 13 gallon pump which one is it?

[Yogi]

Check the option code list in the glove box and look for a code like Nxx. Take the code to the RPO Decoder sticky and look up your gas tank size. Mine was NE2 which is 18 gal.

[lesterl]

Relay should be under hood on drivers side fender?

[Yogi]

I thought it was in the glove box on a '93?

[lesterl]

Maybe it is, I was thinking the OBD1 stuff was still under the hood.