Leaving work one day I noticed my engine died on me at the stoplight. This never happens on this car. I restarted it and noticed it was running rough. Hit the highway and at speeds above 60 or while accelerating the car seemed to shudder sometimes as if it wanted to die. Managed to get home and parked in front of the house. Tried calling the local shop a few times to see if he could get me in but got no answer. I had to unload some stuff from the car so I started it and pulled it around the back of the house, unloaded all the stuff and then went to start it to drive down to the shop. It started fine and ran for about 3 seconds, then died and wouldn't start again. If I would leave it sit for a while I could get it to start and run for about 3 seconds, but then it dies again and won't restart. So I started reading some posts on here and was thinking it was the fuel pump. I went and got a brand new fuel filter and installed that. Still no joy. Put a fuel pressure gauge on it and I am getting 62 psi when cranking. After cranking, pressure SLOWLY drops to 55 psi and holds steady there.

I noticed that the battery would lose charge quickly when cranking and I would have to recharge it, so I went and had the battery tested and they said it had a bad cell, so I replaced that. Still wouldn't start!

So, then I started testing for spark and found that I was getting no voltage on the pink wire on the main coil with the ignition key on.

Went down to Autozone and bought a new coil and put it on. I am getting 14 volts on the pink connector now, but the car still won't start. Went back down and bought an ignition module for $72 and installed that. STILL won't start!

At this point I am just about at my wit's end! Anybody know what I should check next? I feel like I am just throwing parts at it now to no avail!

Thanks in advance!

 

Have you noticed the 'security' light on the dash? The running for 3 seconds is a tell tale of the passlock system activating and shutting down the engine.

 

No, I'm not getting any security light on the dash. I suppose it could be burnt out. But now it won't even start at all after I replaced the coil. It just cranks but never catches. How do you reset the security system if it has been tripped?

 

Had problem with mine running for a couple of seconds then dying. ( happened to the wife in a Jack in the box drivethru) Turned out to be low on oil - when you first crank. there is a timer then pressure switch should take over the fuel pump operation. check for a bad oil pressure sensor.

heard of one guy that was priming his oil system before first start up after rebuild and for some reason he had his battery connected. fuel line wasn't. gas started shooting out scared the crap out of him!

 

Thanks UEMF. I will check this. This engine was just rebuilt a year ago. And when this started happening, I was a little low on oil. About a quart low I'd say. But that was the first thing I did was to top off the oil.

BD

 

Does the security light illuminate when the bulb test is performed (right after turning the key to the run position?

If it were a passlock issue, you should be able to start the truck by turning the key to the run position, then wait for 10 minutes (might want to have a battery charger on it), then turn the key to the start position and see if it will start and stay running.

 

I just went out and checked. The Security indicator does light on the bulb check but then goes out. The only lights that are staying on right now are the "Service Engine Soon" light, the battery indicator (because I have been cranking on it so much) and the airbag light blinks at me 3 times and then goes off.

BD

 

Ok. Sounds like it isn't the passlock system activating then. You can still assess the health of the contacts in the ignition switch by testing the resistance on the circuits found in the main harness under the steering column using the diagrams in the ignition switch thread linked to in my signature below. That should help you rule out the ignition switch doing something funky.