I have been searching the site for hours on possible solutions to this problem that just occurred yesterday. I bought a 2000 Blazer with 109k on it on the 24th. Drove it Christmas day with no problems. Yesterday I go out to start it in the morning before work and it turns over but will not start. First thing I think of is fuel pump. I can hear it prime and everything but it will not start. I leave it alone and get a ride to work with my g/f. I got sick at work to add to my already crappy day so I go home early.

I got home roughly 3 hours after I left the house and tried to start the blazer for the heck of it. Turn the key, let the pump prime, and boom, it fires right up. I scratch my head thinking it may have been some freak occurrence due to the 3 degree temperature outside that morning. So today I stayed home from work again due to still being sick. I was going to run to the store to grab some 7-up or something for my stomach and go to start my blazer. Well the damn thing wouldn't start again. I try for a minute or two and go back inside. I go back out 15 mins or so later and try to start it again. This time is started but ran kind of rough then died. I tried it again and it fired right up. I drove it to the store and back and it ran flawlessly.

So after sipping on some 7-up to try and calm my stomach, I go out and mess with a few things on it. I checked the fuel pressure and all was well. Followed the guide I found here and fuel pressure held just fine. I checked cap, rotor, etc. Everything "seemed" fine. Mind you I did not mess with it too long as I am still a little under the weather.

So...I did some more searching here. I found several threads on here pointing to different things. Not sure where to go from here. I read that it could be the spider injectors leaking down causing a flooding condition, coolant sensor, crank case sensor, etc.

I am frustrated as I just bought this damn thing for RELIABLE winter vehicle and now this. It's strange that it runs just fine after it is started. Thanks for any help!

 

Gasline Antifreeze like IsoHeet?! Who knows how much water could be in the fuel system. When you try to start & No Go it may just be moving ice up to the filter or sucking it close to the pick-up in the tank. Just my thoughts, start with the easiest fix & go from there unless you have an idea or something you've read that makes a lot more sence.
Get a helper, remove the temp. sensor on the throttle body bonnet, have the helper crank the engine while you shoot some brake cleaner or throttlebody cleaner in that hole. See if it fires but doesn't run. If it fires but doesn't run then it's not electrical, it's fuel issues. Doesn't help a lot but it does narrow the search down.

 

I have to agree with Rottidog, it is always prudent to use a fuel suppliment in cold climates as well as maintain as full a tank as one can afford,but never less than 1/2!
Too many products out there: but just be careful not to over-alcohol the system,
E-Tech from NAPA and regular usage of Marvel should be sufficient. But Change your fuel filter now! Good Luck!

 

A little update...

I parked the truck in the garage last night and this morning it fired right up. However, I noticed that if I give it anymore than half throttle or so it barely wants to accelerate. I bought a fuel filter on the way home from work and tried to change it. Damn thing is rusted on there and I can't for the life of me get the nut loose. I am going to snag some flare wrenches before I round them off. I soaked it in WD-40 (that's all I had) for the time being. I will report back to let you all know if that fixed the problem.

EDIT: Got the fuel filter changed. The gas that came out of the old filter was brown. I had high hopes I found my problem but on the test drive the truck is doing the same thing. Once you push it close to WOT it's like the thing hits a brick wall and hardly accelerates. What else should I check for? It doesn't miss or anything at all either. It idles fine, accelerates normal as long as I don't give it more than 3/4 throttle or so. I did notice that when reving in park the rpm's will drop below the normal idle for a second then come back up. Not sure what it is. Think it's the spider injection?

Another EDIT: Going to check and clean the EGR tonight as well for piece of mind. I am going to rent a fuel pressure tester and see what I am getting for fuel pressure too. I really hope it's not the spider injection that is giving me problems. Don't want to throw a bunch of money at a truck I just bought .

 

Changed the spark plugs tonight. The wires looked fairly new so I didn't touch them. The plugs that were in it were Autolite plugs and they were pretty nasty looking. Put in some fresh AC Delco 41-993's. Fired it up and idled smooth as silk. Let it warm up and hit the highway. As soon as I stepped down on the pedal on the highway it started sputtering a little and wouldn't accelerate very well at all. By the time I got back to my house it would barely move when I pushed the gas. It got worse the longer I drove it. Parked it in the garage and it smelled hot and smelled like something was burning. I put my hand near the y-pipe and could feel a little heat, I moved my hand back under the cat and there was quite a bit of heat coming off of it.

So...is it possible the cat is clogged? That doesn't explain my no start issue I had earlier though. I am going to do a fuel pressure test over the weekend as well. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

take out an O2 to try relieve exhaust pressure maybe? just be happy its not your fuel pump, $$$!!!!

 

Yeah I will give that a shot tomorrow to see how it runs. I am still baffeled on the no start issue but have not ran into that problem the last couple of days. I still need to verify fuel pressure but will get that done over the weekend to rule out a possible fuel pump.

I hope this is something simple and not too expensive. I have had terrible luck with vehicles this year. Hopefully 2011 will bring me better luck !

 

A fuel pressure and leak down test would be my first priority.

 

Tested fuel pressure and it is within spec. I got the code scanned today also. It was showing a P0101. Did some searching and found that sometimes that code will get thrown if the cat is plugged. Took out one of the front o2's and the truck seemed to run worse than it did. Still possible for the cat to be plugged? Could a vacuum leak allow the truck to idle fine but lack power? After looking for possible vacuum leaks what should the next step be?

 

Did you completely remove the O2 sensor as in from the exhaust and disconnected from the wiring? If left still connected, it will cause it to run extremely rich on that bank.

If you completely removed it, which one did you remove? I like to remove the passenger side upstream sensor given how close to the 'y' in the y-pipe it is. If removing the driver side O2, it can allow free oxygen into the exhaust which can throw off the passenger side O2 sensor.