i have an 88 camaro and my fuel pump is good my relay is also good when i turn the key to the on possition the fuel pump doesn't cut on, please help me fix my car!!!!

Greetings Joel88camaro,
You did not specify the engine size, however I will take a stab at what your problem could be. There is a 20 amp fuse located to the right of the radiator and behind the right hand headlight. If this fuse blows, it will kill power to the electronic control module from the fuel pump relay. When this happens, the fuel pump won't work. Often a cause of a lot of good fuel pumps being changed because people don't know about this fuse. In addition to replacing this fuse, I would check the wires going into the fuel pump relay connector for bare wires and chaffing.
http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif

Hope this helps you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm sorry trickster i have a 1988 chevy 2.8l V-6 and i appreciate the advice and i will check it, if you have any more advice please post it i will take it all to heart. i have one more question i try to crank my engine and it turns fast like it should but it doesn't crank it back fires instead of regular firing i've been trying to set my timing with my dist. and still don't know if i'm doing right, please help!!!

Does your car have a shock sensor that cuts power to the fuel pump in case of an accident? Usually loacted near the fuel pump relay, it's a black box with a reset button on it. If the car was hit sometimes these units trip and won't send power to the fuel pump. More than a few fuel pumps and fuel pump relays get replaced because people don't know about these things. They are in some 80's cars and probably most cars by now, but I don't know when they started putting them into camaros.

------------------
Mark Canning
1969 Indy Pace Car
350/300HP RPO Z11
My 69 L48 - 350/300HP Engine (http://www.townisp.com/~markcanning/camaro/transparent%20air%20cleaner3.jpg)

well i looked into it and i don't have a in line fuse in the front right hand side by the radiator, it is a cooling fan relay in that spot..... however someone told me that it is probably the oil pressure sensor that is the problem it might be telling the computer that i have no oil pressure and that would make the fuel pump shut off, which would stop the engine from running if there is no oil being sent through the engine, if the engine has no oil in it it would over heat and destroy it. along with that i have a new delema- my engine is turning fast enough to start, i have plenty of spark to start, and i have plenty of gas to start, but my car won't start....instead of starting, it back fires every time i pump it while trying to start it, what is going on besides the timing being off because you can only turn the distributer so far and that's not it, please give me as much help as possible because i need it....

Greetings again Joel88camao,

I went back into my service manual to do some more checking now that I know what size engine you have. On the right hand wheel well inside the engine compartment, there are two inline fuses behind the battery. These fuses are for the ECM power/fuel pump and the MAF (mass air flow). Check both of these and see if one is blown. If you would like, I can e-mail you a picture showing component locations for your engine. http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif Also, to set your timing, the engine must be running and you need to use a timing light to properly set it.

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an add-on to the above message. To be sure that my service manual was telling me the truth and the information was good for models prior to 1989, I went to a junkyard near my home and looked at a 1987 and 1988 2.8l V6 camaro. Sure enough, the information was correct. There are two inline fuses as mentioned in the above post, they are located behind the battery by the coolant overflow tank. http://www.camaros.net/forum/cool.gif

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[This message has been edited by trickster (edited 07-02-2002).]

[This message has been edited by trickster (edited 07-03-2002).]

thanks trickster,
i'm going to go and check my camaro to see if it has been cut out because i have never seen one in my car but please e-mail me the picture (in fact i need all the help i can get and info possible) my e-mail address is "christinas_baby_1@yahoo.com ... I appreciate all the help you're giving me please keep on!!!!

wlee i checked the fuses and i found them and they are both in perfect condition so i guess it couldn't possibly be that please lay the info on me and help me get my baby running i can take as much info you can lay on me and pics will help alot my e-mail again is christinas_baby_1@yahoo.com thanks!


[This message has been edited by joel88camaro (edited 07-03-2002).]

Greetings Joel88camaro,
I need as much information about your problem as you can give me.
1. was this a sudden occurance or gradual?
2. are you getting a service engine soon light, if so, what are the trouble codes?
3. have you been trying to set your timing with the engine not running?
Please give me as much specifics as you can on your problem. http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif
Thank you,

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok here we go when i try to turn on my ignition switch almost to crank possition (you know where all the power in the vehicle is supposed to turn on) you are supposed to hear the fuel pump kick in... Either you hear it with your ear to the tank opening or in the back of the car i know this for a fact because i used to be able to hear it and then all of the sudden it just stopped working.... so i went through the following steps to check what might be wrong with it:

1. removed the fuel pump to check to see if there is still a good pump, it works perfectly and cuts on when wired to the battery. = pump good

2. i checked the under dash fuel pump fuse to see if it is blown, it is not blown. = good under dash fuse.

3. i checked the relay to see if it is bad, when the ignition switch is turned over it clicks like it is supposed to so there is nothing wrong with the relay. = good relay.

4. i checked the in line fuses by the battery to see if they were blown they weren't = good in line fuses.

this is all i have done so please tell me what i haven't done and what i need to do please help me!!!!

I don't know about your particular motor, but many have a cam shaft and or crank shaft position sensor. Normally, the ECU will turn on the fuel pump for a second or two when you first turn the key. Then the ECU waits for pulses from the position sensors. If the sensors are bad, the ECU will never turn on your fuel pump and ignition. Consult a repair manual for a troubleshooting procedure. Also realize that often, both sensors (if equipped) use the same power and ground feed. If one sensor is shorted, it can cause the other to fail the test. As a result, if the troubleshooting procedure doesn't identify the bad part, try disconnecting one sensor while testing the other and visa versa.

-dnult

Greetings joel88camaro,
I have one other question for you. Did you start having this problem before or after you tried to adjust your engine timing? Also pumping the gas pedal while trying to start the engine is not very effective with a fuel injected engine since it uses a electrical pump instead of a mechanical pump. If the pump isn't running, you won't get any fuel pressure no matter how hard you pump. http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif
Also, the reason that I have'nt sent any info to you by e-mail is that it is quite large and keeps coming back to me. I would quess that your mailbox is rather small (probably about 4 megabyte) and cannot handle something this large. Do you by chance have access to a fax machine? If so, it would be easier and faster to fax it to you.
Before I forget, on your particular engine, the reference pulses that dnult mentioned in his post come from the HEI module. That is why I asked about the timing. You may have disconnected the connector on it or broken a wire on it.

The Trickster

well i got my fuel pump to work now i need my engine to crank.... here is the specs of what i can see. when i try to crank my car it turns quick enough and it has plenty of back fire but no internal regular fire(a.k.a. it isn't running) i believe i am getting plenty of compression but it only back fires expecially when i pump the gas, i figured that the timing is off but i can only turn the distributer so much(am i not supposed to be able to turn it a pretty good amount) please help me get it running now we have fuel to the engine please help me get it to run, we're almost there this is the last problem!

Joel,

Your car must of had fuel all along, because it will not backfire without fuel and fire both.

There has to be a problem in the timing as you have mentioned. The first thing to check is the cap and rotor. If the cap is cracked you will see a line inside the cap going from one plug wire pin to another, or to the center coil pin. The rotor can have a hole burnt through it but this normaly don't cause a backfire. If there is a hole in the rotor it will look like a small dot inside where the shaft goes, that is as small as the point of a pin. If you change the dist cap either number your wires, or put the new cap in place and move one wire at a time.

Does the starter sound normal or is maybe spinning a little faster than normal? You might have a timing chain out, so we need to be sure it is in time. Here is how to;

(1) Remove #1 sparkplug. (Drivers side front)
(2) Have someone bump the starter a little at a time until compression comes out the plug hole. (hold your finger over the plug hole)
(3) When compression comes out you will need to turn the engine just a little more to line the timing marks up on the front balancer to right on zero. (There will be a timing marker down on the front pulley)
(4) With the engine on TDC follow the plug wire from the plug removed to the dist cap and mark the dist. Now remove the dist cap and the rotor should be pointing directly to where #1 wire is on the cap, if it is not there is a problem.

There are other things like bad gas that can cause problems but here are some things to check.

Have fun, Larry www.lnjstreetrods.com (http://www.lnjstreetrods.com)

is it not true that if i find that my engine is out of time by the distributer that i can get the # 1 piston to top dead center and then remove my distributer cap and check where my rotor is pointing when i find this point and if my timing is off on gm's i've been told that i can use that possition as my # 1 spark plug possition and then line the rest of my plugs based on that as the starting point? I've been told by mechanics that it is right, isn't it?

ok the first question here is why is you distributor out of sequence to the #1 cylinder. if you havent removed an replaced it since this problem occured, the fix wont be that easy. you can bet that the chain has slipped on the worn gears an now the top of the motor is out of sync with the bottom. only way to fix this is to pull the water pump an cover an replace the chain an gears an put top an bottom back in sync.. but before you dive in pull the distributor an make sure the gear is in good shape if it isnt you could have lost your sync there but i doubt it. at least you are at the right site if you need help doing a timing set. good luck

Joel,

Some how from you question it appears to me that you didn't read the post that I left for you. Go back and read the (1) thru(4) steps and you will know if the chain has slipped. Be sure and check the dist gear as Storman said if the dist is off. Be sure and follow the steps because you can be off 180* in your checking if you don't.

Larry www.lnjstreetrods.com (http://www.lnjstreetrods.com)

alright i got my distributer turned and i have my car running but now i have a new problem: when the car is started and running it is running hot and the temperature guage is stuck over 260 degrees my cooling fan is not going on at all but i am going to hot wire that. Now a question if my fan works will it keep my engine cool. OK the other problem is that i have a manual transmission and when i put it in gear and do the whole release the clutch and press the excelerator it revs down my engine to where it wants to turn itself off unless i give it gas, my transmition is in perfect condition i think my throttle cable isn't taunt enough. and the last problem is it is hard to get my engine to idle and when i do it only wants to do it for a minute then i press the throttle again and it will do the same for an other minute. please help me we are almost there and the answer for any who might want to know yes i have driven it since it has run again, im so proud and my engine runs great and clean i think alot of the problem is that i have bad gas!

wow 260 is way hot, damage hot, fix that fan if its not to late. also check your thermostat to make sure its operating properly, if necessary remove test and or replace. you still havent answered how you timing got out in the first place your playing around, a sudden no run condition, have you owned this car an been driving it until this or did you buy somebody elses headache. you could still have a timing set that has slipped and you have reset the timing to a point it will run but is still wrong an could be causing the overheat with or without the fan. you are gonna have to give up some more history and what led upto this. but for gods sake dont run it anymore that hot

ok it stopped working again here is the history on the car i bought somebody elses headache, and as far as i know it hadn't been running for about a year before i bought it and it was just suposed to have bad compression, but it didn't it was perfect, and when i got it working it ran as smooth as i just drove it off of the showroom floor. but between this morning and last night it chose to stop working again, here is the chain of events that i did since it worked last night:
1- i wired the radiator/cooling fan straight to the battery to get it to work i was in the process of hooking up a toggle swich to cut it on and off and i needed to test to make sure it still worked good, so i wired it into my pedal lights/radio/600 watt amp.- in result of this my amp started to smoke and when i tried to turn over my car it hessitated to no end... in this lesson i learn that i had that fuse over loaded....
QUESTION: would that mess up my car from starting.

O.K. this is the deal now when i try to start my car it turns nice and fast but it doesn't start it doesn't even sound like it is trying to fire?
when i had my friend sit in the car and crank it while i turned the distributer to try to set the timing it sent a shock through my arm and i wasn't touching anything that would put off spark and i don't have any sort of cracks in the spark plug wires they were good last night.

as far as i've been told it might be a bad module or something else please tell me what i need to fix!

I would really love it if one of you would help me! why won't you help me i haven't heard a word from any one for the last 4 days i gave you all the info you asked for now why do you refuse to respond,
Please help because until you do i am not going to touch my car and it sucks! http://www.camaros.net/forum/rolleyes.gif i dont know why you quit helping me every one else is being helped as far as i see! http://www.camaros.net/forum/confused.gif


[This message has been edited by joel88camaro (edited 07-10-2002).]

ok ok back to basicswe know you have spark still since you got jolted. this was after the wiring mess. do you still have fuel can you here the pump come on. undo the wiring mess for now we will deal with the fan later

yes i do still have fuel and the fuel is kicking on, here is the deal the car sat up for a year before i bought it and it had gas in it all that time when we got it cranked the other day we put some more gas in it and added some octaine booster in it to try to flush the system. the next morning it won't start, please help me!

ok so you still got fuel is it reaching the TB you should see a little spray when you try to start it. are you sure you still have spark you can get a simple spark tester at any parts store cheap goes in line between plug an wire. if you have a timing lite it wont flash when the engine is cranking if you have no spark. no spark remove module an have tested at most part stores. good luck