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1995 Bonneville - Electrical/Stalling/Fuel Problem

I have a 1995 Bonneville SE 3800

227K miles

I have what I think is an electrical problem. The problem is intermittent. When I turn the key to the ON position, the fuel pump ususally pumps for 2 seconds then stops. Sometimes, instead I hear the fuel relay under the glove box go crazy and the relay under the hood go crazy with clicking. In this case the fuel pump clicks on and off continuously. While the relays are going nuts the car won't start, or will stall immediately after starting. Feels like a fuel starvation issue. The engine turns fine, just no start or a quick stall.

I tested the relays. They are good. The problem may continue for several minutes, and I'll occasionally get 3 fast chimes from the instrument cluster. Eventually the I get lucky and the clicking stops, the fuel pump runs for 2 secs and I get 3 final chimes from the instrument panel. Then everything runs fine. The CEL is OFF, so there are no codes to pull.

This problem can also happen while I'm driving at high or low speeds. I'll get a loss of power and eventually stall.

A funny thing I can't seem to tie into this is that the speedometer (analog) goes up when I turn the key ON and the clicking is happening. I don't understand this. It also happens when the car is getting ready to stall out while driving, the speedometer goes way up to 90 or 100+, even though I'm going much slower...

I've replaced the fuel filter. Fixed a vaccum leak. New plugs/wires.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Let me know if you need more info too. I'm not sure what's wrong - my current guesses include:

Wiring problem - possible intermittent ground issue? I'll visually inspect wiring, but some is kind of hidden - where should I look specifically? Faulty computer - This will cost me $100 to replace and there's no returns... Is there a way to test the computer first? Fuel pump - Is there an easy way to test this? What's the normal current draw for a pump? It could be the pump is intermittently failing, shorting and drawing too much current, which causes the relays to go crazy??

Can anyone help me further diagnose the problem?

Thanks!

Reply to
Mark
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BTW: Forgot to mention that when I turn the key on and the fuel pump relays are clicking away, I looked under the hood and noticed that the Right radiator fan (in front of passenger side) is running slowly. I'm not sure if this is related, normal or something else.

I'll be working on the car tomorrow morning to try to fix the issue - any advice I can get before then would be great!

Reply to
Mark

Reply to
Shep

I smacked the ECM, to no effect. I got jacked it up today and wiggled every wire I could find and no help. 2 mechanics I spoke to said fuel pump is bad, so I replaced it today. Cost me $100 and about 8 hrs work... No good. The car is stalling really badly and It's not drivable... It's especially bad when I drive uphil or idle. What's next - fuel pressure issues? I don't have the tool to check this.

Also I disconnected the return line and started the car and gas was flowing (low rate) through the return line.

Any more suggestions would be great thanks!

Shep wrote:

Reply to
Mark

Reply to
Shep

Thanks for the reply Shep. What is 'cranking rpms'? The engine turned over at normal speed, but it seemed to not be getting fuel or spark. If this is the case is the crank sensor and icm ok?

After replacing the pump, I had the same problem with clicking relays and no start again. But the strange thing is the next morning I went to work on it again and it wouldn't start (no clicking relays, just felt like no fuel reaching the engine). I opened the hood and wiggled the fuel pressure regulator a bit and the car started. It ran all day without a problem.

As a side note, I discovered a cracked radiator hose and a nearly empty radiator which I fixed also, but I consider this totally unrelated (or is it?)

So here's where I stand now: The car runs and drives good. I'm not sure if the real problem was with the fuel pump or not. What is up with this fuel pressure regulator? Do those go bad? Could that be a source of future problems?

Reply to
Mark

Update:

Car died on me twice today. one time on the highway(hot engine), and once again in a parking lot (cold engine).

The clicking sound was back and I wiggled wires - no help. I pushed the valve thing on the fuel pressure regulator during the clicking and fuel was squirting out. No spark at engine.

The strange thing that was back was that the radiator fan was running (pulsing) when the clicking was active. Sometimes the clicking goes away and the car wont start. The fan is on full blast during this time (key turned to on position)

Anyone have any advice?

Thanks, Mark

Reply to
Mark

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