Thread: starts then dies

hey all. my 98 regal gs was running fine yesterday, went to the store and came out to leave then it would start fine and run for 1-2 seconds then dies. starts up everytime i try to but does the same thing. i hear the fuel pump priming as it always has. any ideas?

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Pull the fuel pump high speed relay in teh under hood relay center and bend the 85 tab. Stuff it back in.. bet it runs.

If that does the trick.. your low speed pump resistor is bad.

not sure what that is. not the fuel pump relay is it?

Nope. Didn't even start when I did that. Put it back and still doing the same thing. Could it be the fuel pump? I've had them die before and usually it doesn't start at all if it does it doesn't run this smooth

what pressure am i looking for? high 50's with key on and low 50's with car running? thats what i was told

i changed fp regulator less then 2 years ago and the fuel filter around the same time. guess ill check that out next. thanks! where abouts in jersey are you from? im up north in morris county area

yea thats how it usually is. i was really active with the grand prix guys years ago.

It is red actually, what's left of it anyways. This car spent it's whole life in Texas so if u haven't been there before I will tell you the sun does a number on any clear coat and paint job. Combine that with hail and stupid drivers, the car doesn't look it's best haha. But it pulls strong when it runs that's all I cared about when I bought it.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

If the resistor didn't do it. Unplug the maf and use a little throttle to get the car started. Once it's started and running for a minute with you helping it stay running via throttle, it should hold it's own.

If that works... you have a bad maf or wiring to it.

Will try that next. Also will check fuel pressure today. Thanks!

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

I should give you more information. Two things are common on a start/die in your year.

Fuel pump low speed resistor: This is a resistor located behind the window washer bottle behind the bumper. When turning the key the pump primes and uses power from the fuel pump relay, then reverts to power through the resistor to run the pump in low speed mode. When the resistor goes bad, you get no power to the pump after the prime. By bending the tab on the fuel pump speed relay, you stop power from being passed through the resistor aka keeping the pump in high speed mode. This is very common for the issue you have.

MAF: This reads the amount of air entering the engine. If this goes bad and tells the pcm there is no air.. the pcm will not pulse the injectors.

Ok. I tried bending the tab out on the rely and it didn't even start. Just cranked, what's that telling you?

Ok so which pin is it? I found a picture online that showed me to bend a certain one. If your looking at the relay head on I bent the tab on the bottom right of it.