Thread: Need Help with '98 gtp starting then shutting off after seconds.

I bought this car a few weeks ago and at the time I bought it, it was running ok. I went to drive it at work for the first time and it died on me right before i left. I left it alone for about a half hour and checked it again and it got over to work just fine. When I went to leave, it started and died again within seconds. My cousin thought it was the alternator because one of his old cars had done the same thing so we went and got it tested along with the battery. The battery had gone bad and the alternator was getting there so we replaced both and it started up after we hooked them up. The next day I got ready to leave with it to go to a transfer day thing for college and it did the same thing it was doing before. The guy I bought it from also had a plug for us to switch out that I forgot to mention. (it was for the fuel pump, no change with that either though and we did that first) We are all out of ideas and I was hoping someone on here might be able to help.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help,

New grand prix owner

yeah, my cousin said he could hear the fuel pump though

and as for the "plug" it was some wiring that was redone for the fuel pump and that's just what the guy called it so i did too

Alright, thanks for the suggestions I will be sure to check them out.

Ryanroos- If you depress the accelerator pedal when you're starting, does that help make it start? I had this same symptom and it was acting like it was flooded. Mine happened when there was a little heat left in the engine though. (2nd start of the day)

no I don't think it's that, I had tried that already because i used to have to do that for my mitsubishi. plus it starts up it just dies quickly afterwards

Edit: I also don't have a check engine light on if that is going to make a difference when it comes to the problem.

Originally Posted by ryanroos

no I don't think it's that, I had tried that already because i used to have to do that for my mitsubishi. plus it starts up it just dies quickly afterwards

Edit: I also don't have a check engine light on if that is going to make a difference when it comes to the problem.

Mine does have the CEL but it's for something else. I still have it after I fixed my starting problem. Do yourself a favor and try cleaning the MAF assembly and the throttle body.... It takes about 30 minutes, costs less than $10 (for the MAF cleaner), and it will eliminate a future problem as this "gumming up" issue seems to be prominent in these vehicles from what I can see. Of course, it may be a hundred other things, but start with the cheap stuff first. No use PI$$ING away your hard earned cash, right? Make sure you come back and post what eventually fixes the problem. You could help out countless other GP owners in the future.

Thanks for the help it was the fuel pump resistor.

Glad you found the issue. What did it cost you?