Thread: 2000 GTP Stalled and Won't Start

Hi, I'm very new to these forums (Just discovered them!) and I'm in some need of help.

My 2000 GTP lost power on the expressway tonight, and then then engine cut out. The power then relit, and my heads up display looked like it rebooted. I quickly got it to the side of the road.

When it died, I was going up a hill, without pressure on the gas pedal.

After it died, it would not start up again. When turning the key, engine sounded like it was attempting to start, but wouldn't turn over. I tried to start it a number of times, and one of the times it sounded like it turned over but didn't start. The starter got weaker with each attempt, so the battery obviously died.

My vehicle would not allow me to shift into neutral, so towing it was a pain. The tow truck driver attempted starting my car with a battery pack, no avail.


I had just driven from Toledo, to Cincinnati, then a few hours later, from Cincinnati back to Toledo. I almost made it home. On the way to Cincinnati, the coolant light went on. I stopped off immediately, and let it cool down for a bit (an hour or so). I added coolant to the radiator and the reservoir. On the way back from Cincinnati, I noticed my engine's RPMs would fluctuate up and down within a 50 RPM range when accelerating. After a little while, the issue went away.

I believe that my battery needs replaced. I've had issues recently where my heating element in my drivers seat would not turn off, killing the battery (pulled the fuse to fix this); but twice my battery died after parking it, and sitting in the car listening to the radio. Back when I first got my car, an idler pulley for my supercharger blew up, throwing some plastic shrapnel around the engine area. Some of it may have hit the alternator, but this was nearly a year ago.

My questions are:
Are these issues connected?
Should I just attempt changing the battery, or could it be something worse?
If it is the battery, do I need a new alternator?
Could this be the dreaded Head Gasket issue?

I'm a pretty new car owner. This is my first car that I've had, and I've only had it since last Feb. I've never had these issues before, this car is my baby

1. Get you battery tested. Probably a dead cell in it. Alt is likely fine.

2. Clean all your cable connections at the battery, and the grounds at the transmission bell housing.

3. You don't have a HG issue. You most likely have a leaking lower intake manifold gasket, coolant elbow, or radiator issue. If the LIM gasket has not been changed, get the updated Aluminum gaskets, grey RTV, some new coolant elbows, gasket kit for up top, some valve cover gaskets WITH the bolt grommets, some coolant and go to town. The LIM gaskets are a known issue on these motors. The HG rarely if ever go, even when overheated.

Search for LIM gasket replacement on here. I know there is a write-up somewhere. Might also be a good time to change plugs and wires if they are getting up there in mileage.

I just got back in from working on the car. We tried charging the battery, and we got everything to light up again. Trying to start it, the starter sounded strong. A neighbor of mine took a look at it, and he suggested checking my fuses. I looked all of the relevant ones over, no issues there. Could it be a relay?

We tried checking the fuel line. It had no pressure, even when trying to turn it on.

Could my fuel pump be bad? How can I get my car to go into neutral? It's stuck in park...

I just tried testing my relays for the fuel pump. Each one of them stays closed on 87 and 30, regardless of whether voltage is applied to 85 and 86. Would this make sense with the power system failing? Should I try just replacing these relays?

Actually, scratch that, I was misreading the diagram on the relay.

UPDATE

I ended up taking it into a shop. We found that the LIM was leaking, and the fuel pump and fuel filter needed to be changed.

I'm having them fix the fuel pump and filter, and I'm gonna keep an eye out to make sure I don't run out of antifreeze in the reservoir.

My dad and I will try fixing the LIM using the write up here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5O9...hl=en_US&pli=1

I took it to the shop, they plugged it into the PCM, and found that the fuel pump was indeed the issue. They replaced the pump, and lost power to the back end of the car... no trunk access, no brake lights, no fuel pump.

I had access to my trunk since this issue started, this is a new issue.

I asked to see the faulty fuel pump, just in case... it was definitely broken.

They said that they couldn't connect to the PCM, it was likely grounded. They showed me the unit, and it had been messed around with before (soldered wires). The guy before me did all sorts of stuff to the car, and it is probably not the first PCM that it had.

Any ideas what could have messed up? Is there something that could have grounded?

They ended up finding a wire broken, and they ran a new wire to the PCM.

My dad and I tore open the intake, and found the lower intake leak, as well as one developing on the upper manifold. Nothing was mixing yet, we were able to save most of the coolant in the system, but we drained the oil overnight to be safe. (Contaminants or residue may have entered oil lines.)

One thing of note, the supercharger area had an L shaped plastic tube that had become corroded. We replaced it fairly easily, but it may be an issue with other people who have coolant leaks.

Thanks, everyone.