2003 3.8 in need of help

[Robby Avery]

OK so about 1 week ago my girlfriends car starts acting crazy at a redlight it just shuts off and the fuel gauge is just dancing all over the place. So I told her to pull off the highway and I started trying to figure out what was going on. I noticed the was execssive clicking coming form the fuel pump relay. I decided to tow it home and go get a new relay. So I replaced the relay with a new one car acted fine made a nice 23-24 mile trip with no issues and then made it fine on a 17 mile trip to work but didn't make it home I had to tow it again what could her car be doing please help I'm not sure if fuel pump is on its way out or what but she needs her car back up and going please help me out here. Thamks in advance

 

[Scottydoggs]

when it stalls out, will it restart?

check the fuel rail for fuel, theres a shrader vavle, push the pin in, if fule shoots out its getting gas. then you'll want to test the pressure at the rail should be over 40 psi iirc.

if the tach drops to zero before it stalls out, it could be a bad crank sensor.

 

[Robby Avery]

Scottydoggs it will restart but it may take it a second and then afterwards it does fine until it its driven then the rpm needle start dancing like it searching to find the sweet spot it starts riching then leaning out to try and get the idle right. I have notice that unless the fuel needle registers it want start and the fuel pump relay is constantly clicking on/off with the key on but the car isn't running like its trying to put pressure in the rail but it cant figure out what to do so it just constantly turns on and off where do I look next crank sensor or fueling issue or both lol? Not sure if it drops to zero before it stalls or if its running out of fuel so it kinda hard to say either way but seems like it does both to me. I have noticed that when the fuel needle goes crazy its like the key has been reset and the dash lights reset just like when you first turn the key to on. Please help me out

 

[Scottydoggs]

could be a ignition harness if the dash lights are coming on and off. witht the key at run. sometimes they all flash. look that issue up some, see if it matches your issue.

 

[Robby Avery]

OK will do is there a thread on here somewhere to get a starting point? I've tinkered with it and it seems to be unknown when its going to act up but when it does it does everything I've explained. To me it seems like a fuel issue but I'm not 100% sure thats even the problem

 

[Robby Avery]

OK so things have been busy for me so I' haven't had time to try anymore diagnosis on the car but I have purchased a fuel pressure test kit from autozone and hooked it up about 5 mins ago with the key at run but car not started it spiked 55psi and then after relay clicked off it dropped back to 44-45psi is this normal I read in the fuel pressure test kit that if it has a vaccume fuel pressure reg it will drop anywhere from 3-10psi after the relay clicks off. Everything seems ok but I need to test drive it to see I'm just about sure it will do it again but I'm not sure where to start. The car seems to have a hard starting issue if I shut it off and try to restart it, it acts like it doesn't want to turn over then if I turn the key off and try again it will start but not as easy as I would like for it to. It seems like I need to clean the main grounds and its a fuel issue of some sort please help me out so I can get her car back on the road again. Thanks in advance Also the car has no ses lights when it starts acting like I described in my earlier posts.

 

[tagius]

OK so things have been busy for me so I' haven't had time to try anymore diagnosis on the car but I have purchased a fuel pressure test kit from autozone and hooked it up about 5 mins ago with the key at run but car not started it spiked 55psi and then after relay clicked off it dropped back to 44-45psi is this normal I read in the fuel pressure test kit that if it has a vaccume fuel pressure reg it will drop anywhere from 3-10psi after the relay clicks off. Everything seems ok but I need to test drive it to see I'm just about sure it will do it again but I'm not sure where to start. The car seems to have a hard starting issue if I shut it off and try to restart it, it acts like it doesn't want to turn over then if I turn the key off and try again it will start but not as easy as I would like for it to. It seems like I need to clean the main grounds and its a fuel issue of some sort please help me out so I can get her car back on the road again. Thanks in advance Also the car has no ses lights when it starts acting like I described in my earlier posts.

Had the same issue on an 2003 Alero. At first I suspected a bad fuel pump, and I almost spent the cash and time to change it out. I checked the battery voltage during start-up and the voltage was dropping below 10 volts and a few times below 9 volts. I grabbed the battery from one of my other cars and all was good and has been ever since (about 8 or 9 months now). Not sure what led me to check the battery, but I figured a battery was cheaper and took less time to change. I'm not saying this will fix your girl's ride, but it's worth a shot. Otherwise, a fuel pump is about $200 and about $200-$300 labor. Just saying!!