okay so it is kinda a long story but: about 2 years ago this all started. it started by when i would drive my car it would shut down about every half hour and take about 2 minutes before it would start. well then it stopped after a while and the car was fine. then i drove the car to florida from colorado and the problem started up about half way there but with different problems: as long as i was on the highway doing high speeds the car would stay started and as long as it was VERY cold out the car would stay started. anyways now i am back in colorado and if it is below about 38 degrees here then i can drive my car as much as i want to without it shutting down. if it is hotter than that outside then i can drive it initially for about 15 minutes and then it will start shutting down every two minutes or so and take about 1 minute to start back up. please any advise would help and the info on how to do the tests needed as well. i hate having a winter only vehicle and now its summer time so its time for my car to sit out another year until next winter. please help.
First of all what kind of car is it? Automatic?
Check engine light?
What do you mean it would take 2 minutes to start? You sat there cranking it for 2 minutes strait?
sorry i forgot some details. it is a 99 cav z24 2.4
no i dont sit there cranking it for 2 minutes i just have to wait about two minutes until it will start. if i try right away then it will crank but not turn over. i had a check engine light before and it came across as running to lean under acceleration. anyways thanx for your reply.
Hi,
Put a fuel pump on it, it's most likely toast and someday will leave you totally stuck somewhere.
Dave
well we are in the process right now of putting a new fuel pump on it. we just changed the filter as well so i will keep everyone posted on if we have any luck. does anyone know why it would work in the cold though and not when its warm outside.
Its an electric pump and in your case it seems to be gradually overheating. When it over heats there's a little "sensor" (thermal overload) that has to cool down before it will work again. That explains why you need to wait a couple minutes before it'll start. The over heating issue also explains why it runs better in the cold.
From my experience changing the filter might temporarily fix the problem but the pump is weak so it will die eventually.
well we went ahead and changed the fuel filter and the fuel pump and i drove it for about 20-30 miles when it was about 70 degrees out and it didnt die once so i think we got the problem. it is starting very very rough though but i think i might need to also replace the starter now since it has been through hell because of the fuel pump. i will put any other updates that i find out on here to benefit other people with the same problem as well. also thank you to all of you who replied-a appreciate it
