Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe No Start problems
cniwranski
Member Posts: 7
Just bought this in May. 105k KM's (65k miles). Fully loaded. 5.3L. Has started fine every day since we bought it. It had started to crank over a little longer first thing in the morning, or after sitting for several hours. So I've been letting the pump pressurize fully before cranking and it starts within the first few cranks, just like any other time.
Yesterday afternoon my wife goes to head out and it won't start. She tried it several times. I came home a few hours later and checked the plugs. Saw the threads were a little bit wet so fuel was getting in there I figured. After trying to start it a few times, I could smell fuel at the tailpipe. I then removed a spark plug and held it while she cranked it to see if there was spark. Yeah, not the smartest thing, but I sure did find out there was spark! Saw the spark and felt a nice big snap in my hand when it did! Anyway, tried it again this morning and still no start. So I don't think it's a flooding issue.
I also have a CompuStar alarm, but no remote start connected. It seems very strange to me that fuel could be getting to the cylinders, and spark and it doesn't fire. I located the fuel filter but it ran totally fine until this point. No sluggishness or any of that, so a filter makes no sense. I hear the fuel pump prime every time the key is turned to 'ON' position. The CEL (check engine light) is on, but has been intermittently since we bought it from my wife's dad. Ran the codes right after buying it and it said something about spark on the drivers bank so I replaced the plugs on that side. Otherwise the truck runs very well, CEL on or off. The truck has an aftermarket exhaust, MAF, and K&N intake kit on it. I've owned Dodges always and you can check the codes yourself, but I think you need a scanner for this right?
Any ideas? It's in our garage right now which is good, but I'd love to be able to diagnose it before it goes out to a shop.
Yesterday afternoon my wife goes to head out and it won't start. She tried it several times. I came home a few hours later and checked the plugs. Saw the threads were a little bit wet so fuel was getting in there I figured. After trying to start it a few times, I could smell fuel at the tailpipe. I then removed a spark plug and held it while she cranked it to see if there was spark. Yeah, not the smartest thing, but I sure did find out there was spark! Saw the spark and felt a nice big snap in my hand when it did! Anyway, tried it again this morning and still no start. So I don't think it's a flooding issue.
I also have a CompuStar alarm, but no remote start connected. It seems very strange to me that fuel could be getting to the cylinders, and spark and it doesn't fire. I located the fuel filter but it ran totally fine until this point. No sluggishness or any of that, so a filter makes no sense. I hear the fuel pump prime every time the key is turned to 'ON' position. The CEL (check engine light) is on, but has been intermittently since we bought it from my wife's dad. Ran the codes right after buying it and it said something about spark on the drivers bank so I replaced the plugs on that side. Otherwise the truck runs very well, CEL on or off. The truck has an aftermarket exhaust, MAF, and K&N intake kit on it. I've owned Dodges always and you can check the codes yourself, but I think you need a scanner for this right?
Any ideas? It's in our garage right now which is good, but I'd love to be able to diagnose it before it goes out to a shop.
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Comments
This is my first american car purchase and hopefully it won't be my last. I have heard nothign but great reviews about it. But I also heard great reviews on the Chrysler 300C and we all know the troubles that come with owning one of those. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Then I bought 2 new CD's and the first one hung-up after 30 seconds. I figured I had a bad CD so I went right back in to the store and got another one...same thing. I played this same CD at home and in my wife's Volvo and my buddy's Chevy Avalanch...no problem. It happened on another CD also so back to the dealer it went. They agreed there was a problem and another radio was installed today. SAME problems.
Is anyone else experiencing this sort of thing?
Thanks.
Can clues????
The service manager says "it normal for an SUV". We have a loaner Tahoe that rides really nice.
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I doubt that you will get much help with the BBB. You should be going after the dealer all the way up the the GM or owner and/or the regional GM people. Raise hell, get mad,(in a positive but very firm way) let 'em know you will not back down until the problem is solved. Keep the pressure on.
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Do you mean that GM is returning your calls? If that's the case it seems at least they want to talk. Better figure out a way to get back to them on the phone or email. Better than spending money at this point by hiring a lawyer.
And you might want to take the vehicle to an indie sunroof shop and get their opinion on the problem. You shouldn't have to do this...but again it is still less costly than a lawyer. Try to make a connection with GM...before spending any money.
Arrie
~tom
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Maybe when your fuel guage gets to 1/4 your tank is actually empty. Better check the accuracy of your fuel guage.
Any ideas?
TIA,
JP
As your problem is very intermittent it kind of says you have a loose wire connection somewhere. And it most certainly is not the negative battery cable. If it was, your engine simply would not crank when you try to start.
I have a '04 Tahoe LT and have had a couple bad connection issues.
The first one was wire harness to MAP sensor. When engine was in idle it shut off when I touched the wire harness. And this did not even leave a code in the computer.
I'm not sure if loose MAP sensor wire would prevent engine from starting but it could. Map sensor is located on top of the engine by the fire wall under the plastic engine cover.
Another problem I had with MAF wire harness. Soldering those wires to connectors improved my engine performance a bit. This should not prevent the engine from starting though.
You could have a bad connection on the crank shaft position sensor or the sensor itself is bad. This sensor is located behind the starter motor, which must be removed to gain access to the sensor. This is not very bad job if you are a hands on person. It does require a torque wrench though for tightening the starter motor bolts to correct tightness.
Crank shaft position sensor cost about $70 I think. I replaced mine and it was $65 + tax. Replacing it would rule that out as a problem and this sensor will prevent the engine from starting if it goes bad or signal does not get to the computer for a bad connection.
Another sensor that would not let engine start is cam shaft position sensor. It works the same way as crank shaft sensor and is located in a more difficult place on top of the engine by the fire wall. It is lower on back side on engine that the MAP sensor and is quite hard to reach. I would think that a good mechanic would be able to change this without removing the intake manifold from the engine.
Arrie
Truck is hard to start when cold start in the a.m.
Symptom:
Must turn ignition on and off several times before engine will fire. Have to give it gas to start. Almost sounds like it’s “gargling” when it does. The problem goes away once warm. Seems more of an issue with a full tank of gas.
History:
Fuel pump replaced last summer.
Not starting as fast as before.
Truck stalled twice this summer when coming to a hard stop with the A/C on.
Service Engine light came on 2 weeks ago. P0452 Fuel Tank Pressure Signal circuit Input below minimum.
The difficulty starting has become more serious over the last 2 weeks.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
I read that the FPR is on the drivers side, but didn't see a pic. I presume like most liquid pressure regulators that it would be disc-shaped with a pipe connection in the center, on both sides? I read that if you take the top hose off (vacuum side) and if fuel comes out, the FPR is bad. Also, every time I turned the key to ON, the pump would prime. Wouldn't the system be primed and the FPR tell it not to prime if I had just tried cranking it over? Other cars I've had have done that. You would get a very short prime if you had just primed it, since the system was fully pressurized.
So since I smelled fuel during cranking, I feel that very low pressure fuel is getting into the cylinders somehow. So quite possibly my regulator went bad. Where exactly is the thing??
My other possibility is the factory alarm is preventing fuel flow, BUT doesn't it prevent the fuel pump from running? Seems odd it still prime the system if the alarm is telling it not too. The horn doesn't honk or anything like it's alarming when trying to start the truck. The security light does go on while cranking the motor. That normal? Is they some definitive way to 'reset' the factory alarm or to make sure it's off so I can rule it out?
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
So I've decided to change the regulator and see if the pump is pumping fuel by removing the filter inlet line and priming the pump. Any tips or tricks on replacing the regulator? Do I need any special tools to get it unhooked from the lines? Twist and pull??
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
In a couple subsequent repeats of this problem, we noticed that the fuel level was below 1/4 tank. Since I had a 5 gallon fuel tank for the lawn mower, I added 5 gallons to the tank and it started right away.
On yet another occasion, it sat for the night, would'nt start (with 1/4 tank) - tried a few times - still nothing. Added 5 gallons and it started right away.
Any thoughts.