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Chevy Express/GMC Savana Starting/Stalling Problems
I have a 2000 Express van. Lately I have had this problem:
Go to start the van and if fires up for about one second then quits. Try and try it will not start. Dealer at first said it was the fuel pump. Replaced it. Months later still doing the same thing. It like the security system is telling the car not to start. After I let the van sit(1/2 hour to overnight) the van starts right up. I know of another Chevy (Suburban) that does the same thing. Starts, stops, won't start wait till later and then it will start. Can anyone help?
See Also
Diagnostic Flow Chart For No-Start or Stalls
Go to start the van and if fires up for about one second then quits. Try and try it will not start. Dealer at first said it was the fuel pump. Replaced it. Months later still doing the same thing. It like the security system is telling the car not to start. After I let the van sit(1/2 hour to overnight) the van starts right up. I know of another Chevy (Suburban) that does the same thing. Starts, stops, won't start wait till later and then it will start. Can anyone help?
See Also
Diagnostic Flow Chart For No-Start or Stalls
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Comments
A neighbor suggested replacing the fuel filter. I had my replace about 24K miles ago.
VanOwnerAZ
I you solved your problem with your 2002 Express? If so what did you do, I'm having the same problem with my 2001???
Don
Did you ever figure out what caused this? My 02 Express, 4.3 V6 Vortec is doing the same thing. Sometimes runs for days, sometimes when sitting at the lights it stalls, then wont re start. If you wait for 10 minutes or so, starts right up and drives great. Maybe 3 hours latter, same thing. Computer shows no codes or errors. GM Dealer has no idea as they can't get the van to stall on the road test. Sometimes runs for 3 or 4 days. Sometimes stalls 3-4 times a day. Dosnt matter if its raining, cold, sunny, snow makes no difference. Fustrating as hell.
I replaced the cap & rotor and with the doghouse still removed I cranked the engine but it still would not start. However, now I could see the high voltage leak from the coil tower to the body and frame of the coil: sometimes jumping an air gap of an inch or more. Although you couldn't see it, there must have been a crack in the insulation or plastic housing of the coil.
So the rest of the story is rather than the voltage getting to the plugs, the high humidity was creating a much shorter pathway to ground. A new coil fixed my problem. Oh, and my parts guy told me he sells A LOT of those.
We use our van as a family vehicle and a Scout Troop vehicle and have just gotten used to the idea that we go turn the dumb van on 15 minutes ahead of time. We have 156,000 miles on it and like most Savana vans, it's still going strong except for that stupid PassLock security system issue. Hope you find a solution to your problem since it's your livelihood on the line. Good Luck.
As for the other problems in this thread, I noticed that in the later models, like 04 and up there is a water/splash/drip cover over the pcm. My 03 doesnt have it, but I live in the desert so it has not been a problem. It might just be missing it, as mine was used and was in a front end accident before I got it.
For everyone in moist climates, its probably a good idea to remove grounds every now and then and wire brush the contact area then put back together.
I have had this ongoing problem with my Van for about a year it runs fine when cold but after it runs for about 5 to 10 min's and you shut it off it will not restart. I have had many people try and figure it out and have spent many hours working on there suggestions, and spent to much money on things that didn't work.
So far I have changed the fuel pump and filter, change the Ignition Control Module and Camshaft Position Sensor, and removed the (2) Catalytic Converters to check for blockage and still the same thing! I have now turned to you all for help I hope someone has had this problem fixed.
you can start it when hot if you step on gas pedal but it will stall out when you let up on it, on another note when it runs the speed o is very erratic (but I think that is a sensor) and not what is causing the not starting when hot problem.
Had the speedo jumping around just the other day too.
Did you figure out what the problem was?
Saturday, engine started and ran fine for short trips. Sunday I used "Auto-tap" OBDII tester, no codes, replaced the crank position sensor, monitored engine. Restarted engine approximately 10 to 15 times with no problem. Monitored with Auto-tap, no codes, tracked ignition voltage, 14 volts steady, drove around the block, flogged it ran fine. Sunday evening, drove 0.2 miles, died, no spark, no gauges, no idiot lights, only light on dash is "ABS" light. Will check for bad fuse. Fuse is good.
Monday, plugged in Auto-tap, gauges and warning lights functioned and engine started. Removed gauge fuse, engine will start and shuts down in about 3 seconds. Will now look for a loose wire, call my GM dealer and see if there are any service bulletins for this problem.
I talked to a friend that works at a truck garage. When I mentioned plugging the OBDII tester in and the warning / status lights came on he said I had a bad ground. I found a loose ground wire at the thermostat housing, Tightened the ground and the van is running fine. I will monitor for a few days until my confidence in the van returns.
I hope this helps others.
I have a 2002 Chevy Express 3500 with 56,000 miles. Last December out of the blue it would not start after a trip to the store. After many tries we got it to barely start and it sputtered and clanked the entire way home. The dealer couldn't get to it for a few days and we were able to drive it but the engine would only turn over when it was cold. Once it got heated up you had to wait a couple hours before starting it again. The dealer claimed it was the starter and battery and strangely enough after those were replaced it seemed to run fine.
Fast forward to last month. We purchased a minivan and have only been driving the Express maybe once a week and only into town and back (3 miles maybe). It hasn't had a full tank of gas since the beginning of October and has been sitting on a quarter tank for about 6 weeks now.
Today I went to start it and it gave me a bit of trouble but once it got started it ran fine and I figured it was due to the low amount of gas and the fact that it just sits around so much. I made it to the store (9 miles away) just fine but when I got back out it wouldn't start for anything. After a million tries and having it barely catch just to stall it stayed running but was clanking and could barely go over 10 miles an hour. I made it to a gas station and after adding $20 worth of gas it started better but still kept acting like it wanting to stall. There was also a banging sound coming from the exhast.
I called my father-in-law and he started it and let it run for awhile. He managed to drive it home just fine, he said at first it wanted to stall but then ran perfectly after about a mile or so. Now the SES light is on which is the first time I've ever seen it on this van.
Any thoughts/ideas? I'm not sure how it ran for nearly a year before acting up again.
I started the van up that night and it started just fine. We let it sit for two days while we were out of town and when we got home it started just fine. I drove it into town and back yesterday and NO problems whatsoever. I don't get it, I think the van is just possessed or something. The SES light was a misfire (P0300) and did not come back on once it was reset.
The coolant leak was slow with no visible signs. I purchased an oil analysis kit from NAPA and the report indicated high coolant levels and contamination of the oil.
Having lost faith in my own ability and after reading about the hundreds of things that could be wrong, I just let the van sit and waited until I had $1000's to take it to a repair shop. Been down that road before. When they know you tried and failed to fix it yourself, you sense the red dot on your forehead.
A year-and-a-half later, armed with lots of bend-over $ and a wife who wanted her car back, I finally had the van towed to the nearest repair shop. Happy ending! My fuel pump job was good but somehow I managed to blow one of the ecm fuses after I put it in. Since I had carefully checked all the fuses before, I didn't bother to check them again. Like Willie Nelson, I'm "On The Road Again."
So the story goes just the same as many others, I took the van in for a tune up , it was running fine just wanted the full tune up and of course the intake manifold gasket needed to also be changed. Every thing that could be done was done and the first day out with it going out of town even , it backfired badly. I pulled over to see if I could see anything because then it was running very ruff. Well I got back in and kept going. The entire trip was bad for that Van , had problems starting the whole week but I had to drive it as I was out of town. As soon as I got it back I took it to the mechanice that did the tune up. He looked at it and stated that now I had to buy a new computer ! it was expensive so I had to save for it while the van sat at the mechanices for 2 months ! He changed the computer and drilled holes in the very bottom of the computer deck (?) and said it should be fine.
Well its not fine at all. It startes only after I try about 5 or 6 times then it starts as the key is coming back from the start position. After its started and ran into town and its hot then it wont start again till its cooled down.
He says he doesnt know what it is and now here again it sits .....for years ! really years. I guess its saving on the milage, but I still put plates and insurance on it and I am tired of looking at it in the driveway. I cant sell it because it wont start like a normal car.
So I have paid for a complete tune up to include distributor cap and rotor, plugs wires filters of all kinds and hoses too,then the Manifold gasket, and to top it off a brand new expensive radiator ! I have no idea what else to do as everything has now been replaced.....someone please help me.
I would start with the basics:
Do you have fuel pressure? The electric fuel pump needs to supply between 55 and 62 PSI. depending on the size engine you have,
Do you have spark? You can purchase, a spark plug tester with a spring clip that will hold the tester on the metal part of the engine so you don't get shocked. You should have good spark.
Do you have an OBDII tester. Some of the better ones will help with codes that the computer may be showing. I have an AUTOTAP OBDII tester. It works with a laptop and provides a lot of information.
If the engine while cranking sounds like it wants to start it could be the crank position sensor.
Several people have listed problems with the ignition switch and the security light in previous articles listed here in the forum.
I changed the intake manifold gasket on my 5.7, V8, 2002 van and had a loose ground that I did not tighten completely. The gauges and warning lights did not work, engine would start and run when there was a good ground and when the ground ws lost the computer would just shut down, no codes.
I will let you know, but I thought it funny that my van also had to have the intake manifold gasket replaced, so maybe just maybe thats it also.