'87 LeBaron - Intermittent Non-Start

[Aaron]

Hello group - your advice needed, badly!

I went to start my 87 LeBaron GTS 2.2 Turbo this morning and the car
cranked beautifully but wouldn't start. I turned the key to on and
could not hear the whine of the fuel pump, so this suggested a failed
pump to me. In addition, the last time the car was driven (started
perfect) was in rainy weather.

However, of course after scheduling a tow-in to the garage (due to my
lack of tools) the car starts and drives beautifully, and the pump
does not sound in any way out of the ordinary. I started the vehicle 3
or 4 times and drove it around the block to be sure it wasn't a fluke.
It has not rained all day today. The car did not throw any codes when
I checked.

To me, this suggests faulty wiring somewhere that may be susceptible
to moisture - especially if the fuel pump itself sounds as it always
has. Where is wiring most vulnerable? What other things might be
causing my problem? This is the first time it has happened in the 3
years I've owned the car. I am going to take the risk of driving the
car now, but it won't leave the city. Any help/suggestions/advice here
would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[Bill Putney]

Hello group - your advice needed, badly!

I went to start my 87 LeBaron GTS 2.2 Turbo this morning and the car
cranked beautifully but wouldn't start. I turned the key to on and
could not hear the whine of the fuel pump, so this suggested a failed
pump to me. In addition, the last time the car was driven (started
perfect) was in rainy weather.

However, of course after scheduling a tow-in to the garage (due to my
lack of tools) the car starts and drives beautifully, and the pump
does not sound in any way out of the ordinary. I started the vehicle 3
or 4 times and drove it around the block to be sure it wasn't a fluke.
It has not rained all day today. The car did not throw any codes when
I checked.

To me, this suggests faulty wiring somewhere that may be susceptible
to moisture - especially if the fuel pump itself sounds as it always
has. Where is wiring most vulnerable? What other things might be
causing my problem? This is the first time it has happened in the 3
years I've owned the car. I am going to take the risk of driving the
car now, but it won't leave the city. Any help/suggestions/advice here
would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,
Aaron

May never happen again, or could be fuel pump getting ready to fail -
possibly brushes worn to their end-of-life (intermittent, temperature
dependent), or intermittent relay.

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

[Aaron]

UPDATE: The car wouldn't start again this morning, same absence of
fuel pump noise. I get it towed to the shop - low and behold, the damn
thing starts. They're going to wait for the car to cool, and may
perhaps have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if it does the same
thing. AGGGGH! Thoughts???

Aaron

 

[Daniel J. Stern]

UPDATE: The car wouldn't start again this morning, same absence of fuel
pump noise. I get it towed to the shop - low and behold, the damn thing
starts. They're going to wait for the car to cool, and may perhaps have
to wait until tomorrow morning to see if it does the same thing. AGGGGH!
Thoughts???

Auto Shutdown relay and its circuit
Fuel pump relay and its circuit
Ignition switch
SMEC (ECM) pins and connector sockets
Fuel pump and its circuit

DS

 

[Ted]

As always kind of hard to diagnose things "over the phone",, but that said,

I would suspect the "pigtail" on the fuel pump especially if you live in an
area with salty roads in the winter time..or at that age even the pump
itself,, next time it doesn't start crawl under and tap the tank (near the
pump) with a block of wood or something handy and try again.