Bad64chevelle

Yeah....my 94 did the same thing....boom all of a sudden. Either Coil, or the Ignition control module. Both of mine blew out within two weeks of each other, now i have an extra coil layin around cause thought that was it the second time.....

NtenseZ28

Yes it will, it only kills the spark to the motor. All it needs to do is kick out one of the legs of the tripod (spark, fuel, air.) Practical unless you feel like stealing an LT1 F-body, by-passing the clutch safety switch and driving the car shifting at 300 rpms, and 2hp produced by the starter

If I'm not mistaken, I think it kills the injector pulse too, not the pump.

NtenseZ28

If he had spark and fuel, his car would be in his driveway right now, not in the parking lot. There isn't a motor out there that gets an input from the ignition switch to let air into the motor.

At this point the cylinder walls could be washed down with fuel, causing you not to build proper compression, so even after you do prove you have a spark problem, it might not fire immediately anyway. Check the oil before you go too crazy driving it around, if ur smelling it while cranking, it's getting to the cylinders. Washed down fuel isn't good for bearing etc. The ONLY time this is good to do is when you need an excuse to tell the wife why you have no choice but to rebuild the motor.

If it's only you...either buy a "spark tester" which is nothing more than a cheesy spark plug that has an alligator clip soldered or somehow attached to the grounding point of the plug usually on the threads. Take off a wire and put it on that tester, and simply clip it on a grounded section of the body that is visable from the passanger compartment. No friend necessary for this one. This will easily tell you if you have spark through the coil and opti-crap.

CheshireCat

Bad64chevelle, I haven't ruled out the coil, but it seems that I'm not getting spark or fuel... So right now I'm trying to concentrate on what would cause the loss of both. No matter how much I crank the motor, I don't smell gas... Still, anything in the ignition system (opti, coil, etc...) could prevent me from starting. Thanks for the suggestions.

NtenseZ28, I did have a spark tester at home so I was able to test last night... Unfortunately, no spark... I don't think my cylinder walls are washed with gas because I don't smell any gas coming from the exhaust when I crank the motor. If I was getting fuel, I'd have to smell it at the tail pipe after cranking the motor as much as I did last night... I would think???

I'm up early this morning to go take another crack at this. If I don't figure it out this morning, I'm going to have AAA tow it to the NAPA shop down the street. I just don't like leaving the Z in an empty parking lot overnight. I'd hate to have to buy a new window or convertible top just because I didn't want to pay a shop to fix the Z.

Thanks again all, I'll let you know what happens...

Steve

med_reject

Things like VATS and bad ignition switch will cut injector pulse, not the fuel pump. YOu did not say the pcm is cutting electrical pulses to the injectors, you said the fuel pressure was nil when you opened the shrader valve.

I cant think of anything that cuts signal to the fuel pump itself, other than bad wiring (I dont know much about cars though). You need to find out why your fuel pressure is down.

Its either a leak (at the injectors, fuel pressure regulator, or fuel pump), or a bad fuel pump, or a fuel pump that isnt given pressure for whatever reason. You wont know until you use a fuel pressure guage and test teh fuel pressure when cranking and see how quickly it goes down when you leave the car.

This has nothing to do with "cutting fuel". Let us know what kind of fuel pressures you run when you crank and how much it comes down when you leave it for 10mins.

CheshireCat

Thanks Med Reject, I couldn't get the Z started this morning before I had to go to work, so I had it towed. I hate taking the Z to a shop, but at this point I don't want it to spend more nights sitting in an empty parking lot.

The down side of owning old cars is that they will cost me in repairs... On the other hand, I've never had a car payment...

Thanks again,
Steve

CheshireCat

To all that offered advice, thank you!
The repair shop has told me that the problem is my fuel pump. Given that I wasn't getting fuel pressure, that seems pretty likely. The only thing I don't get is why I didn't get spark when I tested it. Maybe my little spark tester is bad... I was really hoping that it wouldn't be the fuel pump because I don't have the facilities necessary to replace one. I have a convertible so I understand that the access door method isn't a good idea because of some structural additions. Oh well, it's just money...
Thanks again for all the help.
Steve

Bad64chevelle

Lets hope your Spark tester is malfunctioning, I would hate to see you spend all that $$ on something you do not need!...Did you actually see the Fuel Pressure gauge not show anything? before you commit to this why dont you get another spark tester they are cheap enough. If you ARE getting spark OK, that means the fuel pump is most likely shot, but get them to SHOW you that youre not getting Fuel Pressure. I personally would not let a shop near my car unless i knew them, cause unfortunately ive seen friends of mine get really screwed at the shops. IE. repairing things that werent wront by just thowing random parts on it and hoping that is it.....i just dont want to see a fellow Fbody owner get screwed over!

Z95m6

I would just cut the access door and then with the money you save buy yourself the nicest subframe connectors you can find and have them pocket the cash. Then pocket the rest of the cash and there will probably be a lot of it. One kid i know got raped by a shop that charged him $1k to do a fuel pump by dropping the tank. If it ends up costing you that much you could have nice subframe connectors installed and welded up for $400-450 + price of fuel pump and installation that is 250 more. You end up pocketing 300-350.