![]() 06/22/2020 at 20:56 • Filed to: Vibe 2020 | ![]() | ![]() |
Previously, on The Zoidberg Chronicles...
After verifying proper spark, and power, and air — again — I surmised that the fuel pump was not priming. This led to me checking more stuff and checking the fuel pressure yet again. During the test, the pressure was so great it blew apart all the tester fitting and blew gasoline straight up like a mini geyser. After that scare and confirmation of a functional pump , I put it all back together and swapped out all fuses and relays related to the EFI and fuel pump, even though they all tested fine (I have an entire spare fuse box with everything in it from a Corolla I picked up years ago). However, one of the fuses was incorrect for the EFI (10A, should have been 15A) and looked a bit chewy even though it had continuity.
What’s happened since? It started immediately and my wife’s driven it everywhere for the past three days with no cranking issues.
I was thinking... When I replaced the fuel pump back in May... April? ... And then the starting problems got worse... True I had driven it but only for very short errands, maybe 20 miles total. Is it possible I had a bunch of trapped air in the line that was making cold starts a nightmare? Did I bump a wire or relay and the car said, “Okay, time to give you a little bit of hope.”
Frustrating as this has been, I’m enjoying the touch of irony that the catalyst for expanding my wrenching horizon hasn’t been any of my 35-year old shitboxes; it’s been a 12-year old Pontiac. I actually haven't spent that much and have most of the skin left on my knuckles. Also working an a parts graveyard exhibit in the garage!
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:00 |
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0% chance it was air in the lines.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:04 |
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Please don't confuse my post with optimism; I'm laying out to the world that I know nothing of automotive repair or basic physics and have no explanation for anything
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:09 |
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Sometimes I do things in Excel that I don’t quite understand; a very small percentage of the time, it works the way I want it to. Sometimes it’s best not to ask questions.
I’ll just leave this here:
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:11 |
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Ah, but you posted that last time my car started for more than two consecutive days. KISS OF DEATH
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:11 |
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It just briefly became a GM product, “ running poorly longer than most cars will run at all,” then switched back to being a “ 4 lifetime oil changes” Toyota.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:11 |
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Haha as a space doctor I assumed you took at least one physics class. If you are interested I will trade you a sandwich for the car.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:12 |
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Hope it keeps running! (she is a saint for tolerating being stranded and sent back out with a tank full of optimism)
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:14 |
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I just think of it as a car quickly assembled in California by people who were wondering if tomorrow was their last day of work due to the economic crash that was getting tougher to deny.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:16 |
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I took Physics 105 (“applied” p hysics) as a freshman and got a C+
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:18 |
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But hey, that means there is probably a free 10 mm socket left undiscovered in the bumper.
Yes but with an engine designed to be American proof. . . when not assembled by Americans.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:20 |
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It's not a winning formula, but I'm not divorced yet.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:20 |
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I did leave a 10mm against the firewall once and found it days later
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:28 |
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You lost a socket and you found one. So, FREEEEEEEE!
![]() 06/22/2020 at 21:34 |
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Told you it had something to do with the injector fuse. I was kinda right ;)
Glad it’s working again. Don’t think too hard about it, lest you’ll jinx it.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 23:02 |
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When you checked continuity on the fuse, did you measure it in Ohms directly or just use a continuity tester? Even some good multimeters shouldn’t be used in “continuity” mode. For example, most Fluke multimeters will beep to indicate continuity for any resistance under 40 Ohms.
At least you have time to relax before reloading the parts cannon.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 23:13 |
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Man, you're leveling up fast.
![]() 06/22/2020 at 23:17 |
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You’ve definitely expanded your capabilities as a wrencher!
![]() 06/23/2020 at 22:48 |
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Who put in the wrong fuse tho?
![]() 06/23/2020 at 22:49 |
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Came like that. I’ve only replaced two relays up until last week over five years, zero fuses.