Cold weather start for 5 secs. then DEAD...

[davin24]

Hey guys,
New to THIS forum, but have been in the KJ community for about 6 years now....
Appreciate any help on this if you can.....

Today in the Great White North of Canada the temp hit -34C..... ya it *****.
Usually I plug it in when its that cold but forgot to last night....
Went to start it this morning, it grunted and groaned but started.... for about 5-10 seconds, then died. I tried to start it again and it turns over no problem, battery is ok (even tried boosting it), couldn't get it to go so i fired up the ATV and pulled it into the heated garage to warm up (we have 3 cars and the Jeep is the oddman out).. well its been about 7 hours now of thawing out and still no go.
Is there a chance the fuel pump is burned out? When i turn the key ON, i swear i used to hear the fuel pump whir... now i can't..... Any advice??
Thanks in advance

Davin24

 

[JeepJeepster]

Yea, my fuel pump will always hummm when I first turn the ignition on. Ive actually gotten to where I will not start the Jeep till I hear it run for a few seconds to build up pressure.

There is a test valve on the fuel rail. You can check the fuel pressure there.

 

[LibertyFever]

Have you considered frozen fuel lines? But then again they should have thawed out while in the garage. I'm not positive but shouldn't there be a fuse or a circuit breaker for the fuel pump.

 

[davin24]

ya i checked the fuel pump fuse and it ain t blown.....
I ll leave it overnight and cross my fingers for the morning and try it again....

 

[jnaut]

How did you test the battery? It may be dead.

 

[davin24]

How did you test the battery? It may be dead.

well it turns over strong, plus i tried boosting it and had the same result.... i don't think its battery related...

 

[davin24]

is there any way the relay could get fried? Im just trying to think of the cheapest fixes possible

 

[davin24]

well she's still dead..... totally thawed out and it will not fire up. Still turns over strong, but nothing else. And i still can't hear the fuel pump come on when i turn the key on..... this *****.

 

[Dave]

When you turn the key to the "on position" you should always hear the fuel pump power on. If you don't then my guess is that it is not working. What year KJ and how many miles on it??

Dave

 

[davin24]

When you turn the key to the "on position" you should always hear the fuel pump power on. If you don't then my guess is that it is not working. What year KJ and how many miles on it??

Dave

Hi Dave...thx for the reply...

ya thats what i figured as well.... I checked all fuel related fuses and tried switching relays and still nothing.... plain and simple the fuel pump doesn't seem to be getting any juice.... if it was burnt out would/should it at least give any indication/codes etc.? thanks

its an 02 with 170k kms on it.....

But I ve never heard of a cold weather start wrecking a fuel pump..... I guess that doesn t mean it can't....

 

[davin24]

ok so i ;ve narrowed it down to things I believe AREN'T the problem....

-all relays test ok
-did a compression test to eliminate timing belt/chain
-there is fuel coming out the test port on the fuel rail
-all fuses are ok both under the hood and in the cabin

NOW... two things that bother me....
1- i can't hear the fuel pump start when i turn the key 'ON'
2- it seems there is there is no spark (to test it I took out one sparkplug, grounded it on the threads, plugged the other into the ignition coil and tried to start it....no visible spark)

any ideas?

 

[jnaut]

well it turns over strong, plus i tried boosting it and had the same result.... i don't think its battery related...

If the battery has failed completely-- ie warped plates, then boosting it will have little or no effect. But as you say, since it's turning over your battery is probably ok. Sorry, I didn't pick up on that before. I thought it turned over before when it started, then wasn't turning over any more.

Condensation in the fuel lines?

 

[davin24]

Condensation in the fuel lines?

no, i don't think so.. its been in a heated garage now for over 24 hours.....

the more i research i thought maybe it was the ASD relay but that tests ok, perhaps the the Crank Position Sensor? I dunno, i 'm at a loss....

No spark and no fuel pump sound when turning the key on.....

 

[Dave Haggard]

170k! sounds to me like the fuel pump is bad - i'd start there

 

[davin24]

170k! sounds to me like the fuel pump is bad - i'd start there

true.. BUT, there is fuel coming out the test port on the fuel rail....

I had it towed to my mechanics today after 12 hrs of trying to figure it out myself.. i m guessing Crank Position Sensor myself.. but only time will tell....

 

[davin24]

UPDATE...

after 15+ hrs of troubleshooting and a $925 bill... my mechanic found the issue.....
a loose/bad grounding wire going into the PCM..... I feel like I just got kicked in the balls by a little girl wearing clogs.