No start you said to pull fuel pump relay?

WVSASQUATCH

MEMBER
2005 CHEVROLET MALIBU
2.2L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
171,922 MILES

Saw on thread you said to pull fuel pump relay and see if it starts why I did that, and it let car start. What would cause this?

Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 AT 5:23 PM

5 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,904 POSTS

Can you tell us which thread it is? The engine will not start without the fuel pump relay.

These guides can help:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-not-running-advanced

Please run down these guides and report back.

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Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 AT 12:16 PM

WVSASQUATCH

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3 POSTS

The thread is my engine cranks but won't start and Joe F, is one who suggested to try it. I have spark I have fuel pump I have fuel pressure and I have compression cranks all day until I remove fuel pump relay then cranks for 20 seconds or so and will start to fire then will run until fuel in lines runs out. Could it be pressure regulator sending too much pressure and flooding it that why only starts when pump unhooked, but pressure reading online when cranking is 55 60 so I'm lost should not run when dose and does not run when it should if you could help I would appreciate it.

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Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 AT 12:26 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,904 POSTS

I see, yes, if the engine is flooded removing the fuel pump relay will help, this sounds like you have a shorted injector which will cause the PCM to hold the injectors on full open. To be sure let's remove a couple of spark plugs to see if they are wet, please upload a picture of the plugs in your response so I can see what's going on. This guide can help:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-change-spark-plugs

Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

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Thursday, May 19th, 2022 AT 10:12 AM

WVSASQUATCH

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3 POSTS

When I pulled the plugs, they were damp and dried quickly but here are pics tried to take as soon as they came out. This was 2 minutes after cranking with relay in.

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Friday, May 20th, 2022 AT 1:40 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,904 POSTS

Yes, those are carbon fouled and will need to be replaced. Do the rest of the plugs look the same? I would remove them all and look for one that is different, this will be the cylinder the injector is stuck open on. Here is a generic guide on how to replace an injector with diagrams below to show you how on your car:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-a-fuel-injector

Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know what happens.

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