Crank but no start after stalls- why?

[cstarbard]

Hey guys,

I have a 96 2.3 that always starts and idles great, but if I stall it by accident, sometimes it will crank FOREVER and not start. Between 10-30 seconds of just cranking, and then it will sputter back to life.

I'm just curious why the truck would start great normally, but crank so long after stalling. Any thoughts?

I know its not tripping the fuel shutoff switch, I've checked that every time.

Also I checked my fuel pressure last week and that's not bad. It does have a slow pressure leak after ten minutes or so with the tester on it... related?

Thanks

 

[Mark_88]

when you say the fuel pressure is not bad, what exactly were you getting?

The 96 should be between 35-40 PSI ideally but it could drop lower but should not remain low.

The next time this happens I would suggest a quick test. Spray some starter fluid into the Throttle Body and crank it. If it starts right away you can start to look more closely at fuel supply issues.

Did you recently or ever change the fuel filter? The original filter can get pretty gummed up after 20 odd years and if you haven't done that yet it might be a good maintenance step regardless. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to change so not like it should wait too long.

If spraying the starter fluid doesn't get the truck to fire up right away you may need to start looking at other possible causes...

 

[tomw]

You might also try pressing the gas pedal down a bit when trying to re-start a warmed up engine. Given the pressure drops after shutdown, the fuel in the pressured system is leaking out somewhere(or pressure would remain), and it is possible an injector is dribbling fuel into the intake, making the mix too rich with fuel to burn. Opening the throttle plate will allow more air into the intake, and thus lean the mix down to where it is burnable.
tom

 

[cstarbard]

Thanks guys those are all really good tips. Should have thought of those.

Mark_88, the fuel pressure was at the high end of what you specified. I should have been more specific. I have a Chilton's manual for the truck and when I said "good" I meant it compared the same to the values in the manual- the same figure you just mentioned.

It had good fuel pressure according those values both koeo and while running- the pressure just falls after ten minutes with the key primed, to less than the holding value.

So yes a leaky injector is likely?

The exhaust does smell a bit rich.

I never thought about the engine temperature affecting a startup after stall. Embarrassed to say. That makes sense. I was just curious because I have had some vehicles, even new, that didn't like to restart after stalling, and some that didn't care. My parents Pontiac solstice has been like that since new off the lot, but then its no ranger

The fuel filter is ancient and on my list to do ASAP. I will try the starting fluid trick next time it stalls and report back, as well as after doing the fuel filter