[92breadbox]

I have a 1992 dodge carvan...it's the 3.0...it currently will not start. Before it stopped starting, it would maybe once a month or so stall out at a stop light. I dont mean that it would rough idle and the stall out, I mean it would just shut off. Then I had a bad bearing on the drivers side, so it's been in my driveway since. That's when these problems got worse. When i could get it to start it would be rough and then stall out. Now when trying to start it, it will crank till there's no tomorrow...but it will not start. I changed the fuel filter in hopes that it was just a clog and would explain the rough ideling before the van decided not to work, but that was no help. I do not hear the pump hum like most cars do when you turn the igition to the run position. I can't really remember a time when it did make any kind of noise. I was wondering if maybe it could be one of the following:
1) Fuel Pump
2) ASD
3) Clogged fuel line
4) Bad injectors

I am sort of in the dark on this one...It was my grandfathers van, and Although it has 250,000 on it...If it is something not too bad to fix, I would like to try. If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[TomQuick]

Check fuses / relays first to be sure that you are getting power to the fuel pump, then my next guess would be the fuel pump it's self, and I would do a pressure / volume test on it.

I don't know if it is a good plan with fuel injection, but we always used to spray a shot of starting fluid into the intake, and if it fired up on that, we would figure that the problem was fuel related.

 

[92breadbox]

thanks i will try the suggested and hopefully something will come of it.

 

[acton mike]

when an engine shuts off clean I usually suspect ignition/electrical

The first thing you should do is see if you are getting any spark at the plugs

With respect to the fuel pump, you should hear it whine for a brief time every time you switch on the ignition

If you can, get someone to help you out; you lay on the ground near the tank and have your assistance turn on the switch and you should hear the pump; if you do not, then you need to explore why not

But the first thing i would do is check for spark and then the listen test on the pump - do the easy things first

If you are getting no spark and no fuel pump action; then you need to go through each system systematically looking for problems

 

[TomQuick]

I was just going with the fact that he doesn't hear any noise from the pump when he switches on. I always hear it whir to life for a second or two, and was thinking that it is pretty easy to verify if there is fuel flow.

92breadbox, when you replaced the fuel filter, did you do anything to relieve the pressure in the fuel line? If not, was there any pressure?

 

[92breadbox]

the pump doesn't whir when i turn the ignition to the run position...when i did replace the fuel filter i did have fuel coming from the line, as well as have a full tank of gas. I don't know if its possible to have a block in the line after the filter?..if i did let the pressure of the line go, is there a way to re-pressurize it?

 

[92breadbox]

thankx..i will try the suggested...hopefully something will come of it

 

[TomQuick]

What I was getting at is the fuel system holds a good deal of pressure. If you removed the line from the filter, without relieving the pressure first, fuel should have sprayed forcefully out of the hose. If you didn't get a significant amount of pressure spraying fuel out of the hose, I would say that is a reason to suspect the fuel pump, or pressure regulator.

I know that it is fairly easy to test for spark, and you might want to do that test first. However, it is also fairly easy to test for proper fuel pressure, and volume, and since there are some other indications that the problem might be related to the fuel pump (no noise from pump) that would be high on my list of things to verify.

 

[Wally_03]

Breadbox, if the pump is not priming up, especially after sitting for a little while, crawl under the van with a rubber mallet and forcfully tap the bottom of the tank. I have been surprised how well this works! If it does work, however, i would be looking at replacing the pump soon.