Fuel Issue?

[ELDiablo]

So I took my car out last weekend put about 25 miles on it then put it back in the garage on trickle charge. Yesterday was nice so I went to take it out and the car suddenly would not start just kept turning over. Strong smell of gas coming from the car all the sudden almost as if there’s a leak. Anyone have any ideas where to start looking? At first I thought it could of been a Fuse/Relay or even one of the pumps (Fore Triple Pump fuel system) went bad but now that I’m smelling gas so strongly I feel like it might be some sort of leak? Anyone have any ideas where I should start on this thing tomorrow?

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[tdstuart]

Crank the car for a second. Start by seeing if the smell is coming from the exhaust. If it's coming from the exhaust the car is spraying fuel into the engine and just not combusting. You have a spark/air issue.

If the smell is clearly not coming from the exhaust and more so the engine bay, then you need to check the fuel lines for leaks.

To diagnose if its a fuel line leak:
Start at the fuel line that runs to the fuel rail. See if that is connected properly.

If its fine then pull off the fuel rail covers to check the fuel rail itself.

If all of that is good you will need to start working your way back to the fuel tank. Just follow the line and check for leaks.

Crank the car before you start checking, just crank for a second. The fuel pump primes the lines before you start to crank so you don't technically even need to crank the car. Crank the car for a second every once and awhile when checking.

If you can't find any leaks it may be something else.

Let me know how it goes.
Also I am assuming that your car is a 15-17 gt. I do not know how the direct injection fuel lines are ran and if there might be more you need to check.

 

[ELDiablo]

Just an update it was coming from the exhaust (both collectors) and after pulling plugs that were all soaked in gas and draining the oil which did look good but smelled like gas. Im going to have the injectors cleaned, check the regulator, spray some wd40 in the cylinders to then turn it over a few times. Get it back together and hopefully that solves the problem. I’m just a little worried about the rings and that if what I do doesn’t fix it and its a spark issue I really don’t know where to begin.

 

[K4fxd]

It's unlikely that all your injectors stuck open so it is probably a spark issue. It should show some codes. If not you need to start a diagnostic flow chart.

It sounds like this might be over your head. I suggest you install new plugs and see if that fixes it. If it does not take it to a shop.

 

[ELDiablo]

Only codes I’ve had recently were 0430 and 0420 which I cleared and didn’t come back.

 

[K4fxd]

Check fuse #60 and #44 also check relay #22 Beyond that I'd have to have the car to diagnose it further.

In the underhood fuse box.

GL.

 

[ELDiablo]

Check fuse #60 and #44 also check relay #22 Beyond that I'd have to have the car to diagnose it further.

In the underhood fuse box.

GL.

Thanks..Will check those out.

 

[tdstuart]

Thanks..Will check those out.

So now you know its not a fuel issue, its either spark or air (unless it's something super bad, but don't stress about that yet).

Like @K4fxd said its probably a spark issue. Eliminate all possibilities that it isn't a spark issue, then move onto air / deeper issues. If the fuel is going out the exhaust, the fueling is most likely good, which means spark or air or compression or timing is at fault.

Here is what i would recommend for diagnosing a spark issue:
If its not fuses you can manually check that the spark plugs are firing...

I recommend unplugging the connector and stick some paperclips in then use a multimeter. Just be super careful that they don't touch. The multimeter should be able to show you the spark pulses with the variance in voltage.

You can also pull the coil pack out, put a spark plug in it, then ground the spark plug and see if it starts sparking when you crank. Just be careful, it is very easy to shock yourself (you need thick gloves that go up your arms a bit preferably), but the shock doesn't hurt that much.

I did this with my car when it kept misfiring and I couldn't figure out why (turns out cylinder 4 piston had a hole in it). It wasn't that hard to do but like I did mention i shocked myself a few times, although I did confirm that the spark plugs were in-fact sparking.

Let me know how it goes

 

[ELDiablo]

So now you know its not a fuel issue, its either spark or air (unless it's something super bad, but don't stress about that yet).

Like @K4fxd said its probably a spark issue. Eliminate all possibilities that it isn't a spark issue, then move onto air / deeper issues. If the fuel is going out the exhaust, the fueling is most likely good, which means spark or air or compression or timing is at fault.

Here is what i would recommend for diagnosing a spark issue:
If its not fuses you can manually check that the spark plugs are firing...

I recommend unplugging the connector and stick some paperclips in then use a multimeter. Just be super careful that they don't touch. The multimeter should be able to show you the spark pulses with the variance in voltage.

You can also pull the coil pack out, put a spark plug in it, then ground the spark plug and see if it starts sparking when you crank. Just be careful, it is very easy to shock yourself (you need thick gloves that go up your arms a bit preferably), but the shock doesn't hurt that much.

I did this with my car when it kept misfiring and I couldn't figure out why (turns out cylinder 4 piston had a hole in it). It wasn't that hard to do but like I did mention i shocked myself a few times, although I did confirm that the spark plugs were in-fact sparking.

Let me know how it goes

I appreciate the help going to work on it Saturday will let you know how it turns out. Is there any way my 2 Step could interfere with any of this? Just hooked it back up about a month ago.

 

[K4fxd]

Is there any way my 2 Step could interfere with any of this? Just hooked it back up about a month ago.

Yes, unhook it and test before you spend any money or more time.

 

[ELDiablo]

Yes, unhook it and test before you spend any money or more time.

Will do… When I bought the car the guy had it unplugged with the harness just sitting there so about a month or so ago I hooked it back up because I was heading to a car show and didn’t want the harness just sitting there unhooked. I think he had some issues with it not working properly or something I was going to have it professionally rewired.

 

[tdstuart]

Will do… When I bought the car the guy had it unplugged with the harness just sitting there so about a month or so ago I hooked it back up because I was heading to a car show and didn’t want the harness just sitting there unhooked. I think he had some issues with it not working properly or something I was going to have it professionally rewired.

What’s all done to the car and are there any other 3rd party devices or controllers in the car?

 

[ELDiablo]

What’s all done to the car and are there any other 3rd party devices or controllers in the car?

2.9 whipple, fore fuel system, ice tank in trunk, 2 step, pbd tune with sct.

 

[tdstuart]

2.9 whipple, fore fuel system, ice tank in trunk, 2 step, pbd tune with sct.

Ya remove the 2 step and see what happens before anything else. Could be as simple as the 2step not working and messing with the ignition when you are cranking.

 

[ELDiablo]

Ya remove the 2 step and see what happens before anything else. Could be as simple as the 2step not working and messing with the ignition when you are cranking.

Hopefully that fixes it. I’ll be working on it tomorrow evening I’ll keep you posted.

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