'01 SSEi hard to start

[Oldman]

Lately, my Bonneville takes a long time to start. If it's parked for any length of time it takes a long time to fire up. It seems like I am losing fuel pressure while sitting. If I turn the key to the on position several times and let the fuel pump prime, it starts right up. If I don't do this it spins over for a while and sputters a little before it finally starts.

Any ideas? I'm finding no puddles under the car and no gas smell under the hood. If gas is leaking out of the system while it is sitting, I have no idea where it's going.

[nos4blood70]

How many miles? Fuel filter could be due for a change.

[Oldman]

mileage is 210,000. Fuel filter has been replaced multiple times over the years. Fuel pump recently replaced too.
Thanks for the reply though,

[mylittleblackbird]

Got a fuel pressure gauge? If so, hook it up to the rail. Prime the system and monitor the pressure. It won't hold pressure forever, but it shouldn't completely bleed off immediately. I forget how long it should be able to retain high pressure, but certainly more than several minutes.

Have you noticed a decrease in fuel economy? It could be that you've got an injector that's gummed up and stuck open and bleeding out your fuel pressure.

[Oldman]

Fuel injector sounds like a good idea. Mileage is staying about the same, but I've noticed now that you mention it a little miss now and then at traffic lights and an occasional hesitation on acceleration. I'll run some seafoam through it and see if that helps.
Lots of in-town driving lately, but I'm taking a trip that will be 500 miles round trip next week, so that will be a good time to let it clean itself out a little.
I hate to admit it, but I've been a bad boy and I've been running some 89 octane in it to save a few dollars.
Fuel injector is definitely a possibility. It may be the cause of my "lean condition" code also.

Thanks,

[mylittleblackbird]

89 octane with ethanol? An injector that's hung open would cause an overly rich condition, unless it's trying to pull fuel on the other cylinders to compensate.

[redzmonte]

It could be injector or maybe a FPR.. if the regulator isnt allowing pressure to build up and hold it could cause what you are seeing. I have allways ran BG 44K Injector cleaner, great stuff.. all my mechanic friends swear by it, a little more agressive then Seafoam. I would also put a gauge on the rail to see what it looks like. pressure shouldnt drop off as soon as the car is off... it should hold like stated above.. my friend had a problem on cold starts in his vette... everything worked fine just hard starts, pressure dropped as soon as the car shut off... even when it would prime, it would give full pressure then the pump stopped and the pressure dropped instantly.. one day it just started working.. I assume there is some sort of drainback valve in the sending unit that prevents the car from losing pressure between starts.

When you replaced your pump did you get a full sending unit or just a pump swapped into your old sender?

S

[Oldman]

Just pump and screen. Why do you ask?

[redzmonte]

what kind of pump did you get? from what i have read there is an internal check valve in the pump that holds pressure from bleeding off.. normaly takes 30-60 min for it to bleed down. sounds like what your seeing here. common problem if you google it. it results in a hard start because your pressure is gone when its cranking. it wouldnt effect your drivability when the pump is on only making it hard to start.. I would put a guage on it and watch it during starts and also when driving when it and see what happends during the hesitation when you accel. as stated above a sticky fuel injector could also do it but you should smell a rich mixture when the car is started, and i bet your oil would smell like gas. easy to check, pull the dipstick and give her a sniff.

Also reading faulty FPR will also allow it to bleed down the pressure, that would also cause drivability issues. pull the vac line from the FOR and see if there is fuel coming out of it... also let us know what the gauge says..

[Oldman]

Fixed!! Sometimes we all jump to very complicated possibilities. In this case, it was a bad Schrader valve. Yeah, I took one out of an old bicycle tire and the problem is solved. First thing in the morning, it had no pressure at all. I started checking the pressure and noticing that the longer it sat, the more pressure it had lost, so I knew it was a gradual leak, but a definite leak. I opened the hood and looked around for a leak and caught a little squirt to the face. The valve cover was left off by me from checking the pressure so much. It was such a fine mist spraying out that you couldn't really see it. But I sure felt it!
All better.

[xdhd350]

Nice find on the schrader valve! I was having the same problem awhile after I did a pump and screen swap. Turns out, the hose clamp holding the corrugated pick up tube to the pump was draining pressure. I had to pull the module, then rig up some tubing to pressurize with air to find it. I put a bit of sealer on the nipple then tightened the clamp real good. Haven't had an issue since.

Greg