2001 Chevy Cavalier Won't Start

Hi, shakeyjac. I have read ur article about Cavalier. Most fuelpump relay on EFI vehicles the negative side of the relay coil is controled by the computer (ECU), if there is a bad connection from computer plug to the said relay it would produce the same symptoms you are experiencing. Hence you would be having an intermittent function. On such a case i had installed a relay that brings in the negative feed for the said relay when ignition is on, (but of course you must cut or disconnect the original negative feed wire that comes from the computer). Another possibility is the main EFI relay feeds the fuelpump relay whenever ignition switch is on & if this relay is malfunctioning it would produce the same symptoms too. But of course all this would depend on how your vehicle is wired. These are just pointers that you can explore. Just a few weeks i had this identical problem with a car. The problem was solved through this method. I would appreciate it if you could keep me informed of your results. Bye. yuarnuelectrics.

This is not an all-inclusive list, and it is possible under some circumstances to add or delete items. It is a basic performance testing menu.

Basic testing sequence:

Pre (cold) start attempt:

Check for proper battery voltage

Install fuel pressure gauge

Check for pressure and volume (check spec table in repair manual)

Install engine analyzer

Check for spark at a minimum of two cylinders

Check for injector pulse at a minimum of two cylinders

Pull codes

Check ECM/ECU data stream

Well it's been several years since we bought a 2002 malibu new.

Just after the warranty ran out our malibu had a similar problem. And like you, I do most of my mechanic work myself. So after talking to the local chevrolet techs they led me to believe the problem was my fuel pump. So I replaced that high dollar gadget (aprox. $400.00 at that time) based on their rough diagnosis. Still had the same problem. My x-wife had a relative that worked as a mechanic at a different chevrolet dealer. He checked the fireing of the injectors and could not figure it out.

They towed it to his location and it started right up without any work being done and ran fine for a nother few weeks. Then did it again. Well I got frustrated looking through the glass I saw the 800 phone number to chevrolet. Called and they gave the sequence to reset the antithieft code.

I'm thinking it was turning on the ignition switch and the lights for several minutes, 15 I believe. Maybe try calling and getting the reset proceedure from chevrolet and try it next time it quits. If that gets it started then you know what the problem is.

Good Luck. We had one problem after the other with our malibu

try an oil pressure switch. napa part number op6659. this could cause the fuel pump not to go if it is thinking that the oil pressure is dangerously low. another hint is if there is oil seeping around the crimp of this switch. good luck

TBS - technical service bulletins

http://www.alldatadiy.com/products/diy/index2.html

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* http://www.alldatadiy.com/products/diy/index2.html

http://www.alldatadiy.com/products/diy/index2.html

You are working way too hard on this one. When an engine will not start, it is missing either fuel pressure, fuel injection pulse, ignition, or the engine is not pumping air. Find out which one is missing, and you are on your way to fixing the problem.

This series of car should have a small red plastic wire terminal connector located under the hood, on the driver's side just in front of the shock tower. It is usually taped to the wiring harness with black masking tape. This connector is connected directly to the in tank fuel pump. As a test, you can connect a small indicator light to this terminal and the other end of the light to ground. As you drive, watch the light. if the light goes off, it is probably the oil pressure switch, or power to the oil switch. The relay on these cars was only needed for starting.

These statements were true on the 93-96 cars. I believe the wiring is still the same on yours. Check the harness for the red connector. If it is there, it should still be the same. Good luck.

The next time it will not start remove the air cleaner and dump approx 1/2 ounce of gas down the throttle body. If all your electrical (ignition) is working properly, the engine should run for a few seconds. If this is the case, you may want to replace the fuel pressure regulator unless you have a fuel pressure tester handy. It is somewhat rare that a pressure regulator will fail one time and not allow the vehicle to start, but then start after sitting for a while.......but it does happen. I worked on my sister in-laws Cavalier (2000 or 2001 model) and it did turn out to be a bad regulator. If I recall correctly her Cavalier according to specs, needed at least 56 psi of fuel pressure at the regulator or it would not fire............hope this helps.

This sounds exactly like a problem that I had with a gm product. Run fine for a little while die, not start, set for a week, start fine. The catalytic converter was clogging. Why it took a week to allow sufficent time to restart . . . only the gremlins know. Gasoline engines require, fuel, air, spark and "exhaust flow path"!!!

Wow , thats quite a bit of typing , we usually get questions with no info. to go on .

Your novellet is a nice change .

We can assume your fuel filter is not the problem as i understand you have changed it three times . The pump is new too . It looks like a wiring problem between the feed and the fuel pump , when your manual arrives follow the directions for fuel pump power. Use the test lead descibed by bob c if its there for your model.

Also, look for a single wire with a buss fuse enclosed in a plastic fusable link at the battery pos. terminal. This fusable link is one of other power sources to your computer and i have experienced it to look fine but corrode internally and cause all kinds of intermittant stalls and no starts on older models .

Let us know how you do.

Thanks for all the replies so far! I appreciate the insight from all of you. I was able to do a couple tests this weekend, and here is what I did and what I found out:

I started by using a multimeter to check voltage at the relay. I did find voltage there, so I took the cover off the relay and watched it operate as my wife turned the key first to Run then to Start. At Run the relay closed for a couple seconds (to power the fuel pump to prime) and then opened. Normal ops there. Then when turned to Start the relay closed again as it should. I pulled a spark plug and saw spark as the engine was cranked, so that looked good. Then I took my meter and went underneath the car in the back and checked voltage at the fuel pump power connector. I read 12 volts at Run and 10.5 volts at Start. I plugged the pump back in and disconnected the fuel filter and again went to Run, took a pause, then Start. No fuel out of the filter. So, I am left to think my new pump (new in January at least) is bad.

If any of you see any other possibilities, please let me know. I am not sure why I only read 10 volts at Start for the pump, but other than that I am planning on removing the pump later this week. Supposedly it has a year warranty so I will try and get a new one that way. I am not looking forward to the job though, so again if you guys have any advice it is more than welcome. I will keep you posted!

The voltage drop is due to the current being used by the starter. That is a normal occurrence. Have you looked at the ground for the fuel pump. If the ground is not positive, the readings you have posted would be the same, but no pump function because of no ground. Try the same tests with the volt meter, but this time test toe ground wire from the pump.

If the volt meter shows 0, or very close to 0, it looks like pump time again. Unless your hearing is as bad as mine, you should be able to hear the pump run. The sound is not a guarantee that the pressure and volume is good. But if there is no sound, there will never be any pressure or volume. Good luck.

Just as a bit of information to pass on, I think it's only fair to let you know that these new electric fuel pumps hate being run out of gas.

The fuel provides the lubrication for the pump and just one time of running out of fuel can kill the pump. It sometime takes a bit of time for it to happen but it is not uncommon for one to go completely out after only 2 weeks of having run out of fuel.

I found this out the hard way a couple of time because my kids like to run right at the bottom of the tank and have run out causing the same type of symptoms you are describing. Hope this helps.

Hi All,

Here's the latest: Last weekend I took the advice of Bob and did some additional electrical checks, and all seemed to be OK. I removed the fuel tank and checked the voltage on the pump wiring harness (on the pump side) and it checked out OK. I assumed then that my fuel pump must be the culprit. I pulled the pump and went to the Chevy dealer and exchanged it for a new one. I installed the new pump and reinstalled the fuel tank, then added 5 gallons of gas. I went to start it, and still had no pump operation. So this past Wednesday I went and borrowed an OBD scanner from Autozone and plugged it into the vehicle connector with the ignition in the Run position. I checked for codes and the scanner reported that there were none. I checked the diagnostic screen which shows the status of various sensors and some said OK (like fuel system, O2, etc.) and some said "inc" for incomplete. I went to crank the engine, thinking I may get different readings on the diagnostic screen, and when I did the eingine fired up! I was surprised to say the least, so I drove the car around the neighborhood until the temp gauge showed normal operating temp then went back home and shut it down. I went back to the diag screen and the readings were the same. Since it was now operational, I just left it alone and returned the scanner to Autozone. I have been driving the car since Wednesday and have had no problems. The check engine light illuminated again today on the way to work, so I am going to run by Autozone and have them pull the code and see what's up and will let you know what I find. I am obviously still pretty leary of the car since I do not know what caused it to begin working again, so any guesses you guys have would be much appreciated. Thanks again, and talk to you soon.

When you checked for power at the fuel pump, did you see anything that might have been a bad ground, There should be a separate with grounding the fuel pump. If you look at the old pump., it should show you where it is in the plug. from there, just try to follow it to a ground. I believe GM grounds the pump right near the fuel tank. What codes did you have before the pump swap?

I had never personally pulled the code(s) on it but when I had the fuel pump replaced back in January the mechanic said it was an emissions problem so he looked for leaks but found none. The fuel pump has two connectors on the top, one 6 (or so) pin and a two pin. The two pin one is for the fuel pressure sensor, the other is for the pump power and fuel gauge. There are no other wires going to/from the pump. According to to the schematic in my Haynes manual, the pump power comes in on one wire, through the pump then back through the wiring harness to ground (ground must be somewhere beyond the connector for the harness that is attached to the body underneath). When I checked this, I put my meter leads first to the connector on the body (that checked good) then plugged in the harness and checked the end that plugs into the pump (which also checked good).

Yesterday I started the car at work, backed out of the parking space, put it in drive and pressed the gas and as soon as I pressed the gas the engine stalled and will not start once again. Same thing where the pump is not coming on at the turn of the key. So I unplugged the battery, waited a couple hours, tried again to no avail. I got an OBD scanner again, read the codes (of course there wre none since I unplugged the battery) and read through the sensor check as before, still is not starting. I truly have no idea what to do next. If anyone can spare a match, I may throw that in the gas tank and see if that helps!! Thanks for your patience everyone (especially you bobc), please comment if you have any additional ideas.

Have you located the red plastic wire connector under the hood as described in post #7? If you find it, and apply power to that wire, your fuel pump should run again. I will take a look at the book I have at home later today.

I just went out to the car and looked for the red wire, I see one in the bundle that is going to the fuse/relay box, but they are all together in the bundle, otherwise I see no other wires in that area. Also, there is not a seperate wire off the positive terminal of the battery, save the wire that goes to the fuse box which is just wire (no fuse in line with the wire). I also pulled the back seat and looked at the other side of the connector that the fuel pump harness goes to. It seems to be tight (the connector is riveted to the body) and the wires coming from the connetor going to the front of the car seem to be in good shape.

Given the way I tested the pump wiring with the meter, I would say the wiring is in good shape; I got voltage through the wires all the way, so the ground end must be good, isn't that true?

What is your opinion about the pressure regulator? Would that cause the pump not to prime even though power is going to the pump? I have been thinking that there must be some electronics in the pump that will stop it from running even though power is present, since that is what is happening. Perhaps some computer issue? Let me know your thoughts on those when you have a chance....

I have been thinking that there must be some electronics in the pump that will stop it from running even though power is present

In post #5, yes it's a read but I remember comments in the TBS technical service bulletin alluding to power but no go...I don't remember in which bulletin though

The wire to look for under the hood could be grey, with a red plastic terminal protector, and not connected on that end to anything. It should be located along the left front fender to hood seam, adjacent to the left spring tower. If you can not find this connector, look for an oil pressure switch with a grey and a pink wire on it. The pink should be hot in run, start, and the bulb check positions. The grey wire should run directly to the in tank fuel pump. When you think your pump should be running (when starting, and for the first 3 seconds after turning the key to run), the grey wire should be live. If you need to, connect a small 12 volt light to the grey wire and to a ground. That will tell you when power is going to the fuel pump. If the grey wire does not get power, check the pink wire for power. If you want to test, run a wire from the battery positive to the grey wire. If that allows pump to run (listen for the sound) you will have to check the pink wire and oil switch for power. I do not know of any pressure sensor that would be in the fuel tank that would cause the fuel pump to not run. The sensor might be an emission device to be sure gasoline fumes are not allowed to escape.

Bob, thanks for your continued help. I guess that my car's configuration is different than what you are referring to. I do not have any wires around either front shock towers as you describe. There is a bundle of wires behind the driver's side shock tower (probably 20-30 wires) but all are within the bundle. There is no wire along the seam between the hood/engine on either side. My oil pressure switch (which I replaced this past weekend) only has a single black/tan wire going to it. According to the schematic in my Haynes manual that wire goes straight to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM). When I replaced the switch this weekend, it didn't help; I checked again for voltage at the connector and it still has 12V at prime and 10.5V at start. If you would like, I did take some pics of the area around the left tower which I could send you if you want me to. As an extra check, I also got the engine to start with starting fluid, so everything besides the pump seems to be operational. Again, I sure appreciate your help and patience.

The circuit I have is older than yours. GM has used that circuit for years. I will need to get a look at the newer circuit. But it does sound like the pump again. I would like to see the wiring for that sensor.

Hi,

I am having the same issues with my 2004 Chevy Cavalier.......I am wondering if you were able to find a solution to the problem?

The cure for your Cavalier may not be the same as the cure for the OP. Have you followed ALL of the testing that he did? He was very thorough with his testing, and we were able to eliminate many things. You need to test before you buy. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Hi Bob, thanks for the reply. I have tried many of the same tests and will continue. I do have a couple other issues that you might be able to speak to. My 2004 Cavalier has quit running without notice going down the highway and when I try to restart it, there is a buzzing at the steering column and under the hood. I turn the key until I finally hear the fuel pump prime and then it will start. It now does not start for the last week.

Barry

Hi All,

I may have solved my problem. Yesterday I went out and tried to start the car again to no avail. I thought about what I had done last time it started, which was attaching the OBD scanner to the connector in the drivers foot well. I thought perhaps there was some cabling there I might have hit that was causing problems. I went down there and pulled the carpet and kick panel (a plastic interior cover, located right behind the lever to open the hood) and I noticed that the bundle of cables wrapped in orange tape I saw when I removed the back seat was there behind the kick panel and it was plugged into a green butt-style connector which had a bundle on the other side going to the firewall. I unplugged the orange bundle from the connector and truned the key to Run. I noted that the gas gauge went to empty (the tank is full) so I knew that was the correct bundle coming from the fuel pump. I plugged it back in, turned the key, and voila! it started! So I looked closer at the connector and noticed that some of the insulation from the ground (a large black wire) was srtipped off.

So, my assumption is that this thing has occasionally been shorting the system, and was allowing me to see voltage but not allowing the pump to run. That doesn't make complete sense to me, but none the less seems to be the case.

You were right Bob, the ground seems to be the problem, just in a different place than you thought. I do want to thank you very much for your help, it is because of you that I continued to focus on the grounding issue even though I did not see the logic.

If this does not solve the problem, I will be sure to let you know. I found on some other forums that some others had this kind of problem with Cavaliers, they show up on a Google search if you include "kick panel" in the search. If you have this kind of problem, be sure to check that connector! It is easy (and free!!) to do. Thanks again everyone....especially you, Bob.

Glad to hear you have sorted your problem. I have stayed out of it for the most part even though I have been tracking your progress. Bob seemed to have the problem well in hand and I had nothing to add to it.

Kudos to Bob for helping you track this thing down.

My daughter having a similar problem. There is no power getting to the fuel pump. My brother did some testing and discovered that there isn't any power coming through the relay. He is not sure where to look since he doesn't have the schematics for the car.

Bob C, could it be the same grounding problem shakeyjac had with his cavalier?

ANYTHING is possible. But checking with a test light uses the ground from the test light itself, and would not care if the fuel pump, or any other component was grounded or not.

The fuel pump circuit receives power from the oil pressure switch when in the "run" position. The starter circuit will supply power to the fuel pump when in the"start" position. Also, when the key is first turned from "off" to "run" there is a relay that will run for 1-2 seconds. This is to prime the pump after sitting. That part is powered by the onboard computer. Sooo to test the fuel pump relay, you must do it while someone else turns the key to "run".

Look under the hood for a red plastic wire terminal connector that is, or was taped to the harness. The factory only used the red plastic connector for the fuel pump testing terminal. It should allow testing of the power going to the fuel pump. If you listen close when the key is first turned to"run" you should be able to hear the fuel pump run.

These in tank fuel pumps are cooled, and lubricated by fuel in the tank. I have come to think that cars that are allowed to operate for longer periods of time with tanks that are below half are going to eat up pumps at a faster rate than tanks that are kept above half. Just my opinion. Good luck, and don't buy anything till testing is done.

Wow. Shakeyjac might as well have been me... 2000 Chevy Cavalier with the 2.2L engine - 196k miles, 70k on new motor Same EXACT intermittent symptoms. Replaced: Fuel Pump Fuel Filter Oil Pressure Switch Battery (due to many, many, many starting attempts on the old battery) She starts when the gremlin is sleeping... Occasionally the gremlin awakens and she turns, wont start... No priming of pump *When I spray starter fluid into the intake, she runs like a champ for about 10 seconds. A fair assumption is that I'm not getting gas to the motor... Right? Tested: Fuel pump relay - Good Power to fuel pump harness under rear seat - Meets factory service manual specs Read the check engine codes today and have nearly no idea what significance they are... I will need to do more research on this: P0452 - EVAP fuel system pressure sensor low input P0440 - EVAP system fault Today, I will be checking the other components listed by Bob and others. Hopefully, with the amount of information you guys have listed, I will find and kill my gremlin today. Wish me luck! And thank you SOOO much for detailing your Cavalier experience. I also feel like borrowing a match and "fixing" the problem... But I will postpone that for now. Shakeyjac- Did you ever nail down this problem for sure? Was it the kick panel harness? Thanks again, Garyn

Gary,

The connector behind the kick panel was definitely my issue. I ended up cutting out the connector and using a butt connector on each of the wires instead. I even had to redo some butt connectors because of lack of a good connection the first time around. It is a very maddening problem with those cavaliers. Good luck, and write back with your success or lack thereof.

Clint

This thread is pretty old, but I will add my knowledge here, as this thread popped up while I was looking for answers.

2002 Chevy Cavalier 2.2L automatic. Frequent fuel pump issues... pump not running when trying to start car, every once in a rare while it would die while driving, but very rare. Found that tapping the back seat with a mallet would often get it going.

There is an orange cable that runs under the foam of the back seat. it goes to a connector that is attached to the bottom of the car under the back seat with 2 rivets. There is a metal plate on top of the connector. My problem is in this connector. The wires coming out of the harness are pinched under that plate, and I think after years of vibration, the pinching has either caused the wires to break inside the insulation, or caused the connection in the pins to become poor. The grey wire in this bundle is for the fuel pump positive, I am not entirely sure which one is for the fuel pump ground. If you have an issues with the pump not running, try wiggling where the fuel pump plugs into this harness... or pull out the back seat and tap on the metal plate with a mallet.

I drilled the rivets out, and have a volt meter probe shoved in there for now to monitor the voltage at the harness. it seems having the probe shoved in there is helping the connection to hold. I am hoping to be able to buy new pins for that connector, cut the cable back a bit (I have a little slack), crimp on new pins, and press them back into the connector. Or, buy another connector from a boneyard and splice it to the existing harness...

I neglected to mention that I tested the secondary side of the coils. Book says they should be between 5K and 10K and they were both around 5.5K. I couldn't check the primary side because I didn't have a small enough socket with me to remove them. I read somewhere that the bolts are 9/32" so I am bringing my small 1/4" set with me so I can check the primary side of the coils.