Is my starter bad?

Serious as a heart attack Point Dexter.

Don’t dead head the pump.

 

Plus if you dead head the pressure will read much higher than it really is when connected properly. The false reading will make you think the pump is good when it really is not.

 

What a pain

 

I have to agree, sticking the gauge on like that will NOT be a good way to test fuel pressure under any circumstance. Your situation, trying to determine if fuel pressure is normal while trying to get it to start, it’s not going to start ever with the fuel supply disconnected.

Figure out what size the disconnected hose is, get tee hose barb that size, and some hose to fit the tee, probably should also get hose clamps. The tee has 3 ends, 1 onto the hose you pulled off the pipe, 2 to the gauge, 3 to a short piece of hose, put the other end of the short piece of hose on the pipe, hose clamp all connections. THEN try to recreate the no start situation. As you crank with it not starting, watch the gauge at the same time to see if pressure is normal (43.5), too high, too low, or zero.

What I’ve done is, the hose that the gauge is connected to, made it long enough to reach into the passenger compartment. Then you can watch the pressure as you crank without the need of an additional person, one turning the key, one under the hood watching the gauge.

Now would be a good time to think about how dangerous gasoline is, before you burn down your truck, garage, yourself, your loved ones.

 

What if I just replace the fuel pump Willy nilly.lol

 

What is a "fuel pump willy nilly"?




/sarcasm

It's your truck do as you please. If you want to replace the fuel pump, go for it.

 

The “throw parts at it plan” is an option but it could get expensive. Connecting the fuel pressure gauge is easier than it sounds. Just don’t light a cigarette with gas on your hands. Maybe the fuel pressure regulator would be easier to change first.

 

Or just bring it somewhere, sometimes it's the best option when you're messing around with the uncharted territory..at least have the pressure test done

 

Ya, I’ll do it if I don’t want to own the tools needed, don’t have time to do it myself, or just plain don’t wanna.

If you do take it to a shop be sure to fully describe the problem. You don’t want them to tell you fuel pressure is normal, it starts, pay me.

 

The problem is that it does it so random. It would be a guessing game as to when I should put the gauge on. Or are you saying hook it all up somehow with the gauge in the cab so I could read it all the time so when it does happen to not start I could read it?

 

Ideally, you’d want to see what the pressure is when it’s not wanting to start. I wouldn’t suggest you leave the gauge in the cab always until the event happens. I have seen people driving around with a gauge attached to their windshield facing in with a bunch of duct tape. Safer, sure, but it sure looks hookey. Maybe the obd will pick up a code due to high, low, or what it might call abnormal fuel pressure. Or maybe you could leave a obd code reader with capability to show fuel pressure plugged in so you can look at it when the event happens.

 

I like that! Thanks. They must make a tuner with that capability?

 

Some obd readers have live data capabilities. I’ve used mine to get rpm readings on new engines for filling out the forms requested by the factory, snapon’s bluepoint microscan, $400. My stereo guy has my truck right now so I can’t hook it up to see if it shows fuel pressure. Maybe you can borrow one? Buying one just for this one issue, not sure you want to do that. For what I need mine for, it’s good enough. Price range is pretty extremely varied, I’ve seen them cheap as 20, to 10,000 for the really top end ones. If you get your hands on one, you could leave it connected, make sure it can turn off so your battery doesn’t die when parked. You could see if the coils are firing, what the 02 sensors are reading, fuel pressure, etc. I believe mine can also record but I’ve never tried that feature.

 

Have you seen a Bluetooth obd reader? I just googled it. Looks like you can get an app on your phone that connects to the reader

 

Ultragauge I believe can read fuel pressure, costs around $50. Well worth it in many ways.

 

Is it a Bluetooth one?

 

There are a bunch of Bluetooth obd readers on Amazon/eBay, torque is what most people use.

 

I have an older one that is wired, but pretty sure they make a wireless one now. That said there's nothing to using it wired, I run the wire down the steering column and along the lower panel. I "could" hide the wire but then I lose the portability of being able to diagnose another vehicle quickly. I just used Velcro to mount on top of the steering column.

 

You want something that reads and responds to changes quickly. I had a cheaper one by equis, think. It responded so slow, and it’s software really sucked. Bluetooth I think may slow the reaction time. The obd port is usually close to your knees in the driver’s seat so Bluetooth is really unnecessary. You really need an instantaneous response to fuel pressure changes. A Bluetooth gap is just another hurdle to slow the response time. If the ultragauge mentioned works well, it may be a good option. The cheaper units are well, cheaper. I think ultragauge, you pick a few parameters you wish to monitor, then it shows them until you change it.

 

That's true on the UG home screen, but you can toggle screens if you're trying to look for something in particular.