Hard to start VS V8

[vombil]

If your not hearing the pump prime, I suspect you probably have an intermittently faulty pump, maybe it's triggered by sitting for long periods.

i've had this happen with a VS v6 ute now i think of it! was a **** box to start but when running, it was fine. I drove that ute to my mates place and first thing he checked was pressure by removing the line and hitting the key... pissy little dribble of fuel fell out. changed it out and cold starts were not a problem after that

 

[BlackVXGTS]

My VQ 5L would take ages to start when cold 95% of the time. Was a dud ecu temp sender. (there are 2 next to each other under the TB)

Note well.

• The Holden 5l has a coolant temperature sender (two wire) that runs the temperature gauge.
• It has a coolant temperature sensor (CTS) (three wire) that provides the ECU/PCM/ECM with input to modify various levels of engine performance/radiator fan control and other items such as transmission performance in the case of a PCM (auto).

There are no reasons to replace the sender unless you are having problem with the temperature displayed on the gauge.

 

[lowandslow]

Or the sender to ecu is cactus and it's telling the ecu the engine is too hot and it tries to dump fuel in to cool it down.

 

[vombil]

Or the sender to ecu is cactus and it's telling the ecu the engine is too hot and it tries to dump fuel in to cool it down.

plugs do look like it's over fueling a little. not nice and dry. colour is good though and not carbon polluted or lean. i pulled the fuel supply line off at the firewall and hit the ignition. fuel does not spray out to the front bumper as I've seen in other VS cars ive tried it in. i'll try on another one of my v8 utes and compare the pair! I've got a feeling it's a weak pump

 

[losh1971]

Might need a new fuel filter. Best try that first.

 

[vombil]

Might need a new fuel filter. Best try that first.

filter looks new. took it off and it's all OK so refit it. Interestingly, i hit the key a few times in a row and the pressure left the building. ended up just being a dribble! so i went over to my vs v6 (runs perfectly) and took the same line off and... bang... no fuel came out at all! that ute runs like a dream. FML :/

 

[Immortality]

I made up a little test wire and bypassed the ignition. I simply removed the relay and hotwired from the battery to turn on the pump and test flow. Since then I got one of these Power Probe 3 which allows you to test for voltage but also either ground a circuit or apply 12 volts to activate circuits. Has a really long lead so you can connect it to the battery and work at the back of the car.

Turning on the ignition only primes the fuel system for a couple of seconds so its not really a good test for flow/pressure.

 

[vombil]

I made up a little test wire and bypassed the ignition. I simply removed the relay and hotwired from the battery to turn on the pump and test flow. Since then I got one of these Power Probe 3 which allows you to test for voltage but also either ground a circuit or apply 12 volts to activate circuits. Has a really long lead so you can connect it to the battery and work at the back of the car.

Turning on the ignition only primes the fuel system for a couple of seconds so its not really a good test for flow/pressure.

ok mate that makes sense then. my mate suggested that was a good test! another buddy has one of the those tester things you're talking about. think im going to borrow that!

 

[vombil]

Update - I've changed the fuel pump and absolutely no change. Infact it ran like an absolute pile of **** and would barely idle. Once it was warm it was like a cut snake again. It's a real weapon! I don't know if it's getting too much fuel (based on the look of the plugs) or too little. Either way it's really bugging me. I hate spending time fault finding and thinking of calling in the big gun...

 

[lowandslow]

*sits in corner looking at the coolant sensor*