Where to rent fuel pressure test kit?

[Zero102]

My sister's 2001 Malibu has a no start problem. If some fuel is poured in the intake (I didn't do this, and I know it is stupid) the car will start briefly so we know it has spark.

When you remove the fuel return line fuel does spill out of the regulator when you turn the key on, so we know the pump does run.

The next logical step (to me) is to test the fuel pressure. The fuel rail has a schrader valve on it but I am hesitant to use a tire pressure gauge on that because I know liquid/gas pressures can measure differently and I may get a useless reading. It has had a hard-start-when-hot problem for over a year now which makes me think the regulator has failed and is not allowing the rail to build pressure, but at $130 for a pressure regulator she obviously doesn't want to buy one just as a guess.

So, does anybody know where I can rent a fuel pressure test kit? I thought partsource rented them but when we visited one location they told us they don't, never did, and have no idea where to rent one, but they would sure like to sell us one :rolleyes:

Thanks for any help you can give :)

[Zero102]

Nevermind, my dad went and bought a tester, 55psi at the rail which from what I have seen on other forums is spot-on. :(

[Rat Fink]

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[AE92_TreunoSC]

Security light flashing/on?

If the security requirements aren't met, it wont pulse the injectors.

[Zero102]

Unfortunately I have not personally been at the car so I can't verify if the security light is on or not. My dad and my sister have been troubleshooting the issue and have been calling me for help. My next step was to bring a stethescope down to listen to the fuel injectors for ticking since I don't know where to rent or borrow the noid lights to test the fuel injectors directly.

From what I read online this is a security issue. Unfortunately the car has a remote starter which has a security bypass module installed so I have this sinking feeling I will be doing some re-wiring / indepth checking by the time this is fixed.

A while ago there was an issue where you could not start the car with the key, it would not engage the starter at all.

As far as the symptoms:
Cranks over and over without starting. When it sits for a while on the 3rd or 4th turn it will stumble for a second then just keep cranking. When fuel is added to the intake it will fire and run briefly, and a plug wire has been removed to verify it does have spark.
Car ran perfectly fine up until the no start issue, although there was occasionally a hot start problem where it would take a couple extra seconds to start when hot, but this had not occurred for several days before.

It is a 2001 Malibu with the 3.1L engine.

I am going to take a look at it this afternoon. First thing I am checking is whether the fuel injectors are pulsing (I suspect not), as well as whether there is power or ground at the connectors when the key is on/off. I will check the security light and also verify if the remote starter is capable of starting the engine (since it has a security bypass module installed on it). Just for kicks I'll test the second key too.

[Rat Fink]

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[AE92_TreunoSC]

^ definitely

Also, if it does not spark or pulse injectors I immediately start thinking crank sensor as well.

It's a bit harder to diagnose a crank sensor without a scan tool or a schematic to tell you where the wires lead into the ECU.

Sometimes the tach will work while cranking, but often its bypassed to give extra power to the starter.

[Zero102]

The remote starter has ignition disable and is also a security system. Unplugging it would be a _VERY_ bad idea ;)

For anybody who is curious, I solved the problem. All I had to do was actually look at what was happening. I discovered the following:
1) the fuel injectors were not pulsing
2) while I was checking this I noticed there was a beeping from inside the car when my sister was trying to start it, and on further inspection the anti-theft light on the dashboard was blinking.

The cure was to put the key in the ignition, turn the key to "on" and wait 10 minutes. After this turn it off, then it starts just fine, without the beeping and without the theft light blinking..... How both my dad and my sister missed this I will never know

[Alak]

Malibu's are notorious for the anti-theft to malfunction. Common causes are dirt in the key hole and on the keyitself, and the key wearing out.

My mom had an 03 and it had constant anti-theft problems. I blew out the key hole with compressed air (the kind you use on your computer) and had the key replaced by GM cut from a master (which was like $150 BTW).

Solved all future problems.