Our Community is 940,000 Strong. Join Us.


97 Venture Starting Problem


kaptainp
04-23-2007, 02:22 PM
Here is one for you. Our van died on us sitting at a stop light. Tried to restart it and it cranked and fired and ran for about 5 seconds. Then after
a couple more attempts we got nothing when turning the key. Had the van towed home. Tried to jump the van and could not get it to turn over. As a matter of fact it actually stalled the other vehicle bringing it down. Unhooked the jumper cables and the van turned over and would only run very rough for about 10 seconds. Thinking it was timing we checked both crankshaft position sensors and the camshaft position sensor. All checked out with good voltages. Tore down the engine to check the timing chain. Timing chain looked brand new and the alignment marks right on the money. Checked fuel, pump is running, plenty of pressure. Checked spark and the spark is bright blue from all coils. Next is the PCM. Any ideas before I drop hundreds of dollars into a new PCM? Thanks in advance for any help.

Scrapper
04-23-2007, 03:01 PM
you could have a short in you battery..i no sounds stupid but it's worth a try..good luck....

kaptainp
04-24-2007, 06:44 AM
Well we thought about a bad battery so we tried a new battery and got the same result. I finally got the frame and everything back on the vehicle last night and now when I try to start it, it will run for about 20-30 Seconds very rough and as it runs it is almost as if it is building pressure inside the engine and the rpms get slower and the engine turns hard until it just stops. Then I have to leave it sit for a few minutes and it turns over easy again and then repeats the slow down and stops. Could it be a valve problem not letting the
exhaust escape?

cjstew4
04-24-2007, 01:43 PM
Is the engine beginning to overheat or going to the mid mark on the temp gauge? My 97 had a stuck lifter that made it feel like I was running on 3 cyl. Luckily after 3 oil changes with each having the 5th qt being Risoline (really, the only oil treatment that I found that unstuck a lifter), it fixed the stuck lifter. You would hear a really loud clunk, clunk, clunk coming from either the front or rear valve cover though. Look for that clogged fuel filter or intermittent fuel pump as well.

kaptainp
04-24-2007, 01:49 PM
I can't get it to run longer than 20-30 seconds at the present time. I have already changed the intake gasket and flushed the radiator and changed over to the good antifreeze. I think tonight I am going to recheck the ignition coil pack and also the fuel pump. I have had several people tell me the fuel pump could be fail after the original power up.

Is there a good test for the fuel pump. Do you know if it is in the tank or outside the tank?

cjstew4
04-24-2007, 05:27 PM
I can't get it to run longer than 20-30 seconds at the present time. I have already changed the intake gasket and flushed the radiator and changed over to the good antifreeze. I think tonight I am going to recheck the ignition coil pack and also the fuel pump. I have had several people tell me the fuel pump could be fail after the original power up.

Is there a good test for the fuel pump. Do you know if it is in the tank or outside the tank?

I know that there is one fuel pump in the gas tank from previous threads here, but unsure that how to check it. I believe that there may be a second one upstream as well, but do a search for "Venture Fuel pump" in AF only and you should come across all related ones including, if I remember correctly, testing the tank fuel pump and its disassembly. Would take it to a shop though to verify this is your problem first. Sounds fuel input to somewhere related. Check for plugged fuel filter though. Another technique that I use is to call your local Chevy/GM dealer service depts, quickly describe your problem, and you never know, they may be able to provide you with the solution or additional diagnosis paths. Maybe you can find that 1 out of 5 service depts that will be more than happy to help you over the phone. Usually, those are the only ones that I will give my business to. Keep us posted on the solution that worked.

DRW1000
04-24-2007, 08:49 PM
I was thinking fuel problem too. The filter is under the driver's seat IIRC. You should also be able to measure the pressure under the hood at the schraeder (sp?) valve. It looks like a tire valve.

kaptainp
04-25-2007, 07:03 AM
I thank you for all your suggestions so far. I will definitely check the pressure at the valve. I did see it. I believe it is the valve that is right on the fuel rail. I tried to check the spark last night but the battery was to low to crank the engine very well so I put it on a charger overnight. The spark
from the first coil was an orange color not blue so I want to get a good test
on the coils as well. The local GM dealer told me to do pretty much the same thing. Check the coil and the fuel pressure. He thinks the PCM is good because we are getting the correct voltages on the sensors. Usually when they go bad the voltages are off the charts to what they should be. I will keep you posted.

kaptainp
04-25-2007, 07:05 PM
Ok, the spark was not very good. Changed all the coils and the spark is now bright blue on all plugs. Tried to start it and the same result. Cranks but no fire. So I get a gas pressure tester and hook it up the fuel rail and it reads 45 psi when the key is turned on. Specs are 41-47 so I make that. Crank it and it should drop from 3-10psi. Mine drops about 4-5, so I am in spec with that. I think I can rule out the fuel pump. GM tells me the PCM is good otherwise the voltages on the sensor feeds would be wrong. Also if it was bad the fuel pump would not be pumping fuel and there would be no spark. HELP!!! Don't know what to do next. Its like the timing is way off but I know that it is in time. I am going to check the crankshaft sensors and the camshaft sensor again. Any Ideas would be appreciated.:banghead:

cjstew4
04-26-2007, 12:15 PM
Definitely try another dealer's service dept or reputable repair shop that normally works on these models. In the meantime, are you sure no stuck lifter? Mine would shut off after the same amount oif time as yours did, but it was from a stuck lifter. If you try to rev it, does that keep it running? If so, while it is running rough at cold start, put you hand or something else on each of the valve covers and feel for that dreaded knock. I had to run risoline through over 3 oil changes within one week which cured my stuck 20k miles ago.

kaptainp
04-26-2007, 01:11 PM
It will not stay running when I try to rev the engine. Now it seems to not fire at all. Just cranks. When I first try it, it may fire just a couple of times but then nothing. Another GM dealer told me that is was probably the camshaft sensor not sending a signal. The injectors will not release fuel without a signal from the camshaft sensor. He had changed the camshaft and or the crankshaft sensors many times on these vans to solve the same problem. He told me to take the sensors off and have them checked at the local parts store. They should have a tester that will check them.

Georgine97 venture
06-11-2007, 06:10 PM
Same problem , went to pick up my wife at work and on my way back home it stall at the light. Towed it at the garage, the machanic could not find the problem till he removed the camshaft. It was broken in two peices. I got another engine , work good know for the first 50 Km now I have not power to my fuel pump.

kaptainp
06-13-2007, 07:16 AM
Well after much checking we finally decided that the oil pump wasn't pumping and so we pulled the oil drive gear out and found that the camshaft had broken in two pieces. So we started tearing down the engine and found that a rod bearing had spun as well and tore up the rod and the crankshaft. Decided to rebuild the engine so we did a valve job, replaced both shafts and all the bearings. Replaced anything that we could think of that might have been damaged and put it all back together and the van is running like a champ. Just finished it up on Saturday. My suggestion is that if this happens to you, check to see if the cam has been broken by taking out the oil drive gear and turn the engine to see if the cam is rotating. Thanks for all the help!

Add your comment to this topic!