2000 Pontiac Grand Am gt starting/stalling issues

[AngiePants]

Okay. I have a 2000 grand am gt... I am having a starting issue and no one can seem to tell me where to start with repairs. We're having problems with the car starting and staying on. Sometimes it starts, sometimes it doesn't. There seems to be no rhyme or reason when it fails. When it fails, at initial start up it will crank and sound like it wants to catch but won't. No lights on on the dash (someone told us to rule out the security crap), and I'm not sure if the windows or locks work in those times (haven't exactly thought to check them). When it does start it starts to sputter almost immediately and with die out quickly. Still no lights on on the dash (by that I mean no check engine or security light.. my husband did mention the trac light being on but I don't know if he said it was supposed to be). Then on the rare occasion lately that it does stay on, it is only a matter of time before it dies. About 10 or so days ago I drove it down the road and back (maybe half mile) and it ran fantastic. Got up to about 60 mph with no lag or shift problem, no lights flashing, no gas sputtering, ran like a damp dream! As I was pulling back in, it died. All the gages went haywire, the dash lights came on, lost power steering and it all died. No clunk or anything like that, just a little whirring sound and dead. Put it in park, turned it off and it turned right back on. Got it into the driveway and put in park and it died again. Wouldn't start for 4 days after that.

Our key was catching (we had to wiggle it to get it to turn) so we just replaced the ignition cylinder with no real hopes that that was the problem... it worked about 3 or 4 starts and would stay on. But then after sitting for a bit it wouldn't start again. We fiddled with the fuses and pulled out all fuses pertaining to the fuel system from under the hood. After waiting and putting those back in, it started perfectly 8 or 10 times. Went to start it again to take it for a drive, wouldn't start. From my understanding, the fuel pressure is fine (although I'm the only one trying to find a solution, I don't remember what the fuel pressure was.. ), we'll be checking that again this weekend.

My husband plans to try the crankshaft position sensor and ignition switch this weekend. But I really hate to throw money at it blindly. Any help would be great!!

[Tech II]

Well, you can throw parts at it, or do some diagnosis....

You have to clarify a few things......

Does the engine crank over, and not start, or it doesn't crank over at all?

Have you checked your battery cable connections, being clean AND tight?

If the vehicle cranks over, starts, and then immediately dies, does the theft light flash?

When car won't start have a can of carb cleaner handy.....remove the snorkel from the throttle body, open the throttle plate and spray some carb cleaner inside.....close the plate....wait a few seconds.....have someone crank the vehicle and at the same time spray carb cleaner at the closed plate.....If car starts and runs, as long as you spray, then it's a fuel delivery problem....either it's fuel pressure(check with a gauge) or the injectors are not firing(could be a security problem)....if it runs while you spray carb cleaner, it's NOT the crank sensor.....

Need a scan tool capable of reading "B" codes....most code readers and cheap scanners can only read "P" codes....a security problem will usually set a B2958 or B2960....the usual fix for this is a PassLock sensor....that is the part, your ignition lock cylinder goes into......when you replaced the lock cylinder, did you replace the PassLock sensor at the same time?

[AngiePants]

It does crank over but doesn't start.

My father in law has cleaned and checked all things battery related and said it was working right. But that is another thing on the list to check again this weekend simply because the car has been sitting with minimal driving.

When it starts up and immediately dies, all lights come on for a second, the gauges go up and come down then the lights go off. Nothing stays on after it dies...

I just read about the carb cleaner trick a few days ago, so I'll do that! Is the gauge you're talking about the same as a fuel pressure tester? That's what we have available and what we used last time.

We didn't replace anything but the cylinder when we did it. I honestly didn't think to replace the passlock sensor too.

Thanks for the tips!