frustrated97owner

This is a great forum. I have made a note of all the trials and tribs of other Bravada owners and will take them with me to the dealer.

I have a 97 Bravada with 131K.. Was running well til about a month ago.. then the tranny got stuck in park and had that fixed... then the key got stuck in the ignition and my brother and I tied down the release, so the key would come out.. Worked great....Thought things were good, but SES light was on.. but before I could take it to AutoZone to get the codes read, it died and won't restart..There is no smell of fuel going into the injectors.. After what I've read, I'm thinking maybe the fuel regulator??

Thanks

Chris Stewart

If you can't smell raw gasoline fumes at the tailpipe, your issue could be a lack of fuel. Can you hear the fuel pump running? The gas gauge on my '97 quit working and it got ran out of fuel fairly regular too before I replaced the whole fuel module.
There's a fuel pressure test port at the rear of the motor/drivers side on the metal fuel line with a black cap on it. A fuel pressure test kit or an old freon R12 install kit with a gauge and valve closed will screw on the fitting to get a pressure reading but don't start the motor because a spill at that port could get serious...it's right in front of the distributor cap and spark plug wires.
Just turn the keyswitch on for a free 5 second prime run of the fuel pump. The pressure should hold a few minutes if the fuel pump is ok.

frustrated97owner

Thanks Chris.
I will try that and let you know how it goes. I'm leaning more toward a crankshaft sensor problem or fuel regulator problem because it was running fine after I put 35 dollars of high test in before it died at the car wash, but at least I'll know if the fuel pump is bad before I take it to the dealer.

BTW, I called the dealer and had to wait a week to get an appointment ... Guess I'm not the only one with troubles.. I'm going to change the fuel filter this week too, but my brother is fairly sure it's some kind of sensor..

ericn1300

since you have a trouble code set you might buy the code reader i listed in a recent post, only 30 bucks. might save you the expense of a tow and the high stealership prices. i'm going to get one tomorrow and test it out. i'll let you know how it works

frustrated97owner

Thanks eric....Yep.. I checked and there are none of those freight stores even close to RI... so I'm getting the battery juiced today (I ran it down trying to start it as did the guy from AAA who towed me) and will check the fuel pressure... I think I have the codes in my Haynes(sp) manual... I found one of those readers for 50 plus at amazon, but that won't help me this weekend.. and I'm bringing it in on Monday... after I replace the fuel filter... I'm also wondering about replacing the ignition switch, but it did start (although maybe a little hard) for one day... maybe fuel too rich??

frustrated97owner

Just wanted to update other owners on this problem. I brought it to the dealer and they did a systems analysis ($79) and they replaced the ignition switch ($143) plus labor of $197 and I drove it off the lot this morning.... No more service engine soon light and the key came out of the ignition.. so I'm feeling pretty lucky.. walking out the door for $365.00 (Not the fuel pump-- whew)

Here's what the test showed:

COND: Fuel pump inoperative
CAUSE: Signal power supply open
Tech COMM: .... caused by primary ignition signal open from ignition switch malfunction...

Chris Stewart

Thanks for the update!!!
It'll go in the "bag of tricks".