will turn but wont start

[CAPRICE LIFE]

greetings pontiac people.i have a 99 grand am 2.4L.the other day i was low on gas,stopped to get sum,tried to crank the car and it wouldnt start.i changed the fuel pump and its still doing the same thing.i tried to see if i were getting fire and the result is no.i stuck a screwdriver in the plug but and had a friend to turn the key and surprisingly it didnt shock the hell outta me(lol).i had the ignition module checked at autozone and it was fine.i need help real bad.thanks

[gmack221]

Next time your at atuozone get a spark tester, much easier to check spark with a spark tester and 4 plug wires (real wires not quad 4 wires).
Check the spark on all 4 cylinders, if you have no spark its either the Ignition Control Module (which you say you had tested), Crank Position Sensor, or your not getting power to the computer or the computer is bad. (when you turn the key to the run position do you get a check engine light? If you do then your computer is powering up and most likely thats not your problem) I wouldn't think its your computer though.

Sounds like you had a Crank Position Sensor go bad. Its on the front of the motor, bolts into the engine block, below the intake, by the oil add tube. They normally break trying to get them out of the block because they swell up from heat, try twisting it as you lift it out of the block, if it breaks be careful not to drop any pieces in the engine.

[CAPRICE LIFE]

thanks for your input.i was thinkin of that in the back of my head but wasnt really sure.hopefully thats my problem.thanks again.ill try in another hour or so!

[angie35016]

I had the same thing happen to mine. The day that I stopped to get gas, the cap was not locked properly and caused an air bubble in gas line which blew a sensor. Mechanic replaced fuel sensor and no problems since. These cars are so sensitive!!!
Warning....the sensor wasn't cheap...let us know how things work out.

[CAPRICE LIFE]

ok people.i checked the old fuel pump by str8 wiring it and it worked fine.i found where the relay box was and checked the terminal where the prongs from the relay go into and neither prong lit up my test light.i also checked the fuel pump harness under the car and it was ok. i am really stumped right now.i tried to locate the the crankshaft sensor but didnt find it.how does it look?i checked all fuses and they are ok too.this motor is not a belt driven engine so where is the front of the motor.it looks like the tranny is on the driver side and the motor is on the passenger side so any help in locating the crank sensor will be well appreciated.also if u can, give me some other things that could be wrong starting with the most obvious to the least obvious.thanks again. also i do not hear the fuel pump hum??!!!

[gmack221]

Ok there seems to be some confusion as to where the crank posotion sensor (CPS) is, your trans is on the drivers side of the vehicle, your motor faces the passanger side of the vehicle, the left side of the motor is twards the front of the vehicle. On the left side of the motor there is an intake manifold that bolts to the head, under that on the drivers side is the starter, on the passanger side would be the alternator. Your crank position sensor will be between the alternator and starter, it will have one electrical plug & one bolt holding it in. Should be within inches of your oil fill tube. Should also be within inches of the oil pan (yes its low on the engine block).

But if your fuel pump isn't working then im not sure the CPS will have any affect on that. When you turn your key to the run position the fuel pump should run for 30 seconds. I would start by changing the fuse in the fuse pannel (weather it looks good or not), or use a test light to see if you have power coming to the fuel pump fuse.

Is there any other electronic problems? If you have no power coming in I would suspect the fuseable links. The fuseable links are the wires that bolt to the starter with the positive battery cable. fuseable links are wires that burn up (like the wire in a fuse) so that you don't have to search thru the whole wire harness for the bad wire. The fuseable links provide the rest of the car with power.

[gmack221]

Caprice Life you asked

"my test light isnt comin on when i test the fuel pump relay circuit(what the relay plugs into).IF it is the cps will that make the fuel pump not make that hummin sound?"

The Crank Position Sensor (CPS) will have no effect on the initial 30 second run of the fuel pump, the computer will have no effect of the initial 30 second run of the fuel pump. (I had a computer with no power running to it and the fuel pump ran before start up)

Sounds like you have a wiring problem between the relay and the battery. You have 3 choices, #1 find a good wiring diagram (my suggestion). If you have access to a Dealer Service Manual it would be your best shot, I tried using a Haynes Manual to track down my wiring and did not have any luck (3 weeks), borrowed a dealer book and had it whooped in 3 days.
#2 tear into the wiring harness and find which one is the power wire and the problem.
#3 try testing the fuseable links (ohm meter)