01 alero with 3.4 tries to start then dies

[scoopy03]

I finishing putting my alero together after doing a head gasket job but now when i try to start the car it just dies instantly. there are no codes or check engine light. Any ideas?

[maxwedge]

Got good fuel pressure? Recheck all your work and connections also.

[scoopy03]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

Got good fuel pressure? Recheck all your work and connections also.

i dont have a fuel pressure tester available to check but i purged the rail and it shoots out pretty good almost all the way out to the fender (i would imagine that pressure is fine to accomplish that). i know all the connections are fine because i did them all the same day.

[maxwedge]

Can't really see over your shoulder what you may have done or what may have occurred at the same time you did the repairs, see if it runs a while spraying carb cleaner into the intake.

[undersc0re]

Its not the anti-theft kicking in? Maybe someone someone pulled the bulb or sumthin, I know thats a long shot but ya never know....Sounds like a fuel issue of some sort.

[blandon7]

scoopy03 - My wifes 2000 V6 Alero was doing this same thing. It ran fine one day then the next it didn't. It would start up, and only run for 1 maybe 2 seconds then die. Also, not sure if yours is doing this, but the power locks and trunk release would not work during this time.

How I solved it was this: I removed the BCM from underneath the glove box (passenger side). I unhooked the 3 connector wiring harness that was connected to it. I noticed corrosion on some of the connections. I re-connected the BCM to the wiring harness and started wiggling various wires. There was an orange wire on one of the connectors that caused a clicking noise from inside of the BMC when I wiggled it. I knew then that was the wire that was causing the outage. I re-pinned this wire so that it made better contact with the BCM and it has been like new ever since.

The orange wire that was causing my problem was located on the right hand side connector, on the very end. That is if you are looking at the BCM with the wiring harness at the top and the white label facing you. For example my white label says 'Delco Electronics' on it.

I was getting ready to have the car towed to the dealer and a new BCM installed and programmed when I discovered this. I'm glad I did some troubleshooting of my own first. As we all know these cars have water leakage issues, which leads to electrical connection corrosion, which cause these type of things to happen sooner or later. I've sealed up my water leaks on this car to curtail this down the road.

[scoopy03]

Originally Posted by undersc0re

Its not the anti-theft kicking in? Maybe someone someone pulled the bulb or sumthin, I know thats a long shot but ya never know....Sounds like a fuel issue of some sort.

i don't think thats the issue. there was/is no warning lights on the instrument cluster.

Originally Posted by blandon7

My wifes 2000 V6 Alero was doing this same thing. It ran fine one day then the next it didn't. It would start up, and only run for 1 maybe 2 seconds then die. Also, not sure if yours is doing this, but the power locks and trunk release would not work during this time.

i'll have to look into that.

[patbeechermail]

I may be way off base, but I had the same problem with a vehicle after a head gasket job. Look at all of your vacuum hoses, make sure you have them all installed and in the correct places, pay close attention to the intake manifold, feel around back of it for any places where a hose should go. If it was a fuel issue I don't think it would start at all.

[scoopy03]

it turned out to be a cylinder 5 misfire removed the valve cover and checked and saw that the one pushrod wasn't even touching the rocker arm. in other words had the intake and exhaust rods in the wrong place in the first place. cylinder 5 barely was close to 25 and cylinder 1,3 were around 150ish

[patbeechermail]

yeesh?

[scoopy03]

well got it apart and should have it up in like 2-3hours of working on it if that.