1999 Tahoe Hard Start / Fuel Pump Wiring?

[Redding]

I have a 1999 Chevy Tahoe with the 5.7 liter engine. I bought it used from a local dealer in Connecticut with 42500 original miles. It now has 97500 miles on it 2 years later and it will start up cold ok, but on a warm day or after it has been running for a short while, it will crank, but fail to turn over on an intermittant basis. It then takes many hours for it to start again. I've already had it in to a local garage and we discussed a potential faulty fuel pump, however, the defect failed to occur while in the shop, so the mechanic advised against the fuel pump replacement, ran a GM engine diagnostic scan (revealing no code errors/defects), replaced the fuel filter and released the truck. Since that repair last week, it has failed to start again the other day after only a short trip to the park. Five hours later, we were able to start the truck and drive it home.

I am thinking that my truck has a faulty electrical path from within the connector side of the wiring inside the fuel tank, since the brass contacts on the female side of the connector within the tank are spring-loaded. If the spring tension fails, heat will build up and begin to deteriorate the plasting housing and the voltage will not be a steady 12V. Or, does it sound like the fuel pump itself is starting to fail?

[garleest]

Replace The Fuel Pump Relay!

[garleest]

I Left A Reply. But I'm Going To Explain It A Little More. I Had This Problem With My Chevrolet Truck About 3.5 Years Ago. I Couldn't Get An Answer Either. So I Replaced The Fuel Pump And Pulsator. It Did The Same Thing. So I Got Digging Around More And Replaced The Relay. That Solved That Problem. After I Had It Fixed I Was Talking With Some Guys That Run A Big Electrical Company In Dallas. Their Fleet Are Chevrolets. It's A Common Problem For Them. Well That Was Just The Beginning Of The Problems. When I Replaced The Fuel Pump. I Replaced It With Carter Replacement Fuel Pump. 6 Months Later The Fuel Pump Quit Working. Replaced It Again. (lifetime Warranty) 6 Months Later It Burnt The Ground Wire Off That Connects To The Frame By The Gas Tank. Well Replaced The Fuel Pump Again. This Time I Made Sure That Ground Wire Wasn't Going To Burn Off Again. 6 Months Later(lifetime Warranty) This Time It Burnt Off The Wires Right Where It Plugged Into The Fuel Pump. Now After That Things Were A Little More Serious. Difference Between A Problem And Blowing Up A Truck. So I Went Salvage Yard Hunting To Find Complete Unit (sending Unit,fuel Pump ,pulsator, Wiring Harness) Well I Live In The Dallas Area. Couldn't Find One With All The Salvage Yard Here. I Walked In One And The Guy Told Me The Reason I Counldn't Find One. Was When You Run This Type Low On Gas(below A .25 Tank) On A Regular Basis It Over Works The Fuel Pump And Burns Them Up. So People Replace Them Alot. Well I Bought The Complete Unit Off Ebay. Installed It 2 Years Ago. And Haven't Had A Problem Since. For $7.oo Replace The Relay(it's Located Under The Hood In A Box Called The Fuse Relay Center) Oh By The Way For Some Reason I Was In My Garage This Morning Looking A Fuel Pump I Have Wondering What I Was Going To Do With It. It's Brand New Never Used(lifetime Warranty) Garleest

[Redding]

Hi. Thanks for the specific and relevant experience and reply!! I will take your advice.