Hard to start after replacing the fuel pump relay and the fuel pressure regulator

80

Asked by Thomas Dec 22, 2013 at 03:28 PM about the 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera S Sedan FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

1992 Olds Cutlass Ciera 3.3L
After replacing the fuel pump relay and the fuel pressure regulator, it has been hard to start.  Specifically, the fuel pump wont engage until after I have cranked the engine 2 or 3 times, then I will hear the pump running.  It does this after it has been sitting for at least 2 hours.  Less that that, and it starts on the 1st try.
The problem I had before I replaced those parts was that the relay would stick on and flood the engine.

3 Answers

80

Finally figured it out. Turns out, it was the oil pressure switch. (Yes, OIL pressure switch). Turns out on this engine, the oil pressure switch will act as a cut-off if it detects no oil pressure. It also will keep sending power to the pump if the relay was to die, allowing you to get home. The switch was shorted and was continually sending power to the pump, overriding the primer signal from the computer, allowing the pump to run anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds, flooding the engine. I had about 1/2 qt of gas in the oil by the time I got this fixed. This appears to be an issue with the Buick 3.0/3.3/3.8 engines. Car is running great and starts on the 1st turn of the key, even when it gets down to 0.

8 people found this helpful.
70

I have a 1994 Oldsmobile cutlass ciera I put a new gas pump and all the relays new it still not starting up I'm doing it on my own can y'all please help me out I check all fuse and there ARE good what is the next thing I can do to fix the problem

7 people found this helpful.

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