yo, this is my first post here and im about to start restoring my gl which you should know is an 86 hatch. it used to run but then it started dying out of no where and it wouldnt start back up so i figured it was the the fuel pump so i replaced that and it still wouldnt start, and then i would turn it to on and off on the ignition but i couldnt feel any whirring or vibrating from the pump so i checked the wires with a volt-ohm meter and it was getting power but the resistance seemed unusually high so maybe i should change the fuel pump wires but they look fine.

so now i want to get serious and do all kinds of compression and ignition tests but maybe its something simple like intake or backpressure problems? if anybody has had problems with one of these before not starting and fixed it or if theres a thread about an 86 no start issue with no pump action please message me back-craazy

check the fuel filter

check the fuel filter

but i replaced the filter with the pump......

Here's my super general advice on no start situations.

 

Air

Fuel

Spark

Timing

 

Figure out which one(s) are failing and go from there.

 

Good luck

We had an identical problem on my 1985 Soob wagon, it took a new fuel pump to solve the problem. I am 99% shure that should solve your problem, the other 1% is the fuel pump control unit/relay (I am not sure which one yours has). Look in the Haynes/Chilton's (Haynes preferably) manual for it if you don't have an FSM (Factory Service Manual - hard to find for something that old, but worth their weight in gold). On mine there is (was) a fuel pump control box under the driver's side kickpanel.

Check the fuses too!!

ya i was going to check those 4 things tomorrow but thanks for the advice about the fuel pump relay i checked all the fuses but i wasnt sure which one did what and then i thought it could be a fusible link near the battery thats rotted on the inside but im gonna strip the interior tomorrow along with the heater and air conditioner so if i see anything near the kick panel ill see whats up-craazy

If you are doing a lot of engine work anyway, you could convert it to SPFI. That would provide all the luxuries of fuel injection (big power boost and better fuel economy) with your current engine. There is info on it in the "repair manual" section.

What about the fuel filter in the engine bay?

85sub4wd...where is that about the SPFI? I looked, but I'm dumb.

[HTi]Johnson

ya, where exactly is that repair manual section about spfi? and shouldnt i be hearing or feeling some whirring or vibrating from the pump when i turn the ignition on and off or is there such little power at that time that it wont do that? and i actually cancelled my plans for yesterday and i didnt do all that work, instead i was all like hey look at me im hungover so now ill get drunk and high all day. so i think damn, what a waste of a day, but i talked to this guy who said it might be my distributor coil, and he said there should be a coil underneath the distributor but i cant find it and it does not look like im getting any spark from it when i ground it to the car with a screwdriver or alligator clamps so where should i check for spark from this cars distibutor because im used to just pulling the wire off and grounding it but its not working so i was thinking either this car is direct current spark or it doesnt work? god i hate this ****ing car yet its saved all my other cars lives through rain, snow and mud so its kind of sentimental value to me and also i checked the starter with a volt ohm meter and im not getting power from that but it has 3 wires coming from the negative and 2 wires from the positive and then 1 of the negative and positive wires go into the LF fender so im getting power to the starter but i cant seem to find power coming out......so starter, ignition, dirtributor, and general test points for locating either a mechanical or electrical problem and solution for my car might be appreciated?-craazy

so.....is anyone going to reply with specific answers to direct questions?

You should be able able to hear the fuel pump run when you turn the key to the on position. The fuel system may be charged up already so turn the key to start first and chrank the engine for a second. Then turn the key off and back to on and see if you hear the pump turn on for about a second.

 

Normally you should place a plug into the wire you pull to check for spark but your way should work ok. When you say ground the lead I hope you mean there is a small gap between the wire and ground. for the arc. If you don't have spark getting to the plugs then the fuel pump will not run. If there is no spark, then the first thing to look for is voltage getting to the plus side of the coil with the key on. Then check for voltage also on the minus side. You should be able to see pulsing voltage on the minus side when you crank the engine over if the pickup loop is ok.