Work4crown

We tried the starting fluid. The car started and ran until he stopped spraying the starting fluid. We think he might need a fuel pump like the guy in this story did.
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/2008-2-2-starting-hard-runs-bad-surges-41548/
We have a fuel pressure tester and will be getting some readings today.
We also finally got some codes but I’m not sure what to make of them:
P0102 – Powertrain
Mass or Volume Air Flow Circuit Low Input
And
P0113 – Powertrain
Intake Air Temperature Circuit High Input
I think these codes might have come from removing the air filter and spraying starting fluid in. Not sure. What do you guys think?

Oh - also, my friend tried to pump some fuel into a container by disconnecting the fuel hose from the rail and attaching a hose to a container. A little gas came out and then it just stopped pumping and they couldn't get it to pump any more fuel.

ChevyMgr

You need a fuel pump.

Work4crown

My friend tried the furl pressure test and when turning the key to ACC it read zero pressure. When he tried to start the engine the fuel pressure needle went up but jumped around erratically.

Thanks everyone for chiming in and helping us with good suggestions. I'm sure we're going to get a fuel pump on order and installed.

Don06

Has it warmed up there yet? She might have gotten some bad gas that had water in it and froze in the screen on the fuel pump pickup.

SpaceCowboy

winner winner chicken dinner

Work4crown

Installed fuel pump (from rockauto.Com) today. Still no start. Still no error codes.

Tried jump starting since the new battery was only 11.3 volts. Still would not start.

Starter turns real good. Have fuel at the rail. Didn't do a pressure test yet.

Is there a procedure to prime the pump or something?

Work4crown

We ran the fuel pressure test and it read 58 psi.

Work4crown

My friend is thinking there might be something wrong with the gas. He pumped some gas into a glass jar and let it sit for a while. We did not see it separate into any layers (such as if there was water in the gas).

Still he suspects the gas because:

1. The car ran fine until they filled it up the night before it stopped running.

2. The car ran when he sprayed starting fluid in the intake.

3. We have proper fuel pressure at the rail. (58 psi)

4. Battery is new and fully charged.

We don't know if the gas is getting through the injectors.

I suggested he try starting the car with a different key and also try starting it with the air filter off.

He may drop the tank, siphon out the gas and fill it with fresh gas to see if that helps.

Any ideas?

Work4crown

So I took a look at the fuses the other day and was kind of surprised by what I found. It is easy to check the fuses because they have clear windows on them to see if the fuse has a broken link or not.

I was surprised though to learn that the relays are just solid blocks of electronics. Is there a way to test these to see if there is a problem there?

firemangeorge

"2. The car ran when he sprayed starting fluid in the intake."

Based on this, it sounds like a fuel issue. Either bad fuel or bad delivery to the injectors.
I would suggest first draining the tank like you stated. You also need to somehow flush the lines and fuel rail as much as possible.