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Cadillac Repair/1994 fleet-brougham starting problem

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Expert: - 5/17/2011


Question
My wife went to clean the '94 fleetwood brougham. Going was driving fine. After self cleaning, the car would not start. We figured, no gas. I went and got 4gals with container. Put gas in car. Tried starting. No Joy. Took to a guy. The fuel pump had definitely burned up. Melted part of connector. Purchased Pump, strainer, connector and filter. Replaced pump, connector, strainer and filter. Car still won't start. We can hear the pump activating when key is to turned on before trying to start but it is not as loud as it was before burn out. What all else could have burned out or be wrong. Could there also be a security lock mode, since we tried starting it so many time that need to be reset or disengaged other than the remote and key... like similar to resetting the change oil light?

Answer
Hi,

If you hear the fuel pump running, you do not have a security issue.
Running a car very low or out of gas with an electric fuel pump can very well burn up a pump and associated wiring.

I am wondering why you thought to go for a fuel problem first, even though this turned out to be one of your problems.
If the car ran before being washed and then it didn't, I would have thought first of spark. Getting a distributor or cal-pack wet would have been my first thought and now it will have to be your next consideration since the fuel pump is working now. You probably need to take the car to a service center that has diagnostic equipment or you will be chasing ghosts (guesses on what is wrong).

That takes the guess work out of everything. It sounds like you have some unknown spark problem.
It's common for people to consider security as an issue because most do not understand how it works. There is no reset if you will on the VATS (Resistor chip embedded in ignition key blade).
If you had a security issue, not only would you not get fuel, but the engine would not crank either. Don't worry, many go for the security system when the engine will not run.
This could be a very simple problem to diagnose and repair, but unfortunately, one needs the diagnostic equipment, without it, its just changing parts and not correcting the problem.

Good luck!

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Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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