My 1997 suzuki carry left me stranded today. It was running fine and then stalled like it was not getting any fuel. It would start right up, run about 2 or 3 seconds and then die. I loaded it up, took it to the house, and thought it might be fuel filter or fuel pump working improperly. I can hear the fuel pump making a ticking noise but it does not stay on very long when you turn the key on before stopping. I took the fuel line loose from the pump so i could bypass the pump completely and then took an air compressor and pressurized the tank. I unhooked the compression fittings on the fuel line right before it goes into the engine to see if fuel would "blow" everywhere when I pressurized the tank using the air compressor. It did. I can not understand what is going on since I am getting fuel within a foot of going into the engine however the truck still acts like it is starving for fuel. It simply bogs and you can pump the throttle with your foot and can keep it running otherwise it will die. It always starts right back up and repeats the same symptoms. If it was pump related I would think that pressurizing the tank using air and bypassing the pump should make the truck run fine while the air was being blown into the tank. I'm wondering if there is some kind of an electrical sensor or module that can restrict the fuel from getting all the way to the engine. It definitely seems like it is fuel starved however I don't know what else to check. Anyone got any ideas????
There is a fuel shut off valve in the carb that you should check - with the key on, there should be 12V present on the solenoid leads (and of course, it needs to be operating properly.) However, my fuel pump makes a constant clicking noise with key on - it doesn't stop like apparently yours does. I'd be real suspicious of the fuel pump as the culprit.
There is a fuel shutoff solenoid on the carb. (to prevent dieseling, I suppose.) Didn't pay much attention to it, but you could check it for power, if it seems normal, maybe you could remove it, plug the hole, then try it....just for testing. If that fixes it, just cutoff it's plunger, till you can find another one. EDIT: On second thought, that fuel c/o is prob'ly only for the idle circuit.
on newer engines it is common for the fuel pump to shut off once the fuel system is primed and holding pressure. once you are sure you have 12V at the fuel cut off solenoid turn the key off and on and listen or feel for it to "click" if you don't hear it or feel it pull it out and see if you can visually see it working. these little things are spring loaded and require 12V to open the fuel supply. if they fail they close. and since you are in the engine compartment i would go ahead and pull the supply line off the carb, stick it in a bucket and see if you get fuel all the way up to the carb when the key is on and see if the fuel pump runs longer than just long enough to pressureize the system. if you have fuel that far, it could be as easy as a stuck float in the carb or a stuck needle and seat. i would also check your ignition system. i have seen problems in the ingnition system look like a fuel problem. i chased a "problem" with the carb for several hours once. it would run as long as you feathered the gas pedal but died when you let off. no amount of carb work would fix this "fuel" problem i had. but when i changed the points it got a little better, the condenser helped a little but changing the coil made her purr like a kitten. i swapped them back again and had the same problem. and on the extremely rare chance... have you checked that you haven't frozen up an aux unit on the engine? i have seen locked up air pumps (i know these trucks don't have them, but...) and locked up a/c clutches stop motors that were running. you crank it, it spits and sputters and then dies again because of all the belt drag against the frozen pulley.
update.........truck sat about 5 hours after i got tired of messing with it...decided to fire it up and guess what... it ran fine.....now it makes it really hard to diagnose because it is working currently but i'm sure will act up when driving it for a while and it heats up...can't imagine anything fuel related really fixing itself or becoming unclogged by just sitting there...i'll try some of the things you guys said...thanks for the replies and chime back in if you have any more advice with the updated information.. Thanks
i have seen fuel filters act like that. they will run all day at low speeds but not high speeds, will idle but not rev, will die and after sitting will run again.
same thing happened to me. I changed the fuel filter and no help then changed the fuel pump and problem solved. I still think both needed to be changed the filter was full of junk.
Check for small rocks holding EGR valve partially closed as well. It sounds like the problem i had when that happened to me. pepci
A coil going bad can also act like that. Quits when it gets warm/hot enough and then will do good after cooling down. Fred
well the fuel cut off solenoid wasn't the problem. It appears that with the a/c on and if I hit a bump it sets off what ever is preventing the engine from running. Runs great until all of a sudden you can't keep it running. I hit the same bump going across my driveway about a week apart with the a/c on both times and the truck died within 20 feet of the same spot. Any ideas?!
I have the same problem. I suspect the fuel cut off solenoid. In the meantime I was able to keep it from dying out at stops by running the A/C fan that has a switch that raises idle speed. This site is helpful even if you don't speak Filipino.
New fuel cut-off solenoids are ridiculously expensive. Like $125 for a $10 part. I kind of like the idea of just cutting off the end and kill the engine with the clutch if it diesels.
