hellectra Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 hi, i am new here! i just bought a '92 deville 4.9 with 65,000 and love it!!! except what happened the other day scared me. i have had it one month today. i will descibe what has happened and am hoping you guys can help me understand what went wrong. at least, from what i am reading, you will make me laugh. here goes. as soon as i picked it up, i had the oil and filter changed, a week later, the water pump and hoses and coolant. two weeks later, the catylytic (aftermarket) converter. a few days ago i hit a speed bump and heard the sound of metal underneath. (i am not used to the power and handling yet as my previous ride was a corolla) so, next day i am off ramping from one highway on a tight turn and braking and as i go to accelerate onto the next hwy, nothing happens! yet i still have power. panicking, i throw it in third and she goes! i get up to hwy speed, i shift back to drive (the needle appears to the left of drive... is that normal?) and all is fine until i exit 5 min later, brake on the off ramp and feel her dying under me again. lots of lights are blinking on the dash and the gas reads 2-3 gallons. so this time i turn her off and start the engine again, put it in drive and she's fine. i drive a few miles to a gas station and put in about 6 -7 gallons of mobil 93. with 9 gallons reading, it doesn't happen again. i get home safely and fill it up. what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 hellectra, Welcome to the board! Can you pull the trouble codes (if there are some)? Put the key in ignition, depress simultaneously for a few seconds Warmer and Off buttons untill codes are shown on your DIC. Write them down and post here. Turn the key off. I am pretty sure your car is fine. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 lots of lights are blinking on the dash and the gas reads 2-3 gallons. so this time i turn her off and start the engine again, put it in drive and she's fine. i drive a few miles to a gas station and put in about 6 -7 gallons of mobil 93. with 9 gallons reading, it doesn't happen again. i get home safely and fill it up. what do you think? From what you're saying, it sounds like the fuel was sloshing around the tank, and the fuel pump lost the fuel. In addition, I understand the baffle plates (which would prevent this) can actually come loose on earlier Devilles (like yours) and require tank replacement. Hopefully that's not the case with yours, but the fact that the problem went away after you filled up, but is there with only 2-3 gallons of gas (which isn't much at all), leads me to believe it's a fuel pickup problem. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 You really need to get a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail (there is a schraeder valve fitting provided...all you do is screw the gauge on) and watch the fuel pressure when the engine is acting up. The fuel pressure should be rock solid all the time, responding slightly to changes in manifold vacuum/throttle movement. Any sudden drops in fuel pressure or erratic changes in the fuel pressure show a problem with the fuel pickup or the pump or possibly the connection from the fuel pump to the sending unit. written by Guru The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellectra Posted November 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 hiya fellas........... o.k i pressed the off and warmer buttons and the display read "8.8.8" then ".7.0" i forgot to mention the slight surging sound of the motor when i start the car. it happens sometimes, not all the time, so i can't say if it is only at the first start for the day. and i don't know if it is relevant. my concern is this.. was the fuel not reaching where it needed to go because there was so little in the tank? and i was on a tight curve? the car didn't sputter or cough or anything.... it was so calm. if so, i will refill sooner. thanks adallak and jadcock for responding so quickly because it did freak me out. i will look into getting the fuel pressure gage and have no problem putting it on and checking it. if it is something i can do myself, can you give me a clue as to how to do it? and where is the fuel rail? is the rail metal or like a hose? thank you, hellectra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 The 8.8.8 is the segment check - it shows that all segments of the display are functioning. .7.0 is the system prompting you for further input. If the display went from 8.8.8 to .7.0, there are not any trouble codes stored in the system. The fuel rail is on top of the intake and runs in a "U" shape. It connects to each of the injectors. There will be a schrader fitting on the fuel rail (it looks like a tire valve). Remove the cap and connect the fuel pressure gage there. Most fuel pressure gages only have a 12" hose. I modified mine to have a 4-foot hose so I could connect it and temporarly tape the gage to the windshield so drivability issues could be evaluated. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norton1 Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Sounds normal on the startup - don't give a fuel injected motor any throttle when starting - but they do tend to rev a bit and then settle down. Sounds to me like you ran out of gas - Hope that's all it is - Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Most fuel pressure gages only have a 12" hose. I modified mine to have a 4-foot hose so I could connect it and temporarly tape the gage to the windshield so drivability issues could be evaluated. I like the idea, Kevin. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I agree with Jason. I think centrifical force just sloshed what little fuel you had to one side, fuel pump sucked air and you flamed out. I always fill up at 1/4 tank. I consider that last 1/4 kind of like an emergency reserve (too many years in the aviation buisness I guess). Remember, the fuel also cools the pump, so keeping it submerged should help add to longevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdndeville Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Like other have said and from personal experience its 100% lack of fuel pickup from the tank. I have been known to drive on "fumes" so happens to me sometimes. Just have to know how to take the right turns in the city. Slow, let car level off and then step on gas, so it wont stall. I bet you anything that the turn you made was a right hand one or the ramp was banked to the right. Depending on how sharp a right turn you take this will happen even when you have about 12-15 L left in the tank. Another item to note if you have about 7-8 L left in the tank never park it on a slight down slope for more than a few mins. You wont be able to start the car until you are on level ground. In my case the pickup is towards the rear and to the right ....coz when you make a left-turn even on low fuel there isnt any issue. I think Guru once said the reserve bowl is usually riveted down under the fuel pump pickup. If that comes loose it floats around with the centrifugal force. SOLUTION: FILL UP WHEN U ARE AT 10L, u have to anyway (just wish I would take my own advice though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAUL T Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 On my 92 Deville I had a similar scare, but I had 5 gallons in the tank. Your only problem was not enough gas. The gas will slosh around on turns, braking, and acceleration, baffles or not. The fuel pump was just catching the gas as it went by. I usually do not let mine get below 6 gallons just to be on the safe side. Fill her up and drive it like you stole it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 I used to have an '89 Sedan de Deville with a 4.5 liter engine (I loved it). When the gas tank was less than one quarter full and the car was either on a steep down grade or I was braking on a mild down grade, it acted like it was out of gas. Once the car was back on level ground, it was fine. For this reason, I always filled it up when the gas gage got to the one quarter mark. Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellectra Posted November 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 thanks everyone, i sure do feel relieved! i swear i will never let it get below 6 gallons again. i am not used to this digital reading thing re: gas tank levels. as far as the right turn on the hwy ramp, cdndeville, you got it........ it was a sharp tight right turn and sloping downhill to let one highway cross underneath the other and i was exiting the higher one to get onto the lower one and the road and car did not have a chance to level out before needing to speed up as i merged into the lane of speeding highway traffic. therefore, it all adds up. when i go back and do it all over again on monday (with a full tank, of course!) i am sure that i will find that the ramp banks to the right as well. you guys are swell......... hellectra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 I agree with Jason. I think centrifical force just sloshed what little fuel you had to one side, fuel pump sucked air and you flamed out. I always fill up at 1/4 tank. I consider that last 1/4 kind of like an emergency reserve (too many years in the aviation buisness I guess). Remember, the fuel also cools the pump, so keeping it submerged should help add to longevity. Larry, The fuel flowing through the pump cools it. As long as it is able to pickup fuel from the pump inlet, it will be adequately cooled. I routinely run my cars low on gas (it seems like every time I drive the Seville, it is on E.......) and have never had a pump problem. My Buick's fuel pump was still going strong at 188,000 miles. I only replaced it because I had a leak in the gas tank along the seam weld. Since I had to replace the tank, I replaced the pump while I had the tank out. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Most fuel pressure gages only have a 12" hose. I modified mine to have a 4-foot hose so I could connect it and temporarly tape the gage to the windshield so drivability issues could be evaluated. I like the idea, Kevin. I lengthened the hose when my Seville began to stumble on acceleration. I thought it was fuel related at first but the 12" hose on the gage was worse than useless..... A local Parker-Hannefin hydraulic shop removed both clamps and installed a 4-foot piece of high pressure fuel hose and re-crimped the hose with new crimp clamps for less than seven bucks. It is now a useful gage. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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