I have a 99 Rodeo V6, and for the pass couple months I have had a starting issue. It takes up to 10 seconds for my car to turn on, but always on the first try. Its not every time, but it is frequent. I took it to my mechanic and he did a preliminary test, and told me that my fuel pressure was 35. I don''t know what that meant, but it was not good. He believed that maybe my fuel pump was bad.

Ive done some research about symptoms of a bad fuel pump, or fuel pressure regulator. I only have one symptom, the hesitant start. My car is perfect in every other way. good fuel mileage, great idle, no black smoke from the exhaust, no check engine light. nothing. What do you guys think? any tips on where I should start to resolve this problem?

 

I just found out my pressure regulator was bad. If you can get a pressure gage on the fuel line, do this...... clamp shut the fuel return line off the regulator (you may have to follow the line a bit til you find rubber hose to squeeze with pliers). If the pressure increases, you''ve got a bad regulator, because the pump is making good pressure. You just have to shut off the return to see that pressure on the gage. If the pressure did not increase, you''ve got a bad pump.

 

Fuel pump and fpr can cause the same symptoms so its tough to figure out exaclty which one it is. A plugged fuel filter will also do the same. Replacing it is the first step. The fuel rail should have a minimum 44 psi at idle.