Go figure! My son is ready to leave for college, and tries to start the car - no start. It cranks, but does not catch. So I do the usual checks: fuel & spark. The plugs are wet with gas, so I try starting fluid to no avail. I pull the plugs, remove the fuel pump fuse, and crank the engine to clear the cylinders. I even put the plugs on the wires to ignite the fuel.

I replaced the fuel pump last month, but not the filter - so I replace it and put new plugs in. So I think I'm good to go now, but it still doesn't start. I pull the fuse again and crank. It sounds like it wants to start, so I keep cranking...suddenly, it starts and idles - quite evenly, too. I looked directly at the fuse block and see the #2 fuse is NOT installed. My wife puts it in, taking several seconds, but the engine continues to idle just fine.

1) So...did it start and idle without the fuel pump running? Or did I imagine all this because I inhaled too much fuel and starting fluid fumes?
2) Did I dump enough fuel in the cylinders when it wasn't starting to keep it running for several seconds?
3) Why is this car so sensitive/susceptible to flooding?

 

Sometimes they will run for like 5 minutes with the fuse out before they will die.
How long had the car been sitting before it would not start?

 

The car sat for a few days. My son uses it one or two times a week at college, and had only one hard-start incident before he came home. It runs fine with decent mpg, too.

Is it possible the fuel pump relay is on the fritz? That could account for the hard starting, no?

 

I am wondering if the lifters had bled down causing low compression when he tried to start the car?
Then since they did not bleed up fast enough it flooded the motor.

 

The car has over 200k, so the lifter bleed makes sense. Is there anything I can do to mitigate this?

 

Not really maybe have him try to drive it a little more.