Cranks but will not start

2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX
204,000 MILES • 3.4L • V6 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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ADAM RODERICK
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I got up the other morning and my battery was drained. I charged the battery and went to start the car. The radio and power windows will not work while the key is on and the car won’t start, but it will crank over. Also the fuel pump is not kicking on when I turn the key to the on position. I installed a sound system a few days prior and connected the positive wire to the positive post by the relays.

No fuel pump.
No radio.
No power window.
Will crank over though.

What should I do?
Feb 7, 2021 at 11:11 PM
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KASEKENNY
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 18,907 POSTS
Let's start with just removing the sound system for now. You do not need to remove it from the vehicle, just unhook the electrical connector that is connected to the vehicle. So if that is just the cable to the battery then that is it.

Once we figure this out, you can reconnect that.

Here is a guide that will start to walk us through what we need to do:

https://youtu.be/dCjmRL3p4Cs

Basically we need to find why we have no fuel and then we need to find out if you have spark. Pull a spark plug and hold it against the block then crank the engine and see if it fires.

I am attaching the wiring diagram for the injectors and fuel pump. We need to check these fuses and relays. If the pump is not coming on then we clearly have a power issue. So we need to find out if this is a power feed issue or a control issue from the PCM.

Let us know about this info and we can go from there. Thanks
Feb 9, 2021 at 8:33 AM
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ADAM RODERICK
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I did everything above, I replaced the battery as well. When I replaced the battery the car reset itself and worked fine for one day. Now every day I have to disconnect the battery for an hour and wait for it to reset so everything will work again. Could this be a failing ECU?

Also it didn’t start doing this until the temperature started dropping down to about ten degrees at night.
Feb 13, 2021 at 9:06 AM
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KASEKENNY
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 18,907 POSTS
Just to be clear, the engine will not restart unless you leave the battery unhooked for an hour? Then it fires up one time and runs fine?

Do you have the theft light on when this is acting up? I am thinking that you have a security issue and it is allowing the start one time.

If this is not the case then yes, it could be the ECM is failed. Did you check for codes? Here is a guide that will help with this:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Let's start with the codes and go from there. Thanks
Feb 13, 2021 at 10:22 AM
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