OK you hotdogs...here is a diagnosis problem; A Possible Diagnosis

[flderoos@mmm.com]

> 
> Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 07:23:59 -0800
> From: "Robert H. Caron" <jca-productions@mindspring.com>
> Subject: OK you hotdogs...here is a diagnosis problem
> 
> I am not interested in approximate reasoning. A lot of you guys fail to
> nail the problem. Just talk around the periphery. I am looking for the
> precise cause. That means you have to stick your neck out and pick the most
> likely possibility.
> 
> Car: 84 5k
> 
> We drop someone off at LAX about 8 am for a 9:15 am flight from LA to NY.
> It's a balmy day, such as we are accustomed to in the City of the Angels.
> We turn off the ignition, open the trunk and remove some luggage. We close
> the trunk. Then we get back in the driver's seat and turn the ignition.
> Engine cranks but won't start. We try and retry, but the car won't start.
> The airport police are getting ansy, itching to finger their walkie talkies
> to call for a tow. We are getting very embarrassed. We open the hood and
> look around. Isn't that what you do when a car won't start? We see nothing
> out of the ordinary. Then we start to think. What events preceded this
> calamity? Maybe something to do with removing the luggage? So we open the
> trunk and slam it shut. We return to driver seat and turn the ignition. The
> car starts instantaneously. The airport cops relax their fingers on the
> transmit button. Some guy comes over and offers sage advice. "Must have
> been vapor lock, huh?" I shrug, give him a sheepish grin and drive off.
> 
> OK. Who out there can put their finger on the exact reason the car failed
> to start?
> 

Well - I'm going to take poetic license with the definition of
approximate reasoning, you know like the definition of "is", and suggest
the following.

1.  	The reopening and closing of the trunk affected the problem due 	to
the fact that closing the trunk shook the car.

2. 	This points to the possibility of a poor electrical connection 	in
the fuel pump or fuel pump circuit.

3.	Likely suspects are the fuel pump itself, the connector at the 	top
of the gasoline tank or the fuel pump relay.  All of these 		would have
been jarred by closing the trunk. 

Good luck and let us know what you find.

Fred