So yesterday my buddy and I went to start his 06 SS/SC that hasn't been started in 7 months and of course the battery was dead. We jumped it off of my Jeep and it idled fine for about 3-5 minutes. Then we went to go put gas in it and didn't even get out of the parking lot before it started misfiring terribly. We are pretty sure it was only firing on 2 cylinders. We are trying to get it running, but I want to know before we do anything else, if the dead battery had something to do with this? I know a dead battery, or low battery will cause the computer to do some crazy things. Thanks in advance!

Brock

 

Voltage is extremely important to the ignition and fuel system working properly. Pull the battery and go to Autozone to have it tested for free. Do that first and then take things from there. Don't try to diagnose multiple things at once. Tackle one thing at a time. Let us know how you make out...

 

If the alternator is working normally then there probably won't be a low voltage condition while driving/idling (I say probably because crazier stuff has happened). I'd say it has more to do with 7 month old gas than any electrical concern.

 

I agree that gas could be an issue as well, and wouldn't hurt to grab some and throw it in there. I have had my car down and not running for longer time than this guy and the gas was not an issue at start up; however, my battery was. I had crazy issues dialing in my VE until I replaced the battery.

It is more likely that there is a larger issue for this guy, but removing the battery from the equation for free will certainly not be a bad thing...

 

Alright I will start with gas and battery. Thanks y'all!

Brock

 

Weelll we might have found the culprit. We think while he was deployed someone vandalized his car and put bleach in the tank. We are draining the gas out today to find out for sure. I sure as hell hope this isn't the case. If so we have some work ahead of us. I'll keep ya posted! Thanks.

Brock

 

did it give you a CEL after the misfire or a reduced engine pwr on the display?

 

No reduced engine power and yes a CEL was on. I am getting a scanner after work today to run the codes to see what it comes up with.

Brock

 

prolly gonna have a p0300 for random misfire, maybe a few others.

 

Alright. Will it pull anything for something like water in fuel or something along those lines?

 

water in the fuel can cause a misfire. wouldn't hurt to drain the tank and fuel rail if you think someone messed with the car while it was sitting. I wouldnt think the gas was bad. I store my car for winter and never change the gas and it fires up perfect everytime.

Just going to have to figure out the CEL and troubleshoot from there

 

I do believe there are codes for low volatility from either high alcohol or water content.

 

Its not only water, the humidity in the air can cause ethanol to fall out of suspension after a few months.

There is no way to make phase separated fuel correct again (remix ethanol with gasoline), no additive will fix it. Trust me, I have a background in this.

This sounds like your problem, OP. Run some out of the rail into a cup and use a fuel test gel.

 

Alright thanks for all the replies and help!

Brock

 

May want to purge the fuel lines as well. Also invest in a locking gas cap.
Sucks what happened. If it is vandalism that really sucks. Your friend off
in the military, while one of the people hes off fighting for vandalises his stuff.
That's just low
Hope you get it fixed though.

 

Well guys we tried to siphon any gas out that was in the tank, but it was completely empty. We thought maybe we were just idiots and didn't think to put gas in the thing! lol So we went to get a gallon and a half of gas to throw in there and tried starting it again. Then we purged the fuel rail and sure enough there was some sort of liquid in there. Smells like bleach to me. Is there something i can buy to test a fuel to see what is in it? How do i go about doing that? Thanks

Brock

 

You could get some Sar-Gel online, but it's really expensive and it's purpose is for testing moisture content, and alcohol out of suspension.

I would buy a couple gallons of fuel, run them through the system by very carefully clamping a hose on at the end of the fuel rail, then catch and inspect everything that comes out for grime or layers of other liquids - gasoline and water based liquids will separate just as oil and water do.

 

Remove the feed line to the fuel rail. Jump the fuel pump relay and just pump everything out of the lines. Then run your car on some GM fuel system cleaner (stuff works great) until it dies. Hopefully unless you ran it for a while with that contaminant in there, that should solve your problem without any lasting damage.