Pontiac Repair: 1996, 2.2L Sunfire starts but wont stay running., pontiac sunfire, haynes manual

Question
Hello there,

I have a 1996, 2.2L Pontiac Sunfire. My problem is that the engine will crank, but won't turn over until I put the gas pedal straight to the floor and hold it there. Once it has started, it immediately stalls unless I give it enough gas to hold over 2000 rpm in neutral. The other symptom is that there is a loud, quick knocking noise coming from the injector assembly that I can hear over the revving of the engine and there seems to be a rich exhaust smell. I'd put some injector cleaning agent in the tank this morning and babysat the pedal for about ten minutes but it hasn't done anything to help the situation. I've also hooked up my OBD reader to scan for any codes, but sadly it didn't pick up any. My next plan of attack is to change the fuel filter, check the timing, and if push comes to shove, replace the injector assembly. I also just read something a few minutes ago about a theft mode that the car can accidentally be put into?. If you've heard of this before or have any other suggestions that I can try, I'd be greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I'll keep going through my haynes manual for anything I'm missing.

Thanks for any help!
Jon.

Answer
Hey Jon:

well a few things here It does sound like a fuel delivert issue. I would check the fuel pump pressure that engine needs about 45 PSI to run correctly. anything less then that it culd be a pump or a plugged filter which leads to a bad pump usually! when this tries to start and stalls does the security lamp come on on the dash and start flashing? If so there is an issue with the factory theft system issue. For the record Haynes manuls stink! either Motor or Cjiltons are better. Another thought is this I see your from Canada These cars had a recall back in the day for a engine control module corrosion problem either the module it's self of the engine wire harness would have corrosion issues and cause all kinds of wierd things to happen if your not the original owner you would have know way of knowing if this recall was performed. call any GM dealer and give them the Vin # and see if that recall has ever been performed. not saying that if it hasn't been done that the problem is that but it is possible.... Good luck :)