Pontiac Repair: 96 grand am, engine temp, vapor lock

Question
My son has a 96 Grand Am that starts in the morning after it's sat all night but if he takes it out for any amount of time and then tries to restart it it won't.  It tries to start and he even gets it started for a second but during that time it sounds rough then dies.

Answer
Hey Jenny.
It could be a whole multitude of things. when it dies will it restart or does it have to sit for a while and then it will start? When it dies is there a security light flashing on the dash? What engine does it have 4 Cylinder or 6 cylinder? When he starts it in the AM and it runs does it run okay or does it spit and sputter and billow any black smoke out the tail pipe? It could have an issue with a engine temp. sensor telling the computer that the engine is much colder or hotter than it actually is. It could have a defective fuel pump where when it sits once it's hot the fuel up in the engine bleeds back into the fuel tank and when you try to restart it what little bit of fuel that is left up by the engine is basically a gas vapor and the engine will not run on that. You can try this if you know it's going to have the problem EG: like a trip to the grocery store and when you come out you know it's going to act up. Try this turn the key to the run (do not crank it) position wait 5 seconds turn it off wait 20 seconds and turn it back to run again. try this 2-3 times this will prime the fuel system if the fuel has drained back into the tank and then crank it and see what happens. If it starts and runs okay you know that it has a vapor lock problem. That is an easy check. I'm sorry I can't be of much more help ..