The fuel injectors in a Corvette that is 1985 or newer are part of a low-maintenance port fuel injection system. Though the system is low-maintenance, parts, including fuel injectors, do get dirty or wear out. If the fuel injectors are dirty, they can usually be cleaned, but if the injectors are worn out or otherwise broken, the injectors need to be replaced. If you are replacing the injectors because of a wear problem or because one of them is broken, you can save yourself some labor by replacing all the fuel injectors instead of just the bad injector.
Injectors are seated in the injector rail. An O-ring on the injector keeps the injectors from leaking. When you smell fuel and you cannot find a leaking fuel line, check the injectors from top to bottom. If the O-ring is not leaking, the injector could be cracked and leaking fuel.
If a fuel injector is bad and is not releasing the proper amount of fuel, the spark plugs for that particular cylinder will be black or white. A spark plug on a cylinder that is working perfectly has a medium gray color. Black spark plugs tell you that the mixture is too rich. An injector that stays open pours fuel into the cylinders, allowing that cylinder to run rich. This symptom would also turn the check engine light on, as the amount of fuel going through the exhaust is out of parameters. The oxygen sensor senses this and sends a signal to the computer stating that Bank 1 or Bank 2 (depending on which side the leaky injector is located) is rich.
A cylinder that is running too lean causes the oxygen sensor to send a signal to the computer, this time stating that Bank 1 or Bank 2 is too lean. A bad fuel injector causes a lean mixture in the cylinder if the injector is clogged with dirt or if it is stuck shut.
If a fuel injector is stuck, you might hear a slight clicking noise. The clicking is the electronics grounding the injector, but if the injector is stuck, it won't open or close. Clicking noises associated with a bad fuel injector also cause a cylinder to run rich or lean, depending on which position the injector is stuck in.
