Turn the key, some times it will start, others the fuel gauge stops working
 

I have a 2001 3800 v6 5 speed. Replaced the fuel pump. It will start fine some times, other times the fuel gauge stops working and the mileage goes off and it will crank but starts and dies. Some time if you give it a lot of gas it will start to run right. When it is running right it runs like a dream with plenty of power. Not sure were to look for the problem.

hay cathy welcome to the forum. moved your thread to the 4th gen general section. sounds like a tricky problem. check fuses and there connections. sometimes the metal tabs and get bent so they dont get a good connection all the time.

Sorry Cathy this is not one of those reoccurring problems we see all the time. I would learn towards a grounding issue or possibly a body control module/Vats issue.

IMO It going to take someone that knows what they are doing while the car is acting up to figure it out. Trying to talk someone through this type of diagnoses can be maddening. 62 posts from now you will be taking the car to a mechanic. At this point the trick is to find a good mechanic. It saddens me to say but many "mechanics" will struggle with an issue like this.

Thanks for the input. That's what I'm think to. It ran for 15 mins fine then died, took 3 times starting it now it's been running fine for over an hour. Really ticks me off cause you don't know when it is going to act up and don't want to drive it up town and have it die at a light and have a hard time getting it to start, and I really want to drive it.

Intermittent issue like this can be a huge pain to track down. Just when you are getting close to finding the issue everything starts working the way it should.

I had one customer who's car would die for 3-4 hours around once a week. Every thing on the computer looked clean. I drove the car myself for 3 days with the computer hooked up. I gave up and he picked it up and made it 200 feet from the shop and it died, I didn't even wait for the wrecker. I ran tests right along the side of the road. Bad crank sensor. On those older cars without the crank sensor data the computer did not even know someone was trying to start it so no codes trouble codes.

The fact your odometer goes blank is the main thing that makes me think this could be a pain to track down. Maybe Gary can shed some light.

did the issue start before or after you changed the fuel pump?

Do you see a lit SES light on the instrument cluster panel? Even if not, I would get a cheap OBD2 code reader and check for trouble codes. You can find them for under $20 online. Not all trouble codes will turn on the light.

If you are losing the gauges, that sounds like an intermittent ignition switch. The same section of the ignition switch that controls the gauges also controls the engine computer power. Also, check the IGN fuse to see if it is loose in it's socket. That is in one of the fuse/relay boxes under the hood.