So the son got a new CD player and subwoofer for the 'ol 240 for Christmas and he and I installed it yesterday. Looks and sounds good, but went to take it for a test drive and the car wouldn't start. Actually, it started and ran really rough for a couple seconds and died, and then would not restart.

Verified spark, and jumpered the fuel pump relay to ensure that the pumps work (well, I can hear one pump--not really sure about the in-tank one). All fuses are OK.

So removed the radio and checked for any loose connections, and couldn't find any. (Actually, there aren't any wire bundles in that immediate area anyway.) Since I had taken the opportunity to replace a lamp in the instrument cluster, I also removed it and verified that all the connections there are OK. (seem to recall that the car won't run if the instrument panel is not connected up.) I also checked the wiring from the radio to the new rear deck speakers--which we ran along the carpet by pulling up the plastic pieces that hold the carpet to the doorsills and again found no loose connections. Since we hooked up 12v for the subwoofer directly to the battery, I removed and cleaned all the connections there to make sure the 12v lead for the main under-hood fuse was clean; also checked that 12v fuse and verified it was OK.

Having found nothing jostled by the radio installation, I returned to basics. I checked the DTC codes and found a code for a problem with the LH computer talking to the EZ ignition computer (1-4-4). According to the green books, this is caused by a bad connection between the two, or a bad module. That seems very odd, because we were not working near the modules, so I cleared the codes and after getting it to again run for a couple seconds I re-checked the codes and got an OK (1-1-1). So I think that was an old code that had nothing to do with the problem.

Since it feels like a fuel problem, I've tried jumpering the fuel pump relay. As I said, I can hear them running. But what's interesting is that after jumpering it, I've been able to start it and it will run for a couple seconds and die. (This has happened twice.) It feels like an engine starved for a fuel, but feathering the throttle like crazy will not keep it running. The Check Engine light comes on.

BTW, I also tried unplugging the AMM to see if it would start in limp-home mode, but no joy.

All that I can think of at this point is that we might have done some damage in the trunk while lying in there drilling holes in the rear deck for the speakers or installing the subwoofer. We did NOT drill into the floor of the trunk, so couldn't have hit any wires there, but are there wires that we might have rubbed, broken or disconnected? The subwoofer is mounted up on the "deck" of the trunk, and since it's bolted in, I've not yet looked around it for problems--probably my next step. I was thinking that maybe we broke the wire to the in-tank pump, but I can't find it. I thought you just pulled up the padding in the trunk floor and the hole for the fuel sender and in-tank pump was there, but apparently not (or we're blind).

Help!!