Car won't start; suspect fuel problem

[Mordan]

buying a new pump is not a bad investment anyways if you plan keeping the car

[Al Gray]

buying a new pump is not a bad investment anyways if you plan keeping the car

I just installed a brand new Bosch electric fuel pump from BMA. I know the old pump was the original with 220,000 miles because it still had those rotten factory hose clamps which are a PIA to get off. We try to start the car and I cannot hear any noise or whining from the new pump while we are cranking the engine. I had the same problem with the old pump. I replaced the pump relay. The fuse is good. The electrical connection to the pump looked good. I am frustrated. What else could becausing a brand new pump not to work. I would love some ideas and things to check.

Al Gray

[Al Gray]

I just installed a brand new Bosch electric fuel pump from BMA. I know the old pump was the original with 220,000 miles because it still had those rotten factory hose clamps which are a PIA to get off. We try to start the car and I cannot hear any noise or whining from the new pump while we are cranking the engine. I had the same problem with the old pump. I replaced the pump relay. The fuse is good. The electrical connection to the pump looked good. I am frustrated. What else could becausing a brand new pump not to work. I would love some ideas and things to check.

Al Gray

When I replaced the pump the new Bosch pump had spade type clips and an adapter. The old wires had a coneector with a whole in it that was held on with a nut. You could tell one wire lead was slightly lareger. The new connecors I couldn't really tell which was which. I then read the Bosch installation instructions and apparently the polarity does make a difference. At this point I guess I need to take the pump out again and switch the position of the two connectors. Any thoughts?

[Ross]

Have you confirmed power getting to the pump? And ground? All I notice is your mention that the connections looked good.
Polarity will make a difference.

[whiskychaser]

Have you confirmed power getting to the pump? And ground? All I notice is your mention that the connections looked good.
Polarity will make a difference.

x1
Can you confirm you have a good ground and 12V supply at the pump? No insult intended - its easy to confuse readings on a DMM. With an analog you just watch if the needle swings right or pegs hard left

[Al Gray]

x1
Can you confirm you have a good ground and 12V supply at the pump? No insult intended - its easy to confuse readings on a DMM. With an analog you just watch if the needle swings right or pegs hard left

Frustrated and pissed after installing a new fuel pump to no avail I took the car to my trusted independent mechanic. The crank sensor was the problem. $108 plus labor got the car started and it is now running. I don't feel bad about replacing the fuel pump because it was original and would evnetually fail. There is a couple remaining problems however. Seems we have a power steering fluid leak. The resevoir is located up on driver's side fender well. Right below it is a hose from the radiator which has been weakened because of the power steering fluid dripping on it. My mechanic should solve that problem hopefully. I try to do as many repairs as I can but sometimes I just get stymied.

To make matters worse I found out I had a fractured navicular bone in my left foot. I don't even know how that happened because I can't recall an event that would cause that trauma. I needed to have surgery and I now have a screw in my left foot that will stay their permanently (they even countersunk the screw so that the head is just below the bone surface). I will have a Frankenstein-like boot with a lot of velcro instead of a cast and crutches of course for the next 6 weeks so my mobility is limited.

Thanks again to all that tried to help me with this project. You guys are the best!

Best regards,

Al Gray

[Ross]

I sprayed some starter fluid (ether) into the intake (large hose conection after the air filter box that connects to the intake). The card made an attempt to start and ran very briefly. Therefore it is not a spark/ignition probelm. I located the computer box on the passengers side firewall and located the fuel pump relay which is a 4 prong one located as the middle relay of 3 relays and swapped it with another relay which is 4 prong. I attempted to start the car. The car turns over but does not start or catch. I have read that usually the fuel pump relay is the culprit when the car instantly gets no fuel. There was no indication of fuel pump failure (sputtering, hesitating, etc.). This litterally happened over night where the car was running perfectly to the next day where it would not start (car turning over but not catching or trying to start) at all. Seems to me that maybe I should still replace the fuel pump relay and try it ($17 ) before I spend $200 plus on a new fuel pump. By the way the car has 218,000 miles on it and to my knowledge the fuel pump has never been replaced. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Al Gray

"The card made an attempt to start and ran very briefly. "
The red herring. Damn CPS
Glad it's sorted. Had you kicked the car?