Starting issue...searched...tested need input

[oekundar]

Well folks...2 nights ago as I'm returning from a Home Depot run, the Check Engine light came on in the car...thinking nothing of it and figuring I had a decent weekend coming up, I would look at it then.

Yesterday morning I wanted to take the vert out and it would not start. It would crank crank crank, but no start. Not sure the problem, I pulled the fuel line going into the fuel rail (rear of engine bay) to see if the car was getting fuel. (hopefully thats the right line) In any case I cranked the car and didn't get any fuel out of that hose. I decided to check the fuel pump relay and it seems to be fine. I even jumpered the terminals to see if I could get it started...no such luck

Well I decided that it could have been the fuel pump that crapped out...so I pulled up the rear seat got into it and decided to first test to see if it was getting power...well that seems to be part of the problem...testing the the terminal I wasn't getting a voltage across the wires (Brown & Green). In an effort to eliminate the actual pump...I ran 12V from the cigarette lighter and tried to see if I could get the pump to do something...and again...no luck. SO now I'm baffled and decide to hook back up the fuel line and give it another shot...well this time I could see that fuel press was building as there was fuel back in the line.

Now I'm completely lost...not sure if its a spark issue but any input will certainly be appreciated.

Thanks!

Ola

[oekundar]

Update:

I've chased every possible idea and I'm left with swapping the ecu, as there is NO power going to the fuel pump. I have checked the fuel pump relay by wiring around it, I've checked spark, which I have in every cylinder.

I'm also leaning towards the ECU becuase it did throw a CEL the night before it stopped starting up...go figure.

[Tree18is]

whats the verdict?

[oekundar]

Bump with Update:

Changed the fuel filter, associated hoses, and clamps and decided to give the car another shot, no start.

I then decided to check the voltage at the pump again and was getting the 1-11V during cranking, but pump was not running. I tried feeding the pump 12 volts from the cigarette lighter power and got nothing. I had assumed that the cig lighter outlet was getting power, after testing with the voltmeter, it was getting nothing, hmmm.

So, I now ran the power from the dome/door light do the pump and presto, the pump is running, we've got gas in the engine bay. Once the line is hooked back up to the fuel rail, she started up right away!

So now the question is, how much voltage should the pump be getting during cranking/startup? Is this an indicator of the fuel relay gone bad?

It was a good time to actually go in and change both the fuel pump, and fuel filter/lines anyways. :)

[jlevie]

So now the question is, how much voltage should the pump be getting during cranking/startup? Is this an indicator of the fuel relay gone bad?

The pump should see full system voltage when the engine is cranking over. Low voltage at the pump could be a bad relay or a wiring problem. You can temporarily eliminate the relay as a suspect but jumpering the contact pins in the fuel relay socket.

[oekundar]

The pump should see full system voltage when the engine is cranking over. Low voltage at the pump could be a bad relay or a wiring problem. You can temporarily eliminate the relay as a suspect but jumpering the contact pins in the fuel relay socket.

Thanks for the input...Jim, I will be doing that again tonight, I have a feeling that my pump may have been going anyways, but we'll see tonight. I will provide an update as usual.

[oekundar]

Well I'll be...it was/is the fuel pump relay...sigh...well the good thing is that I've replaced parts that needed to be replaced

[oekundar]

Well here is the solution to all my problems, it was the fuel pump relay that died. After investigating different sources and reading the schematic on the fuel pump relay, it was evident that a simple SPST relay is all the fuel pump relay is. It is a 12V 30A relay, so I went searching and found one at my local auto parts store.

The problem that you run into is that the pins are oriented in a different manner which meant that in order for the replacement (whether temporary or permanent) would need to extended/rewired.

here is the schematic of an SPST relay:




Here is a snapshot of the fuse area and the corresponding relay sockets



I hope that this helps someone else, and before I get the use an oem relay, please double check the relay schematic as well as dealer pricing :) As I said this is likely just a temporary fix for me until I place the order for parts.

Enjoy!