kinda stumped...

[Alex33]

I'm no tech but I know my way around tools. My mom was driving my truck the other day and it just died on her. AAA came out and found the battery to be dead. She had it towed to her house and called me that night to tell me the wonderful news. Anyway, I went over there yesterday to replace the battery and the first thing I notice is that the fuel pump isn't coming on. I'm hoping there is an electrical gremlin I can track down before I buy a fuel pump I don't need. I checked the under hood fuses and they are all good. Any other suggestions guys/gals?

 

[ATL]

fuel pumps act like that all the time. u should borrow a fuel pressure gauge from your local parts store. if/when it does it again, reach under the rear driverside door and bang on the fuel tank, itll prob fire up momentarily if its the pump

 

[Alex33]

I tried banging on the tank, got a whole lotta nothing out of it. No noise, nothing. For additional info, the truck will start and run for a few seconds, but it ultimately dies. Also, the entire time the truck is running I don't hear the fuel pump.

 

[ATL]

when its running, is it showing 14 volts?

 

[Alex33]

yep. I think i'll just bite the bullet and replace the pump. hopefully that's all it is, if a new pump goes in and nothing, I'll be super annoyed.

 

[ATL]

get the pressure gauge and check that first then. make sure ur not wasting time and money

 

[M Hankel]

When my fuel pump died it did the same thing. Would start for a few seconds then die.

Was the battery actually dead or was that just what the tow truck driver decided to tell her?

Mike

 

[Alex33]

When my fuel pump died it did the same thing. Would start for a few seconds then die.

Was the battery actually dead or was that just what the tow truck driver decided to tell her?

Mike

Battery was stone dead. It was tested at the scene and then autozone tried to charge it and it wouldn't hold a charge. I looked at switching to an Optima but I can't afford $200+ for a battery just now. I'd love to say that it's an electrical issue but my gut says the fuel pump just gave up the ghost. With almost 180k on the clock it had never been replaced. I knew it was a matter of time. The timing was just odd. The battery and fuel pump giving up together is what threw me.

 

[gitrduun]

Check every fuse and relay before replacing it . 180 -220 k is about the benchmark for those pumps in a rough setting (ie running them from full to empty everytime, that's why these pump blow is because the fuel is what cools it) but other than that it's usually not just a " HAHA JUST KIDDING IM NOT GONNA WORK ANYMORE" kinda deal.

 

[Mr.Jack]

How do you use the pressure gauge to test the fuel pump btw?

 

[bkboatnsleds]

I'd rather it be a fuel pump than an electrical issue.. At least you can track down the fuel pump problem.. Electrical issues suck.

 

[M Hankel]

How do you use the pressure gauge to test the fuel pump btw?

Most fuel injection pressure test gauges have a schrader valve (just like a valve stem) attachment. You can connect it directly to the fuel rail. Once you hit the ignition key it should prime the rail to 55+psi. Anything less than 25psi and it probably wont run, indicating a bad pump.

My theory is that the battery started dieing, which placed a greater load on the pump causing it to overheat and eventually fail.

Mike

 

[gitrduun]

There is a schrader valve on the right bank and you test it there

 

[Alex33]

My theory is that the battery started dieing, which placed a greater load on the pump causing it to overheat and eventually fail.

Mike

^^This is what I think happened, I was just hoping there was a blown fuse somewhere.



OT - Mike, did you get those springs installed yet? How do you like them?


And now back to our regularly scheduled problem.

 

[ATL]

correct, the shrader valve is on the passenger side of motor. pull the plastic covers off the motor, and you will see where the fuel rail, and a feed line coming out of it. about 2-3" below the rail, on the feed is the shrader. when my pump went out, it would not hold any pressure when the truck was not cranked. once cranked it would hold around 20 psi for a few seconds, then the pressure would drop to zero. once it started to drop, you could bang on the tank and itd shoot up into the 40s, then back to 20 for a few seconds, then die again. hell, pull those plastic covers off the motor and take it to the parts store. the valve screws on, no tools needed, and itll take u a matter of seconds to find out if the pump is the issue

 

[M Hankel]

OT - Mike, did you get those springs installed yet? How do you like them?


And now back to our regularly scheduled problem.

OT - No not yet. I think I'm gonna do the 2" keys up front for now until I can get the DJM 3" arms for the front. With the spacer installed and those rear springs I got from you, it'll be a 2/4 drop for now. I did, however, get one side done for the free travel mod yesterday in preparation for what it will have eventually lol. Ran out of time yesterday before the kids BB game so I'm finishing up the other side today. My only 'metal' sawzall blade decided it wanted to look like a pretzel about halfway into the cut so I finished it up with a cutoff wheel and alot of cursing lol...

Mike

 

[gitrduun]

Most fuel injection pressure test gauges have a schrader valve (just like a valve stem) attachment. You can connect it directly to the fuel rail. Once you hit the ignition key it should prime the rail to 55+psi. Anything less than 25psi and it probably wont run, indicating a bad pump.

My theory is that the battery started dieing, which placed a greater load on the pump causing it to overheat and eventually fail.

Mike

Low battery would not make the pump work harder , it wouldn't have enough power to run any hotter. Plus if your battery starts dying , the alternator will take up the slack, you can run the vehicle on a completely dead battery as long as you have a good alternator .