Hi Guys,

I'm a new member here and have a question you guys should be able to answer. I have an '88 Firebird Formula with the 350TPI motor that won't start. The problem has been traced to the fuel pump area because the pump does not prime when I turn the key. I checked fuses, they are ok. I used a test light and pulled the harness from underneath and found that there is barely any power at all making it to the pump. I checked about 4 different grounds to verify the test light was barely lighting up when I touched the red wire. I don't know which relay is the fuel pump relay so please shed some light on that too, I figure the relay may be the culprit. If I spray starting fluid into the intake it runs for a few secs but stops after it burns it off. What do you guys think? The other 2 wires in the fuel pump harness don't register voltage at all. I know one is the fuel level, and one is ground. Please let me know what each wire is for, I can't seem to find that info in the chiltons book. It just shows the brown/white wire and calls it a signal or something. Thanks in advance.

 

Check the relay with the appropriate wire colors on the connector. They might be arranged like this, but check the wire colors to be certain:

 

Thanks for the wiring diagram and picture. The arrangement is similar and I'll be sure to check the wiring in the relay. I assume a quick way to check the relay is to plug it into another relay and try the pump again? Otherwise is there anything special about the fuel pump relay I should know? where to buy a replacement? cost?

BTW, since the brown/white wire is the signal wire from the relay, what are the red and black wires for that lead to the fuel pump harness? is the red wire the fuel pump level and the black wire a ground wire? Thanks for the help!

 

before you do anything drastic like i did last weekend replacing relays and fuel pump and finally wiring a switch to the fuel pump......man i was pissed......have you checked the little 20 amp fuse by the battery? it is the fuel pump and ecm power......yes there is a relay by the master brake cyllinder but that wont get power untilt the fuse lets it.......I spent a whole day dropping the gas tank and replacing the fuel pump, fuel filter and relay ripping all of my interior apart to check for shorts.....then the next morining i checked the fuse i forgot about and it was bad.....replaced it and it fired right up.......man i am still pissed.....o well i got a new fuel pump and filter

 

I don't know what 20Amp fuse you are referring to? Can you give me a better idea then it is by the battery?
I spent a few hours going through the Haynes manual on the car and it said to try applying battery power to the G-pin in the ALCL connector and if it didn't start the pump priming then I should check the wiring for loose connections. I applied the power and the pump started to prime. I checked for pressure at the fuel rail and there was pressure but not much because it just dribbled out of the schrader valve. I replaced the filter and tried again and the same result. Not to mention that the fuel coming from the tank was pretty dirty just running down my hands. The book said if there was low pressure I should look at the pressure regulator. I think I'll let the pump prime for a few minutes to try to clear the lines of any sediment from the previous filter, plus I'll also be getting a fuel pressure gauge and possibly a fuel pressure regulator, just incase.
One curiousity though, while I held the battery power to the ALCL connector the check engine light lit up. I never noticed that the whole time it was never on before. The check engine light doesn't even come on when I turn the key on, any ideas? Sorry for the long post but this is confusing. Thanks in advance.

 

This fuse:

 

thanks vader thats the one......i wish i had found it earlier though.....o well car runs good now....