I went out to get in my car to go to worj this morning and I could hear the fuel pump running (obviously the ignition was off and the keys were in my hand). So, I tried to start the car and the battery was run down too low. ..had to take another car to work.

Anyone seen this? Anyone know how to fix?

 

Check the fuel pump relay. I had the same thing happen a few weeks ago. Evidently the relay was bad. I unplugged it and the pump stopped. It would just activate with no warning (middle of the night) and cause the battery to go dead. I think the replacement was $10 or so. No problems since. My relay was on the drivers' side near the brake booster. Good luck, Rob.

[This message has been edited by 90FFBird (edited January 05, 2001).]

 

Thanks for the info.

I'll replace the relay and let you know.

 

how did u hear it that easily, i though these pumps were pretty silent? ive never heard mine after turning the key...hmmm..this might explain my dead battery

 

Could also be the oil pressure switch that keeps the pump running in the case of a fuel pump relay failure. Mine has stuck before.

 

Well, I can't hear the fuel pump when the car is running. However, with the engine off, if I move the key to the "on" position without starting the car, I can hear the fuel pump.

I hope this isn't the oil pressure sending switch - I just had that replaced...

 

90FFBird -

In your response, you say that the fuel pump would activate for no reason. I assume that this happened more than once and intermittently before you found the problem?

The reason I ask is that I just got home from work, jumped the car to get it to start and let the car run to charge up the battery. I then shut off the car and the fuel pump shutdown a few seconds after (like normal). I did this a few times and it seemed to be OK. I still plan to replace it but am wondering if it was it an intermittent problem for you.

Thanks!

 

Just to let you all know. I just replaced the fuel pump relay. I made a few observations that may help you down the road:

1) The first thing I noticed is that with the new relay installed, the fuel pmup shuts off pretty much immediately after the ignition is shut off. Previously, there was a few second lag between the time the engine shut off and the fuel pump shut off. Since I've only owned the car 9 weeks, I thought that the delay was normal. Obviously it is not.

2) The old fuel pump relay was partially melted. An electrical connector plugs into the bottom of the relay. When I looked in this recess at the contacts, I noticed that all of the plastic around the contact was melted. This may have been developing for some time now.

As previously stated, it's a $10 part. In addition, it takes less than 5 minutes to change.

Thanks all.