My car has always been reliable... it runs rough, but it's reliable

Just today, I start the car so I can change the air filter / oil / brake pads... It starts right up, and STALLS.
Try it again... it doesn't even try to crank, but it turns over.

Problem is fuel related...

My car stalled AGAIN later that day (30 minutes before I'm typing this)... I was sitting at Wendy's, and my friend wants me to see something (The wendy's visual order screen had a BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH)... so i open the door, car stalls.. I turn it off, to see what he was talking about, walk back to the car, doesn't start, again.

Turn the key to "ON" and back off multiple times until I can hear the fuel pump prime... it won't start until i hear it prime...

this JUST started today, and I have to make a LONG trip on Monday... My question is, does the ECM have any control over the fuel pump? Is this a fuel pump problem, or the ECM?

Would a relay do this? The relay is less than 6 months old...

Also; if i'm driving, and the fuel pump stops receiving power, will there be any vacuum, or enough of it to keep pulling fuel into the engine?

Need some help, don't want to get stranded on the trip

 

How do you know it is fuel related?

 

turning the key to the ON position, no fuel pressure from shrader valve

when the pump does kick in again, and starts priming, then fuel shoots out of it

 

Hello MasterEvilAce,

check your fuel pump relay.

 

Fuel pump definitely not priming/ working

the Relay is working, it clicks, and i even tried replacing it with another relay, and it still doesn't work.

I fed current to terminal G on the ALDL port, and the relay clicked, but the fuelpump didn't start

I found a sparkplug wire was off (WTF). This could explain many things, but, if the sparkplug grounds out, could it fry the ECM / Fuel pump?

secondly, does the ECM control the fuel pump in anyway, and does feeding current through terminal G bypass the ECM, if it does?

 

If the relay checks out I'd say your fuel pump is on its way out....

 

yeah, it was too late to get one from the parts store.. sigh

I just hope a new fuel pump dramatically improves the reliability of the car...

 

The ECM controls the fuel pump through the fuel pump relay. BY going through pin "G" of the ALDL, you still go through the fuel pump relay but you bypass the ECM. Here is a drawing of it. You will notice a red wire goes from pin "G" of the ALDL to pin "D" of the fuel pump relay and then comes out pin "A" of the fuel pump relay as a tan/white wire and goes straight to the fuel pump. It also has splices to the MAF power relay, the oil pressure switch,and pin "B2" of the ECM. If the fuel pump doesn't work going through the ALDL, you either have a problem with the fuel pump wiring or the pump has seen better days.