My car's been sitting for a year, I'm now forced to sell the car.

If I spray starter fluid in the throttle body, the car will start up for a few seconds, I was thinking this was because the gas in the tank had gone bad. Until i pressed down on the fuel pressure check port and got nothing out of it. So, no fuel pressure = fuel pump not working.

Options:

A) Fuel pump isn't getting power. Fuel pump relay? Shorted out wire?

B) Fuel pump has gone bad? GOD I HOPE NOT! There's no way I can afford to have the gas tank dropped by a real mechanic, so I'll be forced to fix this myself and the only way I can see to do that is to cut a access hole above the pump.


Can you guys PLEASE help me diagnose this issue? I'll do any tests you need me to. I'll take any pictures you need. I'll do anything I have to because I need to sell this car so badly, I'm literally screwed without the money from selling it.

So please guys, please help me figure out how to fix this problem?

 

Hold the relay, and have someone turn on the key - if you don't feel it 'click', then probably bad relay. Also check the connector for shorts/damage.

To test fuel pump operation - beside battery there is a FUSE in a weatherpack - make sure fuse is good. Then, remove connector from oil pressure sending unit (should be above oil filter). If it has 2 wires, connect them together in the connector with a jumper. If it has 3 wires, connect the two large wires together in the connector with a jumper (the small wire is for the oil pressure gauge) - you should hear pump run.

 

I just wanted to say, after reading this post, I've decided that I'm definitely not going to cut an access panel. And to anyone reading this in the future, make sure that you read the thread below before you even consider doing so!

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ess-panel.html

 

Okay, here's what I've found out so far. When I turn the key to the on position, the fuel pump repay doesn't click. The battery isn't charged up enough to turn the engine over, but when the key is turned to the start position and the starter clicks like it does when the battery doesn't have enough of a charge in it to turn over the engine, then the fuel pump relay clicks rapidly. I have no idea what that means.

 

it means charge the battery and try again. if the voltage is low, the relay wont be able to stay closed and will chatter like that.

charge it first, and see what happens.

 

My oil pressure sender only has a single wire hooked to it. Should I just ground it out to test if it turns on the fuel pump? Or could we possibly be talking about two different things? The oil pressure sensor I'm talking about is located behind the intake plenum.

Thanks a lot for your help so far, I hope to god that we can get this figured out!

 

Yeah, the battery is charging right now, I left the key in the on position the night before, just forgot to shut it off, so when I went out there to do the testing, there we were.

Anyway, I wanted to ask, instead of trying all of these "tricks" to get the fuel pump to kick on, isn't there a way for me to find the wires that run directly to the pump itself, and put power to them, that way I know with 100% confidence that it's the fuel pump that's bad, and not me screwing up while doing one of these "testing procedures"?

That makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, dropping a fuel tank, or even cutting an access hole, replacing a fuel pump, and hooking everything back up is a HELL OF A LOT of time and money just to find out that the problem is something else.

 

These are the easy checks. And the oil pressure sender you are looking at behind the intake is for the guage or light.

The switch you need to test is on the left side of the block near the oil filter.

And yes, you can test the pump at the connector coming out of the back seat under the car: 12V to the tan wire, ground to the black.

 

I had someone to hook a 12v switch directly to the fp and I wish they had fixed it right before I bought the car I consider it a hack job but since it is already done I left it. If they had taken the time to do it right the car wouldn't have so many cut wires laying everywhere.

 

Thanks so much for the information, and for just being here to help everyone to all of you.

Could you clarify the location you referred to? "Coming out of the back seat" and "under the car" seem to be contradictory.

 

When I bought my car, it was rigged in almost every way imaginable. There's literally dozens of wires around the fuse block that lead to nowhere, some of them with connectors on them, connecting different wires that run to nowhere. And that's just one of many many examples. I've spent way too much time trying to un-rig it to ever consider doing anything like that.

 

Get the car up into the air and crawl under the rear axle. If you look up you can imagine where the rear seatback would be. There will be a 3 wire connector between the body and your fuel tank. Disconnect the connector and give the pump 12v as described above.

 

You're the bleeping men, men! I don't know what the bleep I would do without you bleeping bleepers! I'll get to testing today just as soon as I reattatch all the clips for my fuel pump relay. (The wire sheathing had been pulled down somehow and a couple inches of bare wire was just electrical taped over! See what I mean about being rigged to no end???


J

 

I know I'm asking a lot of you guys, but would anyone consider taking some pictures of around the fuse block and behind the drivers side kick plate?

I think part of the problem there is someone really stupid installed a car alarm a completely screwed up all the wiring down there. I've tried to trace it, remove all the wires that I was sure that weren't needed, ie. not connected to anything at all.

The more the better, and the higher resolution the better. It should be from an 88 Camaro 5.7L, preferably a IROC or atleast a z28.

I'd owe you one.

Thanks
Justin

 

Why the hell was the fuel pump designed so that you have to drop the whole tank to replace it? Why couldn't it have been mounted somewhere where it could be easily replaced? And for that matter, the rear axle too? Just seems silly to me!