CSI_MuNkY Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Yeah, on my way to my parents house to do my suspension work and my car dies about 45 minutes from my destination. $120 tow bill later I have the car at my dads garage. Heres the scoop... At the time I thought I was low on oil, I couldn't see it on the dipstick, so I topped it off (strangely enough now it has too much oil thats no big deal The car cranks over no sweat, but will not fire up The fuel rail has no pressure, I swapped the relay for one out of my dads truck and that made no difference. Monday is the soonest I can get it on stands to get under it and test stuff and maybe drop the tank. In the mean time is there a fuse I can look for? I looked everywhere and could not see one. I was on the phone with Matt and he said that his TGP has a fuse for the ECM and fuel pump, mine just says ECM, but I don't have the cars manual on me. Is there anything else anyone can suggest? At this point I'm not even pondering if the engine has compression (that thought just crossed my mind due to the ease that it turns over) because there is no fuel pressure I figured that would be a good place to start. and FWIW, I put $15 of gas in it from a can today. I was kinda worried my sending unit crapped out and despite reading a quarter tank it was empty, but that seems to not be the case and now I have an extra $15 of weight if I want to drop the tank Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Well if the fuel rail has no pressur I would start there. More than likely i bet the pump shit the bed. But really, you can drop the tank when your doing your rear suspension work, make it easier to do the laterial links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManicMechanic Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Any spark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Yeah, sounds like the pump died. Jay is right though, dropping the tank will make getting at the lateral links 10x easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Well if the fuel rail has no pressur I would start there. More than likely i bet the pump shit the bed. But really, you can drop the tank when your doing your rear suspension work, make it easier to do the laterial links Yeah, I'm planning to drop the rear sub frame anyways and MAYBE get it powder coated... we'll see.... For now my big interest is in finding out if there is a fuse in the system or if its just the relay... the guy at the GM dealer said it was just the relay... but the same guy once told me my IAC was shot when it was actually fine... Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 I thought there was a fuse and a relay but then again I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 i am not sure but there may be a feul pump test wire under the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 i am not sure but there may be a feul pump test wire under the hood. Not sure about your GP, but I know on mine the fuel pump test wire is along the driver's side fender between the battery and the cruise control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 FIXXED IT! The one fuse box cover on my car is shot, you can only make out a few of the labels on it. So I went out with a pair of pliers and started pulling random fuses... sure enough there was a blown one. I replaced the fuse with one I had in the trunk and it fired right up. That was the most expensive fuse I've ever had... $120 tow bill + free fuse = a giant kick in the nuts! Oh well, this means work on the suspension may start tomorrow evening!! Thanks for the help guys! Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryk2003 Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 soo the question is...what caused the fuse to blow in the first place?...if it happens again you're gonna have to look into it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Good to hear you got it fixed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Freakin piece of crap w-body! SO I get the new fuse in, put it in gear, drive 2 feet, it dies... I put another new fuse in, fire it up drive 100 feet this time, it dies I put my last fuse in back it up to where I came from, and thats where it sits now, parked on the road in front of my parents house. I don't know what it could be, it didn't die in reverse, but that could just be luck. The fuses I have been using are just ones pulled from the wreckers (I tend to leave with pockets of fuses all the time) but I can't find anywhere open right now for new ones. So trying a NEW fuse has to wait till morning, but I have a feeling thats not going to do any good. My dads mechanics specialty is electrical so I will give him a call in the morning and see when he can get me in. Based on that I will decide if I have any time to get suspension work done before the appointment. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdelorie Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sounds like a short Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadz34 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Have you added anything electrical to the car? That could be causing a short in the electical system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sounds like a short Yeah... I figured the same, but I don't have the time to be trying to track down a short, at least if I talk to the mechanic he can tell me how long it might take and what not. I won't make the appointment for tomorrow, I'll get it up on stands and check a few key points myself. With that new exhaust system of mine my father wonders if a wire melted on the exhaust and is causing a short. This kinda makes sense because the only time since we installed the exhaust that I have drove long enough to get it hot enough to melt a wire was the trip to my parents place. Have you added anything electrical to the car? That could be causing a short in the electrical system. The only things electrical I have added is my subs and fog lights, and they are both on stand alone circuits that have their own dedicated fuses, they would have no reason to be blowing this particular fuse. I can't read the fuse cover but I THINK It says something referring to an ECM and the fuel pump. In addition to this, the last couple fuses I have blown have been with the subs and the lights off... FWIW, I'm blowing the only 20 amp fuse in the passenger side fuse panel under the hood. So if someone else has a similar set up on a 95, maybe they can tell me what that fuse is... Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charged 3.1 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Did you replace the fuel pump relay? My wifes sunbird one day just blew the fuel pump fuse so i replaced it and drove like 20ft and it died again. So i put another fuse in it and it did the same thing. I tracked it down to being the fuel pump relay. It was grounding out inside the relay and shorting the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Did you replace the fuel pump relay? My wifes sunbird one day just blew the fuel pump fuse so i replaced it and drove like 20ft and it died again. So i put another fuse in it and it did the same thing. I tracked it down to being the fuel pump relay. It was grounding out inside the relay and shorting the system. Problem with trying that is the cost, once its plugged in it can't be returned so if its not the problem I'm stuck with a $35 relay I will never likely use.... Might call around and see if I can get a less expensive one somewhere... Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charged 3.1 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Damn $35 for a relay. I didn't know they where that much. I never had to buy one before cause i got lucky with her car cause i had one in my toolbox with all my extra fuses. Got any junk yards near by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Really $35?! I bought one new from my local Oreilly Auto Parts store for $7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Is there any way to test that relay? maybe with a volt meter or something? Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Is there any way to test that relay? Jamie just swap in a replacement one and see if the fuse keeps blowing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyguy164 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Is there any way to test that relay? Jamie just swap in a replacement one and see if the fuse keeps blowing On my 88 the relay for the fuel pump is the same as the one for the cooling fan and compressor, it's a pretty simple/standard relay. Just swap them around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bake82 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Where is the fuel pump relay on these cars? I will give you the one for shipping off the 92 parts car I have! Let me know!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 So its not the relay, a friend and I went to the wreckers and grabbed a whole bunch of them and they all do it, the likelihood that we got all bad ones is highly unlikely. My brother and I were going to drop the tank and trouble shoot it ourselves, but, long story short now that I have made an appointment with my parents mechanic they don't want me trying to fix it on my own. They think their mechanic will take that as an insult or some damn thing... kinda thinking this means I can get the rents to pay for it though, we'll see Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted July 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 OK, just gonna bump this with an update.... I'm at whits end with this issue! The fuse that is blowing is responsible for the fuel pump and the cooling fans. What we have done is isolate the fuel pump on its own solitary fuse. It still blows this fuse, and leaves the fuse in the car alone, so its not cooling fans. From there we said, ok, has to be the fuel pump. We replaced the fuel pump and it still blew the fuse, so once again it is on the isolated fuse and it still blows. When it dies now there is a sputter sputter sputter, then nothing. Heres an idea I have.... although it makes no sense, its all I got left. A faulty fuel pressure regulator is causing the pump to work against itself, kinda like a plug in the end of a hose. This causes the fuel pump to heat up and over load the circuit. However in this situation the car should be running quite rich. There is no smell or smoke to suggest that it is. I can't go by sound because to be honest I don't have a good feel for how the new exhaust sounds. In the morning I am going back to the shop, we are going to check fuel pressure and I am going to request they check for codes, despite the SES light never coming on. I was talking to Dave aka C-bad and he mention that that single wire and connector under the air box was for running the fuel pump with the engine off, if that is the case I'm wondering if this could be shorting out. Is there anything else that anyone else can think of? I have 4 days to get this fixed, after that I leave the car behind I gotta get back to my place for work on the 7th. Means leaving my car behind for as long as a month. Can anyone else think of something that might be between the fuse box and the fuel pump that might cause that fuse to blow?? Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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