When my car died on the freeway, I noticed i couldn't hear the fuel pump pressurising when i turned the power on. So i brought it to a shop and they did a diagnostic. Sure enough Fuel Pump. But they told me there is power running to it, but the pump isn't working. They wanted $600. I bought the parts through my step dad because he gets cost -10%. I payed 150 for the parts and then 200 for them to do the labor. After they put the new filter and fuel pump in the car started right up. It was driving fine... 1 mile down the road, same thing happens. And when i turned the power on, i couldn't hear the pump pressurise. HOW CAN A PUMP GO BAD IN 1 MILE? There must be something causing the pump go bad or something... Does anyone have and ideas?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

First things first...

The pump stops running when the car dies, so it might be something else, gotta luv them gremlins!

When you first turn the key on(but dont start the engine), for a couple of seconds the pump will run to pressurize the system then you wont hear it again. If you hear this then obviously its not the fuel pump thats bad, if you dont hear it then I would start looking for other things before going back to have another one installed. See if you can get to the connector for the fuel pump module on the outside of the tank to make sure its connected properly, while looking around make sure that the wiring hasnt been worn through somehow and that maybe a wire is grounding out. Try disconnecting the battery for 30-45 minutes then reconnect it and see if it will start and run again(sometimes a PCM can go goofy). Electrical systems are plagued with all kinds of problems the older a car gets...

There is a pressure fitting on the fuel rail that has a valve in it that when the car is off you could use to check to see if the system is pressurized. If it has pressure then I would tend to rule out the pump since the system cant pressurize itself without it.

Too bad that you dont have a friend at a Chrysler/Dodge dealership that could hook up the DRB to it, the DRB can run the pump cycle to test it and other fuel system problems.

 

Check the fuel pump relay in the fuse box under the hood, try switching it out with one of the othert relayslike the horn.
Might just be a dirty conection. After the system is on for a few minutes it may be overheating because of a bad conection
and therefor the resistance climbs tell there is no more juice going thru the circuit. Get some good electrical cleaner and
clean all the plugs realy good.

good luck

 

i had a problem once with my fuel system, but it wanst the fuel pump... it was water. the filler tube had a hole in it and water from the road would splash up into the filler tube causing the car to die often and not run till the water was out of the line....

just throwing things out there

 

If the line is already pressurized, you may not hear the pump whirl, or any other sound... You can depressurize the system at the fuel rail (schrader valve, screwdriver), use a rag if the engine's hot... then try listening again.