Thought I had a bad fuel pump - Wrong

[HBTMD]

Tried to start up my MM the other day. Rattled and shook then died out after 2 sec. Tried again. Gasped and shook for a second or two then died. out. Tried over & over again. Battery and alternator working but seemed like no fuel getting to engine. AAA came out. He felt it was most likely a bad fuel pump. Pressed the fuel shutoff in trunk but no luck. Turned on acc but could not hear the fuel pump whine. :(

Next day had the tow truck driver come out to haul away my beloved for a new fuel pump. He turned the acc on and off about 7 times, until he heard the fuel pump whine, then she started right up. Running perfectly ever since. :banana2:

Tow truck driver said he has a Mustang with 4.6 liter engine that does the same thing once in a great while. No idea what it is, however, this works every time for him. :D

Saved me a lot of money. But what is the diagnosis??? :beer:

[Spectragod]

Bad switch, bad relay, bad pump, bad connection, intermittent connection, I wouldn't trust a car that I had to repeatedly fiddle with the ignition. But hey, if you like living on the edge, maybe this type of thing is good for you...

[Zack]

Change the pump

[vegasmarauder]

The pump motor contacts inside the pump are getting corroded. Modern gas has a lot of sulfur and other additives in it that cause the contacts in the pump and sending unit to corrode up. The constant movement of the float arm helps keep the sending unit working but if the car sits for days at a time this problem can develop. All they are doing by cycling the key several times is getting the pump to spin again. I have banged on the passenger side of the tank while another person turns the key and got a pump to restart. It is only a stop gap measure unit the pump can be changed. Once the contacts get dirty and/or corroded the pump will fail again. And you may get erratic fuel pressures which will cause stumbling and misfires.

Like every one says, change the pump or you will be stranded again.

[Marauderjack]

Not sure I believe this but when the pump doesn't work it needs replacing regardless of the cause!!:cool:

I have a Walbro pump that I installed with my Procharger back in 2005 and Walbro told me it was not designed for use in a returnless fuel system and would fail early??:( I also use Shell 93 Octane exclusively and Shell has the highest Sulfur content of them all......the pump still works perfectly 170,000 miles later!!:beer:

Any mechanical/electrical device is subject to failure even if brand new!!:argue:

Replace your pump and keep gettin' it!!:burnout: