Fuel pump

[Ginger pig]

Hi,

I have just whipped the engine out of my 1990 SE(he says nonsielently), replaced all belts and seals and have put the engine back. I must admit that I am a bit of a bull in china shop when it comes to these things; however I did take quite a few photos of the engine and wiring whilst it was in the car to reference when putting it back together. I also labeled up the wires so I should know which connectors married up. The issue I have is that the engine will now not start. It turns over when I turn the key; however will not fire up. When I try to start her the fuel relay oscilates creating a buzzing noise, which suggests that the problem might lie with the fuel system (or at least associated electrical system). Now I do have 2 fat white connectors which are not connected to anything but I cannot remember them being connected originally and there seems no where for them to connect and also around 6 small black connectors which are also free. When I bypassed the relay and fed power to the pump, the pump seemed to work. I have cracked the connection to the fuel rail and no fuel came out.

I would appreciate your thoughts as I am now flummuxed?

[robdaniel]

have you checked that the inersha switch is pushed in

[rogerch]

Fundamentals, do you have fuel pressure, do you have spark ?

[troutrou]

Fundamentals, do you have fuel pressure, do you have spark ?

Looks more like a fuel problem, if I understand him well (?) : "When I bypassed the relay and fed power to the pump, the pump seemed to work. I have cracked the connection to the fuel rail and no fuel came out."

This also rules out the inertia switch since it simply cuts power to the pump IIRC.

So... pump running and no fuel coming to the rail... disconnected fuel hose ? what else...

That said, probably hard to miss something so blatant, so maybe he was mistaken when he thought the pump was running... might be worth checking it again...

Edited June 27, 2011 by Vince

[lotus4s]

Make sure the harness ground wire is properly grounded on one of the clutch (bell) housing top bolts and do check the inertia switch and it's wiring to be sure. The connectors for it are in the area of the fuel pump.

You can run 12 volts directly to the connector at the fuel pump to see if it works or not.

[Sparky]

I presume the pump's running in the right direction?

Swap the relay, test for fuel.

Power the pump and feed it from a separate receptacle full of fuel. At least those 2 will rule out relay and pump.

[Ginger pig]

Thanks for the replies guys.

When I activate the inertia switch, it simply cuts the buzzing out on the fuel relay (and from memory might kill the ignition).

I think I will probe the fuel connection further and try to crack some of the connections closer to the filter and ultimately the pump.

Does anyone know if the pump can be removed whilst petrol tank is in situ (hopefully wont come to this but just in case)?

Just a quick question; how can I tell if the pump is running in the right direction, from memory there was only one way the connector could go?

[Vulcan Grey]

I agree with Grandpa Sparky... Swap the relay with the AC relay (I think that is the same kind of relay).

Probably just a bad relay.

And yes you can replace the fuel pump with the tank in-situ, you do have to disconnect the battery, release the fuel pressure, and don't forget to open the fuel filler caps.

Then you need to remove the ECU over the right side tank.

[sanj]

You don't even need to remove the ECU.

[Ginger pig]

SHE'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before I started to probe the fuel connections, I gave a cursory check of engine and all associated wiring and found an earth wire by the inlet manifold which was free. I also found the alternator earth was loose.

Once these were connected and tightened respectively; the engine fired up.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply.