Car wont start!

[21gg]

So returning from a run a couple of weeks ago the car engine died twice, switched off and restarted but a little reluctantly. I couldn't see any mil codes. Cleaned the MAF, maf connector, throttle body connector and visually checked the condition of the throttle body. It,' been fine since..until today. Went to work fine, came back fine, went to start it to put it back in the garage nothing.

It was trying to fire but would die immediately, now its just turning over as if there is no fuel. The battery is fine, fuel pump fuse, intertia switch and relay all ok and presumabley the immobiliser as i'm get a good 12v and ground at the fuel pump. Ive dipped the tank to ensure there is plenty of fuel in it. I must admit I can't hear the pump running but with my crap hearing, (and its bad at the moment) I can't hear much ! Are they known for failing? How noisey are they when they are running?

Any ideas help much appreciated.

Cheers Gav

[Ledlights]

Hi,

Mine is quite quiet and high pitched with the ignition on but you can hear it from outside the car.  Can you get to one of the unions on the fuel rail or fuel banjo? If you can, and with the ignition on you should be able to see if the petrol is under pressure by cracking the joint.  My last car was a 3200GT and I had a problem similar to yours which turned out to be a failing fuel pump relay - but in your case it could be a host of things...

Hope this helps,

Steve

[21gg]

Cheers, did think of pulling the hose off the fuel rail but wasn't sure how wise that would be ?! 

[carl12359]

Could be a batch of bad gas, but get someone to hear if the pump is running. Also, don’t know

how many miles you have but could be clogged fuel filter. As with any troubleshooting always

start with the simplest solution first. Good luck

Carl

[Ledlights]

I definitely wouldn’t pull it off completely but by cracking the nut slightly you can see if the line is pressurised. I don’t know if the Evora has this but some cars have a test port on the end of the fuel rail with a small nipple that can be used to test for pressure and for bleeding the rail of air - the 3200 had one of these.

 

[21gg]

The cars only done about 10,000 in 2.5 years. I've found an alternative to the Lotus £500 pump anyway, if needed. I think I saw it has a pressure release valve so might try that tomorrow if I get chance.  At least it will confirm if the pump is ok or not. 

Cheers Gav 

[21gg]

Well pulled the fuel pipe off the rail and put it into a bottle, turned the ignition on and nothing, not a squirt. So I think its safe to say its the fuel pump.

[Ledlights]

Sorry to hear that Gav, but at least you’ve managed to get to the root of the problem quickly.  Good luck in getting it sorted.

Steve

[21gg]

ive got two possible pumps coming from ebay, both considerabley cheaper than lotus want, doesnt mean they will fit though! Half the fun is finding the cheap toyota/generic parts, plus there is no way im paying £500 for a poxy fuel pump! And im meant to be out in it on sunday!

[rasasoufe]

Do you have the Toyota part number for the pump?

[Bravo73]

If it is a Toyota part, I’m pretty sure that the answer will lie in here somewhere:

https://parts.villagetoyota.com/cars/TOYOTA/2009/Camry3500CC-24-VALVE-DOHC-EFI--AUTOMATIC--6-SPEEDXLE/Body-Group/Camry-parts.html

[rasasoufe]

Thanks for that but according to the Lotus service parts lists the supercharged V6 engines do have an other fuel pump than the n/a V6. So I would guess that it won't be the standard Camry or RAV4 Toyota part.

[21gg]

I've found the specs (lph) of both the na and s pumps. Most after market pumps are above this figure. I will wait to see if either fits before I post any information.

Gav 

[rasasoufe]

1 hour ago, 21gg said:

I've found the specs (lph) of both the na and s pumps. Most after market pumps are above this figure. I will wait to see if either fits before I post any information.

Gav 

I now also found the specs . The lph seems to be rather low to me...? I wonder if Lotus means that lph at 3.2 bar as the pressure regulator is set at 3.2 bar. Keep in mind that most sellers advertise their pumps lph at a specific presure!

[21gg]

Cheers for that, yes they do seem low so you may be right, I will check. One I'm hoping may be a straight swap the other may need fettling but is much higher lpm. Hoping to pull the assembly out of the tank and remove the pump tonight. If nothing else I'm hoping to get the part number of the pump itself to check specs before I replace it.

[21gg]

It Lives! So I'm a sparky by trade, not adverse to tinkering but not one for getting covered in crap/fuel! I was a little apprehensive changing the fuel pump and apart from the 'staring into a tank of fuel under the back seat' thing then it was reasonably straight forward. The thought of the cost of getting the car to the dealer and getting them to do it was enough to spur me on.

The original pumps are rated at 100lph for the na and 140 lph for the s. There is no part number on it but any of the possible toyota pumps all seem to be £250-300.

I ordered a DEATSCHWERKS DW65c 265LPH off ebay based on some aftermarket companies selling it for the Evora. It apparently fits the elsie/exige/evora etc. It was £140 and come with new filter and electrical connector.

I also ordered a FOR LOTUS ELISE & EXIGE 1.8 12V IN TANK ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP REPLACEMENT/UPGRADE off ebay for £24, it was rated at 255lph, this doesn't come with a filter and hasn't actually arrived yet.

The main issue was that I could not pull the electrical plug of the pump within the plastic unit that goes in the petrol tank. So when I removed the pump it eventually came out, pulling the wires out the connector. I couldn't even get the connector off with mole grips!

So I had to solder the new plug onto the old wires within the plastic assembely, a bit concerning but there are other open connections in there so presumably it must be ok! Then I just had to swap over the seal on the pump outlet and slot it all back in.

I strongly suspect the cheap pump will fit/work and will check it for comparison when it does arrive.

 

Anyway, zipped it all back up and it fired straight into life, then the dash lit up like a christmas tree followed by my obs reader! I saved the codes, cleared them all and been for a quick drive and all seems fine! So despite the apprehension and the issues it was all done within 3 hours, so I'm a happy bunny.

Oh, the only thing is that it was easier to pull the fuel pump relay rather than the fuse and eventually dropped it inside the trim panel, so for now I've nicked the reverse camera/light relay.

[andyj007]

good work chap......   impressed

 

[21gg]

Cheers, despite trying to keep everywhere ventilated. I've got a cracking headache this morning!

[rasasoufe]

Nice to read it all worked out well!

[21gg]

Well the cheap £25 pump turned up today complete with filter and to be honest I don't see why it wouldn't have fitted fine. Ultimatly its a fuel pump, not rocket science. Well at least I have a spare now.

[trcm]

Blimey, peering into a tank of petrol with no chance of a quick escape    8|

[21gg]

Well I had both doors open, the hose pipe ready, but the mains spot light made me twitch ? 

[21gg]

Just as a final note, a bit late but motorsports auctions have listed (but sold out) the gt4 fuel pump. It has gss 340 stamped on it. You can get these off ebay for £60-65. 

Gav