Blown fuel pump fuse

Hi. 97 Grand Prix GTP. 3.8, Supercharged. 15A fuel pump fuse blows. Replaced relay, fuel pump, still blows. I'm about to look for shorts along fuel harness. Any ideas? Thanks.

Not to knowledgable about the electrical systems, but try a 20amp fuse.

Thanks tman, but a 20A pops also... kinda scary huh? lol.
I had heard about a resistor for the fuel pump behind the battery, i figured that might be the next item to replace if no short is found.
any info on exact location or wire colors? Thanks

Try 25a, then 30a, until one of them works, then check your battery guage to make sure it's not discharging.

A friend of mine had a similar problem with his Jeep Cherokee. he replaced fuel pump after fuel pump, and tons of fuses. it ended up being a vaccume line was off and making the fuel pump work too hard. he reconnected it, and it has been great ever since.

hope it helped
'00' GTP

it ended up being a vaccume line was off and making the fuel pump work too hard. he reconnected it, and it has been great ever since.
you took words right out of my mouth. lol

Hell with the bigger fuses just put some wire across the pins and watch it start on fire!!! You are risking the same thing by putting bigger fuses it it. Fuses are rated a certain size and the brains behind GM decide what size fuse to use by what size wires and how many amps the system willuse. So if you are in the market for buying a new car ho ahead and use bigger fuses!

Electrical shorts are nothing to play with take it to the shop and get it fixed right!

i didn't really like the big fuse part too well. it can only make so much.

*tman is embarressed because he forgot to add the winky smiley, indicating sarcasm.*

I am a :loser:

LMAO--->tman. :iceslolan

I don't know much about electrical systems, but that is a nobrainer.

O/T Check out all of the smilies that we have, I never knew that there were so many!

Just an update on the problem, when I replaced the under-hood fuel pump relay which is standard procedure when dealing with a problem that you have no schematics nor electrical values to measure and compare with, I realized there was a SECOND fuel pump relay apparently which controls a resistor or pump speed circuit and which turned out to be shot.

Replaced the second relay and bam, fuse short is gone! Too bad I replaced the pump already, but replacing it repaired a faulty fuel gauge sender so gauge now reads correctly, two birds with one stone! If that relay had turned out to be good, the last part on the circuit which would have been bad is the fuel pump resistor, 51.00$ at the dealer, if not the resistor, after that it would be necessary to repair or replace the wiring harness.

Thanks to all for the advice, thats what great about these forums cause they can be helpful, and not everyone can afford to BE RIPPED OFF by our local shops which want nothing more than to upsell us what we don't need and overcharge us for parts because they ain't selling that many cars lately. Please excuse the soapbox, I was an auto technician for 10 years (dealers and independents) and I know they are ALL corrupt so watch what they do and do not let them rip you off, go for second opinions and investigate the problem because flatraters want to tack on all they can.

Larry1971 I am disgusted by your comments! Are you speaking of personal experience when you say all techs are crooked?

Just alittle info on electricity a relay will not blow a fuse! Only a short to ground or a high amp draw will blow a fuse. In my 15 years of fixing cars and airplanes I have never ever seen a relay blow a fuse.

Your claim of being a tech for 10 years you should have known better than to up the fuse size! And as for standard procedures of changing parts when you don't know what is wrong is plain downright dumb! You talk about being ripped off by a shop isn't just changing parts ripping off?

We are not all crooked! If we were would we be here posting help to topics for free? Yes I do get paid for what I produce but if you steal from the people they will not come back and soon you would have to shut the doors. I am not the only tech on this forum.

Can I ask what you do for a living? You have no idea what I have to do every year to stay up on all the changes taking place in the car industry. I have to do more than 200 hours of training a year, I have to do many different jobs just to fix your cars even when you come in with stupid complains on something you don't know how to work!


Signed
GM FLATRATE TECH
ASE MASTER TECH
ASE ADVANED ENGINE PERFORMANCE TECH
AIRFRAM AND POWERPLANT TECH
GM CERTIFIED TECH WITH OVER 300 SCHOOLS

I am sorry for ranting but he touched a nerve!

Only thing I agree with it is your right to get a second opinion but if they are cheaper or say that another part will fix it and you let them do it, if it fixes it great if not I can say I told you so! We are all humans and we do make mistakes but I am not a thief I pride myself on doing the right thing for the customer.

Flatrater, mechanics like you are few and far between, at least in this area they are. I'm pretty sure that my mechanic is trustworthy, although I havent taken my car in for anything major yet.

I find it to be a VERY stupid answer to say if the fuse breaks, put in a bigger fuse. The fuse is there to keep the car from getting any damage. If you just put a bigger fuse in then your eliminating the need for a fuse in the first place. If you don't know what your doing take it in to someone who does. Wouldn't you rather have it done the right way the first time, instead of guessing the problem and having a more serious problem occur? Oh well, my 2 cents. If someone already said this i'm sorry, dislexic, don't read the big paragraphs. :lol:

that guy that I was talking about having that same problem, changed his fuel pump 4-5 times, and the relays countless times thinking that the relay was the problem. I still suggest looking at the vaccume lines. make sure that they are connected properly.

I'm with Tman on this one. Mechanics in Indiana are the same. they are all out for the quick buck. I am friends with a few, and they make-up parts that don't exist and charge an extra $100 for them. now my mechanic dosn't do that. he knows what he is doing, and I know what is realy wrong. we have an understanding...... he does me right, and I will throw a couple dollars extra his way for saving me so much..... it is realy a good relationship..

Originally posted by '00' GTP

we have an understanding...... he does me right, and I will throw a couple dollars extra his way for saving me so much..... it is realy a good relationship..

That's the exact same relationship my mechanic and I have.

Omicron- If you had actually read the whole thread(which evidently you havent) you would have seen my post where I said that I forgot to add the winky smiley, which would symbolize sarcasm. True, what kind of idiot would keep adding bigger fuses?

Their are crooks in every business, not one business is exempt from this. I am not living in a un-real world I know we have crooked mechanics just like crooked lawyers and doctors but pleadse don't ever say all mechanics are crooked.

Customers who come in to my shop if they want can and often do ask questions want to see the part and what was wrong with their cars. I have no problem showing and telling them. If th4ey can do it themselves I applaud that and tell them how to do it. For the guy who said we make up parts get real your ignorance shows that you have no clue when we state a part name. Have you ever tried asking the mechanic to show you, to educate you on your car! In my shop you are welcome to look under the car if you want to, to watch me thru the glass windows as I work on your car. I don't want you standing next to me and slowing me down while I work but I want you to know what I am doing.

You allow the crooked mechanics to rip you off by not asking and watching. Isn't it your fault to an extent that you got ripped off?

As for this business of "my mechanic" I hate that term I am not yours but I have to deal with that.

Now so you know how the system works I will explain it to you. GM builds a car they decide how much each and every job takes and how much it pays. I have no input on this. If GM says this job takes 1 hour that is all I get to do it if it takes me 3 hours or 15 minutes I get one hour. The flatrate system is a bad system I didn't make it but I have to work with it. Now these companies like Motor and Chilton make flat rate time books which are higher by 20 to 40% from GM times your local shops use the higher time books. We also use these books on the non warranty repairs. Their are 2 types of shops hourly and flatrate in a flatrate shop you get quantity in a hourly you get quality but they still are a profit business they need to make a profit to stay in business.

I am a flatrate tech who does more electrical and emissions problems then anything else I still have the same pay plan as the rest of the shop. I do make a commission on labor not on parts sold. Most shops whatever hours you turn that is what you get paid. If you turn 20 hours a week than you get 20 hours of pay for 40 hours of work. If you turn 60 hours than you get 60 hour paycheck. How would you like to work all week and come home with a 20 hour paycheck! If I am not turning wrenches I am not getting paid, talking to you, showing you teaching you gets me nothing in my paycheck, but ask and I will explain it to you. When you come in because you don't know how to operate a car and I have to look at it and find nothing wrong I get nothing. On a normal week I work on 50 cars of them at least 10 pay me nothing due to operator error or no repair possible. I make a good living doing this I do make antwhere from 35 to 60 hours a week.

Now lets talk training and skill! Don't look down at me like I am sub human I have more training and education than most people. I didn't learn to fix cars to stay out of jail or was a highschool drop out. Frankly those type of people would never make it fixing cars. I work on 3 different GM lines with at least 30 different models between them on cars from the late 80 to the current model year. I have to know abbout all of them from bumper to bumper! The books I need and use would fill a good size room. When you come in to the shop it is impossible for me to know everything about everything that doesn't make me stupid. I am not a walking shop manual but I know where to find it when I need it.

If you want your car fixed come in with as much information as you can. Don't come in and say my car isn't running right, that don't help me. Come in and say my car bogs down going up a hill or it makes a noise turning right. The more info you give the better your chance is of getting it fixed right the first time. On a daily basis I get cars with incomplete info on the problem. I drive them check out the computer for codes if nothing shows up I have no choice but to ship the car out of the shop. I didn't say I their was nothing wrong with your car but with the limited info I have I cannot fix your car. Do you want me guessing on the fix? If not give me the info I need to fix it right.

Things you can do to prevent you from getting ripped off!!!
1. Ask questions.
2. Ask to see whats wrong.
3. Give as much information as you can.
4. Drive the car with the mechanic.
5. Ask questions.
6. Educated yourself.
7. Ask questions.

Remember you are half the problem why you got ripped off! It may not be all the mechanics fault because he was not helped out to fix your car.

One example I see all the time we have local shops that perform state inspections. Each and every time they inspect a Jimmy or Sonoma they tell the owner that they need ball joints. Then the owner comes to see me and we tell them their is nothing wrong with the ball joints! You then proceed to jump down my throat and not the other shop. Why??

[i] he does me right, and I will throw a couple dollars extra his way for saving me so much..... it is realy a good relationship.. [/B]

What you give him coffee money! a dollar or two is a token offering! I take that dollar as a sign of respect not that I can buy much with it but I feel good knowing that I helped a owner out. Instead of a dollar buy a tray of pizza or a dozen doughnuts or even coffee. It don't need to be cash. A handshake goes along way.

A dollar, come on, like you said, thats hardly anything. The minimum that I give my "preferred" mechanic (the object of possetion for "my" is on my preferation, not the mechanic) id about $15 for something very small, such as an easy adjustment that requires a special tool, or something of that sort. Depending on the job, my added "tip", if you'd like to call it that, goes up accordingly.

Flatrater- Well written post, and I do have a bit higher respect for you and others in your profession.

I'm sorry I didn't specify. I give him $20 -$60......

And while I am still on a rant! Do you know how much of an investment in tools I have? I have an 7,000 dollar tool box with over 40,000 dollars in tools!

So, which brand of tools do you prefer, personally?

99% of my tools are Snap-On. You can't beat them. They are always at the shop every week, have all the tools I need, and when one breaks they replace it no hassles unlike Craftsman. Sears never has what I need or they are out of shop what I had broken. I used to have lots of craftsman but I took em all home where I won't break them as much. And to top it off they let me charge the tools and pay for them weekly!

I love Snap-On, a bit pricy, but you'll rarely have to replace anything. As for specialty tools, you can't beat Snap-On.

snap on's are #1. I really wish we would have more snap-ons, but my dad seems to think that craftsman is the way to go, because you can buy 2 of the same tools for less than the price of 1 snap-on. (depending on the tool of course)

Craftsman break pretty easy, for example, a while ago we were having some trouble getting a nut loose, so we got the wrench on there good and tight, and hit it with a heavy rubber mallet. (not the smartest thing) The end of the broke off and hit me square in the nuts and It hurt so much I didn't do a damn thing but lay down on the couch the rest of the night. :eek:

I'd rather have one snap-on wrench, than two craftsmans.

Snap-On has always been the best, and still is, the worst thing about them, is finding the truck when you need a tool, although I can call the parts manager at the local dealer, and he will call me back when the truck arrives, I love living two minutes from a GM dealer!