88 jetta no fuel

Can someone help me out?
My 1988 Jeta 1.8 8 valve won't start. No fuel is coming out of the lines. Pump comes on for a couple seconds then shuts off. I diconected the line going into the filter. when you turn the ignition on, the pump runs for a couple seconds and still no gas comes out. Is there another pump in the tank?

check the fuel pump relay

Your fuel pump may be running but not building any pressure. It is normal for it to come on for a few seconds when you turn the key on to pressurize the system for startup. Also check the inlet side of the pump to make sure it can siphon gas out of the tank.

Dan

I checked the inlet side and there doesn't seem to be any suction.
What tells the pump to keep running once the engine is started?
How much vacuum pressue should the pump have? Can you feel it with your finger?

The pump starts back up once the crank/cam sensor triggers the computer to turn it back on. When you crank the engine, the pump should start back up again. Since you are able to get to the pump, try running a jumper from the battery to the pump so you can keep it running, connect a hose from the pump to a gas can, and see if it will pump anything.

Dan

is there gas in it?

The high pressure pump (not in the tank) generally doesn't have too much suction power, that's why there's a lift pump inside the tank. If you have the main pump out try this: when you turn on the key & get the two seconds of pump power you should be geting fuel pumped to the undercar pump from the in-tank pump. It's fairly easy to get the in-tank pump out through the access panel under the rear seat.

Yes, there is gas in it. I even added 5 gallons to make sure there was enough in the tank. The gage reads over 1/4 tank.
I took the fuel pump out(the one under the rear passenger side).
When I turn the ignition on there is still no gas. I guess I should check the one in the tank.

It's a good bet the tank pump is bad, also check the connections. Be sure to get a new tank seal, if you reuse the old one it will leak.