Fuel Pump Question

Hello everyone. I'm new here. Great forum. Just acquired a 1997 Crown Victoria from a local police department. It has a problem which they described to me as a 'bad fuel pump'. I don't buy that...not yet anyway.

I won't ask the same old questions, because I've spent hours researching here and at www.crownvic.net (http://www.crownvic.net) to find out other causes for the symptoms this car has (runs fine one day, does not start the next, starts but stalls the next, etc).

My question is, when a fuel pump 'goes bad' does it run intermittently or does it just die and never work again? The reason I ask is because now I know about all the other problems that could be disguised as a bad fuel pump. On my car, sometimes it runs and sometimes it doesn't. I would think that if a fuel pump were to die, it would just die and not come back to life every once in awhile.

Correct me if I am wrong! I'd like to dismiss the 'bad pump' theory and start digging into C-103 connectors and relays and connections and inertia switches. Thanks guys.

Electric fuel pumps can be a "on again off again" problem. Sometimes the electric pumps overheat, and stop working till they cool off. The way you described the problem i would think its a relay problem or maybe a power distribution or BUSS problem.


I have a 1997 crown victoria lx with a fuel pump problem. If you let the tank get under 6 gallons of gas the fuel pump heats up and makes a sound like the car had to fart. Then as soon as you stop at the next light the car usually runs rough then dies. It always starts right back up, but still it needs a fuel pump.

I had a customer pull up one time in a dodge minivan. It had ghost in the system where it would run for about five minutes, then die. And once it died you never knew how long it was going to be before it would start again. Sometimes right then, somtimes several hours later. My job was to fix the problem. So i got it started and waited for it to cut back off. Once it died, I turned the key off and back on again. I didnt hear the pump prime but i did hear the relay working. So i climbed under the van and smacked the tank with my hand firmly several times. Then i tried the key again and the pump primed and the engine started. Once it died again on schedule, and i repeated the same process several times and realized the pump was shorting out or maybe had a bad connection or somthing.

So i took the pump out of the tank, and wired it to a battery to see what was up. Outside of the tank when wired direct to a battery it did the same exact thing, work for five minutes then die. And when it died all i had to to was barely hit the pump with a screwdriver or bump it somhow, and it would kick back on . I dont know if this helps or not but either way, good luck.

Yes, that helps a great deal. Thank you.

My fords always had two pumps a primer pump in the tank and a high pressure pump in front the tank by the frame. Normally if you disconnect the small pump before the suction to the large pump and put the hose in a coffee can you can tell if this pump is working. A 12volt test light can be used to check for voltage to each pump. Check fuel pump ground right cowel panel near door sill.
You need to check pressure at the fuel rail. Also check out the pressure regulator. Bad pressures will cause a no start. Also check out the fuel filter.
My 84 T-B had two pumps and my 97 F-150. I didn't have a crown vic.

Your right Ford ranger pickups, and full size broncos are the same way. I think even the mustangs are. Anybody who four wheels a bunch in a full size bronco knows where the one on the frame is.