Fuel pump issue

[skrizan]

My Brother-in-law has a 1996 s10 blazer - Started hard one day at work, made it home, would not fire the next morning. He says it spits and chugs with starting fluid, so he thinks no gas - fuel pump. I did quite a bit of reading here and found it could be several other things.
I went over to his apartment and had him turn the key on - no noise at all from the fuel pump. I found a red wire with a connector under the hood on the driver side near the fire wall that I assume is the test wire for the pump. We ran power to it and nothing.

I read this could be a relay or fuse issue? The only relays I could find behind a cover in the glove box. Is one of these the fuel pump relay? There were three in a line, all the same part, so I re-ordered them to see if this would make a difference. We turned the key to on and the pump still did not run.

I don't see any mention of a fuel pump fuse in the owners manual, and it seems if it was a fuse issue the truck would have died immediately wouldn't it?

What do I try next? He is at an apartment and it is very cold in MI right now, so we towed it to my place where it will be in my garage until we get it fixed - help please!

[danielsatur]

There should be both a fuel pump fuse + relay!

[Rick Norwood]

My original OEM fuel pump died suddenly too. We drove to breakfast one morning, and when we came out, nothing. If you cannot Hear the 2 second prime cycle when standing at the gas cap door while someone turns the key, that pretty much tells the story. You can try a fuel pump gage to see if there is any pressure. But the only thing I could suggest is a new fuel filter, which you will need anyway. When you have the old one off, and before you put the new one on, turn the key and see if it pumps anything. It probably won't but it is worth a try. If you do need a new fuel pump PLEASE buy an AC-Delco Delphi pump only.

[skrizan]

Where is the Relay? Under the hood, or the ones I found behind the glove box? There is no mention of a fuel pump fuse, but I've seen some posts about testing the ECM fuses.

[blazes9395]

The relay is behind the glove box, I am pretty sure the one on the left, towards the driver side if I remember correctly. if the relay is clicking after you turn the key your fuse is fine and the relay for that matter too. As for the fuse itself, its on the driver side fuse panel, side of the dash, when the door is open. Its the ECM BATT fuse, I think, its fuse #9, but ECM BATT for sure.

[skrizan]

Thanks, fuse is fine and I hear the relay click when I turn the key on. So, that means power should be on its way to the pump right?

[blazes9395]

If the relay/fuse check out alright chances are its the pump. You can test just to make sure its getting power once you pull the tank down and unplug it. You can probe the connector at that point. Chances are though, its the pump. When you go to pull the tank be careful with the assembly and connections at the top of the tank, they break very easily, and cost a pretty penny to replace. This applies even more for the 4 door versions, as it can be tricky to get to these. Either way, jsut take your time as the plastic can easily break.

[skrizan]

Ok, Thanks, sounds like we'll be pulling the tank tomorrow.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by skrizan

Ok, Thanks, sounds like we'll be pulling the tank tomorrow.

Again AC-Delco only stay away from Airtex.

[Jerry80871852]

Sometimes one that does like yours, if you can tap on the fuel pump, maybe the fuel tank, a few times it might start working. That worked on my 1st fuel pump that went out and it got me home.

One person said his would do that and he got about 3 more months out of his fuel pump. I did not dare do as he did, I quickly replace mine.

Please, I'm not saying beat on the fuel pump or tank with a big hammer, just tap on it. And it may take several taps.

[skrizan]

Had to wait a couple of weeks so he could afford the pump. He had to work till noon today so I pulled it in my garage and got the garage all heated up. I started with the fuel filter, won't budge. I'll let him try it. So I took the plastic cover off the tank, and got one hose clamp loose, can't get the other one.
I got frustrated and took a break, I started looking at the Haynes manual and saw something about testing the connector at the pump. So I turn the key on and the damn pump runs. Started up and ran fine.

Could it have been frozen, it wouldn't run at prior to this. Or is it just going to be an intermittent problem and we should change it now? (I have to add, we are in MI and it has not been above 32 in weeks.

[Jerry80871852]

Originally Posted by skrizan

Had to wait a couple of weeks so he could afford the pump. He had to work till noon today so I pulled it in my garage and got the garage all heated up. I started with the fuel filter, won't budge. I'll let him try it. So I took the plastic cover off the tank, and got one hose clamp loose, can't get the other one.
I got frustrated and took a break, I started looking at the Haynes manual and saw something about testing the connector at the pump. So I turn the key on and the damn pump runs. Started up and ran fine.

Could it have been frozen, it wouldn't run at prior to this. Or is it just going to be an intermittent problem and we should change it now? (I have to add, we are in MI and it has not been above 32 in weeks.

I've heard that the pigtail from the fuel pump to the connection in back of the gas tank when the pigtail hooks up goes bad quite often.

I might add, to loosen the connections on top of the gas tank you need to drop the fuel tank down just a bit. Of course you need to get as much gas out of the tank that you can before dropping it down.

[skrizan]

We decided to wait, he drove it home and of course it wouldn't start this morning.... Guess we'll be putting the pump in after all. Damn

[brcidd]

Jumper the red connector under hood and whaaaap the bottom of fuel tank- pump will most likely come on-- then you can drive it to the repair area and change out the fuel pump-

If above does not work- check the plug in near the tank for melted connector.

[old_master]

The red "pump prime" wire is only connected to the fuel pump when the fuel pump relay is deactivated. Whenever the relay is activated by the ECM, the red wire goes to nothing!

Just an FYI, something to keep in mind when testing the pump.