94 grand caravan won't start- fuel pump?

[highmileage]

Hi,

I've got a 94 Grand Caravan with 170k miles that won't start. My wife drove it to work with no problem - put 1/2 tank gas in on the way. She went to start it up at lunch and it just turned over, didn't start.

Engine codes have nothing stored except 55, which is the end code (I had just put in a new battery two weeks ago). I have a strong spark, but there is no gas smell at the engine despite a lot of engine cranking. There is no sound coming from the fuel pump with the key on, either. Fuel pump is original, too. I swapped all of the relays that were alike in the power block since I wasn't sure which one was the fuel pump relay...it made no difference.

Fuel pumps are $150, so I want to get the forum's advice before I buy a new one. I used to have an 89 caravan that wouldn't start...I switched the fuel pump only to find it was a sensor on the back firewall. I don't want to do that again! Is there something else I should check?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

[GTP Dad]

If you can't hear the fuel pump running then generally it has probably gone bad especially with the amount of miles you have on the vehicle. My guess is that you will need to change the fuel pump to get it up and running again. You can check it at the fuel rail, stand back and depress the shrader fitting, if no gas, fuel pump is gone. If you have gas something else is wrong, like the ecm or timing.

Welcome to AF!!

[bigbadrat]

what size motor do u have?my friends 92 3.0 did the same thing but had fuel.i found out from somebody that the crank sencor in the distributor was bad not allowing the injectors to pulsate.i found that hard to believe but try it and to my surprize it started.

you can try this before u do a fuel pump.hit the bottom of the gas tank with urhand and see if that makes the fuel pump run.then u will know if it is bad.

[highmileage]

Thanks for the reply! I'll check for gas at the rail and see what I've got.

[highmileage]

Originally Posted by bigbadrat

what size motor do u have?my friends 92 3.0 did the same thing but had fuel.i found out from somebody that the crank sencor in the distributor was bad not allowing the injectors to pulsate.i found that hard to believe but try it and to my surprize it started.

you can try this before u do a fuel pump.hit the bottom of the gas tank with urhand and see if that makes the fuel pump run.then u will know if it is bad.

Hey, that's a good idea of hitting the gas tank! I'll give that a try.
I'm going to do a check to see if I'm getting gas at the rail (I don't smell anything, though). If so, the crank sensor will be my next check.

Thanks!
Dave

[highmileage]

Originally Posted by bigbadrat

what size motor do u have?my friends 92 3.0 did the same thing but had fuel.i found out from somebody that the crank sencor in the distributor was bad not allowing the injectors to pulsate.i found that hard to believe but try it and to my surprize it started.

you can try this before u do a fuel pump.hit the bottom of the gas tank with urhand and see if that makes the fuel pump run.then u will know if it is bad.

I checked it out today... no gas at the rail (no pressure, anyway). I had someone try starting the van as I whacked the bottom of the tank. Pump kicked right on and the van started up! Pump was pretty loud and stopped after about a minute. But now I know for sure that the pump is bad and I bought a new one (new filter, too).

Thank you, thank you, thank you to both of you who replied and helped me out!

Dave

[bigbadrat]

yw and glad that i could help out.just glad u found out what it was.now time to replace that fuel pump and have fun.

[pilotnmech]

Are you still having problems with the fuel pump? I can give you some real troubleshooting help. I wouldn't replace the pump yet.

[pilotnmech]

Never mind. I hadn't read the other post.