92 Golf-fuel pumps not getting power

[sknight]

On my dad's 92 Golf, he had an intermittant running problem where the car would stall out on him while driving. It would nto restart for several minutes after dying. It got especially bad when the hot weather came back around here. I attributed it to bad fuel pumps.

I swapped out the in tank pump last night (the old one didn't sound good), but I noticed that the pumps did not prime when the key was turned to run. I disconnected the wiring to the main pump underneath the car and checked for power when the key is turned, as well as the engine cranked. It only puts out about .7 volts. I jumped the fuel pumps directly and they work.

Another thing I noticed is the tach needle bounces when the engine is cranked, so if the pattern of all the 200's I've rebuilt holds, the bouncing needle means the ecu is ok. I pulled the relay panel, but there is no guide indicating which one is the fuel pump relay.

Any suggestions on what to do here? Wiring? ECU? Relay? I'm going to jump the fuel pump tonight to see if I could get it running. I'm also going to test for spark.

92 Golf, 1.8, manual transmission. USA model. No indication of an alarm.
Thanks

[sknight]

I tested for spark and it's there.

I directly powered the fuel pumps and they both work. I tried to turn the engine with the fuel pumps running and it still doesn't work.

I don't know how to check the ecu, but I'm wondering about it.

Any ideas?

[boschmann]

If there's spark & fuel pumps run then I'd start with a pressure test before advancing to the electronic stuff. I just described how to check in the post "How to test digifant to see...."

[sknight]

Originally Posted by boschmann

If there's spark & fuel pumps run then I'd start with a pressure test before advancing to the electronic stuff. I just described how to check in the post "How to test digifant to see...."

Again, the fuel pumps do not run at all. Only when I connect them directly.

The voltage reading is .7 volts at the pulgs for the pumps and .6 for the fuel rail plug. Perhaps I didn't make it clear in my original post, but THE PUMPS DO NOT RUN AT ALL, hence no fuel pressure can be measured. I thought the title clearly said the fuel pumps aren't getting power?

[boschmann]

You stated that you directly powered the pumps (I don't know if you bypassed the relay or what) and they ran, but the car still didn't start. The car should start if they are running & there's spark. If you didn't remove the relay to run the pumps you should check the fuel pump relay to be sure it isn't shorted out & then bypass the pumps to power from there (connect the two large pins that are perpendicular to each other). If it still won't start with the pumps running then look into fuel pressure.