Dan1911 Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 I'm hoping someone has some advice that can help point me in the right direction because while I work on a lot of different things and consider myself mechanically inclined I only know enough about gas engines to be dangerous so here it goes: My wife's car died on her randomly after getting gas about 1 week ago and a friend of ours towed it back to the house. We had like 8 different codes pop on us with the top 2 being throttle position and throttle pinged out at 100% so I have replaced the TPS as well as the throttle body itself with no change. The car would turn over but it would never fire. Among the other codes that popped were emissions and cam sensor and a few other things. This got me thinking that perhaps it was a wiring issue with the PCM and cleaning off the wiring harness SEEMED to do the trick for about 3 days. I think that when I was messing with the wiring harness it moved the fuel line or something just right... I dunno. Further investigation after the second time it broke down led me to removing the fuel injection line that is shown in the picture and cranking the engine to see what would happen. There are 2 ends with the green clips and when I removed the one closest to the engine fuel injectors absolutely no fuel would come out of the line so I removed the other end that is shown in the picture and heard a hiss followed by about half a cup of fuel under pressure pour from the line. I blew backwards through the hose and didn't notice anything come out but when I hooked the line back on the engine started immediately and ran good until today, about 3 days later. We stopped for gas this morning (its been running flawlessly) and after filling the tank up it again would not start. I had to work it a lot more this time, actually letting the car spew gas from the bottom connection of this fuel line a few times before reattaching it from the bottom and then the top. That worked. When you remove the bottom green clip connection it sounds a lot like it has built up air pressure inside the fuel line and wont pump at all until its cleared. I have no idea if I am looking at a failing fuel pump or not but when I remove the fuel line at the furthest most connection that is shown in the picture it seems that the fuel pump is working great. I have also considered maybe a sticking fuel pressure regulator because it seems like when I bleed the line from the back all the way to the injectors it seems to fix the problem until we fuel the car up again. I don't think the problem is with the line itself because it doesn't seem kinked, damaged, or clogged. I could also be completely off base here and maybe it has nothing to do with any of that but it seems to me that something is either turning off the fuel injection system or there is something that is causing a blockage. I have spark, the starter sounds like it turns over fantastically and when I have a clear line it always starts up quick. I hope my terminology and description is accurate as I said Im no expert on cars. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 I would definitely try a pressure gauge as fuel pumps can be tricky to diagnose when they are failing..good luck jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan1911 Posted November 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 5 minutes ago, larryl said: I would definitely try a pressure gauge as fuel pumps can be tricky to diagnose when they are failing..good luck Thank you I'll start with getting a gauge to check the pressure. Is there a specific value for each car or a general rule of thumb? jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armando G Posted November 23, 2019 Report Share Posted November 23, 2019 That does sound like a fuel pump issue. Check the pressure, check the fuel pump fuse, and (might be obvious) check the lines all the way back for leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan1911 Posted November 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2019 15 hours ago, Armando G said: That does sound like a fuel pump issue. Check the pressure, check the fuel pump fuse, and (might be obvious) check the lines all the way back for leaks. Rented a pressure gauge this morning and I get 58 psi on this constantly. It will dip down slightly when I press on the gas but it quickly moves back up to 58 psi. Seems to be working great? I also tested the purge solenoid with a 9v battery and it opens and closes fine. Its really weird that this problem seems to present itself after refueling but clearing the pressure in the lines always seems to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summer Solstice Posted November 23, 2019 Report Share Posted November 23, 2019 I have nothing concrete to offer but modern vehicles seem to be touchy on proper seal at the gas cap. Given it always happens after getting gas maybe it is related to the cap. Try a Google search and see if any suggestions come up. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 Maybe the vent system on your filler pipe is bad or blocked?? 2late4u and jkeaton 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted November 24, 2019 Report Share Posted November 24, 2019 time for the dealership to me jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Also the EVAP canister can be a problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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