Fuel Pump

[510ssrat]

Ok This may get a bit long but here goes, my 98 Astro had been running fine, no problems, the wife stops at the grocery store and when she comes out it just cranks over, no fire, towed to a garage and they checked and said fuel pump was out and wanted $900 to replace, told them no $%^&*# way, so I bought a fuel pump at Advance Auto Parts for $290, dropped tank and installed, actually pretty easy, van runs fine for 1 week, the wife stops and again when she trys to restart the motor again cranks but wont fire, I check and fuel pump isnt running so I check relays, fues etc and everythings checks ok so I mess with all wires and everything I can fine related to fuel pump and after about 1 hr of looking, probing, wiggling wires etc. all the sudden you can hear the pump running, great, drive approx 1hr home and pull in driveway and I shut engine off and try and restart and the fuel pump inst running again, so I pull wires apart at main connector coming off top of tank that plugs into main harness and jump power to pump and it runs so I plug back together and the fuel pump now runs so I start engine, then I crawl underneath with engine running and I shake this wire harness plug coming from top of fuel tank around and fuel pump stops running so I figure theres a broken wire in the connector so I replace each wire connection and the fuel pump now runs and dosent stop when the wires are moved around, sounds like problem solved right? wrong, when the ignition is turned on the pump should run for a couple seconds and when turned off again run for a couple seconds and stop, well the pump does run for a couple seconds when turning the key on but sometimes when the key is turned off you can hear the pump continue to run, I pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the hood and even pulled the fuel pump relay completely out and it didnt stop, what the heck could this be? it may run for 2,3,4,5 minutes or just as easily run for a couple of seconds and then shut off, so far it has eventually stopped every time but I have ran out of ideas, Im guessing a short circuit somewhere but I havent a clue where to begin looking and the dealer would just love to have me bring it back since I wouldnt let them change the pump to begin with, I can just see the bill now, oh yeah and the original pump, well I put it in a bucket of water and applied power, guess what, it runs, my guess is it was never bad to begin with. Please help Im running out of ideas......

[sonnald]

Are you pulling the correct relay?, if you are , then you are getting power to the pump from some other source which is not according to the vehicles diagram. Recheck that connection repair. My original pump worked when I removed it, this seems to be common, could be tank particulates seizing it or just intermittent failure before it dies completely, anyway you've got a new pump be worry free. Did you clean tank before new pump?

[Maifirehawk]

Hey,
Did you get your van fix? if not , check the connector underneath the car,directly under the Pass sit, the Fuel Pump/Relay connection, it expose to weather and get corroded, to check this, bypass the connector by jump the Ground and the 12V, that was the only thing that wrong with mine and it drove me to the wall,


Mai

[510ssrat]

Well for now I located a break in the wire connection at the fuel tank harness coming off the top of the tank right where it plugs into the main harness, this seems to have corrected the intermitten run, no run situation. I have not been able to duplicate the fuel pump running with the ignition key turned off, at some point I am going to have to chase the wires from the relay to the pump and located where they are picking up the secondary power from but for now it working as it supposed to. For now the fingers are crossed and hoping nothing else goes wrong.

[97astrovan]

My 97 Astro Van my wife drives stopped and could not be restarted. I sprayed some starting fluid in and it starts briefly. I've replaced the fuel pump once already, but a few years ago. Sounds like I will have to pay big bucks to replace the fuel pump again, but I'm concerned that maybe the pump is okay and it might be something else, like a relay/fuse or connection... any suggestiions or thoughts?

[gtjeff68]

My 94 Astro did not start,(cranked ok,no fuel) Had it towed in. Bad pump $400.00 total. Picked it up drove it for a week. Same thing happened again,towed back in (bad wire @ tank) 3 days later it would not start again. Turned out the watertight connection under van on the drivers side was worn. I cut off the 3 prong connector,electric greased,and butt connected and siliconed these connections. Shame that the connection was the problem from the start.

[dazwolves]

is it getting the power via the oil pressure switch?

[thebridge]

I have a ‘95 Chevrolet Astro Van (155k) that cranks but won’t start. It has a history of electric fuel pump issues—probably 2 being replaced in the last 7 years. It had been starting a bit rough the last several months. I haven't driven it much. Then I drove it 20 miles, parked, drove it a few more miles, parked then wouldn't start. For a while, it would start in the morning and die after 2 minutes. Now, it won't turn over.

I’m trading in the vehicle and want to get it to start & run the 20 mile or so. Nothing permanent.

I tried to replace the fuel filter but the bolts are pretty tight and don't want to break the fuel lines. I replaced the Costco battery which was getting pretty low due to all the cranking. I have tried hitting the tank with a plastic hammer but nothing.

Just wondering if there is a way to avoid the fuel pump replacement. My mechanic said he would try replacing the fuel filter with the one I bought before diving into the pump. It seems like there is no spark. The cables are so old on this thing.

Anyway, just thought I would put it out there. I don't have a lot of tools to test pressure or anything. Tried to replace the "15" fuse. Funny that it is placed upside down.

Thanks.