Thank you very much
ewill3rd and
N*Caddy for your follow-up responses to this post; they've been invaluable for helping me hone in on the problem.
Following up on what you guys have been pointing towards -- in particular, "no gas" problems -- I did some research on my own. I looked at components in addition to fuel pumps that could cause problems similar to those I'm experiencing, and one possibility seems to be the fuel pressure regulator (FPR). I have heard they can fail in numerous ways, one being to fail open so that there is too much back pressure causing poor acceleration or even worse, no start (apparently the FPR is on the return side of the fuel line). Such would describe my symptoms; for a while I experienced poor acceleration at startup, progressing to no startup at all. Also, if a FPR fails open the car can seem to catch very shortly and then die, which is exactly what mine did last time I tried to start it. Furthermore, some, but not all, people contend that fuel pumps do not exhibit symptom prior to failure; instead they contend the pump will be perfectly fine and then fail, which does not describe my situation. Apparently FPRs on the other hand can exhibit intermittent symptoms similar to those I've experienced prior to all out failures.
Here's what I found out last night:
- cheapest fuel line pressure tester I can easily get is ~$50
- Delco FPR ~$60
- fuel pump ~$300
- I think a spark tester should be cheap?
As of last night, I was almost inclined to test for spark because it's cheap to do (which I suspect will be OK, but who knows for sure), and then assuming spark is OK, test for fuel pressure in the form of throwing a new FPR at the system, since a FPR costs about the same as a pressure gauge. Then if a new FPR didn't work, I'd move to fuel pump -- but such involves assumptions.
In light of
N*Caddy's comments though, maybe I don't need to make any assumptions:
Quote:
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yes the pump will not trigger any code but will get the service engine soon light on. The simplest way to check the pump is just to push the fuel line service valve (Caution! high pressure gas, no flames, protect your eyes). If sprays with key in ON position (I mean really really sprays) then the pump is likely to be OK.
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I wasn't getting a service engine soon light (and the light works), so perhaps the pump is good.
Can I effectively perform the test on the fuel pump suggested by N*Caddy even if the FPR is malfunctioning (and can anyone guide me to the location of the fuel line service valve)?
If so I think I should perform the test on the fuel pump suggested by
N*Caddy, and if gas sprays, I'm inclined to test for spark, which I suspect will be fine, and then replace the FPR.
Does such seem like a reasonable plan?