Fuel pump dead? On a '82?

[ironmoo]

Yesterday without warning the car would not start. Upon turning the key, no familiar whirring sound from the rear of the car just before starting.....
...and a dead gas gauge. No movement from the needle.

-Car is cranking fine.
-No gas up front at the injectors.


Today:
Replaced the Fuel Pump relay. Found the connectors covered with a black gooey grease. Cleaned up easy and connected to brand new relay.

-Checked/cleaned the rear harness connection at the tank.
-The fuse looks okay in the fusebox.
-Made sure I had gas in the tank. But did notice some small white-ish material floating as I did stirred up the bottom of the tank with the clear syphon hose.

Next step seems to be replacing the Fuel Pump.
Since the gas gauge is not working, I may clean all the lines and replace the filter just case a clog killed the pump.

Question:
Is there anything else that can kill the fuel pump electrically? Only thing replaced recently was a wiper-override switch and the car ran fine with it.
Am I missing something here?


The car is very relieable so the it just dying this way caught me off-guard. (But glad it was parked in the garage when it died!) :L

Thanks ahead for your thoughts!

-MOo!

 

[lars]

Just put a pressure gauge on the fuel line test port. If the pump has power and no pressure is noted at the port when you turn the ignition key to the "on" position, replace the pump.

Lars

 

[ironmoo]

I'm thinking there is no power getting back there. The rear lights work. However found the spare tire courtesy light is not getting any juice by switching bulbs...and that wire leads to the main wire wrap as the fuel pump.

Only thing recently done was finding the wiper intermittent relay was out and replaced with an override switch from Corvette Central.

The car ran fine, wipers worked okay, then parked her in the car in the garage for a week. Next time I went to start her the problem happened.


Today changed out ALL the fuses in the fuse box (just in case), they all were fine. Put in a new ignition module, fresh gas, new fuel pump relay, new fuel pump. Wondering if there is an inline fuse or relay I'm missing!?!
;(

The gas gauge seems to work but not hearing the little "whirr" of the ECM priming the pump at start up.

Going through the '82 Chevy shop manual, says something about checking CKT120 and CKT340 in the diagnostics...

The quest continues...


Very sad Moo.

 

[lars]

I'm thinking there is no power getting back there.

Why don't you just verify whether there's power at the pump or not..? If there's no power, you troubleshoot forward until you find the power. If there's power, you replace the pump.

 

[LLC5]

Why don't you just verify whether there's power at the pump or not..? If there's no power, you troubleshoot forward until you find the power. If there's power, you replace the pump.

And a good ground source.

 

[ironmoo]

Why don't you just verify whether there's power at the pump or not..? If there's no power, you troubleshoot forward until you find the power. If there's power, you replace the pump.

Thanks for the feedback!

I need a long arm to turn the ignition while I'm at the back of the car. lol Unfortunately it's just me at home. Or can I just leave it in the "on" (not cranking) position for the pump to get juice?

Any recommendation of a good tester to purchase?

Been poking and prodding around with an borrowed one back there trying to also trace the courtesy light not getting juice with the lights on and blew the tail light fuse!

lol

 

[SVO]

The gooey grease is/was there for corrosion protection. If the fuel pump is original to the car and is bad, it's in the neighborhood of 30 years old. Mechanical stuff fails sooner or later. If purchasing a fuel pressure tester, look for one that has a variety of fuel rail adapters with it. that will allow you to use it on other make & model vehicles. Should be able to pick one up for $20- $30 at your favorite parts house or local Sears store.

 

[ironmoo]

Problem Solved!

The cars now is repaired!


Following the diagnostic chart in the shop manual,

I came upon the (a) Oil pressure switch located on the back of the engine under the distributer. Pulled off the wire, blew off the plug and reconnected.

Under wrapped some old black tape was (b) Wire for smog testing (?) it had become unplugged with signs of repairs of splices. The connection is missing half of the plug. Cleaned it and taped it tight for now until I get another plug.

When I put the key to test the car, a series of little whirs and clicks as if the new ECM rebooted itself then the car rolled over on the 1st time.

The car started and sounded just fine. And no code 42!

Between the combo of the wiring shown and the old ECM acting intermittently is the final cause of the problems.

This one was a dozzie for me to get repaired, but learned a lot along the way.

Thanks all for your advise and suggestions as it greatly helped in the process.

-MoO!