Installed a new external fuel pump and filter in an 1993 240 wagon.

New relay, fuse good, battery hooked up, no start. Pump turns on (gets warm so it's getting power), but nada.

Help.

 

for an engine to start, you need fuel and spark. so the firs tthing to do is figure out which you're not getting, or both.

when you turn the ignition on, the fuel pumps (both in-tank and external) should run for about 1 second. if you put your ear to the gas tank filler (cap off) and have someone turn on the car, you should be able to hear the in-tank pump whirr for a bit. also, jumping from a hot circuit to the tank-pump fuse (I think its fuse 11, but VERIFY!) should turn both pumps on, as this bypasses the fuel pump relay.

to really verify the pumps are delivering fuel, you could disconnect the output of the fuel filter, and connect a hose to a empty fuel container, and power the pumps for a couple seconds, verify you're getting a strong stream of fuel. careful with sparks!!!

crank it for 10 seconds a couple times, then shut it off and pull a spark plug. If it is wet, you're getting gas but no spark. if its dry, you're not getting fuel (and may or may not be getting spark). if you're not getting fuel, I would use a timing light to see if you're getting spark (if the timing light strobes when you crank, then you have spark.

if you're not getting fuel or spark, time to look into the crank position sensor or its wiring. as thats one of the few things that stops both at once.

oh. silly question, was this engine running at all before you replaced the fuel pump?

 

yes engine was running before I replaced the pump/filter. The car sat for about a year and the filter got all clogged up and had stalling issues. Once I depressurized and re-pressurized tank it cleared up the block in the filter and it ran fine. I replaced the filter. I replaced the pump and relay purely because of age.

 

well, then, its almost always the last place you were 'fixing'
or something related.

 

The in tank pump is dead. Nothing at all. So I'm replacing that, however, no I have another issue.

I accessed the tank through the trunk (wagon). The connections and that retaining nut thing were absolutely in bad shape, the one hose connection pretty much snapped off just by touching it, I'm concerned that's bad, an I going to be able to replace that connection??

I decided to drop the tank to be able to work on it easier (I have the time too), is there an easy way to disconnect the fill pipe? The Haynes manual just says to remove bolts and disconnect but doesn't tell how to disconnect the pipe. I see where it connects but can't get to it to get it off and more importantly get it back together later.

UPDATE: got the tank out, got the retainer ring off, the whole top (outside) part of the sending unit is toast, two of the tubes literally fell off when I touched them, the wire connector was deteriorated too, which would explain goofy fuel issues. So fuel sending unit here we come, should clear up the fuel gauge issues too, lol.

 

Just a word of caution - if you buy the aftermarket sending unit, check out all the wiring prior to installation. They are notorious for being improperly wired. The last one I purchased had the black connector wired backwards (fuel sending wire and fuel pump wires reversed). Compare the wires with the ones on the unit you removed and make the appropriate corrections.

Of course if you buy the OEM unit (like $100 more) you can avoid the wiring issues entirely.

Good luck.

 

I personally refrain from changing things that are not broken. Too many times overloving a car by throwing parts at it gets one in a lot of trouble.

When something begins to act up it is much better to find the cause and fix that ONE THING rather than the shotgun approach with the idea that a "new part must be better than the old part", what can it hurt? Many "professionals" do it because they get paid to swap parts and then tell you that, yeah, "there were ten things making the car run bad"... No, there is rarely more that ONE thing! Sometimes that one thing after time may affect more things but if you address the right thing as soon as it starts to act up, you'll be alright...

These days especially, with all the super cheap parts on the market, replacing existing OEM parts with the new stuff adds another potential for trouble--just because a part is new doesn't mean it is OK...

 

Aye, what Lev said goes in spades. Professionals kind of HAVE to throw parts at a problem because with today's $100/hour shop rates, proper troubleshooting is prohibitive. If you got a bill for 4 hours labor and a $40 part, you'd freak, no?

and yeah, the original parts the car was made with are far higher quality then the vast majority of replacement parts, sometimes even the VOlvo 'blue box' stuff is lower quality now, sigh. Definitely use Volvo seals and stuff, but I'm usually OK with using Bosch/etc "OE" electrics and such, Bougicord spark plug wire sets, etc. parts from the likes of scan-tech are all over the place in quality. the stuff the mail order companies sell branded "Uro" and such are almost always junk.

 

Ok, update.

Success as far as the fuel pump goes. Replaced the in-tank and finally got some noise (good noise), yeah for me.

Still won't start but drained the tank so filling it up by hand with the 5 gallon can, how much should be in before it should start? I would like a gallon but with loss of fuel pressure and such for so long should it need more?

Also, I think the battery is dying, all the dash lights are dimming after trying to crank and the crank is weak.

 

Yeah all fixed!! Back on the road, finally!

 

Sweet!

 

Yes, finally!! bought it at auction in May, just finally getting it on the road. Just have to tweak the idle a little to get it running a little better. Gas gauge works again too, bonus!