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Fuel pump sometimes doesn't work

J

jhow

New CEG'er
Joined
Sep 29, 2014
Messages
5
Location
north carolina
1998 Mystique LS (V6) 141,000 miles.

Been having trouble cranking. Usually can't hear the fuel pump turn when it gives trouble. We got a used pump from the local pull a part but the trouble remains. The wires looked good but the wires under the hood are a mess as usual with these cars. The car runs excellent when it runs and it cranks ninety percent of the time.

Where can we go next? Does the fuel pump get power from anywhere under the hood or does it come straight from the computer?
 
check the connetions at the pump itself, my pigtail was corroded and shot, i replaced it and haven't had a problem since.
 
X2, and there is a fuel pump relay that can give trouble too.
 
There's a fuel pump relay in the underhood fuse box, the legend on the inside of the box cover may identify which relay is which, the owner's manual will have a legend of the relays and fuses as well. You could try substituting one of the headlamp relays for the fuel pump relay.
 
Thanks everyone. Finally got a chance to look at it yesterday but it cranked on the first try before I could troubleshoot (I hate sneaky problems like this). The pigtail looks great but it cleaned it up anyway. Also switched out the headlight relay with the fuel pump relay. After all this the fuel pump ran every time i turned the switch on and the car made several town trips. Next up I've read to take a look at the crank sensor.


Any one have a reference for changing out the wiring harness? We have our eyes on one from the local pull a part that looks like a good recall harness but i don't know where to start.
 
Still having a problem with it. The fuel pump spins up 90% of the time but the other day we had to ditch it and take the other car to work. When we got home the pump spun up and the car cranked just fine and has ever since. Really frustrating when you can't troubleshoot a ghost problem like this. Anyone have a wiring diagram?
 
Above I should have probably added that pump coming on erratically is often a sign of impending pump failure itself. They often begin to do that first. It's having problems getting started, soon it won't move at all.

Just went through that with a Focus, only the pump in that case mostly always started up, just dragging to prevent full pressure and motor wouldn't run right at first then straightened out after maybe 30 seconds. Finally pump just quit coming on at first regularly then I knew what it was, by then it locked down for the final count. Change pump, life is good again.
 
amc49 said:
Above I should have probably added that pump coming on erratically is often a sign of impending pump failure itself. They often begin to do that first. It's having problems getting started, soon it won't move at all.

Just went through that with a Focus, only the pump in that case mostly always started up, just dragging to prevent full pressure and motor wouldn't run right at first then straightened out after maybe 30 seconds. Finally pump just quit coming on at first regularly then I knew what it was, by then it locked down for the final count. Change pump, life is good again.
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We replaced the fuel pump with one we pulled from a junkyard car. We didn't notice any change in the behavior but it could be possible we have two pumps with the same condition.
 
I just had to replace mine last month in my 99 contour. The darn thing was giving me problems for about a year and decided to finally go out on my while at work when I was just getting ready to have a nice 4 days off right before the new year.

If it was cold it didn't like to start so easily. I would have to turn the key to the accessory, listen for it, then start the car after it stopped humming. If it wouldn't start up, I'd have to let it set for a good 15-30 minutes before trying again before I could hear the pump motor.

What made things worse was when it was made. I guess they didn't make very many during that time frame so it made it hard as hell trying to find the whole fuel pump assembly kit.
 
maybe you were looking in the wrong place..? the fuel pump/fuel pump assembly was generally the same for all contours.. base and SVT.. so it should be a readily available item to procur.
 
I've been through a couple of pumps in my '99 (return style) CSVT. The factory pump failed at 95K miles, I put in a BATinc pump, which was dead at 109K miles due to crappy brush holder design, see the postmortem picture.


The BATinc pumps were imported by somebody called World Trading Surplus Parts, branded as PEFP (Performance Electric Fuel Pump), with Olive Green colored paint. I suspect they are of Chinese manufacture. If BAT is still selling this pump, I can't recommend it.

More pics:
http://s301.photobucket.com/user/gmo...?sort=9&page=1

The second pump was a Bosch from Advance Auto, Advance's part number 69131 with a 68017 filter sock, about $130 out the door per the receipt. Warranty requires replacing the fuel filter as well, so just buy one of those, Purolator F65455. It's been running fine since late 2011.

Or get the Bosch pump kit at the link from the post above by jeffsvisions, better price than Advance.
http://www.carid.com/bosch/in-tank-e...FcEWHwodiB0AIQ

Your money and time are obviously your own, but I wouldn't put a used fuel pump in any vehicle I needed to depend on. The factory pump failed far enough from home to cost me a $130 flat bed tow, the BAT pump failed in the garage, thankfully.

EDIT: Finding the entire fuel pump module (mounting plate, filter and fuel level sender) is getting very difficult for these old vehicles, and when you do find it, they're Gawd-awful expensive. Just get a replacement pump, the Bosch kits have everything you need to replace just the pump and re-use the old assembly.
 
I'm not big on a junkyard used pump either, good way to get burned, the ethanol exposure often makes them fail way ahead of time.

If you want your pump to last then quit running close to empty on fuel, that alone is half the wear in them. Keep plenty of fuel in tank and they last much longer.
 
I regularly ran low on gas on my suburban years ago and broke down on a trip. Cost I won't say. Always above 1/4 tank for all vehichles.Just my opinion
 
It's the major reason why the OEM went from bare fuel pump to a module that holds fuel right at pump. The public was killing the car companies on warranties by destroying the fuel pumps en masse.....................now you get $15 worth of plastic plus a $40 pump that costs you $400 for the part. You make trouble for them, they WILL get back at you. Like the new idiot light type temperature sensors that do not read real world temps at all. Same thing.
 
jeffsvisions said:
Sounds like the junk car one is also on its way out. you can get new ones on EBay for $15 or from here for $60 http://www.carid.com/bosch/in-tank-e...FcEWHwodiB0AIQ not worth putting in a used one.
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There's a cut off date for 98's that's probably when the fuel system changed over from return to returnless type. I have an early 98 (built in 97) and there's a different Bosch number (67097) and of course, CARID doesn't have it. The cross reference listing I have has 7 other possibilities so the hunt continues. I think I should also have a new fuel sending unit as my gas gauge has been getting worse in measuring how much fuel is actually in the tank.
 
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