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Fuel Pump, no power

Mr_Buddha

CEG'er
Joined
Sep 8, 2010
Messages
127
Location
Southern, MN
Ok, I cleaned my UIM/LIM last weekend. Ended up hydrolocking one of the cylinders with carb cleaner.

Now thankfully, my battery & starter were weak, and I bent nothing! I fixed the hydrolock, changed the oil and now I can get the engine to crank all day long, but not fire. I verifed spark by pulling a plug and watching it spark.

I found that I am not hearing the fuel pump prime when I turn the key. I found the inertia switch was tripped, so I reset it. I can feel the relay flipping if I have someone turn the key to start while I hold my hand on the relay. I checked for voltage at he inertia switch and found it to be a normally open circuit? it only allows 12V through it when the button is pushed.

I cannot find a accurate electrical diagram on this circuit. Can anyone help point me in the right direction to look please?
 
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I tried to test voltage at the fuel pump itself. The only wire I found that had 12V was orange/White and was one of the 2 together( there is a row of 3 and a row of 2 connectors)

Does this sound right? am I checking this incorrectly?
 
Cleaned my upper & lowers while they were off the motor. Takes just a few minutes.

In my case, the same purple wire/orange stripe you found at the inertia switch runs along under the driver side sill back to the fuel pump. This is your fuel pump power source. The underhood relay (off the top of my head, maybe marked #9?) switches it from ground to 12v when the key is turned on. The other wires are constant ground (black) and fuel gauge (the orange/white) and I have a 4th black/blue stripe that is also ground, then again, I have a return fuel system. Try swapping out the fuel pump relay with another brown relay next to it -- I think its neighbor is for your low beams???. There is also a fuse for the fuel pump right next to the relay, but can't recall but think its blue.

If you've swapped relay and checked the fuse and still no good, you will need to remove the relay and with a volt meter (or test light i guess) probe the 4 connection sockets at the fuel pump relay. The PCM controls the relay. Might also check to see if your fuel rail is already pressurized at the schrader valve on the fuel rail. Or remove the inline fuel filter located under the car below the rear passenger door area.


In my situation, my PCM is only sending 7.4 volts to the fuel pump relay socket. So no matter what relay I put in, 7.4v comes out to the pump, which wants 12v. So I ran a 'switched 12V' jumper wire to the "input" side of the interia switch, and the car runs great. No codes, no CEL.
 
I am not sure what relay you all are talking about swapping, since there is no other relay in the power distribution box that is the same rating as the fuel pump relay. Mine is black, other relays in there are green and yellow with differing part #'s.

Fuse is good, I tested it with my multimeter to make sure.

Problem is I have no wire color at my fuel pump that matches my inertia switch wiring colors.

Humor me for a second. On the fuel pump wiring plug, there is a row of 2 plugs and a row of 3. The grounds are in the row of 3. I am seeing +12V on a white/black wire in that row of 3 when the key is turned.

Am I correct in assuming I have voltage at the pump then? I have a new fuel pump on it's way.
 
I am making an assumption your 2000 returnless pump has to be wired different than my 98 return style. I have a 98 SVT and 98 SE Sport V6 and they are identicle. Sorry for leading you down the wrong path re: relays. Your box is different.

You should see 12V on atleast 2 wires when the key is turned on - one being the fuel gauge + and the other being the pump power supply. They are ground until the key is switched to ON position. I've read that when the key is first turned on, the fuel pump power supply should pulse 12V for the first 3 seconds (IIRC 3 seconds) None the less, you should have 2 hot wires with the key on. If your fuel gauge is working, then thats your white/black wire. Remove the fuel pump and bench test it. My harness @ the pump has a fourth wire, black with blue stripe that is also a ground.

I've never heard of an inerta switch going bad, but its possible?? You said you found yours tripped? Bypass it --- remove both wires that attach to it and connect them together. Then see if you have 12V on an additional wire at the pump. If not, the issue has to be between the inertia switch and the pump, which is 5 ft of wiring along the drivers side sill and under the corner of the back seat.
 
The inertia was tripped, not sure why. But it tested good still.

OK, I DO have +12V on two wires when the key is turned, so my pump is dead for certain.

Thanks for the help verifying! Will replace once the new one arrives.
 
Awesome!

In troubleshooting mine, I read on a few sites that the connectors on in-tank pumps are corroding as the result of ethanol / E85 fuel. I think its far fetched (by haters) and coincidental at best, but I'm no scientist. Some have said they removed what appeared to be dead pumps, cleaned the power and ground connectors and reinstalled perfectly working pumps. Contour return-style pumps do have these exposed connectors, but I didn't observe any corrosion on either of my cars, and have been using 10% ethanol for a few years here in the midwest. I was fortunate that I could access the pumps on both cars via under the back seat bottom and no dropping of the tank was required.
 
If the gas you put into the car is corroding connectors outside of the fuel tank, then they must have a leak. There is no reason fuel should ever touch the electrical connector.

Anyone know how to remove a 2000 fuel line from the pump? Haynes manual only covers the <2000 pumps. It looks like 2 side clips, but they don't seem to push in far enough to remove the line.
 
Thanks, now I have to find a new clip(piece with the 4 tabs), only one tab is left on mine.

Ford claims they don't sell these clips, yet I have bought them for a dozen or so Nissan cars in the past. Anyone know where I can get one?
I am fairly sure these are just like the ones on older 300zx cars. Once the line is off, the part with the 4 tabs can be pulled out of the line and replaced.

or

Is it JY bound for the end of the hose and splice it back together?



Side note: If you need a fuel pump, order it now! Ford and bosch are both on over a 100 business day back-order right now. Even tousley can't get one.
 
Fuel does indeed touch the electrical supply wires INSIDE the fuel tank. Replacement pumps often have a piggyback connector to make one pump fit more than one model of car. Those connectors lie in fuel also with no ill effect at least for a while.
 
I finally got that fuel line off, and swapped out the fuel pump. I was able to save that line. The clip with the 4 tabs is not removable on the ford fuel lines, it is on many foreign cars I have worked on.

Had air in the fuel system after the pump swap. I had an old timer give me a simple solution to that though. Pull the spark plugs and spin the starter two times, 15 seconds each time with a 30 second pause between tries. Let it air dry for an hour or so, put the plugs back in and she fired right up.

Thanks for the advice & help here. It always sucks having more than one issue at a time. I am just glad the car runs again.
 
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