Could my fuel pump have died????

[dbailey]

Hey guys my 2000 Alero won't start and am wondering if anybody has had their fuel pump die on your 3.4 V6? Mine has 176,000 miles on it and its the original fuel pump. A couple of months ago it would crank fine but wouldn't start. Changed the fuel filter and that fixed it. The filter had around 25,000 miles on it so thought maybe it had some trash in it and some water and wrote it off after it started and has run fine since. Now all of a sudden with NO warning it is doing the exact same thing. Cranks over fine but won't start. Changed the fuel filter again just in case and NOT! It did start eventually but sputtered and wouldn't stay running. Now it won't even do that. Sound familiar to anybody? If not guess I'll have to tow it to a garage tomorrow. Fuel pumps are like $250 JUST for the pump and I am not setup to drop the tank to replace it but am not real certain that is what it is and what an expensive mistake that would be if it something else. Any ideas/suggestions before I take the hit and tow it to a mechanic? Thanks gents.

[kwhauck]

it isn't that hard to change the fuel pump, just time consuming, but to check your pump, just take off the filter like you are going to change it, and have somebody hit the ignition to make sure you are getting good flow from the pump up to that point.......

[dbailey]

it isn't that hard to change the fuel pump, just time consuming, but to check your pump, just take off the filter like you are going to change it, and have somebody hit the ignition to make sure you are getting good flow from the pump up to that point.......

Thanks for the suggestion. I stumbled upon an old thread where somebody was having the exact same issue and said it wound up being his ignition switch. That's really wierd! My pump makes the telltale sound that it is priming.

[dbailey]

Does this sound like it could be the ignition switch? I went back out and tried to start it and it sputters and almost starts then goes right back to cranking and no start. :cry:

[dbailey]

Been seeing some posts about the PASSLOC. I see some that say turn key to ACC and leave it on for 10 minutes and some that say turn key to ON and leave it on for 10 minutes. Anybody know for sure which it is? And what lights are supposed to be on in those positions? When I turn mine onto ACC only the Security light stays on. When I turn it to ON the Service Engine Soon and Security lights stay on. Anybody? Thanks.

[TdotAlero]

Been seeing some posts about the PASSLOC. I see some that say turn key to ACC and leave it on for 10 minutes and some that say turn key to ON and leave it on for 10 minutes. Anybody know for sure which it is? And what lights are supposed to be on in those positions? When I turn mine onto ACC only the Security light stays on. When I turn it to ON the Service Engine Soon and Security lights stay on. Anybody? Thanks.
It should be turned into ON position. And the security light should be on when you do it I think. But it's not the passlock. You wouldn't be able to crank the car with the passlock on.

[Redog]

You can hear the fuel pump turn on when you turn the key to "on"

You got 176,000 off the orginal pump?!?!?!? I'm jealous, I'm on pump number 4 with 116,200 miles

[TdotAlero]

I'm on the original pump at 146,000 miles :)

[Weazel]

You can hear the fuel pump turn on when you turn the key to "on"

You got 176,000 off the orginal pump?!?!?!? I'm jealous, I'm on pump number 4 with 116,200 miles

165 with the original... should I be worried?

[Nate's Alero]

165 with the original... should I be worried?

166 and still strong

[dbailey]

You can hear the fuel pump turn on when you turn the key to "on"

You got 176,000 off the orginal pump?!?!?!? I'm jealous, I'm on pump number 4 with 116,200 miles

Guess I should feel fortunate that I got as far as I did on the original. Like I tell my wife, you can't just put gas in 'em and drive 'em. If the fuel pressure test guage at Advance Auto didn't cost like $40 I'd buy one to verify its the pump and not the ignition cylinder. Guess I'm just gonna have to get it towed in the morning and hope a mechanic is honest and will tell me the truth as to why it qon't start. I assume since it'll start and either sputter or start and at 1,000 rpms right before it balances out and I think its gonna run, it dies, that it is just the fuel pump giving it its last ditch effort to pump.

Where you getting similar symptoms with yours when the pumps started dying?

[dbailey]

P.S. I do hear the pump prime itself everytime I turn the key to on.

[dbailey]

P.S. I do hear the pump prime itself everytime I turn the key to on.

[dbailey]

P.S. I do hear the pump prime itself everytime I turn the key to on.

[Ttop191]

quadruple post, I think that is a record

[dbailey]

quadruple post, I think that is a record

I know! I tried to add to the last one and got the "you gotta wait 30 sec to post again" comment after I hit submit a few times. Lesson learned. :lol:

[dbailey]

Well got it back. It was the fuel pump. $516 later! OUCH!!!! Kinda sorta was expecting it thoguh. Now I can't hear it run when it primes. Just turn the key on and no sound. Not really sure that it making a sound is normal. Wonder if when it started making the sound that it was starting its death march?

On another note, the mechanic said that they are positive that one thing that is contributing the destruction of fuel pumps is the ethanol that stations are putting in gas these days. Highly recommended putting something like Seafoam or that Lucas gas treatment in it every other month or so to flush out the gummy stuff that ethanol creates when it does what it does inside your fuel system and engine. Will do that for sure! Kinda sorta have all along quite honestly. Maybe that's part of how I got 176,000 miles out of the orginal pump. Hmmm.........

Well thanks guys for all the good info and hope some of this helps others that are looking for ideas as to why their car is doing the infamous "cranks but won't start" problem. Peace! :yahoo:

[alero_bmxer]

making a sound is what its supposed to do. ALL fuel pumps whine while they're running. are you sure you dont hear it? i can hear mine humming while im driving down the road.

[cherrington17]

ethanol doesn't create gummy build up... it removes it. :huh:

seafoam is a cleaner.. stronger then ethanol. your mechanic doesn't know what hes talking about. Tell him to take a class on chemistry.

[dbailey]

I've never heard my fuel pump running while driving ever. Has anyone else? I'd say that's really unusual. :eek:

As for the ethanol, he said that the gunk that it is cleaning recirculates and winds up gumming up with pump. Not the ethanol gumming it up but what the ethanol is removing. Hope that clarifies it. Apparently Seafoam must disolve that gummy gunk that ethanol does not disolve. Hmmm......:coolio:

[alero_bmxer]

you can hear the pump humming on my dads 2500 sierra van, my moms isuzu rodeo and my car. more on my car because i drive with thre larger rear seat down for my subs.

[dbailey]

Got word today from a friend of mine that ethanol slowly eats the seals in your engine. Anybody heard that before? I think that too was what the mechanic told me now that I think of it and why you need to run Lucas or Seafoam gas treatment to remove the gum from the seals. Hmmm....:eek:

[comanche]

Hi

Here's some more input on what happened with your car.

I'll relate a situation we had at school in our auto lab.

Customer complaint: Vehicle starts, runs for a few seconds, then dies.
Okay, here's what we did.
Check spark: After vehicle died, it still had spark.
Check fuel pressure: Vehicle fuel pressure is normal until 3-4 seconds after starting, when it totally drops and the car stalls.
Okay, that seems pretty obvious.
Check fuel lines, no kinks or noted problems.
GM knows their fuel pumps are so bad, that they put a fuel pump test port in the engine compartment.
We checked fuel pump amperage.
It went through the roof after the car started, until the engine died.
Obviously the pump is trying to push fuel past an obstruction.
Fuel filter is plugging up, sediment inside clogs the screens just after you start the vehicle.
Most shops would stop here. Nope.
Instructor demonstrated scope testing of the fuel pump.
On a 4 channel Modis lab scope, a normal condition fuel pump gives a bunch of nice ripples as the commutator bars move around. This one was crazy, all over the spectrum, up and down, really bad.
So it needed a fuel pump, and we installed one for the customer.
If we hadn't... per the instructor, the pump would have died within 2-3 weeks. Most shops would have just replaced the fuel filter.
Like in your case.

So... moral of the story... scope test your fuel pump if you have this kind of problem.

AND for the last post... don't run too much (more than prescribed) Lucas or Seafoam in your fuel... it is oil, and can coat your oxygen sensors, which messes up all kinds of things.

[dbailey]

Hi

Here's some more input on what happened with your car.

I'll relate a situation we had at school in our auto lab.

Customer complaint: Vehicle starts, runs for a few seconds, then dies.
Okay, here's what we did.
Check spark: After vehicle died, it still had spark.
Check fuel pressure: Vehicle fuel pressure is normal until 3-4 seconds after starting, when it totally drops and the car stalls.
Okay, that seems pretty obvious.
Check fuel lines, no kinks or noted problems.
GM knows their fuel pumps are so bad, that they put a fuel pump test port in the engine compartment.
We checked fuel pump amperage.
It went through the roof after the car started, until the engine died.
Obviously the pump is trying to push fuel past an obstruction.
Fuel filter is plugging up, sediment inside clogs the screens just after you start the vehicle.
Most shops would stop here. Nope.
Instructor demonstrated scope testing of the fuel pump.
On a 4 channel Modis lab scope, a normal condition fuel pump gives a bunch of nice ripples as the commutator bars move around. This one was crazy, all over the spectrum, up and down, really bad.
So it needed a fuel pump, and we installed one for the customer.
If we hadn't... per the instructor, the pump would have died within 2-3 weeks. Most shops would have just replaced the fuel filter.
Like in your case.

So... moral of the story... scope test your fuel pump if you have this kind of problem.

AND for the last post... don't run too much (more than prescribed) Lucas or Seafoam in your fuel... it is oil, and can coat your oxygen sensors, which messes up all kinds of things.

Thanks for the details! ;) I'm actually the one that changed the fuel filter hoping that was why it was dying. It actually helped the first time for almost 2 months. When it died again and I took it to the shop and they hooked up the test guage, they immediately knew the pump was dead. :cry: