Car cranks but no start

[erickhoyos]

Back at it again with my pos, today as I was driving my car decided to shut off on me again for no apparent reason. I had a post a while ago where my car did this the first time but it was for the clutch slave cylinder. Back then the car didn’t crank or go into gear but this time the car goes into gear and reverse, and it cranks but it’s like it wants to start but then abruptly dies and goes back to just cranking. What could be wrong?

[erickhoyos]

UPDATE: after a bit of investigating I found out that the fuel pump fuse burnt out so I replaced it with a higher amp fuse but that one burnt out too. I replaced it again and the car ran and drove fine for about a mile and then it felt like it was going into limp mode since it was losing power all of a sudden and then it sputtered and died. Oddly enough the fuse didn’t burn out again, so does that mean the fuel pump is going out?

[Halftim3]

Fuel pump IMO. How many miles on the original?
Mine lasted about 165k, sputtered and died and then it only cranks, luckily in my driveway. Replaced the fuel pump with an OE and works fine.

[erickhoyos]

Fuel pump IMO. How many miles on the original?
Mine lasted about 165k, sputtered and died and then it only cranks, luckily in my driveway. Replaced the fuel pump with an OE and works fine.

My car has about 170k miles, fuel pump most likely hasn’t been touched at all.

[eacmen]

UPDATE: after a bit of investigating I found out that the fuel pump fuse burnt out so I replaced it with a higher amp fuse but that one burnt out too.

Dude, NEVER increase the amperage of a fuse. The wiring can only handle a certain amperage. Fuses just don't blow for no reason, I have replaced many fuses, but all of them eventually failed again until the root cause was fixed.

Could be a short in the wire, or the pump itself is trying to draw more current than designed.

Did the new fuse blow immediately after installing it? If so I would lean more toward a short to the chassis than the pump. Inspect the wiring for bad insulation.

If it took a bit to blow, then could be the pump failing.

[Icecream]

Dude, NEVER increase the amperage of a fuse.

Unbelievable people still do this, on a fuel pump no less.

[dukeofchen]

When it comes to fuel pump issues it could be either the pump itself, the fuse, or the fuel pump relay (in the trunk). Based on what I've read when dealing with it myself, issues in one area can have cascading effects, e.g. failed / failing fuel pump could fry the relay, or the fuse, etc.

In my case (also around 170k miles) I believe my pump failed, but in the process fried the relay, so I had to replace both. At your mileage if you don't know its age, replacing the pump is a good idea, then if it's still no good you'll need to swap out the relay as well.

Tip when replacing the fuel pump – make sure your tank is at least half empty before you replace, siphon out as much as you need to get it there.

[antknee]

yeah big no-no on going bigger fuse. You'll end up with shorts in your wiring, possible fire. NEVER should be done.

[heinzboehmer]

+1000000 to the comments on never going to a bigger fuse and +1 to the suspicion of the issue being a dead pump

[erickhoyos]

Dude, NEVER increase the amperage of a fuse. The wiring can only handle a certain amperage. Fuses just don't blow for no reason, I have replaced many fuses, but all of them eventually failed again until the root cause was fixed.

Could be a short in the wire, or the pump itself is trying to draw more current than designed.

Did the new fuse blow immediately after installing it? If so I would lean more toward a short to the chassis than the pump. Inspect the wiring for bad insulation.

If it took a bit to blow, then could be the pump failing.

The first time I changed it, it took like 10 seconds for the fuse to blow. Second time it took like 10 min before the car died but it didn’t blow out.

I only had 30 amp and higher fuses since I used up all my other 20 amp fuses and didn’t have my spare box with me at the time. I was only going to use it to get home which was a short distance away. Just letting everyone know.

[sapote]

The first time I changed it, it took like 10 seconds for the fuse to blow. Second time it took like 10 min before the car died but it didn’t blow out.

I only had 30 amp and higher fuses since I used up all my other 20 amp fuses and didn’t have my spare box with me at the time. I was only going to use it to get home which was a short distance away. Just letting everyone know.

It could be that the aging pump drawing too high current. Can you use the hidden display mode to display the left and right fuel tanks remaining volume. If the left tank is much more than the right side then this indicates the pump is weak.

[erickhoyos]

Update, I changed the fuel pump and the car starts like new

[Will]

Update, I changed the fuel pump and the car starts like new

Thanks for updating the thread. Glad you got the problem resolved. 👍