Car won't start

[poke08]

Yesterday morning I was out driving my car and everything ran fine. I shut it off and went back to drive it maybe 3-4 hours later and as soon as I started it, it shut off. At first I thought I stalled it so I turned it on again, and it shut off again.

Figured the battery was dying since I had a problem with it a couple weeks ago so I tried jumping it, which didn't work. After hours of trying to figure out what it is, Matt (Mbeckel) suggested that it could be the fuel pump that failed. I also noticed that when the key is position 2, the fuel sending isn't.

Just want to make sure that it's the fuel pump for sure before I go out spending money on the parts. The most recent maintenance done were the cooling system overhaul and headers last week.

Thanks in advance!

[ELCID86]

FP would be my guess.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=929501

[TheFinanceGuy]

I'd go pump, or a really dead battery.

[poke08]

Alright thanks! I'll go ahead and replace that and see what happens then. Pretty positive that's the issue since it's the original pump I believe.

[Johnmadd]

I say pump also, but first, as you are cranking it put the gas pedal down about half way and see if that helps.

[poke08]

I say pump also, but first, as you are cranking it put the gas pedal down about half way and see if that helps.

Tried that yesterday and it didn't work.

[slater]

is your battery original? can do you have a voltmeter you can check the battery with?

to be honest, at this age it's probably good to replace both battery and fuel pump. both are easy jobs.

peter

[poke08]

is your battery original? can do you have a voltmeter you can check the battery with?

to be honest, at this age it's probably good to replace both battery and fuel pump. both are easy jobs.

peter

The battery isn't original and the last time I checked it, it was good.

[slater]

The battery isn't original and the last time I checked it, it was good.

worth it to check again - would take you 1min with a voltmeter. :)

peter

[poke08]

I checked it using the OBC and the voltage was around 12 when the car was off. That's normal right?

Just got done installing the fuel pump and she fired up. Gonna drive around and make sure everything else is good now.

[LivesNearCostco]

Wow I was going to weigh in with some marginally useful opinion, but you already got the new FP and fixed the problem. So congratulations and good work!

I think the answer is that a healthy batter should show at least 12.4 to 12.6V when resting and 13-14V with the motor running. Maybe below 12.2V resting is time for to check the electrolyte levels (if not a maintenance free battery) or replace it.

[ELCID86]

Wow I was going to weigh in with some marginally useful opinion, but you already got the new FP and fixed the problem.

Not yet. Right?


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[poke08]

Wow I was going to weigh in with some marginally useful opinion, but you already got the new FP and fixed the problem. So congratulations and good work!

I think the answer is that a healthy batter should show at least 12.4 to 12.6V when resting and 13-14V with the motor running. Maybe below 12.2V resting is time for to check the electrolyte levels (if not a maintenance free battery) or replace it.

Thanks! I'll check the running levels but I'll probably end up changing the battery in a few weeks.



Not yet. Right?


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

The new fuel pump solved the issue.

[ELCID86]

Thanks! I'll check the running levels but I'll probably end up changing the battery in a few weeks.




The new fuel pump solved the issue.

Ahh I missed that. Glad to hear it. Pretty easy job, right?


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[poke08]

Ahh I missed that. Glad to hear it. Pretty easy job, right?


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

Yup, pretty straight forward. I helped my brother change his fuel pump in his Evo ix last week so I figured it'd be relatively similar.

[Johnmadd]

You good bro!

[johnrando]

Good news.

[slater]

I checked it using the OBC and the voltage was around 12 when the car was off. That's normal right?

Just got done installing the fuel pump and she fired up. Gonna drive around and make sure everything else is good now.

nice, that was quick, good work!

peter

[wsmeyer]

I checked it using the OBC and the voltage was around 12 when the car was off. That's normal right?

Just got done installing the fuel pump and she fired up. Gonna drive around and make sure everything else is good now.

A brand new battery will read 12.6V. As the battery ages the internal resistance increases so the voltage across the terminals will decrease. It happens at a pretty steady rate so you can gauge the health of a battery pretty accurately by just measuring the voltage. Mine was down to 11.7V when I replaced mine and at that point it was cranking significantly slower than normal in the morning.

[poke08]

Thanks guys! I'll check the running voltage now and see what it says.

[wsmeyer]

Running voltage should be 13.6V - 14.0V

[poke08]

Running voltage should be 13.6V - 14.0V

Looks like the battery is in good shape. It read 14.2 with the car on. I'll have to dig through my records to see when it was last changed.

[wsmeyer]

With the engine running you're measuring the output of the alternator. You measure the voltage of the battery with the engine off and it will be more accurate if you let it rest for at least an hour first.