Wow that’s cool that you are familiar with this kind of issue. I guess it really is a thing with these vans. Yes I have replaced my fuel pump and filter very recently. I have also tried banging on the fuel tank with no luck. I got my van to start this morning and got it out of the parking lot I’m so relieved. I’m not sure if it was just letting it sit over night, but the battery has also gotten slightly low (12.3) from all the cranking so I charged it up a little with another car and bam it started up. I do want to take out my fuse box and examine it but I haven’t been able to track down a replacement one on the internet because my van is pretty old (1997) so I’m worried about damaging this one. I am a total amateur but I’m very willing to try replacing the fuse box. I’ve figured out a lot of other stuff by working on this van so I believe I could get it done. I see how to remove all the bolts that are holding it in but I’m not sure how to unclip those two wiring bundles that are going into it. Do you have any insight on that? Thanks for the reply!
Just out of curiosity, did you change the fuel pump relay? it could be working intermittently.
Yeah tried multiple relays
Does anyone have ideas on an alternate fuse block I could use for my van? I was thinking c/k1500 from a scrapyard since those are more common.
You say above you are measuring battery voltage to the input of the fuel pump relay. That’s a good start. Do you measure close to the same voltage at the relay’s output, which goes to power the fuel pump, when the relay is switched on? Based on the intermittent nature of the symptom, I’m guessing the voltage powering the fuel pump is on the low side of what it should be (close to battery voltage), caused by a higher than normal resistance somewhere between the fuel pump relay and the fuel pump. A high resistance problem could show up also if there is an obstruction in the fuel line from the pump to the fuel injection system. This would cause the fuel pump to draw more current that it normally would . Has fuel filter been replaced recently?
I’ m guessing the higher than normal resistance in the circuit is occurring in the fuse box. I had that same problem years go with a VW Rabbit. Sometimes it is possible to keep a defective fuse box in service, and just wire around the problematic area. (This isn’t something a car-repair novice should attempt on their own, needs someone with auto-electric expertise.)
I think before you make any assumptions, one of the things you should do is use your dmm to measure proper power and ground directly at the fuel pump with key in #2 position
You can do this alone, provided you can get to the connectors
There’s no need to have anyone turning the key while you take your measurements with the dmm
Your engine has a fuel pressure test port, which is accessible once you remove the doghouse
Have you measured fuel pressure when the problems occur?
Thanks for your reply and sorry for the late response. I haven’t measured the relays output yet, I want to do that tomorrow. I have confirmed that I have power at all times on one pin of my relay holder on the fuse box. I’m trying to figure out exactly which wires I need to check on my fuel pump, it has a 4 wire clip coming out of it. I got a wiring diagram from someone today so hopefully that will help. And yeah I’m not too confident about wiring around the issue, hopefully it doesn’t come to that. I have recently replaced my fuel filter and then checked it again after that and I don’t think I have any blockages in my lines. I also looked inside my gas tank at one point and it didn’t look dirty or anything.
Thanks for your reply. I definitely want to do that test asap. There are 4 wires coming from my fuel pump so I need to figure out which ones to test. I’m trying to study a wiring diagram right now to figure it out. I know that my relay only activates for a few seconds when I first turn my ignition on so I’m wondering what that means for the testing. Usually my fuel pump runs for a few seconds and then turns off when it’s working.
There is a factory test port on most under the hood. Usually green. Used to fire up the pump to test it.
Interesting do you mean like a Schrader valve? Or something else? I recently replaced my fuel pump and I don’t think it’s the fuel pump itself I think it’s an electrical/ wiring issue that is causing the pump to not get power
On this vehicle, it’s most readily accessible if you remove the doghouse
An electrical connector.