- Fuel pressure drops when the vehicle is turned off, this might be normal, however, I do not see a return line for the fuel system.
2) My vehicle is a standard, so it will not start without pushing the clutch in. If I try to crank the engine without holding the clutch, the fuel pump should activate. However when I attached the testing kit, the fuel pump did not activate until I cranked the engine a few times. After that, the fuel pump activated EVERY time without the clutch pushed in with a constant 51psi of fuel pressure.
Something tells me a sensor, possibly the fuel pump regulator is bad. it could also be a air leak at the injector or fuel rail somewhere, if that is the case it would explain the drop in fuel pressure as soon as the vehicle is turned off.
any ideas?
Do you smell any fuel coming from the engine compartment when someone cranks the engine? If not, you probably don’t have a leak.
This is a common problem with small Japanese cars, so with my Civic, I use the following procedure when starting it up:
- Put the key in the ignition.
- Turn the key to the “on” position (but not the “start” position).
- Wait 15 seconds.
- Listen for the sound of the fuel pump. You might not be able to hear it, but if you do hear it, wait for it to shut off before you do anything else. If you don’t hear it, just wait 15 seconds.
- After 15 seconds have passed, or you hear the fuel pump shut off (whichever happens first), start the engine. It should start right up without extended cranking.
This is the way truck drivers start up their semis, so I was already in the habit of doing this.