I have difficulty restarting my Ford Taurus after I shut off the engine for only a short perid of time (less than one hour). Usually I need to wait for about two hours or longer, and it will restart. Two days ago, it was towed, and my mechanic hooked it up with the machine and tried to get a diagnosis but could get nothing, but the fuel did not come out, either. He said the fule pump needed to be replaced. The car sat at the garage overnight, and everything was fine again the next day. He said it’s weird, and the coil temperature is ok. He also said it’s possible that the fuel pump is at its last leg, and sometimes it works, but sometimes does not, and it has nothing to do with the coil temperature. Any ideas or suggestions what I should do? Thanks. Lee
Replace the fuel pump.
If it won’t start,try spraying carburetor cleaner in the intake manifold through a vacuum port. If it wants to start it ,then you have a fuel problem. It can be a relay or fuel pump. Is the fuel pump tied into a oil pressure switch? Install a fuel pressure gauge or pay to have this done. Sometimes starters don’t work until they cool down.The starter motor is working, right? Do you have a way to check the crank angle sensor? Make sure you are getting spark. Some cars have to produce spark before the computer will open the injectors to feed fuel
Thank you for your quick response. I want to take the car to my machanic tomorrow. Do you think they can do the diagnosis and find the problem when the car is running fine? right now there is no problem, but I did have problems three hours ago, and had to wait for two hours before it ran again. I am young, and do not know the car, and really can’t answer your questions. Thanks. Lee
another question: if the fuel pump is dead, it will not come back alive again, am I right? if it does come back as in my case, then most probably, the problem is not with the pump, but with the relay? or some other things? thanks gain for help. Lee
What year Taurus is this?
The fact that fuel does not come out of the fuel line does not mean the pump is bad and the pump circuitry has a number of controls to operate it.
1998
Just wanted to make sure that this Taurus was not an earlier TFI model, although the pump controls are about the same. The pump relay is controlled by the computer which takes a signal from the ignition module, etc. so a hiccup along that line could cause the pump to be inoperative.
A fuel pump can be a hit and miss deal. It can work fine for a day, week, or month, and then hiccup and go dead momentarily.
Assuming there are no codes and before going to the expense of replacing the pump a current draw test could be performed on the pump with an ammeter.
If the current being drawn by the pump is excessively high or fluctuating quite a bit that could be a sign of a failing pump.
My memory is hazy but I’m thinking 7 or 8 amps as normal; 10 and up would be shaky. A partially clogged fuel filter can also cause the current reading to be artificically high but a clogged filter is also rough on a pump and shortens its life.
Thanks for the response. does it mean the current being drawn can still be abnormal with a failing pump even the car is running fine momentarily? Thnks.
sorry, another question. I am planning to take the car to the garage tomorrow. Do you think they can get the right diagnosis when the car is running fine like now ?
Yes, a car can run fine with a failing fuel pump and with an abnormal current draw. As to whether they get the right diagnosis I have no idea. With modern cars not everything is always black and white. There’s some gray areas involved. Unfortunately.
I’ve got a couple of Fords here at my house I could normally check and refresh my memory about current draw but they’re parked outside and the sleet has started with the a foot or so of snow predicted tonight and tomorrow. So much for the first day of spring.
An an example of failing pumps, a few years back my daughter complained that her Mitsubishi was stalling and dying at times. No codes present, fuel pressure normal, and even the pump current draw was acceptable. I kept her car for a week and used it daily with not a problem. One day I headed out of town (100 degrees outside of course) and about 50 miles from the house on a back road it quit me. It was determined to be the fuel pump from a roadside diagnosis and about one sweating hour later it started right up and ran fine all the way to the house.
At least it was diagnosed and the pump replacement cured this problem.
Thank you so much for help. I spent most of my Sat at another garage,and unfortunately, each time I gave it a shot, the car ran smoothly. The mechanic said there is no way he can get a diagnosis when the car runs. He says another option is that next time when the car does not run, ask the second person to use a rubber hammer to knock the gas tank. If the engine fires up, it means the fuel pump has problem, and needs to be replaced. Does it make sense? Thanks. Lee