Went to start my 1999 Expedition last week and it would turn over forever, but wouldn't start. Had to have it towed to a shop and they replaced fuel pump for $531. Said they weren't getting any pressure reading at all. Went to take it home after this repair and wouldn't start again in their parking lot. So after they toyed around with it for another day they replaced the transponder and it has run fine since. Do these transponders just quit working, and if so would this have shut off the fuel system( including the fuel pump)? Did they just soak me with an unnecessary bill of $541?
I recently heard that 40% of Americans don’t graduate from high school. Many of them work repairing cars. They did their best, but the previous repair was unnecessary.
I’ve never heard of a transponder in the Expedition fuel system. I still don’t know what they’re talking about. Might this just be some borderline sensor? After all, they did drive the vehicle from the stall to its parking location.
I don’t think you got deliberately rooked. The guys made the obvious repair and it seemed to work. Maybe there is no good way to test the electronic mystery gadget directly. Let it go; your new fuel pump will last another 150,000 miles.
I imagine it is lost in translation. Believe 99 is the year of the returnless fuel system. Fuel pressure is monitored and a variable voltage from an electronic module is applied to the fuel pump.
Sounds like something was cutting off the power to the fuel pump. It could also have been a defective cut off switch that shuts down power to the pump when the vehicle gets jolted from an accident.
You probably did not need the fuel pump, but I wouldn’t say that the repair was completely unneeded. Your fuel pump would likely have given out before too long. Think of the replacement as preventative maintenance. It is an expense that could realistically happen at any time after 150,000 miles.