Brent

Short story now details later. Driving to church on the freeway 70 mph, lost power, no throttle response, all gauges fine, pulled over and oil pressure dropped and I shut it down. I'm not even sure the car was running at that point, I was just freaking out. Got out looked everything over and appeared fine. Car will not start, turns over but no fire. Called Ed Scherer and he came out to help. We checked multiple things and changed out the fuel pump relay. It sounds like the FP is running.
Question: If you remove the nut over the end of the fuel rail where the fuel pressure gauge would go, how much fuel will run out? With the nut off and the engine trying to start, would not a bunch of fuel come out the end? I have a slow dribble of fuel coming out like a car with bad prostate. Just hoping it's the FP here and not something else.
Ed will post some nice pics of my shark on the flatbed soon. At least it's home now.

Ed Scherer

Well, since you mentioned it...



Since y'all are probably wondering what the newest member of our community looks like, here he is:




Had to take this next photo because the guy towing the boat wanted to know if Brent wanted to sell his car!

Brent declined. IMHO, this is a significant test of faith. Having passed this test, Brent, you are officially prepared to be a 928 owner.




Shark roadside assistance. Unfortunately, I let Brent down and he had to wind up having it flatbedded to his house.

(And note the cool Jag XKR that happened to pass by.)

Anyway, back to the problem that left Brent's vehicle stranded. I have strong suspicions about the main fuel pump. I know it's not the fuel pump relay or fuse. I was reluctant to swap LH brains, 'cuz Brent's has a custom map since it has a blower on it. And since it's got a custom map, I'm guessing it's no longer prone to the typical LH brain failure problem.

I wish I had a spare fuel pump... but I don't. Brent: I'd be willing to pull mine if you want to try a working one before you order a new one.

Glenn M

Brent,
I hope it is a fuel pump, do you have a the higher flow Bosch 044 pump?

Glenn

Brent

Thanks Ed for all the help. We'll get it fixed. You did forget to mention that is the old gal in the third pic. Still smiling even though she can't drive the shark now.

Glenn, not sure on the 044 pump I'll check and see.

Shouldn't fuel come flying out the end of the fuel rail?

White Lightnin'

Check for corrosion on the fuel pump fuse... it happened to me on a 20-hour drive from Dallas.

JWise

I would think if you have good pressure in the rails, fuel would come spraying out all over the place. At least it did on mine when Sean and I forgot to tighten one of the fittings on the front after replacing the fuel lines.

Brent-Good to see another beautiful 928 in these parts. Not too many of us here in the central plains. Hope you can make it to the 928OCIC in Dallas. Hang in there, I'm sure the fix will be relatively easy and the car will be a lot of fun going forward.

Mrmerlin

yes fuel will be pouring out the fuel rail with the pump energized.
jumper the relay connections

Ed Scherer

We already replaced the relay with a new one, so I'm 99.9% sure that it's the fuel pump itself (if the problem is fuel pump related; tested fuse and installed new relay, so wiring and fuel pump(s) itself is all that's left). Didn't hear it buzzing consistently either. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't.

I'd like to try it again with the cover off without traffic whizzing by (i.e., in a quiet environment).

It'd be good to try the old "reverse the polarity for a moment" trick on the fuel pump, too, to see if that'd resurrect it (assuming that it has failed).


P.S. Those relays are a bitch to remove (even with a relay removal tool, which I had along). Seems like they get welded into place after awhile. The fuel pump relay lives in a pretty bad location, too. Had to remove the LH/EZK brains to so I could get the removal tool on it.

jackson101

Sounds like the fuel pump. Be sure to check the tank strainer, mine came off and I pulled trash from the tank that my pump could not digest. I didn't quit, it just siezed up. It still sounded like it was running ( sorta ), it hummed a bit.

White Lightnin'

That's a good idea Ed. I thought of the corroded fuse blades because of my experience. The fuse was good and tested good (relay with integrated fuse test)... but had just enough corrosion to prevent solid, continuous contact. Some scrapes with a pocket knife brought it back.

Another idea I saw here on RL was to slightly bend the fuse blades to force contact. Not sure about the best way to do that without breaking it or causing a 'set' in the receptacle... I just use dielectric grease sparingly on the blades.

Brent

Glenn: the fuel pump was replaced 21 JUL '04, PNC FP-013. I'm sure the internal pump was done after that, but still looking. So what's up with the 044 pump?

WallyP

Can be the pump.

Can be the LH not turning the fuel pump relay on.

Testing for power on the 30 terminal in the relay socket, then jumpering from 30 to 87 would be my first suggestion.

There is a good reason for the recommendation that every 928 should have a relay jumper in the glove box...

IcemanG17

It sounds like pump to me......if the big nut at the end of the fuel rail is off....were talking SERIOUS gas everywhere...lots and lots.... Ask me how I know, you say....WELL I found out how much gas squirts everywhere when 2 injectors weren't clipped in properly and squirtered everywhere..... The garage stunk like gas for weeks.... :>(

John Speake

QUOTE: I was reluctant to swap LH brains, 'cuz Brent's has a custom map since it has a blower on it. And since it's got a custom map, I'm guessing it's no longer prone to the typical LH brain failure problem.
END QUOTE

Sorry, not true, changing the EPROM does not mean the LH cannot fail in the normal way.

In Brent's case, I agree that the problem is likely to be in the fuel pump area, but if the FPR is not being energised when cranking, it could be LH failure.

Is there spark ?

fraggle

Could be crank position sensor. The brain won't energize the pump unless it thinks the motor is turning over.