Fuel pump wont work

[Attackdaddy24]

While I was home on R and R from Afghanistan I was looking forward to driving my car.... but the battery had gone dead. I replaced the battery but I noticed my speakers wouldnt work and the fuel pump wouldnt come on. I found out that my fuel pump relay had burned out along with one wire. My amplifier for the stereo was toast as well. Not sure if they are related issues or not. I found out that my local dodge dealer is pretty much usless when it comes to any parts for this car. I got a new relay from x builders for a 50% mark up but I was happy none the less. After I fixed the relay and the wire I still had the same problem. So after a short period of thinking about killing myself I pulled out the fuel tank so I could test my pump. If I hook the pump up to my cordless drill battery it works like a champ. When I put the multi meter on the connector I get power for a short period when I turn the key on then it shuts off. When I try to start it I get constant power. So it seems like everything is working as advertised. I bought I new pump thinking mine was bad and it does the same thing. As soon as I plug in the pump it act like it isnt getting any power. I ran jumper wires from connector to multimeter ends and touched them to the pump. When I do this it shows no power going to the pump. I am at a total loss. I thought maybe it was the AEM but from what I read if it was bad I should lose power to other components and I am not. As far as I can tell everything works until the pump is installed. I also tried resetting the alarm just to make sure that wasn't it also. Any Ideas?

 

[Jack B]

While I was home on R and R from Afghanistan I was looking forward to driving my car.... but the battery had gone dead. I replaced the battery but I noticed my speakers wouldnt work and the fuel pump wouldnt come on. I found out that my fuel pump relay had burned out along with one wire. My amplifier for the stereo was toast as well. Not sure if they are related issues or not. I found out that my local dodge dealer is pretty much usless when it comes to any parts for this car. I got a new relay from x builders for a 50% mark up but I was happy none the less. After I fixed the relay and the wire I still had the same problem. So after a short period of thinking about killing myself I pulled out the fuel tank so I could test my pump. If I hook the pump up to my cordless drill battery it works like a champ. When I put the multi meter on the connector I get power for a short period when I turn the key on then it shuts off. When I try to start it I get constant power. So it seems like everything is working as advertised. I bought I new pump thinking mine was bad and it does the same thing. As soon as I plug in the pump it act like it isnt getting any power. I ran jumper wires from connector to multimeter ends and touched them to the pump. When I do this it shows no power going to the pump. I am at a total loss. I thought maybe it was the AEM but from what I read if it was bad I should lose power to other components and I am not. As far as I can tell everything works until the pump is installed. I also tried resetting the alarm just to make sure that wasn't it also. Any Ideas?

What about the ASD relay?

 

[Attackdaddy24]

Checked it also. I swapped it just to be sure and no change. I could also feel and hear it click on.

 

[Attackdaddy24]

I am starting to think nobody cares or nobody has any ideas.

 

[CEJ]

I'm assuming your Viper worked fine before you deployed. You get back from deployment (I'm glad you're home safely) and now there is damage to the electrical system and the battery is dead.

It sounds as if you had a mouse or two working on your electrical system. They can tear apart a wiring harness like nothing else I've seen. Have you noticed any evidence of mice near/in your Viper?

 

[jmasin]

I am starting to think nobody cares or nobody has any ideas.

Definitely the latter... I'd bet most here care to get you up and running again

I don't know this car that well, but with the dead battery/relay, don't you have to reset the security system with the key in the glove box? Maybe this is not allowing power to the pump? (apologize, again this car is relatively new to me but trying to generate thoughts/ideas).

My other thoughts on this are primarily focused on what went wrong to begin with. The car was in storage and the relay, wire and speakers were burned out/fried and a dead battery? To me the burned out relay seems like a symptom of a greater issue of some sort.

I'd start by checking ALL ground connections to the chassis for corrosion or poor connection. I don't know where they all are (sitting at work) but in any electrical problem my first rule of thumb is to check grounds.

You checked power at the pump connector and know it is bad. Start working backward. I don't have the manual in front of me, but I'd suspect there are connector pins close to the computer that power/signal the pump. Try to probe these to see if the computer simply isn't signaling the pump or if it is a hard defect in a wire somewhere.

Call JonB or Tator or one of the guys on here. They may have ideas too.

You seem to already possess good debug skills (i.e. already trying to probe connectors with a m-meter), some are lacking this I know you'll get to the bottom of it


OH, and one more thing, THANKS for serving.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Sorry if any of this is something you already know, but hope knowing the logic of what is supposed to happen helps.

There should always be 12V+ at the pump when the key is in run or start. However, the fuel pump only pumps when the ECU supplies the ground. During cranking, it is normal for the ECU to energize the pump for a few seconds, then de-energize it for several seconds, even if the key remains in the crank position. This is to prevent the engine from being flooded while cranking. When the key is in the run position (and the engine running) the pump should obviously run. If the ECU sees that (1) key is on, (2) engine is not running, then (3) it will de-energize the pump. This is a safety issue - you drive, you hit tree and stall engine, you don't want pump to keep running.

 

[Attackdaddy24]

As far as mice go... my wife would make us move if she saw one near our house. I tried to to the reset in the glove box but I am not sure if it worked so I did it with the fob. I get power to the injectors so I think the AEM is working. The only ground I saw is from the filler neck so that cant be what the pump uses since the pump is in the tank. So I used that point to test the ground and it stayed during the test. Unless I tested it wrong. That could be likely since I wasn't happy about spending my last day in the garage trying to fix this. I am just lucky my wife knows how much I love my car or I would have another set of issues. But as you all have pointed out I think the issue has to be with a ground somewhere. I will see if my buddy can test them for me and see what he comes up with. Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[99 R/T 10]

What year is your car? What mods do you have? With the AEM, it make it more difficult to diagnose issues like these.

 

[Attackdaddy24]

My car is a 99 but I don't really have many mods yet. I just bought it last year and so far it has been broken longer than it has been running. The cam sensor and some other sensor went out and now this. This is usually my luck. The only mod I have is belanger exhaust and slick tubes for now. The last owner didnt take very good care of it so I am trying to get it back into better condition.

 

[Jack B]

My car is a 99 but I don't really have many mods yet. I just bought it last year and so far it has been broken longer than it has been running. The cam sensor and some other sensor went out and now this. This is usually my luck. The only mod I have is belanger exhaust and slick tubes for now. The last owner didnt take very good care of it so I am trying to get it back into better condition.

It is a little strange, an AEM on a lightly modded cart. As was already suggested, the AEM system wiring could be part of the issue.

 

[plumcrazy]

im guessing it had some kind of boost adder on it before you got it. god knows what they did to the fuel system

basically stock cars dont have AEM typically

 

[Attackdaddy24]

It seems like the most time I have spent with the car has been troubleshooting. I am working off of memory here so correct me if I am wrong. The sound sytem and fuel system wiring should be seperate. But on the back of the relay I seem to remember a wire going from one of the legs of the fuel pump relay to the stereo fuse. Now my amp did quit working and I pulled it out and tested the wires and they were good. Is there any chance they tied into something they werent supposed to and the amp needs to be in? Also maybe a dumb question but I have to ask. Is there a fuel pump reset anywhere on these cars? Ford has them under the kick panel usually.

 

[99 R/T 10]

There is a very good chance they are tied together some how. No reset button that I know of, but Call Chuck Tator, 914-763-3136. He will help you get the car going. I think it is tied to the AEM though. Might be a good idea to put the stock PCM back in place.