fuel pump trouble
 

I have an 02 Crown Vic, and about a month ago I went to start it and no fuel was getting to the engine. I figured it was the fuel pump so I replaced it with one from pic-a-part.

Ran great for about a week and then same problem. However this time I decided to come back later and give it a try. Started right up. So it intermittently wont start. I've noticed when it won't start, when I turn the key to on the fuel pump just makes a quick zzzzt sound that lasts about a second. When it does start you can hear the pump running longer, maybe 2-3 seconds.

When I replaced the pump, the connector on top of the tank where the connector clicks in was broke so the person glued it in. I used electrical tape to keep it together. I was thinking this could be the problem but it's totally random when it doesn't start. I've also tried messing with the connection when it's not starting and it doesn't help.

One last thing, it seems more often than not that when the problem occurs the car has been running a while. Also once it starts up it doesn't die. Runs fine once started. This is driving me crazy so any help would be amazing. I have no idea where to go from here. If any other details are needed let me know and I'll post them. Thanks in Advance.

Hi Dannie,
Usually when see something obvious as you saw with the wiring , you need to fix it or it will always be a possibility and drive you nuts until it is fixed and eliminated as a possible problem.. Once that is out of the way you can move on to other possible causes.

There could be all sorts of explanations as to why it runs fine once started one of which could be , the system charging when the engine is running provides a higher voltage that is sufficient to overcome a poor connection somewhere.. Eventually, the connection gets worse and now it won't work at all, so when we see a problem , fix it first, then move on..

Also, there is a fuel pump driver module in the trunk that sends the signal to the fuel pump to operate. If you have power there and no power to the pump itself , the driver module is suspect,,,,,,,,,,,,,,after you confirm ground connections are clean and good.

Thank you for the reply. Not sure if you're familiar with this car but do you know what the connector is called on the top of the tank so I can look up a replacement. I may just end of going back to pic-a-part to grab it cuz tank is already dropped on the one there. Just wanna know what it's called in case I need to go to AutoZone to get it.

You can try Autozone, but I would go to a Ford parts dept first . They would probably have a kit with the info and directions to make a quality repair. I'm sure your vehicle is not the first to have this problem. Of course if you can get what you need at pick-a-part, then you're set. (Fuel pump module electrical connector )

Okay so this is pretty weird. I swapped relays and the problem stopped for like 2 weeks. A friend was driving it and ran it out of gas and then it was doing the one click and not fully priming. I figured he burned out the fuel pump. I went to AutoZone and got just the pump to assemble it myself. I dropped the tank and replaced the regulator with the bad connector and put in the new pump. After 7 hours I finally finished putting everything back and still doing the one click. I woke up this morning and figured it might need gas so I put a gallon in and booom. Fired right up. So hopefully that was the problem. I'll keep y'all updated in case it happens again.

Ok so we drove around for a while and then we turned the car off and now we have the same problem. Fuel pump randomly won't fully prime. It's getting power cuz I can hear it click but fuel isn't running rhrough it. Anyone know my next step?

I sprayed some starting fluid and it started up. I got it home and turned it off and now it won't start even with starting fluid. I'm at a complete loss as to what to check next. It seems like the pump isn't getting enough power to fully run. It just does the first clicking sound but you can't hear the fuel flowing through the line. Please help. This is driving me crazy.

I took out the fuel filter and cleaned it out and I'm still having issues. The vehicle is at ¾ of a tank and it still just starts whenever it feels like. What is going on?

Surprised by the lack of responses, but anyway I forgot about an oil leak I have on the fuel filter adapter. I'm thinking I don't have enough oil pressure for the fuel pump to prime so I'm going to replace the filter adapter and see if that fixes it. Wish me luck. If anyone is even following this thread that is.😋

Were you able to check out the FPDM (fuel pump driver module) in the trunk as suggested?