1996 Ford E-150, 351 engine. Drove it earlier today and drove fine. Came home, parked it in garage and turned off - all normal. Came back to the van about 5 hours later and tried to start it. It turns over fine but does not hit at all. Turned key off and turned key on and noticed that I did not hear the fuel pump kick in for about a second like it always does. Checked fuel pump fuse (hoping for easy fix) and it is OK, replaced it with another fuse just in case and still no fuel pump whirring sound for a second when turn the key on. Is there some type of reset for the fuel pump or is the fuel pump wired to the oil pressure switch like in some other cars? Seems strange that it would actually go bad in such a way and have my doubts the pump is bad.

 

Further troubleshooting:
Found fuel shutoff switch behind kick-panel on passenger side. Red button is down and engaged.
Swapped the ABS relay in the power distribution box with the fuel relay (had same specs) and still no pump noise when I turn the key on.
Pulled the wiring harness coming into the fuel shutoff switch. 3 flat blade connections. Put voltmeter across 2 of them and turned on key and got a steady voltage of about 9 volts that stayed on while I had the key on for about 20 secs. Went away when I turned the key off. Not sure if this is telling me anything or if my approach is right. I was attempting to see if the fuel relay was OK and outputting a voltage.

Is there anything else I can do to isolate the problem down to the fuel pump itself and know that the pump is bad?

 

I have a 94 and have the exact same problem. But prior to it quiting it was running really rough and blowing black smoke. Have replaced all plugs, wires, o2 sensor, and fuel filter. Was told is might be the fuel pump but I hate to go though all that work not knowing for sure.

 

Follow up and solution: Since there was no pump noise when I turned the key on, I was pretty sure it was the fuel pump which is located in the gas tank. I had someone crank the engine while I reached under the van and tapped the fuel tank with a rubber hammer (using my hand would have been good enough) to see if I could get the fuel pump to start - probably stuck since it worked fine until I shut it off. I heard it start whirring on the first small tap and the engine started immediately. Drove it immediately to my mechanic and had a new fuel pump installed. All seems to be working fine now.

 

Pump in the tank has an in-tank filter too. Your mechanic might have just cleaned it.