I brought my 1999 Blazer to a car wash to have engine steam cleaned (trying to sell it). I only wanted the bottom washed because I know of the potential problem associated with washing the top. The guy said just $20 more dollars for the top, no problem. I told him I was worried about not starting but the guy told me "no problem". Well, you can guess where this is going, right?

They called me a couple of hours after dropping it off and told me that they were done but could not get it started. They admitted that they had started twice while they had it and it drove just fine. Just after applying "the shinny stuff" (Armor like stuff), it did not start after that.

The good news is that they did a good job on cleaning up the engine, the bad news is that the fuel pump does NOT prime up with the 2 second whining noise. I checked the relay in the fuse box and it is 'clicking' and applying voltage to the pins like it should (on for 2 seconds and then clicks off).

My question, at this point is: Is there a test point beyond the relay that I can check the voltage for the fuel pump? Or, do I have to drop the tank just to test the voltage there.
It is hard to believe that the steam cleaning is not the cause of the problem but then again, maybe the fuel pump decided to stop working on this day.

If the pump has the voltage, then it is pretty clear that the pump did go out. But I don't want to go through the process of dropping the tank (3/4 full on fuel) if there is somewhere else that I can isolate the problem to the pump and not wiring that may have come loose.

I had AAA tow the car back to the house. The car wash said they will pay if there is something wrong that they caused but won't pay if it is the fuel pump. I can understand their position since steam cleaning should have no effect on the pump.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Get someone to turn on the key and then crank the engine over while you thump on the bottom or drivers' side of the fuel tank with a rubber mallot and see if the fuel pump starts to run then. If it does, it's worn brushes in the pump.
This is sometimes a quicker test than accessing the wiring to check for power....hope the shortcut works...

 

if that doesn't work for what chevylover said you can also check to see if you have fuel up by the intake at the pressure check valve if you have pressure there then it might be that somethin got to the injectors or that something fouled your intake a few things to check like a checklist anytime you have something that doesn't start always check to see if there is fuel then air then spark the big three that you need to get it runnin hope the info helps you out

 

Damn your good! Yes, I hit the tank a few times and then turned the key. I could hear the pump prime so I knew it would start and it did. This confirms the fuel pump is bad. I knew this method worked for a started but did not realize that it worked for fuel pumps.

Now the question is, how much longer will this run before it dies completely? As mentioned, I am selling this but I am not the kind of guy to hide a defect like this. If I can repair easily myself then I will do it. I have replaced a fuel pump in a Caravan a couple of years ago and it was not so bad.

My challenge, before getting this to run again,was that I dain 3/4 tank of gas to do the repair. Kind of pain to drain since it has a couple of tight turns to get a siphon down there. Now that I got this running, I'll just drive it around to get it near empty. I hope it does not stop again.

 

My local part store wanted over $300 for a new fuel pump. I found one on eBay for $100 and it arrived yesterday (in 3 days from Miami). My question for anybody is, the new pump looked exactly like the old pump with the exception of one of the electrical connectors. Attached to the new pump was a notice that I had to replace the connector because of a new design to solve a know problem with the old connection.

I went from a square 2x2 pin connector (1"x1") to a 1x4 (2"x1") connector. I was not thrilled about having to replace the connector but I went ahead and snipped off the old and replaced it with the new connector. They provided crimp connections but I soldered the new one in place since I felt it is a better connection. The wires were properly color coded so there was no concern about improper wiring.

So, back to the question, is this typical for a new pump to have a different connector? Anybody know of a problem with the old connector? I did complete the entire installation and the pump works fine.