12-23-2017, 09:47 PM
I'd all but given up on this forum, because most of the technical, hand-on experts who used to contribute so frequently to the troubleshooting of problems with these cars, which is my main interest, have long since stopped participating. But with Pete's recent return, there's some renewed hope, so here goes:
It started with a fuel leak coming from where the fuel pump is located, so I replaced the pump, and the copper crush washers, with a new Bosch unit from Paragon, and this cured the leak. But it has simultaneously developed an intermittent problem with the pump turning on at all. When I remove the DME relay, and jumper connectors 30, 87b, and 87, it usually energizes the pump, but not every time. So I removed the cover the pump is attached to, and sent 12V directly from the battery to the pump's connectors, and that works every time. I checked fuse 34, for the fuel pump sender, but it's fine. Other things like lights, turn signals, fan, etc., all work. I tried starting the engine, and of course, it doesn't. So, either there is an intermittently bad connector or wire somewhere between the battery, the fuse box, the DME, and the pump (which seems unlikely, especially since the car has spent its entire life in the south), or there's a sensor that needs to send a signal to the DME before the DME OK's the delivery of fuel to the engine. Somebody on another forum suggested replacing the DME coolant temp sensor. Does that make sense? It's only about $20, and it's easy to get to, but I hate throwing parts at a problem without establishing the part is the problem. Thanks.
It started with a fuel leak coming from where the fuel pump is located, so I replaced the pump, and the copper crush washers, with a new Bosch unit from Paragon, and this cured the leak. But it has simultaneously developed an intermittent problem with the pump turning on at all. When I remove the DME relay, and jumper connectors 30, 87b, and 87, it usually energizes the pump, but not every time. So I removed the cover the pump is attached to, and sent 12V directly from the battery to the pump's connectors, and that works every time. I checked fuse 34, for the fuel pump sender, but it's fine. Other things like lights, turn signals, fan, etc., all work. I tried starting the engine, and of course, it doesn't. So, either there is an intermittently bad connector or wire somewhere between the battery, the fuse box, the DME, and the pump (which seems unlikely, especially since the car has spent its entire life in the south), or there's a sensor that needs to send a signal to the DME before the DME OK's the delivery of fuel to the engine. Somebody on another forum suggested replacing the DME coolant temp sensor. Does that make sense? It's only about $20, and it's easy to get to, but I hate throwing parts at a problem without establishing the part is the problem. Thanks.