AMCJeepMJ Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 A little background on her first before today's incident. My stepdaugher is 23 years old. She dropped out of high school in 10th grade, has three kids, is currently pregnant and is going to produce 2 more crotchfruit [twins!] in February. Has not worked since she was 16, lives off what she can get from the state and financial aid from feeble attempts at the local community college. She is divorced and currently has a boyfriend [the father of the upcoming rugrats] that has been out of work for the past 3 years with a back injury from a slip and fall. She has been evicted from 3 places in the past 4 years for various reasons. Three different fathers of her 3+2 kids. She is always asking to borrow money for X, Y, and Z. In a nutshell: Virtually no income. Poor decision making abilities. A real burden on her mother and I for several years running. This morning, she was driving her minivan [94 Grand Voyager w/3.3] to a doctor's appointment and she ran it out of gas. Before she called for the All Purpose Rescue Wagon [her mother and I], she cranked and cranked the van to get it to restart... which would obviously do no good if she were out of fuel [first she tried to restart while it was still in gear before she realized what was going on]. So, after getting out to where she was stranded with 2 of her kids we put 3 gallons of gas in it. Still no start. Now, I haven't worked with a car that has run out of gas since I was in high school when I ran my 1980 Buick out of gas. Since it was carburated I just added gas and off I went on my merry way. As her Voyager van is fuel injected and it did not restart after adding fuel [and having it spill on my jeans and boots] and attempting to start it for 20 minutes [no, the starter is not smoked], what could possibly be the issue with the van? I have never run a fuel injected vehicle out of fuel and have zero experience in this realm. Any advise or thoughts you wish to offer for this particular predicament [other than shipping her off with a one-way ticket to a windswept island in the south Atlantic] would be greatly appreciated to get her van running and her out of our hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 checked for spark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Couple of things come to mind. 1. Is the fuel pump kicking in when you turn on the key? you should be able to hear it. It's possible it burned up. 2. If it is kicking in, check the fuel rail to see if there is a bleeder valve on it. Should look kind of like a tire air valve. If it has one, take the cap off it and hold the needle in. (Careful it will squirt gas if there is fuel pressure). If it doesn't squirt gas immediately, then have someone turn the key to the on position without trying to start. Do that a couple of times to bleed any air out of the system. If it still doesn't squirt gas, then pump is probably bad. 3. If this isn't the problem, then there are about a million things to try which would be hard to diagnose over a forum. Sorry about your knucklehead stepdaughter. I have a similar situation in my family. Fortunately I don't have to deal with the dipsh##, that my son impregnated. Details very similar to your stepdaughter. She abandoned the kid at 2 months. My son and his daughter now live with us until he can get a little better financial situation going. There are multiple things going on in my life that suck right now. Just keep in mind you are not alone with your family struggles. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMCJeepMJ Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Dadinator, thank you its nice to know that I'm not the only one with an 'interesting' home life. I also have 2 teen daughters of my own to deal with living with me. I am sure you or anyone else in a similar situation can appreciate my eye-rolling about my stepdaughter. To fill in: -Have not checked for spark [was in a hurry to get to work, was below freezing out, covered in spilled gasoline from knee down on left leg] -Fuel pump whirrs when key is turned on. -Something else underhood also whirrs when key is turned on. -Fuel cap is on tight I will take a look at it this evening with a flashlight for a fuel bleeder valve. Something else I considered while contemplating the next step, is if she ran it dry she may have brought debris/particulates/sludge from the bottom of the tank, ergo clogging the lines or filters. I do not know the history of the van; it was picked up this past spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donkey Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Most efi vehicles when the key is turned to the on position, turn the fuel pump on for 3 or so seconds it then shuts off until the vehicle turns overs. Any efi vehicle that was out of gas or replaced the fuel lines, what i would do is turn the key on and off about 4 or 5 times never turning it over just to the on position to prime the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BebopComanche Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 This sounds to me like the fuel line is clogged with sediment. If you run out of gas, and then try to restart that vehicle, you start picking up all of the crap that is at the bottom of the fuel tank. This sediment can get into your fuel line and clog it up, not allowing fuel to flow. This is why you shouldn't try to restart a vehicle that has no gas, but you guys obviously know that. As for fixing this problem, replacing the fuel line and filter is what's required I believe, but I've never had to deal with that problem, as I don't run my car out of gas. Hopefully this solves the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMCJeepMJ Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 This weekend we took a stab at the van. Spark = yes Fuel in vehicle = yes [3+ gal] Fuel pump turns on with key = yes Squirt of fuel at fuel rail = no Squirt of fuel from line going into fuel filter when key turned on = no [dribble] Fuel pump sock blocked? Pump failing? Any other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donkey Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 could the fuel pump has gone bad running dry with no fuel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 tell her she needs to take it to a mechanic, just to teach her a lesson. aside from that, sounds to me like you need to pull the pump to inspect further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 This weekend we took a stab at the van. Spark = yes Fuel in vehicle = yes [3+ gal] Fuel pump turns on with key = yes Squirt of fuel at fuel rail = no Squirt of fuel from line going into fuel filter when key turned on = no [dribble] Fuel pump sock blocked? Pump failing? Any other ideas? I would say that the fuel pump is bad. You can disassemble and try to see if sock is blocked, but I would be ready to buy a pump. BTW... 4-8-15-16-23-42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleydog Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Yes the pump could well have seized from running out of fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 If it's set up like XJ/MJ pumps, the hose connecting the pump to the sender could have broken or fallen off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMCJeepMJ Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Ah, crap. Kind of what I figured, having to drop the tank to find out what is amiss. With the biggest and most expensive holiday of the year very quickly approaching, we [collective] cannot afford to throw down $500 for a fuel pump installation at a shop. Fortunately, it appears that there are only 2 bands holding the tank up [unlike the 3 on an MJ], which will make things at least slightly easier once we get into tearing into it and apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 well, at least she was thoughtful enough to drain the tank before you had to pull it. ha. then you just had to butt in and put some in there... :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Fuel pump relay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Fuel pump relay? doesn't sound like it. He said it kicks on when he turns on the key. Just doesn't sound like it's pumping much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMCJeepMJ Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Yes, and 19 times out of 20 the pump can be heard when turning the ignition from Off to Run. Sometimes it makes no noise at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Try a bit of fuel directly into the throttlebody. The last chance for the pump. They are pretty easy to change once the tank is down. I did one on my son's ex-GF's dad's '01 Caravan that the prick never did pay me for. Not even parts cost and I did it after work on Father's day in freezing rain on the side of the road! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Try a bit of fuel directly into the throttlebody. The last chance for the pump. They are pretty easy to change once the tank is down. :agree: But first pull the fuel filter, make sure it is not clogged, then go after the pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMCJeepMJ Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 Try a bit of fuel directly into the throttlebody. The last chance for the pump. They are pretty easy to change once the tank is down. :agree: But first pull the fuel filter, make sure it is not clogged, then go after the pump. New fuel filter as part of throwing parts at vehicle hoping it will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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