I could use some adult supervision, just trying to help my neighbor out, Me, I drive a Ford Excursion, so I am a little lost on what to do with something so small….



She called Sunday and said her car would not start. We I got there, sure enough would not start. First thing I did was check the fuel pump fuse, fuse checked good with multi meter, and also had 12 + volts going through the fuse block for the fuel pump…



So my questions about the easy power issues to the fuel pump were answered as yes. I tried starting again, same result, so I thinking maybe ignition issue. I hit it with a little bit of starting fluid and it fired until the starting fluid was gone from the short amount of spray I put in, so the ignition is good…


Just for giggles I got underneath and hit the gas tank a few times with my hand, not a lot of room so I didn’t really hit it that hard or hard enough for me to feel like I could have freed the pump up. Tried starting again and to my amazement it started…. Fuel gauge is reading accurate at ¾ of a tank. After it started I had her fill it up just to verify.


So I’m still thinking fuel pump…


Went to AutoZone Wednesday and borrowed a fuel pressure test kit.. The pump tested at 44PSI and held that pressure after it was turned off. This happened Sunday and she has been driving it for the past couple of days on short trips only. She says it has same power and pick, no obvious fuel pump noise that I would be concerned with. Should I hear the fuel pump with just the ignition on?


So with the fuel pump putting out a solid 44PSI, could I get thoughts from those in the know if we think this was just a one-time thing or is the fuel pump going out. This car has been dealer maintained so I am "assuming" that the fuel filter has been changed but I will verify.


Any help would be appreciated because this Excursion owner is out of his element.

 

The filter is almost certainly 100% orgional...
It is a "lifetime" filter, huge....but most folks change it for giggles around 100,000 miles....
Since a bang on the gas tank started it...I'm guessing you are right....
I'd run it till its below 1/4 tank and swap it...
If you lift up the rear seat...it snaps up...there are two disks...one for each half of the tank....one has the filter...pump too.

 

One test you can listen for with the fuel pump is to remove the rear seat base. the fuel pump is on the left hand side of the car. Sitting in the car, when you turn the ignition on you will hear the fuel pump energise before you hit the starter. If you can hear the fuel pump continually cycling from high to low freq, then your pumps on the way out. As for a clogged fuel filter, YouTube, ModMini as he has done a video on the filter removal and change over.

 

I think that car is like many BMW that has a "jet pump" that transfers fuel from side to side. If that goes bad, your gauge can read ok, but the pickup can be dry. Symptoms go away when tank is full, return below 50%...

 

Thanks for the assistance. It's been a week now and no issues... Our plan if it fails to start again will be to replace fuel pump and filter and move forward...