Phut..phut.phut.phut..engine dies

[cootuk]

Oh dear. Just going to work tonight (2.5l 10v) and the engine goes phut....phut..phut..phut and dies. Won't restart. Can't hear the fuel pump whirring with ignition on. Engine management warning light stays off. Engine turns over at normal speed (so hopefully it's not the cambelt), but won't fire.

How can I tell between a fuel pump relay and the actual fuel pump so the garage doesn't rip me off? (assuming this is the fault). Plus there's a big difference in repair costs between these two.
Can the relay be 'hardwired' as a temporary get-you-home measure?..or to test if it's the relay?

[markas]

Hi ya,

Sounds initially as the fuel pump relay and is £30 quid from the dealer and a bit cheaper from europarts. No you can't really hotwire it unless you take ite apart. :-(

I very occassionly had the bad starting when warm and as mine as been on 9 years i decided to do some preventative maintenace and buy a new one. I have kept the old working one just incase for the future.

what i normally do is switch the ignition on two 'II' for a couple of seconds and see if you can hear the pump, yes?. Next check the fuse hasn't blown, there are spares in the fuse box area.

Now undo the covered area and pull out and reseat the relay '102' which is the fuel pump. Try again if the answer is still no, get a relay first or borrow one from the dealer on a test and buy, cheaper than buying both pump and relay!

In all the time i've surfed all the sites and techical bulletins the pump is not a common problem.

Mark.

[cootuk]

The roving autoelectricians had a quick look today, but couldn't find anything glaringly obvious. They seem to think it all works individually, but not together!
It's going to their garage tomorrow for a full diagnostic.....

[cootuk]

Camshaft position sensor replaced.
Then their diagnostic unit also came up with 'ignition module' fault, so that's been replaced too.

[Dan F]

Did those items fix the problem?

Dan.

[cootuk]

they fixed the non-start, but now it seems to be losing idle speed every so often so the engine dies...a quick twiddle with the throttle cable at the engine side and it works again for a while...
Just drivablw when this happens, but it's going back in to the shop....

[markas]

Hi ya,
You say that you tinker with the throttle cable ? Well if you look underneath the real where the cable is held there is a small adjustable screw. This can get dirty and effect the tick over worth givin it a clean.

Mark