Vr6 wont start.. getting no fuel...

[Ben J]

Hey guys.

So i got around to putting in my new oil pump and sump ect last night, went to start it up, and no luck what so ever :/ Ive been trying to get the stupid thing going for ages and its starting to get annoying. Im pretty confident it has nothing to do with the new bits though...

It turns over fine and I'm getting spark, but not fuel.. Ive tried jumping the pump through the relay as described in the bently and still get nothing. So i tried putting some voltage straight to the pump and sure enough it works... According to the bentley this should mean I have a problem somewhere in the wiring from the relay -> pump, which i fear, as the wiring in my car is a mess :/

While the car was off the road I also pulled out the evap charcoal canister thing, bypassed the isv muffler and pulled out an aftermarket cruise control and alarm.

I'm not to sure where to go from here... anyone had a similar problem or have any ideas of things I can try to try and narrow down the problem? I really want to hear my baby purr again :S

[Jmac]

Dont use Bentley , only OEm so cant comment on their test procedure, but have you bridged the 2 large contacts on the fusebox that the relay fits into??? One side is 12v and the other goes straight to the pump. . You will also have to make sure there is in fact 12v where it should be. This is essentially what the relay does anyway, but protects the circuit like a whopping big fuse as it should .
See how you go,
Jmac

[whiteVR6]

From memory I think its relay 167 that runs the fuel pump. Ive sold 2 this year already so they are becoming a common failure part.

[Jmac]

Yep 167 is the animal im referring to. bridge the 2 large contacts and it should run if not then you are going to be checking the wiring.
Cheers
Jmac

[Ben J]

Alright cheers guys, I had bridged one contact to the battery as the bentley suggested but will try just doing the 2 on the relay (which makes more sence now I think about it...)

Will check it out tomorow. Whats a relay cost WhiteVR6? Im sure theyd be cheap over seas but im sick of playing the waiting game.

Oh how I hope its not something in the wiring :/ mines a mess from all the aftermarket alarm/cruise/ect previous owners had put in. Everything was working fine before I took the car off the road, so wouldnt it be weird that the relay would just stop working (if thats what it is)

[WhO]

Just another thought, the alarm you pulled out, do you know how it immobilised the vehicle? If it was wired to cut the fuel pump you might have inadvertently left the fuel pump wiring with a break along the lines from where the alarm intercepted it.

[Ben J]

Thats what im fearing WhO :/ The alarm was useless, I disabled it the day I got the car, Im pretty sure it was about 16 years and so I pulled it out to tidy up the engine bay. I guess I'll have a good look, but all that wiring confuses the hell out of me, how are you meant to tell which is what in a bundle of like 200 wires...

I'll do some more tests and maybe try and follow the wires off the fuel pump relay to see where they go and if there is some sort of imobiliser thing, problem is I cant seem to get the fusebox out far enough to see the back of it.

[Jmac]

Absoultely right, didnt realise you had an aftermarket alarm, man these things were the root cause of many starting dramas. Just check where they tapped into, normally one of the lower lugs on the rear of the fusebox, im sure the wire colour is red/black from memory. Makes loads of sense if you can power probe the pump and it runs. Some guys tap that wire just behind the right hand kick trim at the bonnet pull handle, if the fusebox is in the too hard basket for them.
See how you go
Jmac
ps ive got full set of wiring diagrams if you need pin outs etc

[Ben J]

Alright, got off work early this afternoon so will head out and see if I can sus it out

[mattross]

i have read that fuel pump realy 167 a common failure part.... from memory the ones made in portugal (not 100% sure)
Youtube has a Test a fuel pump relay video
(this is from memory, not 100% sure) If you can bridge like jmac states and see (bypasses relay), then half plug it in and get a probe on the negative side and bridge that to the car body or a negative (tests to see if your wiring is bad in back of fuse/relay panel)

[mattross]

there is a DIY in watercooled somehwre to show you how to bypass your alarm too, with pics of the wire bridging, might help ya

[Ben J]

my alarm was an after market one, So ive just ripped the whole thing out. But thanks for the ideas

I went out and had another look, took some trim panels off and followed the fuel pump wires from the pump back and sure enough there was some sort of relay im guessing was an imobiliser for the alarm, soor it out, connected the wire up and sure enough ITS ALIVE!@

such a good feeling after driving a gutless 2.0L peugeot for like 3 months...

I went to take it around the block to check everythings all good... it somehow turned into a 1 hour drive. haha

Thanks for help guys

[Ben J]

one other thing though, the tacho seems to be out now, it idles where it should and goes to zero when the cars off, but through the rev range its showing higher then it should (as in the needle will go off the end of the gauge before I hit the rev limiter, in 5th the tacho is now a fair bit ahead of the speed, they use to line up pretty much perfectly... ect) What could be causing that? more electrical gremblins?

[gldgti]

What could be causing that? more electrical gremblins?

very likely. some immobiliser systems can really be "in there". I pulled one out of my missus cabriolet - after that, it had no power to fuel pump, electric windows, glow plug circuit (which came off the normal ignition on circuit).

However, being a tacho problem..... maybe its something strange like something grounding where it shouldnt be....

[Ben J]

hmm. pretty sure this was the most simple immobiliser thing ever so ont know if it will be related. I might have knocked another wire or something though :/ When I put the key in and turn it to the click before running the starter (why I cant think of what thats called at the moment I do not know, it happens ) it turns as far as it can clockwise. Then when I start it up it goes back down to roughly where it should be. Confused me at first as I was like im sure it pulled harder than this at 6000 rpm and was doing closer to 100 not 70 in 2nd gear...