1996 Cadillac Eldorado ETC, No power to Fuel Pump - Filter, Fuse, Connections & Relay all good, what can it be?
Hi, I have a 1996 Cadillac Eldorado ETC with 180K miles. It has been running fine except for starting, it used to take a few cranks at times but other than that it was fine. My fuel pump seemed to have had failed and I replaced it with another but I still don't get any fuel pressure to the fuel rail. I have replaced the fuel filter, and a fuel pump relay located in the engine bay driver side fuse box. I have also installed an inline fuel pump and that get gas to the rails but it lack the high pressure required for EFI. My original fuel pump works now that I have tested it, so that was not the problem, it seems it might be an electrical issue since there seems to be no power getting to the in-tank fuel pump. My question..- Is there any other electrical components I need to look for and replace that control the power sent to the fuel pump? I cant afford to take it to any shop, or put it on a diagnostics system, I have to be able to bypass or rigg or fix myself...what do you think?
By golly.. how long is a piece of string?? I have a light trailer, and replaced the wheelbearing in around fifteen minutes. Then the other side needed doing, and the bearing wouldn’t come off, and it took three times that long; now if the hub had been damaged, it may have required replacing the hub; depending on availability, this fifteen minute job now takes a hell of a lot longer and may be spread out over several days. This was the simplest of simple bearings to replace, and it becomes increasingly complex with 4WD vehicles, trucks etc etc… so there is great great variation in how long it takes….. Having the right supply chain for parts, the right tools, the right workshop set up, and the knowledge to do the job, are all great factors in minimising the time, but there are still lots of external factors, that can make this relatively easy job pretty tricky!!!!
No it’s not. While you CAN drive without it, the potential failure could result in stranding you on the side of the road. Anything built in the last 15 years most likely has a serpentine belt system that powers all your accessories.When you run out of power steering fluid, the bearings in your power steering pump no longer have lubrication available to keep them cool. Those bearings will fail, the pump will seize and that will result in your serpentine belt to fight against one accessory that is no longer moving. The belt will fly off the engine and all other accessories, water pump, A/C, alternator etc will be powerless and your vehicle will shortly cease to run from overheating or dead battery.
How much will my MPG improve if I remove the spare tire??
Nope and - if you have a flat the cost will be considerable. Wanna get better mileage - burn regular instead of ethanol. Use the A/C only on the level and down hill. See a stale green traffic light or red light ahead - start slowing sooner - less braking - less foot on the gas = less gas use. Sometimes the light will turn green if you start slowing early. Saves gas to start out from a red light. Long stops, (more than a minute) - shut the engine off. Idling uses more fuel than you think. Keep the gas tank btwn 1/4 and 3/4 - less fuel - less weight. ( 5 gallon of fuel at 8# per gallon =40# BUT - NEVER - EVER run out of gas. Gas cools the fuel pump motor. To run out can burn up the fuel pump = $500 - $1000. Shut off any electrical accessories you do not need. More accessories on - causes the alternator to drag the engine down, (more gas required) , to keep the accessories going and battery charged.
So you're not gonna like my answer ... I'm not sure why you can't replace the pump assembly. In the end it might be easier. Either way you'd have to order parts, spend money, so why not simply replace the pump? It's available, online, at RockAuto.com for about $50 rebuilt and I'm sure you can score one at your local auto parts store. The reservoir, hoses and other parts are also available. Or you could hit a local salvage yard and get one for even less. I believe you'd need to get a special tool to remove the pulley but many chain auto parts stores can let you borrow one for free. You see the problem with just yanking the pump is the steering box. The steering box is a power steering box. And, yes, it would probably work without the hydraualic pressure provided by the power steering pump but not for long. The hydraulic fluid, among other things, is what lubricates the the internal mechanisms in the steering box. If you don't have fluid running through the box then eventually things can get "sticky" or just seize up. And you can't just put oil in the box and close off the hose lines because the box is designed to have fluid flowing through it; you'd stand a good chance of hydraulically locking the steering gear. None of which is good. Brakes and steering are two systems on any vehicle I, personally, want to have working at 100%. But that's me ...I'm kinda funny that way. Maybe you have good life insurance.Manual steering boxes have grease in them to keep things lubed ...so you'd have to buy a manual steering box to replace what you have now. Or at least I would ...you can choose to do whatever but I wouldn't trust running a power steering box without the system fully operational. You might be able to find a manual box at a salvage yard. To bypass the pump you'd need to find the routing for the serpentine belt used on a non-power steering 94 Ranger. You can find that information online. You can also find what belt to use on non-power steering equipped Rangers. You might need an idler pulley ...again you can find that out by doing some research online.My advice? Replace the pump. You'll be much better off.
Steering wheel doesn't get locked unless the ignition is turned off. Steering lock up while driving is an unusual thing that happens in automobiles, it happens if the engines is off and the electrical system isn't normal or malfunctions. Any automobile which has ignition on, doesn't lock the steering wheel. It is one of the safety measures that every automobile company would look after and don't want anything regarding that to go wrong as it's the safety feature. If it does, the problem will be in the electrical system, ECU not functioning properly!
Hazard lights and turn signals use the same bulb, so it is not the bulb, the lamp, or the cables to them. Turn signals only work when the ignition is on; hazard lights work whether the ignition is on or not. The two systems have separate power supplies, so they have separate fuses. You may have a blown fuse.Different vehicles use different circuits, and it is not possible to accurately diagnose the fault with the small amount of information provided. You need a circuit diagram and a voltmeter, and a continuity tester. First locate and test the turn signal fuse. Do you have voltage to and from the turn signal switch?The hazard light switch is not a simple on/off switch. In the “on” position, a fused battery feed connects to left and right turn signal. In the “off” position, the left turn switch wire is connected to the left turn lamp and the right turn switch wire is connected to the right turn lamp, so there are 3 inputs and 2 outputs.The fault could be a fuse, turn signal switch, hazard switch, flasher unit, or a broken wire or connection.
Iv’e had a monster 1927 mint condition Rolls Royce Towncar bought in 1959 from an eastern LA Rolls dealer for $1500. This incredible had twin plugs, power brakes, open drivers seat, electric start & was so high, drive-in theatres threatened to charge twice! Lake Tahoe Old Car Museum bought it for a mere $1000 in 1964. It can often be used in old movies & had unique identifying cylindrical headlights. I even had original manual & pulling a knob lubed the entire grease-less car. We lived in San Fernando Valley which every so often totally floods & we had the only car high enough to continue in deep water, like a boat spraying out the back.But the absolute BEST car was the fibreglass 3-wheel 1/4 ton van British Reliant having Austin engine which achieved 70 mph & 70 mpg for years. 1 time coming coming off a Cornish freeway, she tipped over sideways on a badly inclined track. It landed in a huge gorse bush. We simply pushed it back on its feet & away we went. Me + 2 girlfriends often slept in van at shows. A lot of things like road tax, bridge tolls etc were 1/2 price/ Finally sold her to a same girlfriend. Body never rusted or needed painting.