alright this really blows. i have been trying to get my brothers civic to start but now my car wants to crap out on me.
im pretty sure its the fuel pump.
when i turn the key to "on" i cannot hear the fuel pump priming as i always have paid attention to this.
it turns over a bit, stumbles once and thats it, i usually let it off after 5-8 seconds.
how can i get this car started to get it to a shop?
i replaced my spark plugs a while ago (2 months), new plug wires last month, new coil packs 6 months old. starter was replaced in april
new battery
new fuel filter 5K miles ago
fuel pump is OE
never had this happen before car always jumps to life
uh, other than that i have no clue.
it rained last night, then got down to 35degrees, but the water did not freeze.
goddamn why does this always happen to me. most reliable car i have ever owned and it decides to leave me sitting before i can get another car running.
Like someone else said on another post - try swapping relays (fan with fuel pump I believe) and see what happens. Also make sure that the fuses are good. If those don't work, you'll probably need a tow to the shop.
If you can get underneath, it may be worthwhile checking for power at the fuel pump to verify the relay's working properly, and the wiring. You would need a helper for this to turn the ignition "on" while you're checking. I'm not sure on what the connector is like there (haven't had the pleasure yet), but I'm sure somebody else here is familiar with it if you need more info. At least this way you'll be sure that it's the pump when you take it to the shop, and hopefully avoid any extra "diagnostic fees" they may want to charge.
To verify that it's a lack of fuel causing the problem you could also try squirting a small amount of "quick start" into the intake and see what happens when you try to start it. If it fires for a couple of seconds and dies again, then at least you know the ignition is working, so you're probably on the right track. Not hearing the pump has likely already lead you the right way, but it's good to know that everything else is working.
John
I have the same problem.
If anyone could tell how to check for power at the pump, that would help a lot.
Please help.
