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my 89 f150 5.0l is not starting. I dont seem to be hearing the fuel pump prime itself. I hear a clicking after about 1 second when the ABS light turns off but i dont hear the whirring sound i dont think. What should i do or check? BTW this is after going wheelin yesterday through some crazy mud and puddles and running over a lot of small bushes. Ive already checked all the connection to the ignition system and everythings fine. This happened 4 days ago but i knew the fuel pump was working and it was a bad ignition connection so i fixed it and it worked until today. BTW its been raining like crazy for a few days now. could water have gotten into some relay or fuse connection?
I have no code reader so I have no idea about the codes. When turning over the truck the battery light is on. It sounds fine when starting I just cant hear the fuel pump start up.
and also this problem happened over night. I made it home from wheeling fine with no problems. While wheeling i noticed that it stalled out on me 2 times and one time it took a little while to start up. This is after bouncing around a lot. What wires should I check for looseness or whatever??
Even when it was running well, when cold it would start and die after 3 seconds. then it would start up fine and run fine. Sounds like a vacuum leak to me. what do you guys think? Would this have anything to do with the fuel pump?
Find the connector to the fuel pump nearest the gas tank. It will be a 4 wire connector. Disconnect the two halves and with a volt meter (or test light if that is all you have) check for battery voltage on one of the two larger wires with the ignition in the run position. I can't remember which color but one is the 12v feed for the pump, one is the ground, one is the gas guage sender power and the other is the ground for the gas guage sender. You will only get power for a short period (3-5 seconds before the computer shuts it off). Each time you cycle the key to run you'll get battery voltage. If you have good voltage for the pump here and do not hear the pump run the pump is probably bad. I have also seen the ground wire break inside the insulation very near the connector so make sure the ground is good too.
connect the fuel pump test port on the DLC connector ( it should be on the left fender towards the firewall, by the relays that you here clicking) to a good ground. The fuel pumps should run continously. You should also hear the relay click as it sends power to the fuel pumps. If no click, replace the relay, if clicking, probably a bad wiring or faulty pump.
On my '87, the wiring in the tank came undone, with requires a new hanger assembly.
Hook up the wire, turn the key on ( don't start) and listen for the pumps and relay. 4 wheeling could have broke the wire from the pump to the connector on the hanger assembly
I have an '87 Bronco with a 302/EFi/Auto and I have never been able to hear the fuel pumps. They are quiet. My high pressure pump is heavily insulated with foam and that is probably why it's so quiet. The low pressure pump is in the tank and I've never heard it kick in.
Depressurize the fuel system and disconnect the fuel filter, on the engine side, from the fuel line. Turn on the engine and see if it pumps fuel. Also disconnect the return line and see if it's pumping fuel. If both pump fuel then you know the pumps and filter are ok. You also know if fuel is running through the fuel rail because you checked the return line.
My '87 Bronco has the same hood as your '89 F150, I believe. The hood is constructed in such a way that it channels water directly to the distributor cap and soaks it in heavy rain or dry snow. I found that drying out the cap and rotor and covering it with a trash bag for the duration of the bad weather worked well.
See my posts under CO_87Bronco about my no start travails. It's a slipped timing chain. REAL FUN!