Is my fuel pump dying?

[daltvater]

I bet I've read 20 threads on this topic but I didn't find my the answer to my question.

Last week my fuel pump was whining like crazy. I could hear it just sitting at a traffic light (and that's with a cat-bypass and M&K muffler)

I get in the car today and the whine is gone. Does a dying pump only whine sometimes?

thank you much!

[David]

I don't know about the sound coming and going, but a sign of pump failure is increased noise. You could check the amp draw to be sure.

[Gogar]

Was your gas tank almost empty? Was it hot out?

Remember, FI systems like CIS recirculate unused fuel back to the tank; when it's hot out or your tank is almost empty, the gas gets warmer and/or gets more aereated. The noise you hear in the pump is the sound of your fuel pump trying to push less dense, airy gas.

One of the reasons they moved the fuel pump up to the front in MY cars instead of the RL wheel wheel was so the fuel pump wouldn't get quite so warm and perform better.

Fill up your gas tank and it probably won't happen.

[DW SD]

Maybe change your fuel filter? My pump whines under increased load. I had installed a new fuel cell and there was some fiberglass threads in the tank. They made their way into the pump and actually plugged it up. Later, I installed an inline filter as a precaution. I've had to clean out the filter a few times (this is a pre-filter screen by Earl's), which can be reused. The pump changes pitch when the filter is clogged.

Doug

[holtjv]

Originally posted by Gogar
Was your gas tank almost empty? Was it hot out?

Remember, FI systems like CIS recirculate unused fuel back to the tank; when it's hot out or your tank is almost empty, the gas gets warmer and/or gets more aereated. The noise you hear in the pump is the sound of your fuel pump trying to push less dense, airy gas.

One of the reasons they moved the fuel pump up to the front in MY cars instead of the RL wheel wheel was so the fuel pump wouldn't get quite so warm and perform better.

Fill up your gas tank and it probably won't happen.

Incredible. I had this exact thing happen to me on Friday--I, too, have the cat bypass and M&K--and the whining was so loud I could hear it over my idle.

Guess what? It was hot out and I was running near fumes.

Thanks for this, another great data point. Jack