Fuel pump, reverse light fuse, reverse switch pin mess up!

[Christien]

I'm posting this in hopes of helping out anyone in the future who finds themselves stranded at the side of the road, furiously typing search strings into their iphone After reinstalling the engine and tranny, all seemed well, except my backup lights were on all the time. No big deal, I figured, must've just put the pin in wrong. Been there, done that. So I reached underneath and pulled the wires out so I could at least drive without having the reverse lights on all the time, knowing I wouldn't get time to pull the switch until today (this was yesterday afternoon). Fire up the car, get about 1.5 km from home to go pick up my daughter, just on the freeway on-ramp and I feel some stumbling. More and more. I know it's fuel delivery - I had a problem with clogged fuel lines at the track a few years ago and spent months finding the problem, so I know exactly what a lack of fuel feels like, and this was it. I pull over to the side of the onramp and call CAA (our AAA) for a tow. Then I hit up Pelican on my phone. Just by luck I read something about a backup switch and fuses, so I figured I may as well check my fuses. Sure enough, #3 from the bottom was blown, but the fuse list on the inside of the cover said it was for reverse, stop and turn signal lights.

Well, I knew I had just been messing with the reverse signal lights, so I swap the fuse out (always carry spares in the glove box!) and sure enough the car starts right up. I got it home no problem, then today flipped the pin at the reverse switch, fired it up, made sure the lights were working properly and that the fuse didn't blow. All is fine. I guess you can't just leave the reverse light wires dangling, because it'll blow a fuse. News to me.

So lesson learned, the fuel pump is fused with the reverse lights, but not labeled as so! Of course, it's possible that this was a later wiring job, and not done at the factory - several years ago I had the pump replaced and the shop rewired and replumbed it to the front suspension pan, rather than the driver side wheel well, so who knows if they messed around with it.

But one way or another, maybe this keyword-laden post might help future folks stuck a short distance from home!

[E Sully]

The fuel pump is unfused originaly, wired from the line side of the fuse panel directly from the ignition switch. When your pump was rewired they must have put it on the load side of the fuse block which is fused for the stop, turn, and backup lights. That would affect the fuse size needed also since it is more of a load than original.