Pump with its own mind!

[John Velasco]

I have dilemma. Three weeks ago my fuel pump on my 1976s stopped working, at that time I thought it was burned out. I took a few minuets today to troubleshoot the pump and decided to start at the fuse block. The voltage checks out at the fuse OK. So I moved the horn relay to the pump location, and low and behold the pump started; as did the car. I then placed the pump relay back in place and the car started with it as well.

Now I have a problem. I don’t want to buy a new fuel pump if I don’t have to. I can drive the car and thank AAA for their fine service if I have a problem, or I can defer to you fine people for some advice.

The pump sounds as it did before it stopped working. Can any body tell me if the relays in these cars have high failure rate.
Thanks for your help

Jv

1976 911s

[Rot 911]

I wonder if the pins or socket was corroded and all the pulling and reinstallation cleaned up the connections. You should always carry a spare red relay which will work as a replacement for all relays. You can use a red for a black, but you should not use a black for a red.

[Bobboloo]

More often than not electrical problems are the result of connectors and not components particularly when you have a 20+ year car. Cleaning all your electric connectors will help to make the car more reliable.

That being said, it's not uncommon for fuel pumps to become intermittant when the bearings are about to fail. Sometimes a whack on the pump will get it going again. I had a pump in this condition recently even though you could get it going though it made the car run rough do to its' inability to keep a constant pressure.

So I would say clean the connectors in the signal path and see how it goes. If you get stranded give the pump a whack before you call AAA.

Bobby