fuel problem

[mainsy]

my car ran out of fuel the other night. so i put in 15 litres and some redex, but it wont run and idles badly. got it to a garage and had new fuel filter fitted but still no difference. garage havent worked on any elises before so are not sure where to start. mechanic asks are there any other filters ie in the tank or fuel pump etc?
he thinks the pump may be goosed, and that running out of fuel may have caused that. i dunno.
any suggestions? and were it to be the pump would a rover one do?
any help is greatly appreciated

[Shug]

There is a bit of mesh over the filter intake in the tank, can't see that being clogged, but stranger things have happened. Sadly it's not a standard pump (my dim memory tells me that it may have been hauled out of some old Yank car) Double bad news is that the tank needs to come out to change it. It could be goosed, as the fuel lubricates it, so running dry could have killed the bearings.

IMHO this is something I'd get the car to Ali for. Local mechanic fine for the silly things, but Alis a specialist and will save you money in the long run by knowing what he's doing in the first place...

[tut]

Looks like you have been unlucky as I and others have run out many times, and it was just a case of pouring a gallon in and starting up.

In fact I ran out on Saturday on the way to KH due to my local garage screwing up, but I had a can with me.

tut

[r055]

I had similar problem to this last year - kept cutting out as if it was starved of fuel.
The fuel tank turned out to be full of sh*t and this was clogging up the strainer and eventually labouring the pump.

Im not sure if there is any investigation you can do - ie. stick a fibre optic camera down?

Failing that, its dropping the tank out of the bottom of the car and checking it - which is a total pain in the ass job to do...

[tenkfeet]

When you turn on the ignition you should hear the pump run .


If you disconnected the filter and turned the ignition on you could see what was coming out of the pump. Stick the end in to a petrol can and expect lots of petrol.

[mainsy]

When you turn on the ignition you should hear the pump run .


If you disconnected the filter and turned the ignition on you could see what was coming out of the pump. Stick the end in to a petrol can and expect lots of petrol.

the pump must be working because the car does idle, albeit bady. i phoned ali yesterday and he thinks the pump may be blocked inside the tank, so im gonna have to get a trailer sorted out to get it up to him. i'll have to find a driver too cos my licence doesn't cover me

[Shug]

When you turn on the ignition you should hear the pump run .


If you disconnected the filter and turned the ignition on you could see what was coming out of the pump. Stick the end in to a petrol can and expect lots of petrol.

the pump must be working because the car does idle, albeit bady. i phoned ali yesterday and he thinks the pump may be blocked inside the tank, so im gonna have to get a trailer sorted out to get it up to him. i'll have to find a driver too cos my licence doesn't cover me

Fd once told me a way you can run the pump in reverse to free stuff in a situation like this. However, wasn't easy and certainly not one to try unless you're pretty confident with car electrics...

[Rich H]

Get pump wires, remove, swap over, turn on electrics pump is reversed?

Should not be too hard... Weather it is that simple I have no idea.

Isn't the pump accessed through the cover panel behing the drivers seat or is that just the sender?

[Shug]

Get pump wires, remove, swap over, turn on electrics pump is reversed?

Should not be too hard... Weather it is that simple I have no idea.

Isn't the pump accessed through the cover panel behing the drivers seat or is that just the sender?

You can do it from the immobiliser multiplug IIRC, certainly a multiplug more accessible in the loom.

[Rich H]

Sounds reasonable. Immobiliser holds the keys to the fuel pump afterall.

Paging Robin or FD!