FAQ: Fuel Pump - General Questions, Compatibility & Troubleshooting

This thread is for ALL general questions & concerns re: OE/aftermarket fuel pump compatibility, troubleshooting pump failure, symptoms, etc.. For pump/sending unit installation write-ups, visit these threads:

Series II SC: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t4779p15-write-up-fuel-pump-tank-sending-unit-replacement#64010

Series I SC: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t2918-write-up-walbro-255-lph-fuel-pump-series-i

Series II NA: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t6381-write-up-fuel-pump-sending-unit-na-series-ii

Re-wire mod: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t8524-write-up-fuel-pump-re-wire-modification#133295

SEE ABOVE LINKS FOR PUMP INSTALL HELP, PLEASE NO INSTALL QUESTIONS OR WRITE-UPS IN THIS THREAD.

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Do the riviera's use the venturi pump design? I believe the GPs stopped after 2000.

Make sure Intense sends you the right pump, even after discussing what pump we needed for my friend's 01 non venturi design GTP in emails they still sent us the wrong one. Then they didn't send us the spacer needed for his housing so that the new pump will sit lower in the tank. And the instructions they send will contradict what is on their site. Or what they sent us did.

To do it all over again, he should have spent the extra money for a stocker. They flow more than enough.

I have (since i got the car) fuel pump problems but now it's driving me crazy
i changed-it 6 times in 6 month!!The filter is perfect the goose neck once rusted out is new lines ok injectors cleaned by hand tank vaccum cleaned
pump brand new never pass half tank down and this morning wit a 6 weeks old pump.....it died again is there something i'm too stupid to understand or wath?Does anybody else had these issues,i absolutely loves my riv but can't stand changing pump each month!Any ideas?Anything to check?

sounds like corrosion/rusted wiring or a bad FP relay? If you 'hotwire' the pump does it run?

It runs but it heat up and don't have the good pressure so it runs
but go worse and worse t'ill it sat for a while then it's fine for about
20 min or so really irritating.

My riv broke down Sunday on the highway 90 miles from home. It needed a new fuel pump so the shop that towed the car put in the correct AC Delco pump and charged me $500 for it plus labor. My question is there any difference between an AC pump and a cheap one from Advance Auto for around $200?

no there is no difference, i bought one recently for a different car and has worked fine for 30,000 miles

You can't be wrong using GM parts.

I put an aftermarket one in my '92 Riv once, Advance or AutoZone I can't remember, and had to change it again a month later. I went with AC that time, there wasn't a panel to access it on the '92, so the tank had to be removed and I wasn't going to do it again! Never had a bit of trouble after!

97rivsc wrote:

no there is no difference, i bought one recently for a different car and has worked fine for 30,000 miles

There is a difference. Whether you get a quality part that meets GM specs or you get a POS that should last a while, and you might get lucky or you might get crap. I've seen it go both ways.

Today cone to work normaly like on every morning. after 11h was time to go home. turned the ignision key...all lights cone on on dash like it normaly dos but....did not notice any fuel pump sound!...and the car did not start..
i checked the relay, changed it whit other one, but still did not work, took the battery wire off for some time cos was thinking that it may have anythign to do whit teh securety system( i installed one after market one cos teh stock one did not work propely when i got the car)...but still did not start.
just dont have any idea what could have happened to it after 11h...on mornign it worked just fine.

tomorrow will check if electricity comes on the pump when turn the key.

anyone have any ideas what could be wrong or what to check??

does the motor crank, but not start? or does it do nothing?
if you get nothing when you turn the key it is likely security system and not the FP.
if it just cranks over and over and you dont hear the pump prime when the key is on then i dont know where to start troubleshooting. could be a pump just died, or the security system could have it set to disable.

the engine cranks, but the fuel pump dos not start...no fuel pressure in fuel rail.

if it died then its very strange, cos it just stayed parked for 11h?

uhh...weard...todat cone back to work...buted the battery wire back on...and the car started normaly...just don't get it.....

could have been a VATS issue. Is the key clean?

yeh i cleaned the key..cos that was one of the things what came in my mind.

I have a 99 silver arrow with the SC 3.8. Ive owned it for about a month now. Three times since I've owned it the car has randomly stalled out. Twice I was driving at 55mph and the engine shut down. I was able to restart the engine no problem. Once the engine stalled just after I was at WOT. About 5 seconds after I slowed back down the engine stalled. All 3 times have been easy restarts. Anyone know if this is a common problem? I will tell you that I know the car needs an alternator. Atleast thats what a friend who tested said. The batter also put out about 11 volts with the car off which I know is low. Could the bad abttery and alternator be causing the problem?

could be any number of things - crank sensor, ignition switch, flaky PCM...

Since you are restarting with not much problem I'd guess ignition switch. This is only a guess - you can determine whether it's bad with a Tech II (dealer) scanner.

Ignition switch replacement is an expensive repair at a dealer - but they can tell if it's bad by using the Tech II scanner to check the resistance in the circuits of the switch. Any significant resistance indicates that you likely need a new switch. What happens is that over time the contacts "burn" (get carbon buildup) and the resistance goes up to the point that the switch turns various circuits in the car off all by itself. This problem does not set any OBD II or other diagnostic code. (neither does the crank sensor actually).

If the ignition switch turns out to be the problem and you have a dealer or shop fix it, be sure to ask them while they are in there to tighten up the steering tilt mechanism and the screws that anchor it. This may involve replacing the tilt spring (an easy item).

Be advised that you can do the replacement and tightening yourself (teardown instructions are somewhere on this site) with hand tools and a steering wheel puller but it might well take you the better part of a day and you have to remove-reinstall the air bag. You have to first disconnect the battery then remove the air bag fuse and disconnect the inflator module form the deployment loop (circuit). IF you do that disconnection the airbag immediately becomes benign, except for accidental discharge due to static electricity - but that's fairly easy to avoid. Anyway - it would be worth buying a factory service manual just for the details of column teardown/reassembly and details for safely working with the airbag. Because at a dealer it could cost as much as $700 - $300 for the switch and the rest for labor (it's WAY in there).

You do not HAVE to pull the steering wheel to replace the ignition switch - just the upper and lower steering column covers. BUT if you do pull the steering wheel, and you tighten up the tilt wheel mechanism while you are in there, the odds that you will have to do it again for the life of the car (especially if you use loctite blue on the screws) is slim to none. See what I am saying. I am not saying you must pull the wheel. I am saying (1) let's figure out what the problem is (2) if you have the time, and if it is indeed the ignition switch that is the problem, going in there to tighten things up now can save you pain later (3) get and read the factory instructions.

WHAT TO DO - it will cost you $100 or less, but go to a GM dealer and have them check for stored trouble codes to diagnose the cause of intermittent stalling. Remember that dealer mechanics usually work on late model (4 years old or less) cars and your showing up for diagnosis only is not a big deal. Unless they have some mechanics who are real gearheads or drive the late '90s GM cars, they won't especially want the job anyway.

Albertj

Thanks for the info. I forgot to tell you that a few times the car has failed to turn over as well. Dash lights come on but nothing happens when i turn the key to start. As far as having the codes read. Do I need to go to a dealer or can I use a friends code reader? Im guessing since it has failed to crank a few times that this is probably the ignition switch and not a sensor.

cjoform wrote:

Thanks for the info. I forgot to tell you that a few times the car has failed to turn over as well. Dash lights come on but nothing happens when i turn the key to start. As far as having the codes read. Do I need to go to a dealer or can I use a friends code reader? Im guessing since it has failed to crank a few times that this is probably the ignition switch and not a sensor.

than I'm more and more inclined to agree that it's the ignition switch.

Any code scanner should be able to pull codes from a '99.

same thing happened to my car....found out that the fuel pump had started to go out...
specialy when the thank was half full or under...
fuel is the only thing what cools it.
sometimes it did not even start...and the next day it did.

have had other problems tho like bad/broken coil.. bad wires...bad plugs..
my car had 146k miles when it happened

I had this problem for 6 months. There was no diagnostic codes and I changed a ton of parts. After all the parts the engine ran better than ever but it randomly stalled at 55mph on the highway. I drove the car to NYC for Christmas and the car died at a rest stop in Syracuse NY. The problem was the fuel pump failed. The mechanic who changed it said the filter sock on the intake pipe was very plugged. After a new pump was installed, the car has not stalled once in the last 9 months.

Yep it could be fuel pump clogged.

Any scanner will read emissions codes but with the TechII the technician can activate and test any computer controlled function or interface. A scanner will not test the ignition circuits for resistance level for instance (and be aware that many dealer technicians don't know how to do that with a TechII but they can if they just Read The Fine Manual if needed). So in the interest of saving time and avoiding headaches I'd suggest a dealer diagnostic trip.

Albertj

could be the TPS sensor.

Im thinking its not the fuel pump simply because the car sometimes wont even crank. Its only happened a few times but within a month the car has stalled 3 times and failed to start 3 times. That is no bueno. Thanks for your replies. Im going to have a friend see if he can retrieve any stored codes tonight. I'll let you all know my findings tomorrow.

Keep in mind that fuel pump issues and ignition switch issues both don't store any trouble codes.