Help - No gas - no go!

[mike horn]

Alice had her top down for the first time yesterday but had to come home on the back of a truck! Mr RAC man seemed to think that there was a problem with the fuel pump. As the familiar priming noise was noticeably absent I think he could be right but as we couldn't even find the pump the lorry was summoned. Just before we arrange another truck to cart Alice off to see Uncle John at David Geralds has anyone got any ideas of anything simple that we could try? we have a spark but no fuel coming through - and yes there is plenty in the tank ! Any suggestions more than welcome

[Jason F]

There is a fuel pump cut off switch on mine that comes out if you hit a large bump/hole (quite common on Essex roads) and it is under the dashboard on the passenger side

[mike horn]

Thanks Jason, I've just spent 10 mins upside down in the footwell (and will probably never be the same again)and found a small black plastic box the size of a matchbox with a button on the side, the button seems to be in and having read the little black book it says that if the fuel pump inertia switch trips the MIL warning light on the dash flashes - which it doesn't so I'm stumped again. Thanks for your help all the same, and believe me the roads in Bucks are much the same !!

[ianwayne]

When this happened to me, the RAC man found the fuel pump relay had packed in. Its one of the multitude of relays in the passenger footwell. You can swap relays around to aid diagnosis and you'll know you've got it right if the fuel pump starts running! (With the ignition on and immobilizer disabled of course!!)

[schueymcfee]

Have you tried running two wires from the battery to the fuel pump? I discovered that the metal wire inside the insulation had snapped on mine(impossible to detect with the eye), so a complete re-wiring job was needed!

[mike horn]

Ian, Thanks - Mr RAC man swapped some relays and tapped them to see if they were stuck to no avail
Shuey, Thanks also, this might sound dumb, but where do I find the fuel pump? I thought I'd found it under the matting at the top right hand end of the fuel tank but the RAC man reckoned that it was just the fuel guage sender and that the pump was probably under the car somewhere. All advice really appreciated.

[SMB]

The fuel pump is under the back of the car next to the diff. It's not a common failure. Alternatively you might have a faulty immobiliser.

[SpikesTVR]

I had a similar problem shortly after I bought my 96 Chim, which left me stranded a few times waiting for the RAC. 2 trips to the dealer finally located the problem as a loose connection to the immobilisor. Apparently you have to remove the top dashboard section to get at the relevant box. Car has been fine since.

[Anto]

Mike,
There's a flap on the LHS beside the passengers seat. Pull it up and you'll see several connecters. Disconnect/reconnect them all (one is the connection to the fuel pump but I don't know exactly which one) then try again.
This was the problem I had with my Chim 98.

Good luck.


Anto

[xain]

This happened to me 4 days after buying mine second hand. I ran out of fuel, then spent too long trying to restart it convinced I hadn't run out! It knackered the pump. Fortunately it was under warranty. Mole Valley sorted it within the afternoon.

One thing they tried was to run the pump backwards, as this can dislodge jammed debris. However with mine they said that although this freed it, it kept jamming again. You could feel it try to kick into life, but it wouldn't turn.
They replaced it, but I kept the old one as a backup :-)