Fuel pump going out? Could this have fried it?

[281pony]

here is a blunt explination of what happened. my car alarm went bad, so they put it into "program mode". which consists of turning the key on, off, on, off 5 times in a row. he did this when my car had roughly 1/8 tank of gas. the turns on and off were so fast, the car did not do more then initiate the fuel pump, then off, ect.

he did this cycle of on/off a total of 4 times. so 20 primes on and off. after i left, i got some gas. i noticed that the car started to feel like it would surge and lose power for a split second. today (the next time ive driven it since i took it home) it felt worse.

i tried to back the car onto some plastic ramps to look under it for any leaks, make sure my fuel filter is correct. as soon as the car hits the ramps and starts to change elevation, it cuts out HARD and either dies or nearly dies.

pump is a walbro 255, it primes fine. sounds about normal.. aka loud. filter orientation is right, nothing else was touched. so is my pump dying cause of this?

i talked to the shop owner, and he is saying it is not possible essentially unless it could not draw gas and ran dry. which is impossible seeing that i drove out of there..

 

[2000xp8]

The priming probably had nothing to do with it.
The elevation suggests that the gas is shifting in the tank and starving the pump. Maybe an issue with the tub that the pump sock sits in.

You could fill up the tank completely with gas, and see if it cuts out when elevated.

 

[281pony]

well fact of the matter is, the car started running like this, AFTER it was primed to piss.

it has another 5 gallons in it now over an 1/8th tank. im not filling it completely to drop it after and create that much more headache. it has 1/4 tank, it has NEVER had any issues whatsoever before the priming out the ass.

edit; im going to drive it again and see if it completely fails on me. there is elevations in the road more severe then these ramps, so 1/4 tank of fuel and this pump not working all the sudden? it can only be the pump failing.. i guess i should buy that mechanical fuel gauge i've been wanting for this case.

 

[2000xp8]

A pump gets primed thousands of times in it's life, whether that priming is all in 10 minutes or over ten years, there is no difference.

Think about it, how exactly would angles effect the operation of the pump? I've had the tank down a dozen times, and the angle of the pump has nothing to do with it's operation, but it does effect the pick up.

Not saying your pump isn't going bad, but your symptoms suggest it's starving for fuel, unless your description is mistaken.

Sounds like you are hunting for this to be someone else's fault, but at best it's just coincidence.

 

[HISSIN50]

I agree that it sounds coincidental.

 

[BYRDPE]

verify that your gauge is correct. it may not be.

 

[281pony]

verify that your gauge is correct. it may not be.

the gauge is correct. takes real consistant amounts of fuel from the same level to reach full each time.

im just going to pick up a new 255 pump. im going to bite the bullit once again with this shop. i was there trying to get warranty replacement parts for my horrible alarm they installed. i went as far out of my way not to go back to them as possible.

we did all the diagnostics here, went over all the wiring, ect. we ruled anything we could out, so i just HAD to go there or pretend i didnt pay 400 for the pos. then the pump fails

 

[old_blue]

did you ever fix your surging problem from before???? Maybe the baffle in the tank is broken and blocking the fuel from getting to the pump at that angle.

Also, what alarm did you have installed?? Was $400 with the purchase of the alarm??? I install my own to avoid problems like this. I hate shops, they cut up wires they have no idea what they do to look for a power wire.