ComputerGuyKyle

Fair warning up front, I'm mechanically inclined but don't know much about cars.

I have a 1998 Mustang V6 with 150K miles. After the AC went out and I bought a new car in 2014, I foolishly left it sitting for four months without being operated. I went and tried to start it, but the battery was dead. I recharged it, and now it tries to start but fails.

From the Schrader valve I can tell there's no fuel pressure. I don't know if I could ever hear the fuel pump priming or what to listen for there, but that's what I'm thinking it is (dead fuel pump). If I spray ether into the intake, the car will almost start up, but obviously can't sustain itself since there's no fuel coming in after that.

The way I figure, it's one of three things:

1. Fuel pump has died (no biggie - order a replacement, install myself, I know I can do this)

2. No power supplied to the fuel pump (maybe some wiring got shredded by a cat that crawled up underneath at some point?)

3. Blockage

Do you think I've diagnosed the problem correctly? Is there some diagnostic flowchart I should be following in my head to determine if it's the fuel pump and not wiring or a blockage in the fuel lines somewhere? Is there something I can do to be sure it's the fuel pump? Connect a voltmeter to some wires somewhere and measure with it?

What should my next step be? I'm thinking of checking with a junkyard for a fuel pump or ordering a new one off the Internet and installing it.

I'm basically afraid an animal shredded something under the car that I am incapable of fixing myself or of ordering a $200 fuel pump and that not being the problem. I'm looking to get rid of this car, and I'd sure like to try to sell it as a functioning car rather than a broken one, and I know it's not worth so much that I can go spending $800 to fix it.

Please let me know what steps I should be taking to know if it's the fuel pump. Thank you very much!

(And for what it's worth, I live in Central Texas, so the weather would have been hot to moderate over the time the car sit. No freezing temps at all, if that matters.)

blue stang

If you turn the ignition on without engaging the starter, you should hear the pump run for 2-3 seconds. If it's dead silent check for power at the pump. I'm not sure about the best way to do that, but until someone else responds you can check the fuse and reset button on the inertia switch.

ComputerGuyKyle

Thank you. I don't hear the pump run at all, but honestly I don't know what I should be listening for, haven't found a video with the sound demonstrated on YouTube (just videos on broken fuel pumps), and don't remember ever hearing the fuel pump ever the entire time I've owned the car (over a decade). I found one forum online where someone said you'll only notice it if you know exactly what you're listening for. So I can't say whether I hear anything.

As to your other suggestions, I checked the fuse and it's OK, and I'd reset the inertia switch when I first had the problem, so I don't think it's that.

I'm particularly interested in how to check the power. I do not know much about electrical work, so if someone can tell me where to attach the leads of the voltmeter and what I should see, I would be most appreciative.

I'm crossing my fingers that power is getting to it, because that surely would mean the fuel pump is bad, right?

That or there's a clog somewhere (if so, I'd hope it's right there at the fuel tank and I could remove the tank and unclog it easily).

Thanks! I'm finally learning things about something I've used daily for my entire adult life.

ford5917

i have the same prob with me 2000 v6 replaced the fuel pump ($26) on flea bay
now i can hear the pump but no start. did the ether thing like you did same result
replaced the camshaft position sensor. same thing...
this has got to be something simple.

PNYXPRESS

Undo the fuel filter, turn the key on. If you get a puddle, pump works.

I doubt anything shredded wiring, since it runs inside the car under the carpet.

ComputerGuyKyle

Now that's a smart idea. The difference between knowing mechanical stuff and understanding mechanical stuff right there.

So that would rule out clogs and leave me with pump broken or pump not getting power. Thanks!

BabyGT

Fuel lines don't generally get clogged, if something big enough to clog a line gets sucked up by the pump it's going to jam up the pump first.

TfcCDR

It's possible to have debris in the tank, which then blocks the filter on the end of the suck tube. If the pump is turning but not delivering fuel, this might be the problem, especially if it sounds dry.

PNYXPRESS

I doubt its debris in the tank. The fuel left in the tank possibly laquered up, clogging things.

Either way tank has to come out to clean or replace the pump.

blue stang

Gas turn to varnish in only four months? I guess I wouldn't rule it out but our 84 GMC was left in a barn for many years. When we drove it home and dropped the tank, the gas was starting to yellow but no varnish.