Buick - Century :: 1994 / V6 - No Power To Fuel Pump
Jun 15, 2013
I have a 1994 Buick Century Wagon with a 3100 SFI V6 engine that I can't get to fire at all. I have read many posts with the same problem but haven't been able to find a follow up fix from them. My Buick just wouldn't start one day after running fine before. I came to this site and tried some of the suggested troubleshooting and found, while testing for power to fuel pump, that if I jumped from the battery to the gray wire on the fuel pump relay the car would start and run fine. So that rules out any fuel pump problems or fuel filter problems. I then swapped fuel pump relay to a different similar relay on the car and still wouldn't start. I have read on this site about the oil pressure/ fuel pressure switch being a possible cause and I believe I have found that switch. It is in the side of the block toward the front of car and has three wires, (orange, tan and gray) going into it.
I was going to try to jumper the orange to gray but didn't want to do the wrong jump in case of negatively effecting the EMC controller, usually green/white wire? I also heard of the crank shaft sensor located on the back side of block but am not sure of which of three sensors I'm seeing back there to test. I guess first I'm looking for proper jumping procedure. I tried jumping the gray to orange in the fuel pump relay but no good. I get 12 volts at that orange and for a couple of seconds 2 to 3 volts at the green/white wires at the fuel pump relay when ignition is turned on, so when I jump the orange to gray at the relay it should start as it does when I jumper from battery to gray. I had relay apart when I jumpered the orange to gray, do I have to jumper with relay together and use a pin/needle wire jumper so rest of relay wires are connected? The same would apply for jumper testing oil pressure switch and crank shaft sensor? If it's not the switch or sensor then it looks to maybe be the EMC?
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1994 Buick Century 3.1
Fuel pump relay is not powering the fuel pump. I was able at one point to jump the orange wire to the gray wire but it will not even do that now. I know the fuel pump works because I can jump from the battery to the gray wire and it will turn on.
I used a multimeter and tested the volts from the orange wire on the relay to the neg post on the battery and it is only reading about 1.3 volts. Is this normal?
Checked the fuel pump 15a fuse and it is ok. I am getting spark. Could it be the crank sensor? How can I test that? (It is above the start I believe). Could it be the ignition control module? How to test? Location? What else can I test with the multimeter and post back with the results to further diagnose?
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My daughter drives a 94 Century (120+ K) and it was running great, no issues to speak of. Thursday morning she was advised that her brake lights were stuck on when the car was parked in school lot. This drained the battery. The battery was very old so she got a new one properly size & installed; the car started up and drove fine. Later that evening it started up and drove again with no issues.Next morning; NOTHING; No Start. I checked and when door is opened interior lights come on, insert key and door chime rings. Turn key and there is nothing at all, a total loss of power, lights go out, door stops chiming but nothing. Starter never engages, no noise, no attempts of the engine to turn, remove key and lights return and door chimes!
1994 Buick Century 3.1L SFI OHV 6cyl .....
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I am having a very tricky problem with my Buick.
For approximately the last 4 months, it has been (at least according to the heat gauge on the dash) running pretty hot. Not overheating, but getting close. And it doesn't take long for it to get there. This all seems to have begun right around the time that my father and I flushed the coolant system.
Since then, I have replaced some parts, and learned a few things in the process.
I learned that there are bleeder screws which can be opened to let air bubbles out. And I have heard that the 3.1L is especially susceptible to them.
New parts which I have installed:
- thermostat
- coolant temperature sensor
- radiator cap
- upper radiator hose
- lower radiator hose
I have checked the water pump and it seems to be perfectly fine. No leaks. No signs of bad bearings. And it circulates coolant just fine. I have not been witness to either cooling fan, primary or auxiliary, switching on in a while.
The exact symptoms are these:
The heat gauge does not take long to get to mid-way point, but will sit at that point for a bit if the vehicle remains stationary. Once the vehicle is in significant motion, the heat gauge will climb fairly quickly, especially with moderately high RPMs. It WON'T touch the red though, but will get very very close to it. The car runs fine. It does seem to be a bit underpowered, but I am comparing it to my fiance's 1996 Olds Cutlass Ciera, which I believe has a different transmission. My Buick does not seem to have lost power since this problem arose. The cooling fans no longer kick on. The oil appears fine. The coolant as well. With the radiator cap off, coolant does not bubble out or shoot out.
I made sure after changing upper and lower hoses to fill the radiator, let the car run long enough for the thermostat to open, and then slowly poured more coolant into the radiator until it was full again. And the reservoir is at proper level and the the reservoir hose s not clogged.
I am not SURE, but I don't believe the radiator is clogged. I believe that covers it, at least as well as I can.
BTW, I do not know where the fan relays are, otherwise I would test the fans to see if they still work.
What the heck is up with my Buick? Also, it has 97,xxx miles on it, and the transmission fluid is at proper level and looks normal.
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2002 Buick century will sometimes not start. Seems to correlate with warmer weather and happens after long drives. I try to restart within 10 minutes of turning off and it will start and then in a few seconds the car shakes and the engine dies. I can restart multiple times, but it will always die in a couple of seconds. If I wait an hour and retry, no problem. Once someone banged on the gas tank and that solved it. Mechanic cannot diagnose problem unless it dies while he is there. Should I replace the fuel pump or could it be something else?
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The car is a 1994 Buick Century, 3.1L V6, ~ 80k miles. Four months ago she wouldn't start, so I got a new alternator and battery put in. A month later, while on a short road trip, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree the whole drive home (ABS, airbag, check engine, battery) and the voltmeter bounced around from mid-high to red-zone high. Thinking it was a bad reman, the alternator was replaced again when we got home. A few weeks went by and all seemed to be going well with the new alternator until, after driving around the city for a while, the airbag light started blinking intermittently.
Accompanying the blinking, the battery gauge again was bouncing around. Eventually, when accelerating from a stop, the car stuttered when moving forward, the battery light flickered, and the ABS light stayed on. Worried that I'd burn up another alternator, I had a mechanic look at it before my next trip. He checked the alternator/battery loads and pulley and said that nothing looked wrong. On the next trip, the intermittent airbag light blinking and voltage fluctuation returned as well as a single episode of stuttering from a stop... these things all only seem to happen after at least an hour on the road.
TO RECAP: Voltmeter gauge steady sometimes, bouncy other times... but usually too high. Airbag light blinks intermittently (seems to happen only after car is warm). Sometimes (rarely) the car will jerk from a stop, at which point the ABS light stays on. No check engine lights. Battery and alternator are new. Same problems (voltmeter in red, warning lights) occurred with last alternator until it burnt up. It seems like a voltage regulation / alternator problem, but the same symptoms occurred with two different alternators (with two different internal voltage regulators). I suspect that there is some electrical problem (short?) that is causing the fluctuating voltage and the tendency for the car to burn up alternators so frequently. However, I don't know much of anything about cars. Does that sound right? If so, where do I even start?
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I have a 1992 Buick Century with a 3.3L V6. I noticed a hissing sound under the hood with the motor running. The short vacuum hose (about 2 inches) connected at the fuel pressure regulator was loose and leaking. I shut the engine, remove the end of the hose and a little gas (about a teaspoon) came out of the vacuum pipe for awhile and then it stopped.
I tightened (but did not overtighten) the end of the hose with a nylon wire tie. There was no existing clamp on it. The vacuum leak stopped (no more hissing). Now, the car is sometimes hard to start or restart. Do I have a serious problem? Did I do the right thing? Could this be caused by a clogged fuel filter? (it was changed 42000 miles ago).
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I have a celica 1.8 st202 that doesn't start. The efi relay and fuse are ok. I tested these and even replaced the relay with another one.
-When I jumper the pins in the diagnose box B+ and FP the engine starts.
-When I remove it the engine won't start.
-When I remove the jumper the fuel pump doesn't get any power.
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Buick Century 1987 - 2.8L
Sending unit measures: Empty 9 ohm - Full 88 ohm
Fuel pump working while engine is running or key switch in ON position (working properly).
Issue: Fuel needle fluctuates while car is in movement and the engine stops when the car is going downhill and suddenly is braked (half tank), Is normal this behaviour in this car? Is this car equipped with a 'anti-slosh module'? if yes, where it is located?
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I have a 1994 Ford 460 motorhome with a intank fuel pump that quits when it gets hot. so I was thing of butting a heavy duty in line pump on and just pull it through the old pump can this be done safely. Or is it best to drop the tank and just put a new fuel pump in.
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My car would not start yesterday, and I realized the fuel pump was not running. So I bought a new fuel pump today and put it on, the car still won't start, the fuel pump still does not run and I have been told to check the relay. I cannot find the relay for this car.
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My jimmy died on me yesterday on my way home from work...i thought the fuel pump went because i couldn't hear it when trying to restart... I had about a quarter tank of regular in there,,,put in 2 gallons of super and it started, but died again about a quarter mile down the road...got it home with a push...after searching for and checking any fuses i could find...swapped relays on firewall and all seemed well....i heard the pump and it fired right up...went walked, just in case) and got another relay, and now i don't hear the pump again,the battery is a bit low now,,,so maybe a jump would give me enough juice? I'm going to jumper the wires/relay...and be sure the pump is working... I'm sure it is.. 94 jimmy 4.3 vortec 140k I gotta pick up my wife from work later and don't want to get stuck again...
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A cousin has an old 1994 Ranger. The fuel pump relay, located in the engine compartment fuse box. went bad, so he got a new relay.
Now, it does not plug in securely, so sometimes he has to open the hood and fuse box and wiggle it to make contact.
Ideally, one would probably replace the fuse box, though that would apparently involve a lot of wiring, right?
How to "cob" this up so the contacts will make better? Perhaps something to put in the slots to increase pressure on the blades?
Maybe gently twist the blades so they go in at an angle? Maybe touch the blades with a solder iron and put on a small blob of solder to make the blade bigger? (Though it seems to me that solder is not a good contact material?
Maybe solder to the blades, a very small piece of brass or similar material? Put a piece of aluminum foil over the blades?
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I have a 94 honda civic. It's been having problems starting. When it won't start you have to pump the gas a lot and it will then start. You can smell a lot of fuel when this happens so unsure if it is the pump. Maybe it's a combination of several things. Replaced spark plugs, new wires connecting to battery. And just put in a new fuel filter. All seemed to slightly work for a minute. But now driving today went to start the car and it wouldn't stay running if I let go of the key. Finally got it to stay on seemed fine then as I was driving and wasn't pressing on the gas peddle the car started losing power so I pressed the peddle it sputtered (kinda sounded like something clogged in tail pipe) and regained power.
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Sometimes after running my 94 Limited, it doesn't want to start - it does crank - like it's not getting fuel. I have found the work around and want to know if it would be fixed by replacing the fuel pump relay.
The symptom is just after starting, it starts to run poorly, and then dies out, then will not start at all. I use to keep trying to start it for 20-40 minutes and suddenly it seemed to work.
It seems the work around is to turn the key to on for about 5 seconds and then turn it off - then it starts and runs as good as ever.
So, is this a symptom of a bad relay? I thought I'd start there because of the cost of the relay is fairly cheap. 1994 Explorer Limited 4x4?
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A friend of mine have a 94' Explorer with the 4.0 v6. Fuel pump starts for 2-3 sec when i turn the key, stops when cranking and starts again when i stop cranking. i checked the fuel shutoff switch and it was ok, and it have spark.
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So, I just had the fuel pump replaced on my '15 6.7 a month ago and it just died again. (next day edit: it didn't actually die, it showed all the same symptoms)
Same symptoms: whining sound, low fuel pressure warning, reduced power warning.
This time I'm 50 miles from home so I pulled off the road before it shut off. Interesting, I was in a hilly area and my low fuel warning came on too. We are waiting for a tow. I was considering trying to push on but don't want to get stuck in a dangerous spot on the highway. We're in a church parking lot.
So, last time this happened I was on flat road with about a half tank of fuel on a lunch break. I ran a mile after the warnings came on to feel out the issue and to see what would happen. I happened to be only about a mile away from my dealer so I drove that way. I got reduced power warning and then it cut power on me (limp mode). I made it to about 100 yards away before it cut off.
This time, I was in a hilly area at night on a windy two lane road with no shoulders in the woods. I was miles from civilization and was showing below a quarter tank of fuel. ~100 miles to EMPTY. I got the low fuel pressure warning first and then the reduced power mode before the whining noise started. I was climbing a hill on a curve at the time. I drove a quarter mile and then pulled off the road into a parking lot so I wouldn't be stuck on the shoulder. It didn't actually go into limp mode.
I let it sit a few minutes, talked it over with the wife and decided to call for a tow. After talking to the tow truck driver who said he would be an hour because he had to go find a bigger truck, I decided to see what I could do while I wait. I fired it back up and the fuel level dropped to below 1/8 and I was now showing 33 miles to EMPTY. I was parked on a hill with the back end up. I had backed the truck into a space to make it easier for the tow truck driver. I let it run a minute, checked for leaks and it seemed to run fine with no studdering or additional warning lights.
CEL was on but no new warnings. I put in my code reader and pulled the P0087. Just one code. I revved it a bit to see if there were any issues. It seemed fine so I decided to try my luck. I started driving towards home with the intention to stop at the first diesel station to fill up. Truck ran fine. After two minutes of driving gently, heart racing, my fuel level came back up and it now read 88 miles to EMPTY. I drove 11 miles to the nearest station and filled up. No issues. I shut it down. I fired it back up. Still no issues so with a full tank, I drove home the remaining 30 miles without issue.
Planning to take it in to the dealer Monday to get it checked. Could this be from an air pocked due to low fuel level and hilly terrain? Is my new pump dying already? Is there something else going on inside the tank or elsewhere?
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I have a 2000 Buick Century that I cannot get to start. While my wife was driving home it started to sputter (like running out of gas) and did a little back firing. She made it home and I put in some gas (Just to make sure) and the care cranks over but will not start. I have replaced the fuel filter, checked the spark plugs and replaced the CAM Sensor. The car still will not start.
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My wife has a 2000 Buick Century with about 150,000 miles on it. It has been relatively trouble free. Recently, the "low coolant" light began to come on.She took the car into a garage where she was told there was oil in the coolant and the sensor had been compromised. The cooling system was flushed and cleaned and a new sensor installed. The "low coolant" light continued to come on. She took the car back in. She was told the wrong sensor had been installed. When she went back for the car the second time, she was told the oil in the coolant was preventing the new sensor from working and there was nothing more the garage could do. I went in and asked questions, primarily how serious was the condition, and couldn't get a straight answer.
We are due to drive to Florida in November. My wife would like to take it to a garage there. Is it save to drive it as is? What are the implications of oil mixing with coolant? What is causing it to happen?
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My 03 Buick century is overheating. I changed the thermostat and the water pump. And still overheats as soon As I start driving. I am also getting when it is overheating some misfiring in cylindar 1. I am going to reflush and bleed the coolant even though it seems to be full . i dont think it is disappearing. Is it Possible i have a blown headgasket or intake manifold leak?
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My grandpa's old wood paneled station wagon is sick. The idle seems to be getting rougher and rougher with every time I kill the battery (I've somehow left my headlights on four times in the past two months and needed a jump). It's to a point now where if I don't throw it in neutral at stop lights and keep a tiny bit of gas on the engine it stalls out.
Notes:*When it first gets jumped after being dead, if I stop even for a second, it dies instantly.*While cruising - it is fine. *It idles smoother stopped in neutral than it does stopped and in drive. *It seems a bit rougher with the engine is cold, but still rough and can stall with the engine hot. *Some random times it idles just fine (like for example the first few seconds on start up, and then it sounds like the engine is decreasing in rpm automatically, and then it is rough again).
Could the dying battery and rough idle be related?? The battery guy says "if it starts fine, the battery is fine" (it does start fine, although keeping the radio on for 20 minutes without it running will kill it).
Also other problems with my car in case this has anything to do with it: *I have a leaky tail pipe*my ABS has recently been randomly engaging at low speeds (next problem to work on...)
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