I have a 2002 Z06 with 25k miles. Short story, my car died on me going down the interstate a couple of weeks ago. It cut out under 1 hard pull in 1st, and then as I was cruising down the interstate after that it just began breaking up and eventually just died. Once I got it home, I checked the pressure at the rails with the key on, and it just spurted a tad of fuel and some air. Nothing after that.

I bought a Racetronix fuel pump replacement, and I put it in early this week. However, even though I can hear the pump prime when I turn the key on, it won't pump any fuel. When I leave the fuel lines off the sending unit, no fuel comes out of the top when the pump is in the tank. I recently added about a gallon of fuel to the tank just to be sure it wasn't empty, and the strainer gets wet, so I know it has fuel. Also, the gauge reads about 1/4 tank. Any ideas what might be going on?

It can't be the filter since it won't even pump fuel out of the top of the sending unit It's getting power to the pump obviously since I can hear it kick on. Do I need to add more fuel to the tank to completely submerge the pump? I read somewhere that the bucket has to be completely submerged before it'll pump...Any help will be appreciated. I'm ready to drive this thing again.

Thanks

 

I just got over the pump night mare myself.. Tested the pump the motor ran fine but unknown to me the thing was not pumping so installed it . You have to test it I don't think it needs to be completely submerge if you think so then submerge it, My pump motor worked but did not test the pump to see if was pumping or not and installed it and about made me nuts the thing was not pumping I could here the motor running but on gas ..Test the pump first make sure its pumping ,make sure you got enough gas in the tank to pump put 3-4 Gal. . Turn switch on it should start to pump ,if you here the motor running and you tested it gas should be going somewhere if not at the rail them need to remove the line coming off the pump out of the tank and see if pumping if so something going on in the line going the rails .. If you know the pump is pumping turn the key on need to have someone lesion for the pump to come on if no pump noise then its not getting power . if no power PM me I've been there also.. If you got good pump and you know it works and you got enough gas to pump and you know its pumping out of the line coming out of the tank them you got something else going on .. Its a pain to do but have to working at it to pin point the prop. Hope this helps..No short cuts in this deal..

 

Alright, I worked with it a little more today.. I have it all wired up correctly and the pump works great when I plug it into the factory harness plug and just leave the pump out of the tank submerged in a cup filled with fuel. It pumps fuel out the top of the sending unit like it should. However, when I put the pump inside the tank it no longer pumps any fuel out of the top of the sending unit. My mind is blown...I have about 1/4 tank of fuel, so it should be plenty. I know I have plenty because it runs out of the tank opening when I take the sending unit out.

Any ideas as to what is going on? How could the pump just stop pumping fuel when the only thing that changes is putting it in the tank? I may just go get a bunch of fuel to put in the tank and make sure the pump is fully submerged.

 

Pm me I'll try to help . My 04 has I think a different set up I had to take the tank out OMG pain for sure .. You just have to remove the pump leave the tank in place on yours ,no big deal the pump should work be the same .

 

I believe the sending unit (SU) has to do with sending the fuel level signal to the PCM. Not “pump”, (for the sake of conversation and understanding)
If your 02Z has tanks like my 98 (and I think it does), then I find it surprising that you could be ¼ full. Why? Because once you remove the FP from the tank, you’d likely have a puddle of fuel on the floor.
With that said, it may very likely be your SU giving you a false reading, meant, you got no gas.
Think “Sling Blade”, when Carl said, “It aint got no gas”. With just 25k on the ODO, your SU could very well be “crudded-up” and needs the Techron treatment. Damn thing is, you gotta make sure BOTH pumps are good, clean, etc... IF your SU is sending a false positive, how would you know otherwise. You could try cleaning the float, arm, and resistor (SU) and manually adjust that mechanism (slowly) while having someone monitor the gas gauge. Be interested to see what result you get. If you move it too quickly, and with the other SU in the PSGR tank, I’d expect a code of some kind.
Does sound familiar to RADAR’s problem though. Just a trickle at the rail. My understanding is they didn’t move the pumps to the top(s) of the tanks until mid ’03 thru ’04.
So, you might have far less fuel than you think you do. It’s a damned conundrum. Fill it up or not?
Hot wired a pump straight to the BATT and it “ran” fine (focusing on wiring and connectors, continuity, etc.). Didn’t check the pump output though. That one BIT!
If your pump “runs” and puts out +/- 60psi while in a bucket, then I’d say you’re ok on the DRVR side. Need to pull the PSGR side “siphon” pump and SU out and inspect/clean it as well.
Good luck and, let us know what you find.

 

This might help clarify
http://www.z06vette.com/forums/f5/ho...m-works-60056/

 

Read this as well. Good info from some of those here at the best Vette info center on the planet. Best regards.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...m-failure.html

 

I added some fuel and it cranked right up. Probably didn't have to replace that driver's side pump after all . However, I think what happened is that my passenger side jet pump isn't operating correctly, so the car was reading 1/4 tank because that amount of fuel was probably still left in the right side tank. I filled it up completely and I am going to run it down to a 1/2 tank and see if it runs out of fuel. If it does, then that means I need to drain the passenger tank and replace or clean the jet pump to ensure that it is operating correctly.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

NP. How you'll know is when/if you find the PSGR tank full. Or some semblance thereof. I'd put that thing back together and get a 12oz bot of Techron. Rinse it out in other words. If you can do that, then, half your worries are over. In fact, if your DRVR tank is empty, now would be the perfect time. Pour it in, fill'er up, do some figure eights (slosh it around)... Maybe you won't have to pull the PSGR unit. Trial & error... Low mi C5's tend to create havoc. Need to be driven. Or, prep for something like this. I'd tech the DRVR side 1st. Mark your mileage/gal... Maybe after a coupla fill-ups it will clear. Good luck. Thx for reply.