Hi,

I apologize, first of all, because I'm not an expert, or even an amateur, with electric wiring or cars. I'm really just here because my car has continually managed to frustrate mechanics and I've been without one now for almost two months.

About two months ago, it developed an issue that continually drained the battery and kept it from starting. When I got it back, it would run, but you had to crank it continually to get the fuel pump to spit enough fuel for it to ignite and go.

Of course, that only worked for about a week and when you went above 30mph, if you braked to a complete stop, the engine died. No stuttering, just shut off.

So, back to the mechanic who thinks it's the fuel pump. Replace it and it does the exact same thing, so apparently my fuel pump was good. Now he thinks it's the wiring or the computer, neither of which he is wanting to touch.

So, here's what he told me and maybe someone else here has had a similar problem and can help me make heads or tails of it:

1. Car Cranks
2. Fuel pump does not prime, does not even send fuel anymore
3. Oil pump is apparently no longer sending oil either


There's a new oil pump and new fuel pump in there, so I'm going to wager that neither of those are bad.

This all started with a parasitic drain that turned out to be something in my trunk clicking repeatedly.

Sincerely,
-Joseph

I think it's probably the fuel pump relay. It normally powers the pump, but if it fails the pump gets powered by an oil pressure switch which could cause your symptoms.

We replaced the fuel pump relay when we realized they were fried and we were looking for the power drain. Could there be anything else?

I still think it's the relay or the wiring. If it's not priming when you turn the key on, there's not much else to look at. Do you have schematics? You might need them and a volt meter to trace the circuit out.

Yup, have both, but not real clear on how to read the diagram.

2. Fuel pump does not prime, does not even send fuel anymore
3. Oil pump is apparently no longer sending oil eitherDid he change the oil pressure sender? No oil pressure no fuel in those cars, IIRC.

Did he change the oil pressure sender? No oil pressure no fuel in those cars, IIRC.

That's only true if the fuel pump relay is bad (even though many people believe otherwise).

Looks like I'll be picking the vehicle up either today or sometime early next week. Before I do, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have him look at what both of you have suggested which is the fuel pump relay and the oil pressure sender.

Basically, the car does not start and therefore does not drive. It's going to cost me $85 to get it towed back to where I live, so I'd rather put the money into fixing the relay/wiring if it'll make it driveable.

Something else--- would the fuel pump relay also be the cause of the engine dying on complete stop? If not, then we either have multiple problems or the problem is shared between several circuits.