FUEL PUMP PROBLEM :WHAT CAN IT BE? I have replace my fuel pump 5 times in the last 2 years.

1994 CHEVROLET ASTRO
250,000 MILES
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WEMERTZ
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I have repeatedly replaced the fuel pumps on this car. 5 times in the last 2 years, and getting it out of the fuel tank isn't FUN! I have just replaced the fuel pressure regulator, which has solved many problems that I was having with the performance of the vehicle. So, that's new. I can tell that the fuel pump energizes those brief few seconds before the engine starts. Then the pump runs all the time the engine is running. I thought that perhaps it shouldn't be running unless the pressure got to a certain low point (wearing out the pump early), but I was told that it should be on all the time. Anyway, I do not know what more I can tell you other than they just keep burning out!
I am really getting tired of replacing them.
Dec 20, 2011 at 10:24 PM
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RASMATAZ
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Are you getting the OEM part fuel pmup? Also replacing the fuel filter-could also be a voltage drop problem
Dec 20, 2011 at 10:31 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Have you analyzed what exactly is failing? Have you tried running the pump out of the tank with clips hooked to a battery? That will verify whether the pump is really bad or if there's an intermittent wiring problem.

Chrysler used to have a problem with repeated pump failures. The typical scenario was people installed three or four aftermarket pumps and each one failed within a few weeks. A dealer or NAPA pump finally solved the problem. (NAPA buys their pumps from the same supplier that sells them to Chrysler). In reality it wasn't the dealer pump that solved the problem. It was the fact that it was the fifth, (or sixth) pump. Microscopic debris gets into the tank including bacteria that feeds on ethanol, and it plugs the pump. Chrysler pumps are built to very tight tolerances to make them uncommonly quiet. Those tight tolerances are a big part of the problem. By the fifth or sixth pump, all that debris has been "collected", so the next pump survives.

If this sounds like what might be happening on yours, the fix is to drain the tank and have it steam-cleaned at a radiator repair shop before putting the next new pump in.
Dec 20, 2011 at 10:37 PM
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WRENCHTECH
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They have a known problem with the wiring plug contacts at and inside the tank
Dec 20, 2011 at 10:49 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Thanks Wrenchtech. Can that be solved by squeezing connector pins tighter, or is parts replacement involved? What about a poor ground connection on rusty metal gas tanks?
Dec 20, 2011 at 11:50 PM
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WRENCHTECH
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We get away with tightening the contacts a lot but it's recommended to replace the pigtail. Many replacement pumps come with a new internal pigtail and the dealer has the one outside of the tank. The voltage drop will not only give the illusion of a bad pump but it will ruin a good pump too. A poor ground will always cause a problem like resistance anywhere in the circuit will and the issue could be right there at the plug too.
Dec 20, 2011 at 11:59 PM