Signs of faulty fuel pump

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The fuel pump is like the heartbeat of a car, a very important part of the fuel management system, the fuel pump is so critical to the entire functionality of an automobile to the extent that if it blinks for a second then the entire vehicle becomes practically affected.

Its main function simply is, to transport fuel from its enclosed position inside the fuel tank through the fuel lines or rails to the injectors or carburetor as the case may be, what are the tail signs that your fuel pump might have gone bad, these signs come in several forms
that might get you thinking it is a result of other malfunctioning components in your car.

Though fuel pumps are built to last longer than some basic car components they also have the tendency to go bad without much punishment, these few tale signs clearly evident that your fuel pump is on its way out and needs attention.

A. HARD STARTING

B. SURGING AND JERKING

C. LOSS OF POWER DURING ACCELERATION

D. LOSS OF ENGINE POWER UNDER STRESS

E. INCREASED FUEL CONSUMPTION


HARD STARTING

This seems to be one of the most common symptoms of a bad or failing fuel pump, the basic function of a fuel pump is to transport fuel from the fuel tank to the engine via the fuel rail and the injector nozzles when a fuel pump goes bad it's unable to transport little or enough fuel to start the engine, in this case, the logical thing to to do is to carry out some series of test on the fuel pump to ascertain the extent of damage, our verdict, in this case, is to out rightly replace the pump if faced with this sort of challenge.




SURGING AND JERKING

Surging and jerking could be signs of other faulty components in a car be it the spark plugs, bad air flow meter, and more, but it is also a tale sign of a faulty fuel pump have you ever experienced a sudden increase in speed when driving at a constant pace this is a result of a failing fuel pump, the first thing to do is to run a fuel pressure test as this would help ascertain the extent of damage on the fuel pump.

LOSS OF POWER DURING ACCELERATION

Loss of power during acceleration is a clear indication that there is something wrong with your fuel pump and indeed your fuel system, experiencing a loss of control during acceleration is a clear pointer to a bad fuel pressure regulator or some clogged up fuel lines because your car requires more fuel to keep up the pace during increased acceleration, it is expected that the fuel pump supply's more fuel to the combustion chamber when acceleration is increased if the fuel pump or it associated components are compromised then there is every possibility of experiencing a loss of power due to inadequate fuel supply to keep up with increased acceleration, our verdict here is to run a fuel pressure test using a fuel pressure tester. before replacing the fuel pump

LOSS OF ENGINE POWER UNDER LOAD.

Loss of engine power under load simply means loss of power when the engine is engaged either forward or reverse, this could be more common with cars driven by automatic transmission because of the extra power needed by the engine to engage the transmission, a faulty or out rightly bad fuel pump might cause the engine to lose power under this sort of load thereby making it incapable of performing optimally, the best bet here is to outright replace the fuel pump.

INCREASED FUEL CONSUMPTION

Increased fuel consumption can be attributed to some other components in a car be it the airflow meter, faulty air mass sensors, worn-out oxygen sensors, vacuum leaks, and lots more ( look out for our next post which outlines more on this) but a faulty fuel pump can also attribute to increase in fuel consumption in a way, our reasons are not far fetched, the fuel pump is made up of tiny sub-components which includes a relief valve, the function of this relief valve is to regulate the amount of fuel flow that goes to the engine if by chance this relief valve opens abnormally then this will simply mean that more fuel will go into the engine thereby flooding it with too much fuel than required at that time. Our best bet in this scenario is to run a physical inspection on the fuel system before conducting a fuel pressure test.

Whatever the case might be it's always best to run a fuel pressure test when faced with a fuel pump challenge or problem, this will help determine the extent of damage, the exact cause of damage, and an appropriate solution in dealing with the problem.