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Topic
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1996 chrysler cirrus lx 2.5l v6
Lately my car has ben blowing fuses,specifically the ignition/fuel pump fuse. it goes thru fuses pretty fast .
after replacing the fuse and trying to start the engine u hear the fuel pump start then the fuse blows.
Is this a sign the fuel pump is bad? or something else, it just started doing this a week ago
any input would be great thanks
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I would suggest the pump is shot, you can do a continuity test of the wires to be sure there are no shorts to the pump
This is a inexpensive tool I found that is really handy when checking over current issues.
According to Alldata that is a 20 AMP circuit. You unplug the fuse, plug in the tool (Harbor freight sells the same tool for $14.00 if you have one near you) turn on the key and read how much current is being drawn through the circuit. If it is higher than 20 Amps for more than a few seconds than the pump is likely to be bad. You have to wait a few seconds as an electric motor will draw much higher amperage when starting than it will once running.
it doesnt do it all the time it does it without warning, it can start it several times in a row with no issue then randomly blows the fuse
Yeah, DC motors have like 10 separate windings on the rotor. If the motor stops on a shorted turn, it will draw excess current and sometimes not start, blowing the fuse. The rest of the time it will have stopped on a good turn and it will mostly run okay. Frustrating.
does it ever blow the fuse while its running? an electric motor has a higher inrush current on start up, this is due to the initial torque for the motor to come up to speed
You said it has been blowing fuses, especially the fuel pump fuse. It has been blowing OTHER fuses as well? What ones? How often? Have you tested voltage at the battery with the engine off, and again with the engine on?
If there are other fuses blowing, there could be something else going on here aside from just a worn fuel pump.
[quote=”Raistian77″ post=75529]This is a inexpensive tool I found that is really handy when checking over current issues.
According to Alldata that is a 20 AMP circuit. You unplug the fuse, plug in the tool (Harbor freight sells the same tool for $14.00 if you have one near you) turn on the key and read how much current is being drawn through the circuit. If it is higher than 20 Amps for more than a few seconds than the pump is likely to be bad. You have to wait a few seconds as an electric motor will draw much higher amperage when starting than it will once running.[/quote]
That’s a cool tool. I’ve often used just a circuit breaker in the past. That won’t tell you what amps are flowing though.
I’m with the group on this one. If you’re only blowing the fuel pump fuse, then I think it’s a good bet that your pump is going out. You could also do a voltage drop across the pump to see what kind of voltage it’s pulling down. You don’t have to drop the tank, you just need to find the wires to the pump to do the drop. If you don’t have a DVOM thought that might be difficult. Information on voltage drops can be found here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-electrical-problems
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