HELP! Fuel Problems!, Fuel problem Troubleshooting Options

[clay914]

Hello all, I'm Clay in Loveland, CO. I just bought my first 914 on the 5th (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . It's a 1972 1.7 FI with 91K on the odometer. The previous owner had bought it 2 years ago and had only put about 2 thousand miles on it. My Father and I are familiar with general mechanics having done quite a few restorations on other vehicles, plus my father owned a 914/6 before he had me...bummer I know. I digress....back to the car.

The body is straight, with very little rust (some in typical places but easily fixed), the motor seems to be a bit cold blooded and wants to surge a bit when it is cold but after about 5-10 mins it evens out and runs well. I have noticed that it seems a little weak in the 2000-3000 RPM range.

Now the problem......

After owning and enjoying my new car for 24 hours (no joke) my baby wouldn't start. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) Having removed the oil bath filter and using starter fluid proved that I didn't have an ignition problem but a fuel problem. I removed the plug in one of the fuel rails ,turned the key and no fuel and the same before and after the fuel filter in the engine bay. After thinking that over for 10 seconds I realized that when the pump was moved from the engine compartment to the front that whom ever made the adjustment didn't move the filter between the tank and the pump, I will fix this. Having done this troubleshooting I can only believe that the problem lies with the fuel pump located in the front. It hums for a second once the key is turned then nothing which tells me it is on but not pumping. Is there anything else that I can check? Is there a way to test the pump? Please help.

[Spoke]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)

The fuel pump running for 1 second when the key is turned on is normal to prime the system.

Once you turn the key to start the car, as the engine is turned by the starter, contacts in the lower part of the distributor tell the fuel injection (FI) brain which cylinders to fire their injectors.

These contacts in the distributor also tell the FI brain that the engine is turning and the FI brain will run the fuel pump. This is done in case of accident where the engine stops so the fuel pump will also stop.

That being said, you can test the fuel pump by grounding pin III of the FI brain connector on the relay board. The relay board is positioned behind the driver in the engine compartment. Below is a link to a pic of the board. The FI brain connector is in the bottom left corner and has pin designations I, II, III, and IV.

Relay Board on Pelican Parts

Remove the connector and ground pin III. This will cause the fuel pump to run continuously when the ignition is turned on and you can test your fuel pump this way.

If the fuel pump is not turning on when the engine is being started, check the contacts and connector on the distributor. You don't have to remove the distributor cap to see the connector. The connector comes out of the bottom of the distributor.

[clay914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)

The fuel pump running for 1 second when the key is turned on is normal to prime the system.

Once you turn the key to start the car, as the engine is turned by the starter, contacts in the lower part of the distributor tell the fuel injection (FI) brain which cylinders to fire their injectors.

These contacts in the distributor also tell the FI brain that the engine is turning and the FI brain will run the fuel pump. This is done in case of accident where the engine stops so the fuel pump will also stop.

That being said, you can test the fuel pump by grounding pin III of the FI brain connector on the relay board. The relay board is positioned behind the driver in the engine compartment. Below is a link to a pic of the board. The FI brain connector is in the bottom left corner and has pin designations I, II, III, and IV.

Relay Board on Pelican Parts

Remove the connector and ground pin III. This will cause the fuel pump to run continuously when the ignition is turned on and you can test your fuel pump this way.

If the fuel pump is not turning on when the engine is being started, check the contacts and connector on the distributor. You don't have to remove the distributor cap to see the connector. The connector comes out of the bottom of the distributor.

Jerry,
Thanks, Jumped the III and pump ran as it should. disconnected line down stream and no fuel. Plenty of fuel to pump. My guess bad pump. I have ordered a reman from pelican but it is back ordered. Any suggestions for alternate source of this expensive beauty?

Thanks