Bosch pump with less than 5000 miles on it. Got power to the pump. Pump sticking. Sometimes can tap it and it starts, only to stop again. Am in process of cleaning fuel tank and putting new sock filter on outlet.

My question....does it make sense that this pump could be sticking because of debris getting through to it? Or do I likely just have a bad pump?

Thanks in advance for responding. This forum is a life saver for a rookie like me.

I'd check the electrical connections first.

Make sure the connector and the two cables are good and you get good ground.
Andy

Checked cables at the pump connection and got 12. Is that what you mean? Thanks!

Seen that failure a lot on newer cars. Bang on the tank to limp it home. Sounds like a bad pump to me.

i assume you have fuel injection... so the test i did was to temporary jump a wire from the coil to the pump and ground the other terminal. leave the injector connector plug going to the pump ziptied out of the way, take it for a spin. if it is no longer cutting out you have a electrical gremlin. if it still cuts out its a bad pump.

If the only thing you do to make the pump run is to tap on it, and everything else remains unchanged, my money's on a bad pump.

The Cap'n

I second the Cap'n on the pump.

If there is a filter between the gas tank and pump, then you definitely have a bad pump.

If there is no filter and you are flushing crap out of the tank, then you might have ingested crap into the pump. In that case, the pump may be damaged.

When you tap on it while it is powered and not running, can you sense that the pump is "trying" to run? That is you should feel some humming or vibration.

If the pump is making absolutely no noise or vibration before the tap-tap-tap-then-it-starts, then it sounds like the motor has a dead spot and is shot.

Typical dirt in the pump shouldn't be bad enough to cause a motor to not start. You will hear the humming or feel some vibration if the pump was trying to run but couldn't because of a bit of dirt.