My car won't start -- Fuel Pump and/or Rail?

[wyckd]

so...here's what i did to my car this morning before it died on me in the evening:

i took out the "ACIS" from the passenger side of the intake plenum. i scrubbed off all the thick grime, sprayed it with seafoam deep creep, then grinded down the inner housing (not the butterfly). wiped it down then put it back inside.

i then took my CP-e (non-customizable) off and sprayed seafoam deepcreep inside the t/b and scrubbed the inside to the best of my ability with a toothbrush. i put the CP-e back on.

i start the car and all works fine. there was white smoke coming out of my exhaust for about 2 minutes. i noticed that i was hearing some kind of new "whirring" noise..it sounded soft, i was wondering if my tires were screeching each time the transmission shifted. but it wasn't the tires (i'm sure), and i kept trying to listen, and it didn't happen all the time, but i did hear it only when the transmission shifted. anyway, i come to a stop sign, i try to accelerate and the engine shuts off on me and refuses to start.

it ain't the battery for sure. AAA tow guy said it's probably fuel pump or fuel rail.


so i'm wondering: should i just get the damaged part replaced? or upgrade performance based aftermarket?


Reference: free v6 mod...

[02slera]

first double check that you put everything back correctly, vacuum lines and all, and all bolts are tight, it suspicious it failed right after that mod was done. also if you dont get many responses, this should really be posted in the aftermarket upgrades section i think, then again maybe the stock section, idk.

[wyckd]

i've checked everything twice. i "might" have missed something, but i'm sure i didn't.

i had the car towed late, so i had it left at a shop, and i'll go get it tomorrow morning. AAA guy said they'll run diagnostics for free to figure out what's wrong. i really hope it's something simple..

another thing is...i only touched 2 hoses. 1 from ACIS, 1 from CP-e just to push the intake aside. the car doesn't even give me a CEL

[wyckd]

i got the car back from the shop. mechanic said there was a blown fuse (a blue #15) and that once he replaced it..the engine started again.

well, great, i drove it away and about 15 minutes of driving later, engine dies on me. this time i didn't hear weird noises, nothing out of the ordinary except that my car was accelerating significantly faster than before.

this time i checked all the blue fuses, found two, both are fine...could barely see into the other fuses. should i get a larger fuse to replace the broken one (if i find it) or just leave my car on top of rail tracks?

[Midias]

do not replace with a bigger fuse and check your grounds I think there is one that goes on the acis

[02slera]

fuses should really be checked with a meter.
and as Midias said, never up size the fuse because of it blowing.
Check all wiring in the areas you were working. look for loose connections or wires that are not hooked up at all.

[wyckd]

ok, so i checked again, and the same fuse blew out. and according to the manual, it's the EFI and related components fuse............and i don't recall touching (at least not intentionally) any EFI parts...the two ground wires that were connected to the ACIS itself, i realized that the two wires were touching each other after i had tightened the nut; so, i loosened it, separated the two wires a little, and tightened it again...but the wire's own connectors are still touching each other since they were bolted to the same stud. i replaced the fuse with a similar looking 15amp fuse (it's a different shade of blue).

hopefully, my car doesn't stop on me again.

i also noticed my car DOES make wooshing noises sometimes when upshifting. could that be because i may have stuffed the intake tube further into the filter?

[SirThomas88]

ok, so i checked again, and the same fuse blew out. and according to the manual, it's the EFI and related components fuse

I blew my EFI once while making a run down a dragstrip. Most likely due to the fact that my boost cooler was circuited on that power line (along with SAFC2, AFR Gauge, extra auxiliary lighting). Just too much power for it to handle at WOT and 5k RPM.

I don't know if you have a lot of stuff plugged into that same line that runs the "EFI and related components" but if you do you should consider finding another power line, like the cigarette lighters.

That's weird that it happened right as you came to a stop.

nothing out of the ordinary except that my car was accelerating significantly faster than before.

that's weird that you say that because when my EFI fuse blew I was racing a Camaro, started out pulling on him and getting a car length ahead, then he catches up and passes me, and then right before my EFI fuse blew (about 3/4th the way down the track) I started catching back up with him... and i'd say my car was accelerating with more power than usual as well. i thought it was just my imagination.

[wyckd]

my car blew two more fuses today. one accelerating from a stop sign, and 2nd, immediately after.

i checked every fuse to see if anything else was blown. i scrutinized every wire i could see under the hood to make sure nothing was loose or exposed to short itself. the only thing i couldnt do was look at the wires underneath the fuse box.


how do i know if a fuel pump has gone bad? and while driving, am i supposed to be able to hear the fuel pump?

[SirThomas88]

Weird.... a wire somewhere must be touching something it's not supposed to be. what i don't understand is that it sounds like you didn't really mess with your wiring before this started happening so I'm curious as to why this got started.

if you were messing with wiring and this started happening then it would make a lot more sense. and that's where i'd look for the problem. take out your glove box and check the wires coming from the computer. find which one the EFI wire is (its towards the top left of the computer on mine)

[wyckd]

i'm gonna do what Midias' suggests and solder the CP-e wires. i drove 200 miles in between fuse blow outs, so i'm just baffled. actually, i drove 2 inches between fuse blow outs too...

[02slera]

ok i did a quick search, i found the following which may or may not help, but here goes:

Many Toyota owners have a problem with the electronic fuel injection (EFI) fuse blowing repeatedly.

Here are some things to check:

1) The wires around the EGR tube for melting or fraying.
2) The wires near the EGR vacuum switching valve (VSV) located under the intake manifold.
3) Wires pinched between the intake manifold and the cylinder head.
4) Wires pinched anywhere along the valve cover.
5) Check injector wiring for any pinched locations.
6) Run an amp test on the fuel pump.

[Midias]

Check to make sure you did not pinch a wire when you put everything back together

[SirThomas88]

This is gonna be one of those things where when you figure out what's causing it you go "doh!" and smack your head. Have someone with a camera nearby when you figure it out so you can post your reaction.

[wyckd]

holy crap! o2slera, thanks! i'll try that next. i just got done soldering all the connections, so if the engine stalls again, i'll check the other wires (so i can eliminate possibilities). someone from TN suggested i reset the ACIS from the VSV or something like that.

i followed neither CP-e, or Midias' method...as, i had already parked and unplugged stuff from my car..i didn't wanna redo everything to make a trip to the electronics shop to buy something Midias' used. therefore, i went Mickey Mouse method, i snipped off the ends of the MAFc wires, and just soldered them all onto their corresponding wires on the ECU. did cover most of them with heat shrink. some that had a weird T shape, i just put eletrical tape over it.

test drove the car, runs fine. but then.....so did before soldering. minus the random stalls.

i noticed a wire coming out of the passenger's side firewall...i have no idea where it comes from, or where it goes...there's nowhere anywhere near its short length to plug into anything...