Hello everyone help needed for my sons 1999 MC ls,
So I have in the past ran a car dry and went through the process of priming and was able to get fuel established again.
So my son was letting his car warm up and as a negligent 17 yr old never has gas and always below 1/4 tank, well this time he was about empty and when he came out the car was shut off and wouldn't start. He later after school added 5 gallons of gas and tried to start it again after priming with the ignition and still nothing till the battery started to die. Next day after charging the battery we tried adding more fuel and priming again and still nothing.
I removed the exit side of the fuel filter under the tank and it had slight pressure and a little fuel came out then had him try and start the car and zero fuel came out of the open line and filter. (I HAD LISTENED TO SEE IF PUMP WAS MAKING NOISE FROM IN THE TRUNK, UNDER THE SEAT AND FROM UNDER THE CAR--ZERO NOISE)
Next I took the line from the inlet side of the fuel filter and a little more fuel trickled out then had him try start it and nothing came out.
I have swapped around relays and no change to pressure and looked at the injector fuse by the relay and all other fuses in the general area and nothing appears blown.
All signs point to when he ran the car for about 20-30 minutes on an almost empty tank till it ran dry he burned up the fuel pump but im asking for help before dropping this tank if there is something I missed.
thanks a million!
AJP in SC

 

My assumption once I saw the title, burned pump. They are gasoline cooled, and for that reason I try to never let it go below 1/4 tank.

 

ChiBiBlackSheep,
Thanks for the response and I did read where the are gas liquid cooled so that would make sense to me also. It was only about 18 degrees out that morning which led me to wonder if it could still burn up. Either way I know it is getting Zero noise coming from it now when you cycle the key on and off or even when you try and start it there is zero noise.
I was just making sure I didn't miss a relay or fuse or anything that would be keeping it from getting the signal to try and start.

Again thanks for reply.

 

You need to instill in him that he really shouldn't let the tank get below 1/4. I've been guilty a bit lately of letting it get down below 1/8 tank but it's winter and it's been cold and sometimes I don't 'feel like' stopping. Better chance of condensation forming with the larger air volume and water in gas is not good. I know some people who ride around below a quarter and drive til the tank is basically dry. They only put $5, $10, $20 worth of gas in at a time, which is fine and all, but you're going to be at the gas station a lot more frequently so why not just fill it up all the way? The money is going to be spent regardless if it's at one time or three times over a two week span.

 

A guy I knew in college kept his gas low to reduce the weight of the car and improve his mileage. As the car was a 1973 Mustang Grande, I doubt there was a measurable improvement.

 

Does the fuel pump have access to it like the 6th generations? We can get to ours through the trunk, no need to drop a tank.

 

Not on 5th gens, unfortunately.