I have a lady friend with a 1996 SL1 sedan with about 150K miles on it. The thing was running fine until she pulled into her driveway several days ago. Now it won't start. She had me look at it. The gas tank is half full. I added another two gallons so I believe it has sufficient fuel. It cranks over and produces a good spark. It is the 1.9 liter engine. I turned the key on and listened for the electric fuel pump to charge the system. A fuel pressure gauge connected to the Schrader valve on the fuel rail reads zero. The fuse for the fuel pump checks OK. I believe that the fuel pump gets 12 volts thru a relay somewhere but I'm not sure. I want to check for 12 volts at the gas tank before pulling the fuel pump. I would like to see an electrical schematic of the fuel pump circuit if anyone can direct me to one.

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Also --in case I need to remove the fuel pump --any comments on doing so would be appreciated. I am 56 years old and have been wrenching for over 40 years but I haven't done much work on Saturns.

Chuck Davis

 

when the key is first turned to on, the fuel pump relay is energized for 2 seconds by the PCM to build fuel system pressure.

Check the 10 amp fuel pump fuse in the IP junction block (under the the passenger side center console kick panel if you haven't located it yet). Fuel pump relay is near the top left in the IPJB (layout is on the inside of the IPJB cover). You can swap in another relay from the IPJB for testing purposes--they are the same.

 

derf

Thanks for the info. I have already checked the 10 amp fuse and it is good. I'll check or swap the relay tomorrow. If I need to replace the fuel pump -- can it be done without dropping the gas tank?

 

The tank must come down for fuel pump replacement, unless you want to cut a hole in the trunk floor. However, in the trunk, is the electrical connection for the fuel pump.It is located on th upper left,under the fabric that lines the trunk area. There is a gray+ and a black- with a purple wire(fuel gauge). the gray and the black are the ones that you want. You can tap twelve volts to this connection gray being the positive and black being the negative. If your fuel pump does not run it needs replacing. Sometimes with juice going to this connection, you can bang on the gas tank and get the pump to run temporarily. should you need to replace the fuel pump, its a fairly easy job. The tank is plastic and comes off easily.

 

hoseppi

Thanks for the info. I quickly looked in the trunk for the wires several nights ago and I didn't see any. Now that I know they are there I'll give a closer look. I want to test if I'm getting voltage at this point before I pull the fuel pump. I have alligator clips on my meter which have sharp pins on them that will pierce the insulation on the gray and ground wires.

I'll check it out tomorrow.

 

Dz nutz! Wutup hit me up on my cell