HELP!!! Ran out of gas - Put some in - Now it won't start!

twinbopilot

twinbopilot

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2000 LS V6 - stock

Wife thought it would be a good idea to put off filling up and drive across town with the low fuel light on. FAIL.

So when she calls me for help I bring 2 gallons and put it in. Car won't restart.

Cranked it endlessly with no result. Cycled the ignition. Locked and unlocked the doors (in case it was the security system). Nothing.

I had her crank it while I smelled the exhaust - no fuel odor.

I don't hear an electric pump come on when the ignition is turned on. I've never heard it before either, but I wasn't listening for it. Should I be able to hear it? Even if the electrical pump is not working, shouldn't the mechanical pump on the engine be enough to start the car?

The chance of the elec. pump failing exactly when it ran out of gas seems remote.

Any ideas?
 
Yeah. It just sounds like it still needs to be primed.
Good luck.
 
I went back to the car and put in another gallon. Same result - No start. I've now added 3 gallons which should be plenty to prime the pump. Also, I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure pushing the throttle down while starting has little to no effect on a fuel injected engine. (I did it anyway but no change)
 
twinbopilot said:
2000 LS V6 - stock
... Even if the electrical pump is not working, shouldn't the mechanical pump on the engine be enough to start the car?

The chance of the elec. pump failing exactly when it ran out of gas seems remote.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

First of all, your LS like the majority of cars has an electric fuel pump in the tank. Also, like all fuel injected cars, it does not have any "mechanical pump" on the engine. Where did you get that idea? When cars had carburetors, most had a mechanical (and only a mechanical) pump on the engine. However, those days are long gone.

Second, the chances of a fuel pump failure after running out of gas are better than you might think. It is a lot of added stress on an in tank fuel pump when it runs dry. It gets a lot hotter than normal, because it is missing the fuel that would normally cool and lubricate it.

Thirdly, you probably don't have a failed fuel pump. You just need to put a lot more fuel in. The LS has a saddle type fuel tank with the fuel pump on one side and a jet type pump on the other. Unfortunately, the jet pump won't work if there is no fuel in the side of the tank that has the main fuel pump in it. (The jet pump works only if the main fuel pump has fuel it can circulate through the jet.) Add a few more gallons, and you will be okay.
 
yep - the fuel pump sits inside a canister - designed to keep a pool of fuel around the pump for cooling and to prevent starvation when cornering/braking/hills, ...etc

so adding a little bit of fuel will not be enough to refill all the lines and canister.

the fuel pump is under the rear seat passenger side - you should be able to hear the pump prime when you turn the key to 'on'.

After all that, an empty pump could have got hot and popped a fuse, relay, ...etc. You can also check the fuel inertia switch in the driver's side kick panel. There should be a scharder valve on the fuel rail that you can depress to see if fuel is at the rail, and attach a gauge to read the pressure (which should be about 30psi on the rail at idle)
 
twinbopilot said:
I went back to the car and put in another gallon. Same result - No start. I've now added 3 gallons which should be plenty to prime the pump. Also, I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure pushing the throttle down while starting has little to no effect on a fuel injected engine. (I did it anyway but no change)
Click to expand...

Get back with us when you have put six or more gallons in. You have to get enough gas in so that some flows into the right sump of the gas tank. At this point you have only put some in the left sump. The electric fuel pump is in the right sump. I don't know how much you have to put in before some flows to the other side.

Yes, pumping the gas pedal on a fuel injected car does nothing. On a car with a carburetor, pumping the pedal would squirt gas (only if there was some in the fuel bowl of the carburetor) into the intake manifold. On a fuel injected car, holding the gas pedal all the way down while starting makes it go into "clear flood" mode. In this mode it injects no gasoline into the engine while cranking. That' not what you want here.
 
Thanks for the quick responses. Y'all are awesome! I'll go back to the car, add 6 more gallons and report my findings. I'll also check the pump fuse.

Where did I get the idea that there were two pumps? From airplanes. I'm a commercial pilot and fuel injected airplanes always have both electric and mechanical pumps. I guess since you can't pull over in the sky, they add more back up to aircraft fuel systems.
 
twinbopilot said:
Thanks for the quick responses. Y'all are awesome! I'll go back to the car, add 6 more gallons and report my findings. I'll also check the pump fuse.

Where did I get the idea that there were two pumps? From airplanes. I'm a commercial pilot and fuel injected airplanes always have both electric and mechanical pumps. I guess since you can't pull over in the sky, they add more back up to aircraft fuel systems.
Click to expand...

I've never thought about that (airplane engines), but that makes a lot of sense. An engine stall in a car is not as exciting as an engine stall in a plane, I'm sure. I like Ron White's take on the issue. "How far can we go on one engine? -- All the way to the crash scene."
 
"The year I turned 13, I experimented with something, and my grandma caught me in the bathroom just a'doin it. She said, "It says in the Bible, young man, that it is better for your seed to fall in the belly of a whore than on the ground." I said, "Tough to argue with that logic, Grandma. You got 50 bucks?"

Ron White is my favorite comedian BY FAR!
 
put the key in, turn to on..but not far enough to start the car, could be called accessory too. turn it as far as you can without engaging the starter. If you cant hear the pump then look into the fuse/relay. if you hear the pump running, turn the key back to off, and cycle it again. to prime the whole fuel system normally takes more then one cycle.

If you cant get it started and your fuel pump fuse isnt blown, i would have it towed to YOUR HOUSE/APARTMENT. Dont be scared or pissed off or stress. a fuel pump is easier then doing valve cover gaskets on these things. you take the back seat out, unscrew a plastic ring and literally take the pump out. can be done in a half hour, a dealership will bitch and moan about transfer pumps and 1800$ worth of work. you can do it all yourself in under 2 hours for the price of a new fuel pump (~170$) and a little thinking.

thats only if it still wont start. you can also start with a fuel filter befor that too, but if you cant hear the pump running, your fuse is good...id say go for the fuel pump.
 
no problem. these cars do have there upsides...the fuel pump is one of them!
 
if i remember rite isnt there a fuel reset switch or something in the driver side kick panel? somebody please jump in on this if i am wrong. but i just went to my car and there is a hole to put your finger in and push a rubber thing. outside the hole there is a pic of a gas pump.
 
How about spraying some Quick Start into the air intake to get it to fire up.
Or feed it some propane from a hose or torch tip.
 
correct - that is the interia cutoff switch. designed to kill the power to the pump when in an impact. It can also tirp in very cold weather or with a good smack with your foot. - Usually - not because you ran out of fuel.

The little red button at the top should be 'popped' up if it's tripped - and all you do is push it down.
 
Ok, figured it out. It was the 20 amp fuel injector fuse under the hood. I had used that fuse to supply power to my add-on electric fan. It had worked well for awhile but I'm not going to tempt fate and put it back on that power source. Any ideas about where I can get switched power (only on with ignition on) under the hood?
 
twinbopilot said:
Ok, figured it out. It was the 20 amp fuel injector fuse under the hood.
Click to expand...
:eek:


yea that'd be one of those impossible to diagnose over the internet issues, that was completely self inflicted.

Just because you dodged the bullet this time, should be a fair warning sign.
If you've ran that car low on fuel as a matter of habit, you probably have already hurt the pump and it's days are numbered.

If the car has between 75K and 150K then you are right inside the window of fuel pump failure.

you've been warned..(lol)
 
I guess thats what I'll have to do. There are open spots in the fuse box where the factory could have installed more relays. They are always hot. I could take power from there, add an in-line fuse, and then run a low voltage relay circuit to one of the fuses that is powered on with the ignition. I've heard of using the A/C circuit to power electric fans but I'm not certain exactly how its done on an LS.
 
twinbopilot said:
Ok, figured it out. It was the 20 amp fuel injector fuse under the hood. I had used that fuse to supply power to my add-on electric fan. It had worked well for awhile but I'm not going to tempt fate and put it back on that power source. Any ideas about where I can get switched power (only on with ignition on) under the hood?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I poped that fuse on my LS after I replaced my fuel injectors. It took me It took me 3hrs to figure it out.
 
Thanks twinbopilot for your follow-up post to what was the actual problem. It was the exact problem solver for me by checking the fuel injector fuse under the hood. I was chewing my nails that i did not have a fuel pump problem and actually had to replace the fuel pump. That would have been a disaster.

As for the Fuel Pump reset button which is located under the kick panel on the driver side. You can reset it by the following. ( If twinbopilots method did not work )

Resetting the fuel pump (do this only if you have been involved in a substanial jolt or collision)

1) Turn the ignition to the OFF position
2) Check the fuel system for leaks
3) If no feul leak is apparent, reset the fuel pump shut-off switch by pushing in on the reset button
4) Turn on the ignition to the RUN position. Pause for a few seconds and return the key to the OFF postion
5) Make a further check for leaks in the fuel system.

For discount parts and replacements for needed visit here
 
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