If your car, truck, or SUV loses power when you drive up hills or other steep inclines, Arthur’s Automotive advises that it’s time to replace the fuel pump. On average, you will get approximately 100,000 miles out of the factory fuel pump. If you drive an older automobile, the fuel pump is more likely to malfunction or stop working. Aside from losing power when you drive up hills or when the engine is under stress, here are other signs that the fuel pump is going bad.
Other Performance Issues
Depending on how much fuel the pump is moving into the engine, your vehicle may also lag at high speeds or pick up speed by itself. If the pump is starving the engine of fuel, it will have problems producing power and the engine will start to sputter. If the pump is flooding the engine with fuel, the engine will pick up speed every time it burns away the excess gasoline or diesel fuel.
Reduction in Fuel Economy
The latter will naturally cause a reduction in your vehicle’s fuel economy because the engine is burning excess fuel. Unfortunately, however, the former will also reduce the fuel economy. Even though the engine is struggling to run, it uses the fuel quickly in order to produce power. Consequently, it will use more fuel than it would if it were running efficiently.
Reduction in Fuel Pressure
Another thing that can be reduced by a faulty fuel pump is your vehicle’s fuel pressure. If you have a fuel pressure gauge in your toolbox, test the fuel pressure to see if it is below normal. If it is, the fuel pump is not producing enough pressure to move the fuel into the engine effectively.
Increased Engine Temperature
We admit that this sign of a malfunctioning fuel pump is a bit weird but the fuel pump can increase the engine’s temperature. The fuel pump has a motor that cools itself off with the fuel that it pulls out of the tank. If the pump is unable to pull the fuel out of the tank, the motor is going to overheat. Consequently, this heat will cause the engine to overheat.
Hard Starts or No Starts
Finally, you don’t need us to tell you that your engine is not going to start if the pump has died. If it is no longer working, you do not have fuel in the engine.
Call Arthur’s Automotive in Portland, OR, today to set up a service appointment so we can test your fuel pump and replace it if necessary.