[Roadsters] Is it a bad fuel pump?

[Tom Hendricksen]

Mr. Hyde has had a couple of issues that caused him to either miss, or 
just stop running.

First was the miss and loss of power.  It turned out that the screw 
holding the condenser on the side of the dizzy was just a little bit 
loose and not solidly grounding the body of the condenser.  This one 
nearly drove me crazy until I grabbed the dizzy to turn it to see if 
timing effected the problem.  When I took hold of the dizzy the engine 
sound changed, and I went looking for whatever I could find.

Second was a blown 10 Amp fuse that caused the engine to just quit 
running.  Fortunately I always carry a set of spare fuses and there have 
been no problems since.

Tom
69 2000 - Mr. Hyde
Las Vegas





On 7/10/2013 7:58:56 PM, Pat Horne (pat at hornesystemstx.com) wrote:
 > Michael,
 >
 > Since starting fluid doesn't get the car to fire, I believe there is
 > something else wrong. Starting fluid should make the engine start
 > without any fuel in the carbs. It may be that there is more than one
 > thing wrong, but that is a bit unusual for a vehicle that was running
 > one minute and not the next.
 >
 > First thing I would check if I suspect a fuel problem is whether or not
 > there is fuel in the carbs. Take the top off the float chambers and see
 > how much fuel there is. They should be about half full and the same
 > amount of fuel in both of them.
 >
 > Are you using a stock, engine driven fuel pump? If so, connect a length
 > of fuel line to the outlet of the pump and the other end in an empty
 > can. Crank the engine and see if any fuel flows out. If there is no flow
 > out of the pump, try putting fuel into the can and hook a hose to the
 > pump inlet. Crank the engine and see if you get any flow. If you get
 > flow this way the problem is between the pump and the pickup in the tank.
 >
 > If it is an electric pump, also check for power to the pump and ground.
 >
 > If the fuel pump and carb levels look good, check your ignition system.
 > Pull the lead from the center of the distributor cap and hold it close
 > to ground and turn the engine over. You should get sparks.
 >
 > Check the compression on all cylinders to see if the compression is low.
 >
 > These are the easy and cheap(er) things that can go wrong.
 >
 > I wouldn't jump to the dealer to get a fuel pump, they are not cheap and
 > the dealer will have to order it, so you will just be throwing parts at
 > the problem and quite possibly missing.
 >
 > More expensive causes are a timing chain or defective gear causing the
 > cam to jump a tooth or more.