Fuel Pump cutoff - pre tow Hail Mary

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TomOsborne

TomOsborne

Joined
Jan 14, 2017
Threads
19
Messages
425
Location
Wakulla FLA
So I was enjoying my Sunday by working on this and that on my 80. Had a phantom, "I am just not going to start until you jump me", problem that reared it's head a 2nd time on Saturday. Decided to replace both battery terminals and clean things up. Started up just fine. Couple hours later- next start- she's dead. No gas. Spent the evening looking at fuses etc and didn't see anything wrong. Any ideas? There isnt an emergency cutoff for the 80 is there? If I need a tow it's going to be expensive- I live in the sticks. Dont trust the nearest mechanic either. So Im in a bit of a pickle. Any ideas on what to try this evening would be great. Thank you!
 
Alright. Found the emergency start procedures. Going to kill the tow idea until I can work through every scenario. So IH8 has already save me some money and going to learn a little the hard way. I'll check for gas but Im fairly certain thats where the problem is. Didnt smell any gas when it was cranking. Then work through the fuses and relays. And that fuseable link from the terminal.
 
@TomOsborne it's hard to tell from here. Can you describe how you've determined that you have no gas? To answer your first question, there is no OEM emergency cutoff, per se. There is an ECU relay which has to open to allow fuel to flow, but the details are based on the year model. (that's the only thing that comes to mind immediately)

If your problem is really fuel related, you have two choices, you can start at the tank (access in under the second row seat) or the engine. The choice, IMO, should be based on what you know about the failure, and in smaller part, what you are capable of doing mechanically or electrically.

If you can determine that your problem is electrical, and you know you have a history there, break out the EWD and multimeter.

Either way, I'd recommend starting with the FSM in hand.
 
Awesome thank you! Went home for lunch. 40 miles round trip but couldnt wait to look at it. All fuses looked good. Turned the key over and no CEL, which I understand is a down EFI. Looked at the main fuse link, which is in really bad shape. Messed with the connectors and tried to crank- this time I have the CEL! But no start. Messed with them some more and lights came on I didnt know existed including the red voltage light - still no start. Messed with them some more and back to CEL and no start. So it seems to be a fairly good assumption that I need the new 3 wire link.
 
Ordered the primary link from Legacy in Tallahassee. Took off work so I could r/r and further diagnose. Yay me they ordered the AM1 50 amp. I even verified the correct part number and they still got it wrong. So they should have it today and I'll be closer to running. Was thinking it would be nice to replace the male end of the connector that the link connects to. Anyone do this? Im guessing it would be the entire wire/cable. I stripped the protective conduit and old electrical tape a long ways down that cable thinking I would run into a splice. Maybe 3'. No splice. So I'm wondering where that wire leads to. I'll eventually upload pics of this whole thing so others can reference it. Thanks yall.
 
Malleus said:
@TomOsborne it's hard to tell from here. Can you describe how you've determined that you have no gas? To answer your first question, there is no OEM emergency cutoff, per se. There is an ECU relay which has to open to allow fuel to flow, but the details are based on the year model. (that's the only thing that comes to mind immediately)

If your problem is really fuel related, you have two choices, you can start at the tank (access in under the second row seat) or the engine. The choice, IMO, should be based on what you know about the failure, and in smaller part, what you are capable of doing mechanically or electrically.

If you can determine that your problem is electrical, and you know you have a history there, break out the EWD and multimeter.


Man I need the FSM.

My general thoughts were since I replaced the terminals I either shorted out a fuse or disturbed the link wires to a point where they failed. After reading through the above attached work-through I realized my CEL was down when the key was turned. AHA! ECU is down. SO I looked at those wires closer and they are just a mess, and the battery side portion of the fusible link was partially broke, and don't understand how it stayed together this long anyway. Just an impending disaster and at least it ended up going down in the driveway. So tonight will be a bug night. And pics of the mess will follow. Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
TomOsborne said:
Ordered the primary link from Legacy in Tallahassee. Took off work so I could r/r and further diagnose. Yay me they ordered the AM1 50 amp. I even verified the correct part number and they still got it wrong. So they should have it today and I'll be closer to running. Was thinking it would be nice to replace the male end of the connector that the link connects to. Anyone do this? Im guessing it would be the entire wire/cable. I stripped the protective conduit and old electrical tape a long ways down that cable thinking I would run into a splice. Maybe 3'. No splice. So I'm wondering where that wire leads to. I'll eventually upload pics of this whole thing so others can reference it. Thanks yall.
Click to expand...

I would stay away from splicing anything with your fusible links they are designed to break hence the "fusible" part by splicing or modifying you run the risk of being right where you are now or worse causing a problem further down the harness it will take forever to find. They are designed to basically break like a fuse if there is too much power being sent across them from the battery to other electrical components in the vehicle. They do get old and need to be replaced most common practice it to go ahead and replace them when you replace your battery and always keep a spare set in your glove box they are cheap. Don't mess with something that isn't really designed to be messed with. Just my opinion.
 
jdayment said:
I would stay away from splicing anything with your fusible links they are designed to break hence the "fusible" part by splicing or modifying you run the risk of being right where you are now or worse causing a problem further down the harness it will take forever to find. They are designed to basically break like a fuse if there is too much power being sent across them from the battery to other electrical components in the vehicle. They do get old and need to be replaced most common practice it to go ahead and replace them when you replace your battery and always keep a spare set in your glove box they are cheap. Don't mess with something that isn't really designed to be messed with. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. Good idea with replacing it with battery changes. First time I have ever run into these things. Didn't even know what they were until i got knee deep into replacing the terminals. Have to admit that although its learning by doing, and through inconvenience, it's rewarding getting to know the setup and the electrical system. Now back to that downrange clip I referenced... I'm talking about the clip that the fusible link clips into. Downrange from the fusible link. I'll have the new link, which has the female portion of the clip (or male I cant remember), then the male portion (or female) is attached to that long wire that seems to exit out of the engine bay (could be wrong and will figure out). Thats what I was pondering- where it goes to and what might be involved in replacing it. 10-4 on the splice. I'm a terrible splicer anyway. Since I'll be at the parts department tonight I'll try to get a handle where that wire leads. Might just order it if it's possible. I'll report back. Thanks again! For real.
 
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