Driving down the road and engine shuts off

[Bitsyncmaster]

I bet your pump has jammed. When the pump has jammed it will draw a lot more current than normal. So your 8.45 volts may just be the caused by the voltage drops when the pump is drawing 20 amps.

The fuse won't blow until you draw about 23 to 25 amps and I've found the "BUSS" brand fuses don't blow reliably.

You can try reversing the power lead so the pump will run backwards and may clear a jam.

[dn010]

Take the pump out and use some alligator clips to hook the + & - directly to a fully charged battery to bench test it - it will push whatever fuel is left in it out so beware (that is, if it works). If it doesn't move, gently tapping it with a rubber hammer on the sides also clears some of the more stubborn jams that do not get fixed by the reverse method. Almost all of the pumps I've fixed that had debris in it which caused it to stop, run louder and fail soon afterwards so I usually end up replacing them anyway.

[Jimmycxc]

Took out the fuel pump over the weekend and played around with it quite a bit. Its definitely dead. Ordered a new one and should be here by Friday. Will let everyone know how it goes.

Thank you everyone for your help. I did learn a lot and even cleaned up some of my grounds at the same time.

However, I did find this unplugged. Assuming it has to do with the brakes.

IMG_5423.JPG

[Bitsyncmaster]

That electrical plug is for the low brake fluid warning light.

[Jimmycxc]

I just got my new pump and installed it. I put fresh gas in the tank, turned the key and heard the pump turn on. However, the engine would not start. I tried pumping the gas a little while turning the key, but still it would not start. Now (and this is somewhat embarrassing), I may have mixed up the fuel line and return line when re-installing. Can anyone tell by looking at it, which is which?

IMG_5461.JPG

[Rich]

I just got my new pump and installed it. ....I tried pumping the gas a little while turning the key, but still it would not start. Now (and this is somewhat embarrassing), I may have mixed up the fuel line and return line when re-installing.....

Without an answer about which line is which you can try two things:
1. With the pump on and engine not cranking push down on the air metering plate under the air cleaner. If there is any fuel pressure then there should be some resistance. With no fuel pressure the metering plate will fall away easily, suggesting you swapped the lines.
2. Try starting the engine while spraying starting fluid into the air meter. If the engine fires at all on starting fluid and not at all without then it points to a fuel problem, including swapped lines to-from the tank.

The first test won't tell you if there is sufficient pressure to open the injectors but will indicate bad plumbing or zero pump delivery.

[Jimmycxc]

If there's a 50/50 chance, 90% of the time I will choose wrong. Haha.

Had the lines reversed, but it actually did not matter at that point...I heard the pump turning on to prime, but I wanted to make sure it was actually moving fuel. Found out the suction side rubber hose was collapsed shut. I took it all out and cleaned everything. The 10mm nut holding in the baffle was like brand new. Thank you Rob Grady! Put all back, tested, fuel flowing, primed pump a few times, and eventually turned over.

Not sure what caused the old pump to stop working. The suction hose wasn't collapsed when I first took it out.

Thank you to all who offered their help! PITA? Yup. But also rewarding like some of you have mentioned.