Because the fuel pump directly affects your engine’s efficiency, you will notice a significant reduction in your fuel economy if your fuel pump is going bad. Urb’s Garage is going to list the signs of a faulty fuel pump below. One of these signs is a noticeable reduction in how many miles per gallon you get out of a full tank. If it’s nowhere near what you normally get, you’ve got a fuel delivery problem.
A Surging Engine
One thing that will reduce your fuel efficiency is if the fuel pump releases too much fuel into the engine. Rather than send the fuel back to the tank, the engine will burn away the excess fuel. You may notice this if your engine picks up speed sporadically while you are driving your automobile. In severe cases, you may also see black exhaust smoke flowing out of the tailpipe.
An Overheating Engine
Another sign that your fuel pump is having problems is an overheating engine. The fuel that the pump draws out of the tank cools the fuel pump motor. It works for the fuel pump motor just as your coolant works for your engine. If the fuel pump is drawing little to no fuel out of the tank, the fuel pump motor will overheat. The excess heat generated by the motor will overheat your engine.
High-Speed Sputtering
Little to no fuel being drawn out of the tank can also cause your engine to sputter and hiccup at high speeds. This is definitely a sign that your fuel pump is going out. Your engine may seem fine when you are driving at slower speeds only to struggle when you press down on the accelerator.
Stress Power Loss
The same thing will happen when your engine is under stress. The engine needs more fuel to handle stressful conditions such as going up steep inclines or towing trailers. If the engine doesn’t have enough fuel under these conditions, you will lose significant power.
A Dead Engine
Finally, if the fuel pump dies completely, there will be no fuel in the combustion chamber to start the engine. Consequently, you’ll end up with a dead engine, and there is no good time for that. It’s important to bring your vehicle to our shop at the first sign of trouble to avoid this problem.
We are Urb’s Garage in Burlington or Erlanger, KY, and we can test your fuel pump to make sure it is generating enough fuel pressure. If it isn’t, we will replace it.
