No fuel to rail, pump turns on

CONKIN TROY

MEMBER
2002 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY
3.8L
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
180,000 MILES

There is no fuel to the fuel rail at the pumps comes on. Replaced the pump check, replace the relays and check the fuses. Still no fuel to the rail, but or inline it at all but yet the fuel pump still comes on. Even the replaced one. Starts out when you add gas or starting fluid to the intake so it's not fire just not getting no fuel to the rail. What would be the issue?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,752 POSTS

What led up to this issue?

Before you get all "wrapped around the axle" with confusion, how much gas is in the tank? Was the tank totally empty when you installed the new pump? There is usually a small bowl inside the tank that the pump's pick-up screen sits in. That bowl is kept full of gas, in part, by the fuel coming back in on the return line from the pressure regulator on the fuel rail. That rushing gas siphons additional gas from the tank into the bowl with it. That works fine until you run the tank dry. At that point, the bowl is empty. In the case of my '88 Grand Caravan, all I had to do was pour in a quart of gas and from the end of the filler tube, it dropped right into the bowl. That was plenty to get the engine started. Not the case though with my '94 Grand Voyager. In this one, the fuel being poured in misses the bowl, so even though there's gas in the tank, there's none by the pick-up screen. I have to put in at least five gallons to insure there is enough to spill over into the bowl. The instant the engine starts running after that, the returning fuel keeps the bowl full.