4 Fuel Pump Symptoms That Merit Your Attention

If fuel represents the lifeblood of a vehicle, then the vehicle's fuel pump serves as its beating heart, pushing the fuel where it needs to go for reliable engine performance. Unfortunately, just as a human heart can develop problems, your car's fuel pump may also experience issues that affect its ability to keep your car running.

Once you understand what trouble signs to look for, you can recognize a potential fuel pump problem early enough to get a skilled automotive technician to properly evaluate and deal with it. Watch out for the following four fuel pump symptoms.

1. Engine Sputters and Stalls

A malfunctioning fuel pump can cause your car to sputter or hesitate by depriving it of the optimal, consistent fuel pressure level for the specific driving challenge at hand. For instance, your car may perform just fine at lower speeds and on level ground but sputter at highway speeds or when climbing a hill.

When the electric motor that drives a fuel pump wears out, the fuel pump may stall as the engine temperature rises. You can detect this underlying cause by keeping an eye on the dashboard thermostat. If you notice that your engine tends to stall only at higher engine temperatures, suspect a failing fuel pump motor.

2. Ignition Issues

As inconvenient and annoying as recurring engine stalls may prove, you'll likely find yourself even more frustrated by a car engine that refuses to start. Every time you turn your engine on, the fuel pump must turn on as well. After countless starts, the fuel pump responds less and less efficiently.

You can spot the early signs of this kind of failure if you have to turn the ignition key or hit the start button multiple times just to get your car to start or if you have to crank the engine for a longer period than normal. A deteriorating fuel pump may need that extra effort to create enough fuel pressure to start the car.

3. Strange Noises

Sometimes, a car will offer clues about an underlying ailment with strange noises. Fuel pump problems may cause different noises depending on the specific component involved. For instance, bad bearings produce knocking sounds, while a failure in the impeller can make clattering sounds.

Faulty interaction between the fuel pump and the fuel tank may cause unusual noises. If you hear a louder than-usual whirring noise when your fuel gauge reads lower than one-quarter fuel, add fuel immediately to prevent serious fuel pump strain and possible failure. Poor quality fuel can also create noise.

4. Reduced Fuel Efficiency

Internal combustion engines rely on a precise ratio of fuel to oxygen. If a vehicle's fuel pump can't provide enough fuel to sustain this fuel-to-oxygen balance, the engine will run lean, meaning that it has become starved for gas. As a result, you may have to burn more fuel to achieve the same performance.

A reduction in fuel efficiency may occur due to a failing motor that can no longer push gasoline in sufficient volume. If your car's fuel pump uses sliding paddles called vanes to draw gasoline into it, dirty or worn vanes may also reduce fuel efficiency.

The quality of fuel you put in your car with each refill may also play a role in fuel pump inefficiency or even outright failure. Dirty fuel can promote premature wear in a rotary vane fuel pump. The gerotor fuel pumps common in most modern cars can overheat and fail if you give the pumps dirty or substandard fuel.

If you suspect that your fuel pump has developed a problem, bring your vehicle to Kell Radiator Service. Our experienced technicians can run an inspection, replace a failing fuel pump, or fix whatever else on your car might actually need fixing. Contact us today for an estimate.