Like the subject says, the Pathy left me high and dry again.

She cranked hard but never started.

I was leaving work last night and the Pathy wouldn't start. A co-workers husband, a mechanic, happened to be there to pick up his wife so he offered some assistance. I mentioned the IPDM issues and my concern with the fuel pump since I just had that replaced two weeks ago for the same symptoms. He said he heard the fuel pump engage when I turned on the key. Again, we didn't check for spark.

Thankfully, another co-worker, who lives two houses away, was leaving and she kindly gave me a ride home. The wife drove me in today and I went to check the Pathy this morning. The Pathy started up like nothing was every wrong last night.

Is this reading like the IPDM? What should I do to isolate the problem? I'm a little perturbed since I just spent $450 having a new fuel pump installed for it to do the same symptoms again.

The symptoms you describe are very similar to an IPDM issue.

My first guess would have been the fuel pump but you said it was just replaced.

Well, she did it again this morning. I go out around 9:20 to head to church and the Pathy won't start. Same symptoms as before: cranks hard but won't start. I thought I heard the fuel pump spin up. I switched the fog light relay and the ECM relay on the IPDM based on this troubleshooting tip and she still would not start. I pulled the positive lead from the battery for a few minute and it didn't make a difference. I didn't check for spark since I was starting to run short on time.

Fast forward 5 hours to when I got home: The Pathy started up link there was no problem.

She ran fine last night when we went out to dinner. No issues, sputter, roughness or anything like that. I talked to a friend that is the service manager at a Dodge dealer. He suggested needing a way to see if there is fuel pressure and to double check the fuel pump connections.

So, what else can this shadetree novice mechanic do to determine the problem?

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

Well, I pretty certain the 3 WEEK OLD fuel pump failed with maybe 600 miles on it.

I had to meet my Dodge service manager friend for church meeting today. I drove to his dealership and rode with him to the meeting. My Pathy wouldn't start. when I go to leave his dealership. One of his mechanic/service tech used to work at the Nissan dealer next door and has done a fair bit of work on my Pathy. My friend has the former Nissan mechanic take a look. In the course of diagnostics, he sprays ether/starter fluid into the throttle body and the Pathy starts like there's nothing wrong. She cut off once the ether is used up.

So, now it's just a matter of getting it back to the Nissan dealer next door.

The obvious question for the dealership is why'd the 3 week old pump fail. Is there a bad ground or other electric problem that killed the pump, was it a bad pump to begin with, or what? Did they actually only do the fuel level sending unit recall and not install a new pump 3 weeks ago?

ETA: I will ask (or at least to see) for the old pump.

rlh2005 wrote:Well, I pretty certain the 3 WEEK OLD fuel pump failed with maybe 600 miles on it.


So, now it's just a matter of getting it back to the Nissan dealer next door.

The obvious question is why'd the 3 week old pump fail. Is there a bad ground or other electric problem that killed the pump, was it a bad pump to begin with, or what? Did they actually only do the fuel level sending unit recall and not install a new pump 3 weeks ago?

if defective, parts & labor (labor - since it was installed at the dealership) should be covered under the parts warranty
if they messed up the installation or connections, they should repair it for you at no charge
did they not install a new pump? can't know at this point, but that's one of the reason(s) to request your old (non-warranty) parts back at the time of repair authorization
please keep us posted

Well, just got her back from the dealer. Bad fuel pump. I caved/forgot to ask to see the old pump.

I had to have it towed last night to the Nissan dealer even though it was literally parked 100 feet as the crow flies from the service writer's desk. The roads around the dealership are fubar and no fun so I didn't want to risk getting a friend to "redneck tow" it with a tow/recovery strap. Plus that's a lot of new cars to navigate around.

The service writer was still there when the tow truck dropped her off. She didn't start then so the service department was able to witness it while the problem was still happening. If I understood correctly, she won't start this morning either. Again, if I understood correctly, they pulled the pump, bench tested it, and it didn't work. So, hopefully, it was just a bad pump and not something wiring, electronics, or computer related that caused the pump to fail.

The parts and labor were covered under the 12 mo/12000 warranty on the 3 week old replacement fuel pump. They might not cover the $50 tow but I might have a way around that.

Something to remember this goes to everyone...electric fuel pumps are lubricated by the fuel, so if the fuel tank is run too low on numerous occasions the pump will starve for fuel and start to sieze, the parts inside start to get scratched and gouged..eventually failing. If a person buys a used vehicle he or she does not know the history of the vehicle. I always refuel at 1/4 tank.

KEVSTER wrote: Something to remember this goes to everyone...electric fuel pumps are lubricated by the fuel, so if the fuel tank is run too low on numerous occasions the pump will starve for fuel and start to sieze, the parts inside start to get scratched and gouged..eventually failing. If a person buys a used vehicle he or she does not know the history of the vehicle. I always refuel at 1/4 tank.

When is considered too low... when the amber/DTE light starts flashing? Or close to "0"?