Is it the fuel pump?

[RichardLSU]

I bought my festy in the summer of 08' at an auction. I brought it home, put in a new battery, new spark plugs, new wires, new fuel filter, oil and filter, air filter and sprayed a little WD40 down into the cylinders to lube up the piston rings that could have been sitting for who knows how long. It was obvious the car hadn't been driven in ages.

Well, I put my freshly made key in the ignition and vrooom, she started right up. It looks like there was a bit of a leak from the valve cover and I could hear a slight tick from somewhere in the engine, but overall she ran well. I drove her around the block and up to the gas station a couple of times and then parked her and returned to school.

I've been collecting parts ever since.

Last February I had to move it up to my fathers house and returned home for the weekend to do it. I figured the battery was dead so I tried jump starting the car off my DD, but it would not fire. It seemed to want to for just a second at first, but then nothing. Perhaps it was trying to start on fumes, but the engine never actually turned over.

After working for a couple hours in the rain I found that when the key was turned, no fuel came out of the fuel line before the fuel filter. So I figured the pump was bad, bolted everything back together and pushed it on the trailer instead of driving it to St. Joe.

Now fast forward to today, the Festy is being brought down to me here in Louisiana and I am finally ready to start working on it. The first thing I must address is this no start issue.

SO, do you all think it could be the fuel pump or something else?

Where could I look for a good used one? Any other cars by Mazda or Ford that I could source one from? There are several junk yards around here I could look through.

Also, I'm planning on a built BP swap, should I just spring for a 255lph fuel pump off ebay? Has anybody had any luck with these?

I know its alot of questions but I'd appreciate ya'lls input! Thanks!

[schads]

I would check the easy things first like the fuses and simple stuff like that. If all checks out good look for power going to the fuel pump through the panel under the rear seat. As the used fuel pumps go its not really a good idea to use a one from a junk yard. For buying the bigger fuel pump off ebay the stock works fine for a stock bp engine my car runs great unless your wanting to t-charge it.

[hotfordcat]

I bought a performance pump on ebay for less than $40, works fine on my B6 swap!!

[big_ty2003]

Perhaps it was trying to start on fumes

You sure you have gas in it?

The replacement pumps say the part number is good for
MERCURY CAPRI (1991 - 1994)
MERCURY CAPRI XR2 (1991 - 1994)
MERCURY TRACER (1988 - 1989)
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE (1988 - 1989)
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE L 1985
MITSUBISHI MIRAGE LS (1986 - 1989)
TOYOTA CAMRY DLX (1985 - 1986)
TOYOTA CAMRY LE (1985 - 1986)
TOYOTA CELICA GT (1990 - 1993)
TOYOTA CELICA GTS (1990 - 1992)
TOYOTA CELICA GTS SPORT (1990 - 1993)
TOYOTA CELICA ST (1990 - 1993)
TOYOTA COROLLA FX16 (1987 - 1988)
TOYOTA COROLLA FX16 GTS (1987 - 1988)
TOYOTA COROLLA GTS (1988 - 1991)
TOYOTA PREVIA DLX (1991 - 1993)
TOYOTA PREVIA LE (1991 - 1993)
TOYOTA VAN WAGON CRG (1986 - 1989)
TOYOTA VAN WAGON DX (1986 - 1989)
TOYOTA VAN WAGON LE (1986 - 1989)

So I would imagine if you could find a junkyard pump for one of those above cars you would be golden.

[Damkid]

IF you think its the fuel pump, first take a look at the inertia switch, it could have tripped causing the fuel pump to not turn on, the inertia switch is located under the rear drivers speaker panel, that would be the easiest thing to check first

[RichardLSU]

PERFECT!

Lol, yes I'm sure it has gas in it. I put two gallons in and was surprised when it hit 1/4 tank!

[RichardLSU]

Ok, I took off the panel and there is a little black switch looking thing with a red circle on top. Is this the Inertia switch? How do I tell if its bad. Any pictures?

[ShagFestiva]

If the red button is pushed up, simply reset it by pushing it back down.

[Damkid]

^^Exactly.... basically the inertia switch is a curcuit breaker for the fuel pump so i've never heard of one going bad, but every now and then you hear of them tripping and needing to be reset

[RichardLSU]

If I can recall it was already pushed down but I'll try just reseting it. I've fooled around with cars my whole life and have never heard of anything like that. I guess you learn something new everyday. What's its purpose? Simply a circuit breaker incase lightning strikes it?

[Safety Guy]

The inertia switch turns the fuel pump off if the car body receives a hard enough hit, as in a collision. That way if your ignition switch is still on after a crash in which a fuel line is busted, the pump doesn't spurt gas all over creation.

Sometimes a hard smack or bump from something might set off the switch.

If your fuel pump ain't running, check the relay under the dash, the VAF meter continuity and the wiring, in addition to the fuel pump and inertia switch. That's all I can think of at the moment.

Karl

[bravekozak]

accident

In case you are in an accident and get hit or roll over, you don't want the fuel pump to continue pumping gas, if you are unable to turn the key off.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/InertiaSwitch.html

[RichardLSU]

Well the button was already depressed so I popped it up, pressed it down, popped it up and pressed it down again. Still nothing. Engine turns and battery and start are fine.

Any pictures of the relay? Not really sure what I'm looking for here.

[RichardLSU]

Well I got up under my dash and fiddled with whatever I saw. There were tons of little connections I tightened, but still nothing.

How would I know if the VAF is bad?

[jtugfestiva]

what year festiva is this? Possible causes for a EFI festiva not starting would be bad mass air flow and if it cranks but doesnt start check for fuel pressure in the rails. If none could be a bad fuel pump. check the main relays to see if they are getting power or clicking on when turning the key. hope this helps