Help please!!!

[kjselv]

I just bought this 1994 Infinity Q45 from my sister 2 weeks ago well The car has died. My hubby came to pick me up from work and the car would not stay started. It started for about 1 minute then died. We ended up getting the car towed home. We tried again to start it a day or 2 later and it stayed started for only 30 seconds. We changed the fuel filter on the car and it still said Nissan on it. I talked to the dealer and they said it was the original fuel filter so this filter was about 11 years old. Now the car will not start at all. I am pretty sure it has something to do with the fuel. I cannot afford to take the car to a shop so please all adivce would be wonderful.

Thanks and God Bless,Krystal

[nchopp]

Krystal,

Welcome to NICO. Never fear, there are people here who can help you. I'm not one of them (new to Infinitis), but I just wanted to say welcome.

[maxnix]

I cannot afford to take the car to a shop so please all adivce would be wonderful.

Well, if that is true, and your husband doesn't have a lift, airtools, some good diagnostic equipment, your car is on a death watch. Some things are just better if done by dealer or specialized and knowledgeable shop.

Now, to the most apparent problem at hand.

How does the fuel pump sound? Most likely cause of failure you described. If it has been noisey for awhile, and makes no noise now, then it and your FPCM may be dead. Both can be replaced with minimal care and some skill.

I doubt the fuel filter is original, as they are scheduled for change every 30K miles. Annually is a better frequency. If true, then there may be a lot not right with the fuel system.

Why dont' you get the service records from your sister and the dealer and update us a little bit on its service history? It will help us immensely.

Welcome to ur club, and please do some reading starting in the articles forum in your spare time. It will help you ask the right questions by describing the problems with sufficient and accurate information. It will also help you understand what is required of an owner to keep your car in the best and safest running condition.

This post might be moved by a moderator to the Infiniti Mechanics Forum, so look there if it is not here when you return.

[szh]

Welcome to NICO, Krystal.

Sorry it had to be when you need urgent help!

As maxnix mentioned, when you first turn your car on with the key (don't do any actual engine cranking), do you hear what sounds like a quiet small pump from the rear that sounds like it runs for about 20 to 40 seconds and then turns off?

If you do not hear this, then your fuel pump (and maybe your fuel pump controller as well) is probably the source of the problem. If the pump and/or controller is dead, then they need replacement. This can be done if you or your husband has some car "do-it-yourself" skills.

The lowest cost for these items would be from Joe at http://www.everythinginfiniti.com (tell him that you are from NICO). Don't get them from a local Infiniti dealer - the price will be a lot higher.

Z

[kjselv]

Thank you all for the help. By any chance does anyone know where I can purchase a repair manual for this car? Also what it is called?

[maxnix]

Repair manual (Factory Service Manual = FSM) and Technical Service Bulletins (= TSB) are all available for cownload in Acrobat format from http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/infiniti/ for a one day fee of $20. Must have a highspeed connection.

The owner's manual is there for free also.

It's Infiniti with no letter Y.
Modified by maxnix at 8:07 AM 7/30/2005

[kjselv]

Ok I looed there and I am having a heck of a time trying to find the owners manual on the site lol. At least the one for this car in particualr.

Thanks

[maxnix]

It's arcane. if you have your active one day subscription, go to:

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com...cssid=

And select the appropriate drop down box after you have logged-in.

Get all the TSB also! Owner's manual is free.

[kjselv]

Ok well this is what we did

We changed the starter relay and the fuel pump relay and no luckwe replaced the fuel pump and still no fuel getting to the fuel filter? We tested the new fuel pump and it is still working. The fuel pump copntroller unit seems to be working fine. But this is my question

What else would cause the fuel to not get to the fuel filter from the fuel pump???

[kjselv]

bump

[kjselv]

Got it all fixed thanks everyone for your help. It was the Fpcu and it was not properly grounded.

[maxnix]

Great news! Was it the module's plug, or did you create another ground path?

[Q451990]

Grounding the FPCU simply bypasses it, locking the pump in "high"... Brian's question is pretty important...

Heath

[kjselv]

For now we just grounded the fpcu as I need a way to get to and from work.