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Possible Fuel Pump related issue
Novice1933
Member Posts: 4
A little background (please read, thank you!): 2016 Traverse, 87,600 miles. Drove it to vacation, about 11 hours away. Night before we leave to come back home, we were leaving a restaurant, and it wouldn't start. It would turn, but not start. Pumped the gas pedal, and still nothing. Sat for 5 minutes, tried again, and it started. Immediately fueled up, and went back to where we were staying. Full tank of gas, got up the next morning and started fine. Took someone 30 minutes away to ride home with someone else, came back to pack up, shut it off. Packed and ready to come home, fired right up. Drive about 4 hours, stopped to fuel up, it started back up, but died a few seconds later. Waited a few minutes, tried again and nothing. A mechanic happened to stop by, and he banged on the fuel tank with a hammer, while I tried to start the car. It started, and 30 seconds later it died, not to start again. (fortunate to have a good friend who operates a tow company that brought us our other car, and towed the Traverse home).
Initial reaction is that the fuel pump went out. Replaced it, wouldn't start. Mechanic unhooked the negative battery cable, let it set for five minutes, hooked back up and it started (assumption was that reset everything). Drove it for a week, filled it up, stopped by a restaurant, came out and nothing. Mechanic comes by, unhooks the fuel module and negative battery cable, waits 5 minutes, and it starts back up. While he was there, he put a code reader on it and it read: PO18B-- defined as “Fuel pressure sensor “B” – circuit range/performance”, and is set when the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) detects an abnormal signal voltage from the fuel pressure sensor." Still a full tank of gas, have drove it all day today, started at least 1/2 dozen times, and fires up fine every time, and the car runs great.
Have an appointment Wednesday to have a dealer run diagnostics on it (I know, should have done that in the first place). Any reaction on what the potential issue could be? Thank you in advance for your insight!!! Matt
Initial reaction is that the fuel pump went out. Replaced it, wouldn't start. Mechanic unhooked the negative battery cable, let it set for five minutes, hooked back up and it started (assumption was that reset everything). Drove it for a week, filled it up, stopped by a restaurant, came out and nothing. Mechanic comes by, unhooks the fuel module and negative battery cable, waits 5 minutes, and it starts back up. While he was there, he put a code reader on it and it read: PO18B-- defined as “Fuel pressure sensor “B” – circuit range/performance”, and is set when the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) detects an abnormal signal voltage from the fuel pressure sensor." Still a full tank of gas, have drove it all day today, started at least 1/2 dozen times, and fires up fine every time, and the car runs great.
Have an appointment Wednesday to have a dealer run diagnostics on it (I know, should have done that in the first place). Any reaction on what the potential issue could be? Thank you in advance for your insight!!! Matt
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Comments
I know when I hooked up my Acton scanner on my 14 Malibu 2.5, it showed hundreds of pounds of pressure from the high level fuel pump.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
BTW the "hammer test". This is far from the first time that an engine started after someone hit the fuel tank with a hammer and replacing the fuel pump didn't fix the car. That's why testing correctly each and every time is so important. The only thing that can be said about the way this one sent down was that "something changed" when that was attempted. From there it may be related to the pump and it's circuit or it may have just been a coincidence.