Fuel Starvation or/& electrical fault? Fabi vRS Mk1, please HELP!!!

[Yusef]

Was driving the car on evening (23/11/17), it cut out once. Tried to turn it over and it would crank but not fire and tried few times until successful. Drove it and was fine, it then cut out about 4 times on the way home. A minute max between each cut out. Parked it up and left for couple hours then ran fine and managed to get it home at 11pm ish. 

 

Diagnostics codes; P0230, Fuel Pump Primary Circuit. 

 

This code came up about 2 months ago when left in cold for a week in Edinburgh as was on holiday in Sweden. 

 

16614/P0230 - Fuel Pump Primary Circuit: Malfunction

Possible Causes

• Wiring and/or connections to/from fuel pump(relay) shorted/open
• Fuel pump damaged
• Control Module damaged

 

The following day (10ish AM) it ran fine for a good hour as I was driving it steady and pushed hard for a while, no issues. Later on it did cut out and wouldn’t start again when I tried to go shopping in the evening.

 

I followed according to the diagnostics, changed fuel filter just for good measure, was fine for a day, next day it happened again, I changed relay and was fine then it happened again today after couple hours driving. 

 

Today I changed the fuel pump (couldn’t justify paying £200 from dealers, bought a used but working one), it took a bit to prime and it did ran, then cut out again. Upon turning the key to on, you can hear the whirr and sometimes a swoosh, but that’s it. I removed the pipes from the fuel filter in the engine bay and no fuel was coming through into the open. 

 

I managed to get it running with pedalling the accelerator and if I kept the accelerator down, it would run fine, the minute I let go, it cut out and same issue again, won’t fire but will crank till it drains battery. 

 

Few times when I did try to turn over but not firing, it was hooked up to another cars battery with jump leads as it was losing battery power from so much cranking. 

 

It feels like the pump is not sending the fuel to the engine (fuel starvation), as a final check, I removed the black and blue hose from the fuel pump and turned the car over, it wasn’t even chucking any fuel out from the pump in the tank.

 

I am completely lost for words and don’t know what to do. I have checked each thread which mentions the fuel pump or fuel system in the slightest and has been no help.

 

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions.

If it is a faulty wiring, what would the most likely culprit be?

 

Any help would be very much appreciated, pictures would be extra helpful with your solutions. Thank you for reading this and your inputs 

[RedOctaviavRS20]

Injector loom is common to fail that would be the next thing I'd change.

[sepulchrave]

1 hour ago, Blackfabiavrs19 said:

Injector loom is common to fail that would be the next thing I'd change.

 

Yeah, but that really doesn't explain why the fuel tank lift pump isn't working.

 

This has to be an electrical fault, check that the fuel pump relay is actually latching and check for voltage at the pump terminals when cranking, with no lift pump the car would run on what's in the fuel filter until that runs out then it would just stop.

[Yusef]

1 hour ago, Blackfabiavrs19 said:

Injector loom is common to fail that would be the next thing I'd change.

 

I will  do that but never changed one if I’m honest... is it easy to do? 

 

22 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

 

Yeah, but that really doesn't explain why the fuel tank lift pump isn't working.

 

This has to be an electrical fault, check that the fuel pump relay is actually latching and check for voltage at the pump terminals when cranking, with no lift pump the car would run on what's in the fuel filter until that runs out then it would just stop.

 

How would I check the voltage at the pump terminals? Remove the plug and hook it up to a multi-meter or? 

1)  I don’t have a multimeter at hand but can get one and couple times the fuel gauge didn’t pick up what was in the fuel tank and would show empty and beep at me asking to ‘refuel’ even though I had half tank at least. 

 

2) what do you exactly mean with the relay latching? Connected at the base (under drivers dash or?) or something else? How would I check that?

 

thanks 

[sepulchrave]

Yes a multimeter, if you don't have one then get a mobile auto-electrician out to the car, it sounds like you need one.

[Yusef]

1 hour ago, sepulchrave said:

Yes a multimeter, if you don't have one then get a mobile auto-electrician out to the car, it sounds like you need one.

 

Will do then will report back.

 

cheers