Once, Twice, Three Times Ridiculous

The new fuel pump arrived on Thursday morning, but I didn't have time to install before this weekend.  We started yesterday morning by jacking KARR up and putting him on jack stands.

I took a few pictures as I went through the process of dropping the fuel tank.  I am not going to go into a lot of detail with this being the third time we have done this. 

Here are pictures of the tank before I started disconnecting anything:

I removed the support brackets for the coolant lines.

I disconnected the electrical connection for the fuel pump and sending unit.

While doing this, I noticed there was coolant leaking from somewhere above the AC compressor.  I am going to have Troy look at this when he gets KARR back up on a lift.  I cannot see the leak from above.

I removed both gas tank straps.  The tank is being supported by the subframe connector.

All the hoses have been removed with the exception of the vent line and fuel filler line hoses.

I lowered the tank onto a creeper and rolled it out from underneath the car.

I removed the lock ring securing the fuel sending unit and removed the fuel sending unit.

Here is the new fuel pump ready to install.

New fuel pump installed.

Test fitting the fuel sending unit.  Remember the fuel gauge that didn't work?  I did, too.  Having already done this two times, I wanted to make absolutely sure the float is definitely not hitting the tank. 

I hooked a small fish line to the top of the float lever so I could put the fuel sending unit down into place and raise and lower the float.  It is NOT hitting.

Tom from Tom's Digital Electronics checked over the fuel gauge and reported there is nothing wrong with the gauge.  He said it reads normal.  He adjusted the gauge for the normal output of a Fiero sending unit and also removed the decimal point from the fuel readout as I had originally wanted customized.  This was missed when I received the electronics originally.  Tom suggested that I verify the ground on the gauge and ground the actual fuel tank.

I drilled a small hole in the lip of the tank just outside the weld lines that seal it.

I used a small bolt with a lock washer and lock nut to make a grounding post.

We rolled the fuel tank back under KARR and lifted it up into place.  While I held the fuel tank up, Sara reattached the subframe connector.

With the tank back in place I just needed to reconnect all the fuel lines hoses and the electrical connection.

The last thing to do was to ground the fuel tank.  Here you can see the grounding stud I made.

I am going to use the grounding point on the starter.  I ran a ground wire between the ground stud I made on the tank and this grounding point, as you can see in the pictures below.

We lowered KARR down and attempted to start him.  He started right up and ran perfectly!  We took him for a short test drive and called it a successful night.

Unfortunately, KARR would not start this morning.  KARR is acting just like before and like he is not getting any gas.  I could not get him to start for anything, so we pushed him back in the garage.

I decided to finish reinstalling the interior trim as I had planned to do today.  I also wanted to install the fuel gauge, but decided against tackling that until I knew what is going on with KARR.  I messaged Troy to see if he had any ideas.  While I was talking to Troy, Sara cleaned and conditioned the driver side seat.

I reinstalled the B-pillar trim and the trim that surrounds the parking brake handle.

Sara also cleaned and conditioned the leather cover for the parking brake.

Everything is back together inside KARR!

After talking to Troy, I verified the fuel pump was receiving the correct voltage.  It was.

I also needed to check to make sure it was supplying and maintaining voltage under a load.  I rigged up an 1156 automotive light bulb and connected it to the electrical connector for the fuel pump.

I had Sara turn the ignition on to verify it would light for a few seconds, then I also had her crank the car over to make sure the light would stay lit.

The last thing Troy suggested checking was to see if it would start if the return line was pinched off.  I jacked KARR up to gain access to the return line hose, pinched the hose and had Sara try starting the car.

It would not start.  Troy is going to take it to his shop and check it over.  I am beginning to think there was nothing wrong with the second fuel pump.  Either that, or the third fuel pump is also bad.