Sudden loss of power

-cloud, Jan 17, 2:04pm
Hi there, just after some advice please.
I was driving and intermittently there was a loss of power. As in when i step on the gas, the car doesn't accelerate. Then all of a sudden the car turned off with the check engine light, oil light and battery light on. While this was happening i noticed a humming noise from the backseat area.
Now the car won't start properly but lights etc work.
I had recently got the fuel pump replaced with a new one less than 2 weeks ago as the car wouldnt start and have driven ~400km since.
My question is - is this a fuel pump issue again? or could it be something else?
Thanks

jmma, Jan 17, 2:37pm
Make, model and year of car will help.
How much fuel is in the tank?

-cloud, Jan 17, 2:41pm
Sorry 2001 toyota altezza. Probably 60% fuel in tank

franc123, Jan 17, 2:43pm
Well it seems most likely to be a fuel pump issue doesnt it. I'd say it wasnt properly identified why the original one failed in the first place, blocked fuel filters are the most common cause of fuel pump death, these need to be changed at the same time as the pump and a new pickup filter should also be supplied. If the filter was blocked then it's either because it was left on there far too long (these are a service item) or else you've got debris or otherwise contaminated fuel in there. It's also wise to ensure that the supply and earth circuits are functioning as they should be, all this stuff is generally listed on an instruction sheet with your new pump. There is no warranty on them if external issues exist that can damage it. What is the car and who did the work?

intrade, Jan 17, 3:00pm
i would want to see if it has fuel pump pressure-flow . as the first thing or if the new pump failed already.
noticed a humming noise from the backseat area. thats where a fuelpump would be making this noise of death.

kazbanz, Jan 17, 3:20pm
Hum sounds like the pump TRYING to push fuel through but theres a blockage down the line somewhere

-cloud, Jan 17, 3:29pm
I will double check if there’s fuel in the car and top some up. I suspect it may the fuel gauge giving an incorrect reading or is stuck. If that’s the case would no fuel in the car give the same symptoms as I experienced?
Thanks

intrade, Jan 17, 3:39pm
if you run the pump dry it will nuke it self . on a vr6 vw 30 secound dry run is all it takes to burn up a pump.
you would think they would check the gauge is accurate . So if it is burned up to no fuel they should do the job again for 50% off.

intrade, Jan 17, 3:49pm
it would match your symptoms description dry pump will humm.

muppet_slayer, Jan 17, 6:15pm
does certainly sound like it has run out or is running out of fuel. BUT

As stated above, the fuel filter should have been replaced when replacing the pump because the old filter will be full of old fuel pump impeller fragments etc.

-cloud, Jan 17, 6:51pm
It was no gas! I put some gas in and it works now. The fuel gauge was stuck. They must have done something to the fuel float when they changed the fuel pump. I’ve reset the ecu but it’s still displaying incorrectly. I’ll take it back in tomorrow. Thanks so much for your help everyone!

muppet_slayer, Jan 17, 6:58pm
You should find out if the fuel filter was replaced at the same time because it should have been. The old one will be full of the old fuel pump impeller and other crap.

-cloud, Jan 17, 6:59pm
I had enquired about it and they said it looked in as new condition and didnt need changing. I had changed it separately a couple of years ago which makes sense

franc123, Jan 17, 7:15pm
OMFG you need to be using another garage. They have not done the job properly that's two mistakes that have been made. Fuel pumps should never EVER be replaced without a filter change, the chances of metallic particles being in there is very high. You (and they) better hope that new pump hasn't been damaged in the course of this amateurism.

muppet_slayer, Sep 27, 3:49am
Trust us. Get it replaced when you get the fuel gauge looked at.
I have a feeling they stuffed up somewhere in the fitment of the pump because usually the fuel pump and gauge (rheostat and float arm etc) are all together as one and so they may have not fitted something correctly. They could have fitted it back into the tank on the wrong angle. There are a few possibilities.
Also some cars you have to fit the capillary pick up filter a certain way so it picks up the last of the fuel in the tank when not submerged and when quite low on fuel.

Tell them the fuel gauge is faulty since the pump was replaced and tell them how you fixed the problem (by putting more fuel in)