DID i GET HOSED????

[nascar_intimid]

Last Sunday we had a heavy snowfall so I took my son out and about playing with the 4x4. I'm sure the undercarriage was caked with snow and it was very cold out...when my truck just quit. So I cranked on it for a second and it fired and quit ( as if burning the remaining PRESSURIZED fuel in the line ). So I look under the hood...yep there's the engine, now what? I thought hmmm sounds like fuel pump to me I call the tow truck and he tows it for FREE to his shop...I'm thinking o.k. so good so far. He said probably fuel pump also ( I'm thinking frozen fuel line maybe instead ). A day later he said there was a blown fuse in the ignition system somewhere and there must be a short in it. after three days he said it was fixed and charged me 3.5 hrs labour and a couple of bucks for fuses, 250.00 all totalled.
I'm curious if it really was a short somewhere and not just the fuel line frozen...can a blown fuse cause this symptom. I'm also curious to know if he was just saying that to get a couple of bucks out of me and the line was just frozen...this repair just doesn't sit right with me
you guys got any input

 

[dman726749]

it takes alot to freeze gas

 

[nascar_intimid]

it takes alot to freeze gas

but not impossible especially if there was water in the gas

 

[jgilbs]

well, he does live in canada. did any of your OTHER cars freeze? Ask him where the short was. If he can't show you immediatley, youre getting hosed. but if it was a short, depends on how long it took to find that hell charge you for (im not sure how complex the path from the relay box to the fuel pump is, maybe someone else can chime in?)

 

[PatrickH82]

This is kind of off subject but you can go to WWW.cartalk.com and look up a mechanic in your area that has been recommended but regular people. FYI

 

[cybercreeper]

You got Hosed Tommy...LOL

 

[nascar_intimid]

You got Hosed Tommy...LOL

Tommy ???

 

[nascar_intimid]

who knew??? on sunday a tow would of cost a couple of bills anyway... I don't know but I kinda think I got hosed too :fire: has anyone ever heard of these symptoms???? and fixes

 

[Premier]

Dude.. your fuel line DIDNT freeze. To freeze unleaded fuel, tempatures would have to be well below -100* F or -74 C. Not many places could come to getting that cold, let alone Canada. Anyway.. I dont know why it would have quit. Sorry.

 

[cybercreeper]

Tommy ???

Tommy (Mountain-Dew Commercial)

 

[00XLS]

I agree with someone elses statement, ask him where the short was ect, if he can't come up with an answer pronto somethings up. But unless you had water in your fuel lines, and it would take a lot considering the truck died while running, I doubt thats the culprit.

 

[have2goski]

i'd also have to say it is more likely you shorted something then freezing the line

I mean if it was that cold out you probably wouldn't have been out playin in it with your kid.

anyway, when you cranked it before you got the tow...did you here the pump cycle on when you turned the key or was it silent? if it was silent then there wasn't power going down to the pump. if it had been a bad pump the bill would have been alot higher.

I just replaced my fuel pump and when i first got it in it was a no go. it was an electrical problem. One of the connector pins on the chassis side of the fuel pump harness connection had pulled out when we disconnected it to drop the tank. Took us about an hour to find it. Mind you that i drove the car into the garage as i was replacing the sending unit due to rust. As you can imagine i was a little discourage when i tried to crank it over and got nothing. But it is up and running again so now i will know to give those connectors a quick look over first

Your profile says you have a '94 so it's not a stretch to think something could have been corroded under there.

 

[XLimited]

Well by me You were out playing around in the snow you must of been hitting some sort or snowbanks with the vehical if you think the undercarrige is full of snow, Is it possible that the fuel Shut off valve got popped somehow causing the fuel to get shut off thats why you just had the gas in the line left. They tell you in the manual and under the hood that if the vehical cranks but won't start that the first thing you should check is the fuel shut off switch. I'm thinking against fuel line freezing if the vehical was driving around unless it sucked some slush or something. Just my two cents.

 

[jimbo74]

it doesnt take 4 hours to replace a fuse... when my moms fuel pump went out, the fuses were the first thing i checked after trying to crank it over and no start... took me about 10 minutes to figure out it was the fuel pump... and that includes checking the inertia switch and fuses, then taking the intake apart and getting starting fluid while my mom cranked it... all in under 10 minutes...

 

[nascar_intimid]

thanks all...I still feel it was an easy fix though but hungon to it for a few bucks....maybe I'm just being paranoid....anyone elses ideas I'm still interested

 

[jgilbs]

it doesnt take 4 hours to replace a fuse... when my moms fuel pump went out, the fuses were the first thing i checked after trying to crank it over and no start... took me about 10 minutes to figure out it was the fuel pump... and that includes checking the inertia switch and fuses, then taking the intake apart and getting starting fluid while my mom cranked it... all in under 10 minutes...

doesnt take 4 hours to replace the fuse, no, but it does take that long to find out WHY the fuse blew.

 

[woodychitwn]

Is it possible that the fuel Shut off valve got popped

I agree. As soon as he said, "playing with the 4x4," that was my first thought.

The fuel shut off kicks in when the vehicle hits something hard, like another vehicle, or the ground. It was designed to kill the engine in an accident and avoid fuel spraying everywhere. You just have to press the reset button, and I could be wrong, but I think it's in the driver's side tailgate compartment behind the wheel-well. You just push the button, the fuel pump turns back on, and you're good to go. Should take less than a minute to fix, and that's from the time you leave the driver's seat to when you turn the ignition.

However, the mechanic probably didn't think about it, and it took him a few days to mess with other things first. I don't think he intentionally hosed you, but probably did waste a few hours trying to figure it out. And more than likely, he also replaced a few fuses while attempting to diagnose the problem.

 

[woodychitwn]

I must have been thinking of another vehicle, the reset button is located under the passenger's side of the dashboard. Simply pull back the top few inches of carpet, and in the center you'll see a small rectangular box, if the kill switch has been triggered, the reset button pops out of the top, you simply depress the button to reset it. Don't even have to leave your seat once you know where it is.

 

[nascar_intimid]

found it....thanks to all I wish I iknew were it was before I got hosed