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Cadillac Repair/99 eldorado fuel problem

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Expert: - 11/6/2011


Question
I have a gas gauge that reads full once the true level drops below 1/4 tank...my son takes the car runs it down to fumes parked it and the following AM tried to start it...it farted like never before and refuses to start. I checked the fuel pump fuse,it's ok, so I removed gear clamps holding the 90* elbow between the intake manifold and filter housing, and spun the elbow upward on the filter end...poured a cap full of gas into the elbow and turned the engine over...it attempted to fire which tells me if it had fuel it would run. I'm at the point of checking the relay or replacing the fuel pump...what would you do, and if it's replace the pump please offer location and proceedure. This car is a dream to drive and has a ton of jam...black on black etc. model 27 miles to the gallon hwy at 65 mph. My life is hell without my car... please HELP ME

Answer
Hi,

I can only help you partially. Chances are real good fuel pump burned up. Very common when running out of gas with an electric fuel pump. Pump is located in the fuel tank under the car.
Procedure is easy enough now that you are out of fuel. I do not remember the exact location any more on a car that age, but it is easy enough to find.Leave the key out of the ignition!! When ignition is on, pump is pumping and you will fry the new one and there is also fire danger. The fuel tank will be located under the rear seat or the trunk area. Easiest way to find it is to follow the filler tube underneath the car. It should be made of plastic, black in color. Remove the straps with attaching bolts or nuts. Disconnect electrical connector. Drop tank. Remove fuel pump where connector plugged into and replace. You don't need to go to Cadillac for the fuel pump and after market new is fine. Follow instructions for installing fuel pump.
Re install tank. Put 5 gallons of fuel in the tank. Engine should start. If not, you might have plugged the filter under the car as well, because when it runs empty it sucks up any debris that was in the tank. I would recommend changing the filter eventually if the engine starts, but not an immediate concern.

I believe pump comes with new sending unit as well and who knows? Might fix your fuel level reading as well. That would be a nice bonus wouldn't it be?

You might have to use jack stands, I do not know the clearance issues, but other than that, with an empty tank, it's not a bad job at all, especially if you are in a non-rust state like where I am from Texas. Otherwise you need to soak the attaching nuts/bolts with penetrating oil.


When diagnosing, you did the right thing using gasoline to try to start it. Some people use starting fluid which should be banned except for diesel engines. That stuff can literally blow one of the aluminum heads and yet so many use it!

Also, you ran out of gas which means that you need to go to the source, the fuel pump. No sense testing relays or doing anything else.

Let me know how this works out for you.

Good luck!



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Rob Painter

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Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

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Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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