carby or fuel pump? --(D)

old forum · hod rodder Joined: 04 Oct 2001 Posts: 15499

hello

the other day i was coming home, then all of a sudden the car died.. i thought i stalled it, so i restarted, it went again, then died again. Tried to restart, it wouldn't.... there was no fuel in the fuel filter.. no, i didn't run out of petrol, i chucked in $20 worth the night before and did absoutely no driving... trying to restart it, while pouring fuel into the carby didn't work... it ended up flatting the battery... new battery went in, and tried to restart, it would last for all the fuel in the carby, but nothing was being pumped through.. fuel pump? or carby is stuffed? where is the fuel pump located? on the back of the tank?? the one i got from repco, looks nothing like it... and i couldn't find one in the engine bay (i really should get a manual) ... any ideas?

old forum · hod rodder Joined: 04 Oct 2001 Posts: 15499

Sounds like it could be a fuel pump. Have you disconnected the fuel line to see if the carby is getting fuel? Depending on what model of Gemini it is, the type and location of the pump varies. For TX to TE the pump was electric and mounted in the tank (circular in shape with about ten screws holding it in place) For late models TF-G's(I think this is correct) the car is equiped with a mechanial pump that is attached to the front of the head. Visit a libary,TAFE libarys always have a good selection of car manuals and they'll show you exactly where the unit is located and the process to under take to determine wether the pump failed or not. I'd suggest the unit you've got from Repco maybe a aftermaket inline style electric pump which could be used in place of the intank unit with a couple of simple mods.

old forum · hod rodder Joined: 04 Oct 2001 Posts: 15499

What model? TF/TG have mechanical fuel pumps, TX-TE have electric (I think). mechanical fuel pump sits between the dizzy and the head, electric is on the back of the fuel tank. take the fuel line to the carby off and turn the engine over and check for fuel. I don't think the carby would be stuffed.

old forum · hod rodder Joined: 04 Oct 2001 Posts: 15499

Fuel pump, I will bet you have an electric one, they are a weak link, they are actually a nine volt pump running off a seperate ciruit, which draws its power from the alternator charging circuit, meaning no fuel until the engine reaches a few thousand revs. Meaning if your floatbowl is empty there is no way it can refill itself, fucking stupid design.

As a temporary bandaid solution (and to ensure it is the problem) you can run the fuel pump on 12 volts, BUT DISCONNECT IT FROM THE NINE VOLTS FIRST. IF YOU DON'T YOU WILL FRY YOUR ALTERNATOR REGULATOR. Trust me I know, I did.

Just buy a roll of wire, attach one end to the positive terminal of your battery, run the wire to the boot, disconnect the one wire coming from the fuel pump and connect 12 volts, you should hear the fuel pump whirring away, go and have a look at your floatbowl and it should be filling or full of fuel.

Start the car, if it works, excellent, try stopping the car and disconnecting the 12 volts and reconnecting the 9 volts, try starting the car again, if it starts, excellent, no problems, if it doesn't wire up 12 volts again and go buy a fuel pump, either from your local gemini wrecker (qld: dave's gemini spares) or you could splurge and chase either a new one or and out of tank replacement.

old forum · hod rodder Joined: 04 Oct 2001 Posts: 15499

Im willing to bet your alternator is shagged. Had a TX do the same thing to me. The alternator stopped current to the fuel pump and the thing ran dry. It would start again because that circuit is bypassed while cranking. It was a bugger to find. I eventually bypassed the alternator circuit and ran the pump from the tail light temporarily but the battery eventually went flat because the alternator wasnt charging it. Sounds like a stupid design I know but it lets you know the alternator is on its way out. Have it checked after you check the wiring loom.

old forum · hod rodder Joined: 04 Oct 2001 Posts: 15499

Well, heres my $0.02 worth. I had a similar thing happen to me, 1/4 of a tank, no fuel in the filter etc. Called NRMA, he said the fuel pumps hardly ever go and that it was a blocked filter, so he replaced it. But it happened again about a month later, at exactly the same distance from work.
I opened the fuel cap to make absolutely sure there was petrol in there, and it made a big woosh sucking noise, and all of a sudden I can drive off again. The cap was sealing up, and whatever little valve is supposed to draw air was clogged.
Probably not your problem, but no harm in checking out the dumb things first.