Thread: P38 99+ fuel filter - nope

Ahh, if only you had asked.....

That model has the fuel filter in the tank (in the pump).

I dont dispute your car does not have a fuel filter but it seems strange the same filter is listed for all petrol cars through to 2002. I have no idea where it should be, Rave describes removal and refit but does not specify a location apart from it being fixed to the floor pan, maybe its hidden by the fuel tank.

Yes I followed Rave too and spent ages poking around under the car looking for that little filter. Just wanted to check fuel line pressure hoping that the pump is not at fault. The FaultMate only reports the P1668 fault which seems to be related to the alarm trigger... When you turn the ignition and the engine is disabled I think.
Also checked that the cut off switch wasn't tripped.
Would rather not remove the coil packs and air plenum to get to the fuel rail connector to check pressure. Any suggestions welcome.
Cheers, Paul.

Does it eventually start Paul?

If so, try priming the system by cycling the ignition a few times. The fuel pump should operate for a few seconds then stop. Do this a few times & then try cranking it over.

If it starts OK, then it might be losing fuel pressure through the non return valve when the car if left overnight (or a few hours).

Originally Posted by Scouse

Does it eventually start Paul?

If so, try priming the system by cycling the ignition a few times. The fuel pump should operate for a few seconds then stop. Do this a few times & then try cranking it over.

If it starts OK, then it might be losing fuel pressure through the non return valve when the car if left overnight (or a few hours).

Thanks for the suggestion Scott, it won't start. Cycling the ignition a few times just seems to be draining the battery. I checked pressure at the Schraeder valve at the top of the fuel rain and (felt like) lots of fuel squirted out so I think pressure is ok. Also got my better half to try to kick it over while I felt for vibrations on the fuel tank (i.e. fuel pump), but could feel anything... maybe because there was already enough pressure in the lines?

When cranking, the battery voltage would drop from 12.5V to 10-10.5V and the AC Delco charger indicated the battery at 30%... so I've got it charging at the moment at 10A while I go out to do some shopping and will try it again when I return in a hour or so.

Maybe the big-ass 100Ah battery is on the way out? But it does crank strong a few times before it starts to sound tired.

Next step is to check that the injectors and plugs are getting a signal.
Again, suggestions most welcome on best whay to check these.

Cheers, Paul.

I wonder if the crank angle sensor is the problem. Are you getting spark?

sounds like it could be the dreaded immobilisation gremlin... BECM and EMS ECU must have same "EMS" value... : you overwrite the BECM value with the EMS value in the EMSecu (which is fixed). They have to " agree" ... Did you use your Faultmate to check this? .

Many thanks to Hoges and P38aRover for the extended phone calls and excellent suggestions.

The EKA between the BECM and Petrol EMS matched ok but no spark evident at the plugs. After re-writing the BECM settings with the FaultMate I started to see some odd messages on the dash... "HANDBOOK 161" and 115. Figuring I had done something really bad I disconnected the battery for a few minutes and when I reconnected it the same HANDBOOK messages came up plus a few more... 61 to 64.

I then tried to start the car to see if any more messages came up... and it kicked in to life!

So I re-set the windows and the 61-64 messages went away. Think there was a 71 message on the way back up. We're on to something here...

Then as I was talking to Ron he said it sounded like the country/language was not set, so I used the FaultMate to set language to English and then the "normal" messages came back.

So it seems that with all the playing around I've been doing with my car lately, the computers just needed a reboot. Damn technology!!

Thanks again guys.

Cheers, Paul.