hello everyone just going to start from the top of what happened and what i have done so far to try and figure this out. 2005 chevy express 1500 4.3 290K + miles. just trying to squeeze a little more life out of this thing because its been so well maintained. no warning signs or problems leading up to it dying going down the road a few weeks ago. first thing i checked was fuel pressure at the rail and had zero, i kind of jumped the gun on replacing the fuel pump without really diagnosing the circuit. anyways replaced the fuel pump still had little to no pressure, tried Turning the key on and off a few times to prime it and still barely any gas coming out. after a few days of it sitting i finally started poking around with a test light and discovered it had a weak ground on the pump relay ( G400 ground wire i believe?) but before i fixed the ground wire i tried to start the van on a colder rainy morning and it ran fine for 15-20 minutes no problem even giving it gas. tried to turn it off and start it again, same issue crank no start. So today found the bad ground cleaned and tested it at the fuse block, now i have zero fuel pressure not even a piddle or air coming out of the fuel rail. what am i missing?


new pump SPECTRA PREMIUM SP61435M - some despise aftermarket but hey vans got almost 300k =)
relay power and ground -check ( tried switching with horn relay)
Good fuse- check
Engine ground Strap -Check
Aftermarket Viper 5901 Alarm - not sure if this might be causing problems,never had any issues before no error codes seems to work fine still.

long story short went from having a little pressure to zero after cleaning the ground. makes absolutely no sense but yeah. trying to eliminate anything else before i drop the tank again. any input would be greatly appreciated at this point.

 

Did you replace the fuel filter? Check at the fuel pump to see if you have a good ground and also if you get a good 12 volts.

 

I'd also try swapping the relay out, or at least check it for bad contacts. And I'd say the Viper has nothing to do with it. If it has been fine for years, it shouldn't factor in to this issue.

 

unless there is an external one hiding somewhere i believe its in with the pump assembly.

 

tried swaping it out with the horn relay before i fixed the ground wire, any chance the bad ground could have messed up both relays?

 

Not if the relays work in the horn spot. In other words, does the horn still work? If so, you've another place where the problem isn't.

Went back and re-read your initial post. It ended by you saying that after fixing the ground, it went from little to zero. Could it be the actual ground wire that is bad, not the connection?