Hey Folks, I am having a problem with my 2010 Chevy Express 4500 Box Truck. She has a 6.0 V8 and is my go-to work vehicle for my dads flooring business. Just last week on the way to a job I was on my way to gas up and ended up running out of fuel right out front of a wawa station! I ended up starting her again and literally drifted into a spot at an open fuel pump. Was able to drive it home after filling the tank up but noticed I almost stalled at a red light 10 minutes into the drive.

Ever since then she's been stalling intermittently and the other day would not even start. At that point I could not here the pump prime anymore and tried banging on the gas tank to no avail. After getting some advice from a couple mechanically inclined friends I decided to go and buy a new fuel pump and just installed it last night. The pump was exactly the same as the old pump. No connections had to get spliced and everything hooked up perfect. After the install the truck still will not fire up. I put about 8 Gallons of fuel back into the tank and the gas meter reads an 1/8 full which seems accurate. There are no check engine lights on. I switched the A/C relay and fuel pump relay in the fuse box and my A/C still worked so I am guessing the relay is fine.

I cannot hear the new pump even prime or click on so I am thinking it could be something electrical. The new pump said ACDelco and I bought from ebay for only $105...it said made in china on the box. The quote I had from my chevy dealer was around $450 just for the pump. I was going to replace the fuel filter too but the dealership said the chevy express 4500 does not have a separate fuel filter and is included in the pump assembly.

My next thought was to hook a code scanner up and see if that would tell me something...Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

You could try running a jumper wire to the pump wire at the tank but it's always a bad idea to run out of fuel with any fuel injeced motor [or even running tank low] . You can be pulling water and or any dirt from the bottom of the tank and plug or damage your injectors . It's the same trouble even with carb.'s but easyer and cheeper to fix . I get down to 1/4 tank and start looking for a gas station. Good luck and i hope it's something simple [and cheep] like a bad connection some where easy to get to.

 

Bingo! Yeah,running out of gas can also damage the electric fuel pump too as it needs to be cooled by the fuel..That's not the case here, but people are not taught this fact.

 

Yes lots of vehicles no longer have an inline fuel filter, that's true, like my 2015 Malibu. My old K-1500 still has the inline fuel filter, thankfully. Keeping that sweet 1998 Chevrolet K-1500 pickup until I die, or I can't drive legally anymore, She still has the original fuel pump in the fuel tank too, after 21 years.Can't beat that with a stick

Here is a list of issues as to why your fuel pump isn't working:

1) Your crank sensor is out because when the crank sensor goes out it can gradually go out causing many similar symptoms as it cuts off fuel AND spark on many vehicles

2) Your ground wire to your car's computer is not tight or secure and without a secure ground to your ECM you will not get permission from your ECM to send current to your fuel pump …..

3) Your ECM/PTM is faulty and needs replaced

4) Your computer relay has slightly corroded metal plug prongs that need sprayed with a solution to clean contacts and then plug it back in because your computer relay gets the electrical current first which is then sent to your fuel relay and then from there the current is sent to your fuel pump,

5} Might be an issue with your BCM from what I have read about the newer vehicles..

6) Corrosion somewhere in your system or wires, and/or a possible bad ground somewhere.

If you are getting a good spark, I'd pour a little gasoline down the TBI, and see if it starts at all.

As too the fuel pump, it may have defects, since it was manufactured in China, where lots of pure-D junk is made cheaply, unfortunately.

 

Made in China on ebay fuel pump... I would be testing that pump before any further.

 

Gas tank out and New pump in

Yea it’s ending up being a project after I thought it would be cut and dry. Probably should not have bought the cheapest pump and might be pulling it and buying a new one if that’s the problem. I always play Russian roulette with gas on my personal truck (carpet cleaning truck Chevy express van) and I’m ending that habit now. It’s funny bc my Grandmom who’s 79 is avid about not letting her tank in her grand marquis get below a 1/4 of a tank and always harps on me about dirt in the bottom of the gas tank and now I know there’s other reasons too!

Thank you for the responses especially oilcanhenry for the troubleshoot guide. I will Go through with some of these test tomorrow and give an update soon. Luckily we have a ford transit and only use this box truck for big jobs on occasion so I will have a few more days to try and figure out the problem before my dad really starts freaking out and ends up getting it towed to a mechanic.

Do you guys think I should just bite the bullet and buy an OEM fuel pump or are there any reputable brands that would be middle of the road. The problem is the eBay ad said ACDelco which a few people told me was not a bad brand but I think it was a bait and switch deal. There was a 1 year warranty and 30 day return so I think that’s why I risked it but I regret that now lol.