Intermittent Fuel Pump Failure? 2000

2000 XJ 4.0L Auto

Full tank of gas. Driving down highway 3 hrs before no issues driving or starting.
Started highway again and it began sputtering and died.

Original fuel pump i believe. almost 200K miles (re-man engine)

Seems like everytime i start i hear the "whizzing" sound of the fuel pump start up and prime before firing.

This time i didnt hear it. Also 1 time while attempting i heard the pump but it sounded different, kinda more like a humming than a whizzing. i can hear a click in relay area and can feel fuel pump relay click with finger on it. Hit tank a couple times and jiggled wires on tap but nothing.

left jeep over night. went back and it started right up. had it towed just in case didnt want to break down in the middle of nowhere.

Thoughts?

also at roadside pressed on fuel rail valve. it sprayed gas. no sure if it seemed like high pressure or not.
new plugs, relatively new coil pack, etc

Find the fuel pump relay and check for power to the circuit. It should be hot all the time, key on or off. Check the circuit diagram on the relay and install a jumper to bypass it, then listen for the pump. If you don't hear it, get underneath while the jumper is in and kick the shit out of the tank. If it starts running, replace the pump.

Engine off, the pump will run long enough to prime the system and time out. By the time you get to where you can slap the tank, it's already powered off. Bypassing the relay gives you adequate time to fool with it.

Also if needed, BEST brands of fuel pump to replace with?
(read negative things with airtex, carter, autozones brand, etc)

Carter ain't what it used to be. They're supposed to be stamped with made in USA, but half the time the result is generic without markings. After getting a couple generic Carters, I moved to Bosch and Delphi.

does CPS have anything to do with fuel pump from the off to on position? would it prevent priming?
(had cps worked on awhile back and i swear things weird after that)

Not sure about the XJ, but I know the later ZJs had a poorly placed cable, think it was the shifter, which would eat the insulation off of the wiring where it rubbed the top of the crank sensor. Not super easy to look at, but worth a check.

dumbagain said:

does CPS have anything to do with fuel pump from the off to on position? would it prevent priming?
(had cps worked on awhile back and i swear things weird after that)

Click to expand...

Yes the cps will shut down the fuel pump if faulty -- Actually a faulty CPS will activate the auto shutdown circuit which shuts down the fuel pump

As for fuel pump replacement in a 2000, buy the whole assembly -- best price I found was rock auto

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...fuel+&+air,fuel+pump+&+housing+assembly,10147

I'm pretty sure I bought a Bosch unit -- doesn't look like they have it anymore or maybe I ended up getting it on amazon -- they do have the Delphi unit though -- do a search here on naxja "best fuel pump" -- I'm thinking Bosch full assembly is what will come up

Bad fuel pump. It was original with almost 200K on it. Low pressure to rail.
Replaced it with a Delphi.

We'll see how it goes. Thanks for all the info.

Most likely a fuel pump issue. Not sure where you got the CPS from but autostore CPS are pretty terrible. I mean... they work as long as you dont mind your vehicle starting at over 2000 rpms and then dropping to where it should have been to begin with. They just wont run as nicely. Definitely should spend big bucks on better sensors when they die. People on here will guide you to the correct ones

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