Car not starting. Daughter was told to beat on gas tank and it started. Any answers

25

Asked by orfflyer Apr 24, 2007 at 10:06 PM about the 1992 BMW 3 Series

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Daughter says car not starting. She was told by a mechanic to beat on gas tank and she did and the car started. I think coincidence. What do you think?

2 Answers

415

Very sick answer for a repair. I wouldn't want my daughter beating on the gas tank everytime the car quit. With that said I would suggest that you make sure that the pump is grounded properly. Any competent repair shop can do this. If your good with a test light you can make the check yourself by turing on the ignition swith and probing the elecrical wires that supply the pump. These are identified by accessing the top of your fuel tank and probing the wired leading into the tank. If there is a grounding problem youwon't get a light on the test light unless you bump the tank. If after bumping the tank you get a light then its a grounding problem. The simple fix is to cut into the ground wire and run a new wire to a common ground on your car frame. Use good wire and wire ends. I always suggest soddering the wire ends instead of crimping. The other problem would be an intermitent fuel pump problem. Pumps do go bad usually after about 100,000 miles. If you have to replace the pump be sure to also replace the inline fuel filter. Hope this helps. Jerry

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25

Thanks for the reply. In stuck in OHIO and she's in Delaware and she had to do it 2 times today. Its going in the shop tomorrow Thanks for you help. The mechanic wants to put in a new pump but Ill have start at a grounding problem. Thanks cliff

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