Hi all,
I parked my 1990 Miata a few weeks ago and when I went to start it up, it idled for about 10 seconds but then when I gave it some throttle, it sputtered and died. I started it up again and then it idled for about 5 seconds, then died. Now it just cranks without firing. I suspect that it is a fueling issue. I tried replacing the fuel pump relay with a known good one, but the issue persists. I guess my next move is to remove the hardtop, so that I can raise the soft top, so that I can access the fuel pump access panel to see if the pump is getting power. If the pump is getting power, I guess it's likely an issue with the fuel pump.
Any other suggestions of what I should look at?
Can you hear the pump running when you switch the key to ON in a quiet environment? If not that's a sure sign of a pump that's dead or not getting power.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
I can't hear the pump running but to be honest, I don't think I've ever noticed the sound of the pump running in the many years of owning the car.
Another test would be to pull a fuel line coming from the pump, stick it into a gas can and turn the key to ON, if fuel spews into the can the pump might be OK, if it doesn't then you have a wrecked or unpowered pump.
It's far more likely to be a problem with the pump than with the fuel pump relay, especially given how it failed. If you don't want to take the hardtop off, you can always start with a fuel pressure check.
Or Gameboy's super-basic initial check, which is really the first step of a fuel pressure check on a Miata anyhow :)
