Won't start after running out of gas

**DesQ27** · 10-20-2008

No sarcasm on the title please... I was at home and practically out of gas(sputtering motor) So I went and filled up a 2.5 gallon gas can and put it in my car. Figured I could just drive it down the street and top it off after that. It cranked over, but only kinda started a few times. Each time it would immediatly die. Now it only cranks, and cranks and I'm afraid of burning up the starter and/or other components. I used Premium, and the car has had no issues ever. Any ideas on how to get it to start now?

**59chevy** · 10-20-2008

is the car on level ground , 2 1/2 gallons should be enough to get it started. maybe the fuel pump took a dump on you , i would try a quick shot of starting fluid down the throttle body. be a quick way to pinpoint if its a fuel or spark problem.

**DesQ27** · 10-20-2008

someone mentioned too that i could have sucked gunk off the bottom of the tank and clogged the fuel filter...any truth to that?

**gtpinsc** · 10-20-2008

put more gas in,this happened to me b4.try another 2 gallons or so.

**DesQ27** · 10-20-2008

I'll give that a go...hey I just tested the pressure on the shrader/pressure valve for the fuel and nothing with car on or off. Also it attempts to start on starter fluid.

Edit: I added more gas...still nothing. No pressure, nothing but cranking. How does it go from running perfect, to not starting just from running low on gas...what do I need to fix?

**Blown97** · 10-20-2008

Running a fuel pump dry makes it lose its prime, also may damage the pump internally. This is common for a fuel pump with some miles on it and running out of fuel. More than likely you might need to replace the fuel pump.

As far as sucking up "gunk", that is also possible. When I did mine there seemed to be a lot of mud like substance in the tank and fuel pump. There are 2 strainers in the fuel pump assembly itself and that is most likely where the blockage would be if there is any.

Good luck!!

**justwhisen** · 10-20-2008

jsut incase you didnt know, there is a window in your trunk that will allow access to your fuel pump, its right behind the back of the seat, just lift up your carpet and you will see it.
hope you dont have to change it, good luck.

**DesQ27** · 10-20-2008

That's actually really helpful...I didn't know that..Thanks

I'll check it out tomorrow when it's not so damn windy

**Sabrewings** · 10-20-2008

A fuel pump is cooled by fuel around it and that it's pumping. Running out is very harsh on them and can even burn up a new pump.

**BADAZGTP** · 10-20-2008

Did you prime the pump after adding the fuel. May not have to do it on our cars, but I had to help a few friends that ran out and we had to turn the key on and off 3 or 4 times for the fuel pump to pump the fuel back up. Can you hear the fuel pump running when you turn the key on?

**SyntheticShield** · 10-20-2008

^^I was going to suggest that, but I would suspect that after having tried to start it several times I would think that it 'should' be primed by now and electric pumps are not exactly known for loosing their prime. Additionally, the very design of our pumps is set up to scavenge every drop of fuel possible.

Still, though, it probably would not be a bad idea to to listen and see if you hear the pump trying to run. Turn the key to the start position, but dont actually try to start it. You should hear the pump run a second or two.

Its possible that if your pump was weak to begin with or border line then running it that low on fuel could have perhaps caused it to run hotter than normal and that would have pulled more current and that in turn may have popped a fuse. So be sure to check that. Then make sure that the Fuel pump relay is working. The easiest way would be to just swap it with one of the other relays in the under hood fuse box.

Though my initial suspicion would be that you popped a fuse since it was running beforehand. Ive had my GP going on 4 years now and I hardly EVER fill up before the warning light comes on and on many occasions I have drained it so well that I was able to put 18 gallons in the thing.

So while the fuel does cool the pump, and it could be possible that if you ran it long enough like that you could do some damage to it, if it were going to happen that quickly Id be replacing pumps about every other month. So check your fuse and such and make sure its not something simple.

Does the GP have some type of fuel pump reset switch. I know in my last vehicle they had one that was something like a manually resettable circuit breaker. Does the GP have anything like that?

**DesQ27** · 10-21-2008

Well Synthetic you nailed it...the 15 amp ignition fuse under the hood was to blame...guess I cranked it too much without gas and burned it up.

Thanks for everyones input!

P.S. I can't hear any pump run with the loud door/ignition chime that is so annoying and loud.

**SyntheticShield** · 10-21-2008

Score one for me. I finally got one right, LOL.

Thats why I like this community so much. Someone has already tried it, done it, seen it, heard about it, dreamed it, etc.