Vauxhall Zafira A - fuel pump

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Sat 25 Jul 2015 20:27
Vauxhall Zafira A - fuel pump - gingerknickers

Hi, i have browsed this site for advice a few times but now have a question.

I have a 2003 2.0 dti zafira, never had a problem in the 8 years we had it. Two weeks ago whilst at work it just wouldn't start, no warning lights or signs to tell me something was wrong beforehand. after a lot of investigation it was narrowed down to a fault on the fuel pump/ ecu. My car is currently off the road being repaired.

Today I used my husbands car for work. A 2004 1.9 dci Renault megane. Started fine then all of a sudden wouldn't start, had it looked at and again have been told it is the fuel pump.

Now, being a woman I'm kind of suspicious. Two cars go down within two weeks with the same problem. Could the cars have been tampered with to bring this on or am I just totally paranoid and its coincidence

If it wasn't for bad lluck id have no luck.

Thanks in advance for reading this far and for any answers or advice I may get

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Sat 25 Jul 2015 22:04
Vauxhall Zafira A - fuel pump - RobJP

Very unlikely that someone has been tampering with a fuel pump. On a lot of cars they have 2 fuel pumps, the first fuel pump is inside the fuel tank, and you've got to take it out by removing the entire tank assembly, which means having the car up on a set of ramps. The second is under the bonnet; again, not exactly easy to tamper with without being spotted.

Much more likely to have been a poor-quality batch of fuel that the cars have been filled up with - however, that could have been at some point in the past, and the wear and tear on the pumps is only now becoming apparent. Diesel fuel pumps generally use the fuel itself as a lubricant oil in the pump as it passes through (diesel is a reasonably good lubricant, as you will know if you've ever encountered a diesel spill on the roads, or even on the filling station forecourt.). If the diesel isn't 'up to scratch' then the pump will get worn out a lot faster.

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Sat 25 Jul 2015 23:07
Vauxhall Zafira A - fuel pump - gingerknickers

Thank you for replying.

On both cars its the fuel pump under the bonnet. I thought I was going crazy today, I was asked several times if id put the wrong fuel in. I knew I didn't but began to doubt myself, so much so that I got the staff at the filling station to check the cctv to clarify and to reprint my receipt, I think they thought I'd escaped from a lunatic asylum.

I guess its just one of them things, they say it comes in threes, I'll sit tight and wait for the next thing to go wrong ;-)

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