Fiero fuel pump

[Ccemn1]

I'm guessing a good chance of an aftermarket, or at least different ECU since it's a 3.8 SC motor.

[★ Murcie-Me ★]

It would have to have a relay somewhere. Is it possible to post some pictures of your engine bay?
Do you know if your car has an aftermarket ECU? Do you know if it still has the stock Fiero fuel pump?
More than likely it's not a relay issue. It's not hard to follow the wires back from the fuel pump to find the relay if necessary. I'd say pull the fuel pump.

[Ccemn1]

This car has the 3.8 SC engine, from an '07 Grand Prix. I'm wondering if that's why I'm having trouble finding the relay, or even if the wire harness is the same, or similar?
Thanks again just the same. You guys are an amazing help!

[★ Murcie-Me ★]

As we know, the ECU will energize the fuel pump relay for about 3 seconds when starting the engine. As the engine starts and the 3 seconds runs out the ECU cuts power to the fuel pump relay but as long as the engine has oil pressure and the ECU gets a signal from the distributor the relay will stay energized. If you can keep the car running with starter fluid, it could possibly be a bad relay.
I assume you have checked to see if you have fuel pressure at the fuel rail?
Its very easy to pull the relay out and jump the terminals to run the fuel pump. If doing this "jump" fails to run the fuel pump, then your fuel pump is shot ( in all my experience with fuel pumps going bad, it has NEVER happened while the engine was running, but always died after the engine was shut off).
Look at this post on the Fiero form, it tells you how to JUMP the relay via the ALDL (assembly line date link) connector.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/144192.html

[Ccemn1]

Thank you so much guys. Still working on this, hoping I can sort it out without dropping the fuel tank. Thanks again!

[Neils88]

Here's a decent drawing showing the relay. You may only have 1 relay there, in which case it is the fuel pump relay. If you have more than 1 (I.e. 2 or 3), it'll be the one closest to the hinge.

[★ Murcie-Me ★]

Did you ever find the relay? There are 2 relays, little black cubes next to each other on the driver side of the engine compartment. Sorry dont have a picture though.

[Ccemn1]

Can anyone post me a photo of the relay, So I have an idea of what i'm looking for?
I'd really prefer to get this set up stock and proper.
Thanks in advance.

[Neils88]

Yes... the fuel pump is inside the tank. But if you do want to run it off a switch, you should still keep a relay inline. A low current switch would trigger the relay, which then runs the high(er) current pump. It's always the safest way to do it.

[Ccemn1]

Yes, the car is titled as a 1987 Pontiac Fiero, but has the 3.8 SC engine upgrade. It was my understanding, I believe I was told by another forum member, that the fuel pump is inside the top of the fuel tank? I'm hoping your info is correct, I'll have to get back to the garage and reexamine the engine compartment. If I can't come up with a determination, maybe I'll post some pictures, or a video, and maybe someone can help me identify the location of the fuel pump?
I'm only a mid-grade mechanic, and old. I can't thank you guys on here enough. I'd be completely lost without this site!
Sorry, in rereading your post, I see you were talking about the fuel pump relay. Back to my search and thank you.

[Neils88]

Is this a Fiero based car? The pump relay should be in the engine compartment, on the firewall, behind the driver. It usually doesn't get moved with the 3.8 swap.

The fuel pump is normally turned on when cranking the engine, and then kept on by the ECM while you have oil pressure. If you lose oil pressure, such as if the engine shuts down after a bad accident, the fuel pump gets shut down automatically so that fuel leaks won't feed any fires.

Yes, you can hook it directly to a switch... it's just not considered good practice.

[Ccemn1]

I recently replaced my steering column because of a starter switch problem. Everything worked fine afterwards for about 3 miles, until I stopped to get gas & she wouldn't restart. I've got the 3.8 SC in it, checked the fuse, it was good, but because I didn't do the build, I haven't a clue where the fuel pump relays are? Engine seems to be fine, because I can start & keep it running with starting fluid.
My plan was to drop the fuel tank & run power directly to the pump, to see if the pump is shot, or it's an electrical problem going to it. My question is, if the pump is good, can I just run a hot line to it with a toggle under the dash to turn it on & off at will?