[FIXED] 2000 3.8 Mustang new fuel pump running constantly at key on

MAF was plugged in. Cleaned it before starting. Unplugged briefly while idling. Seemed to rev a little but no stall. Plugged in, unplugged a 2nd time with no change at all that time.

The new fuel pump is in and working as it should. Took the Delphi back to Advance for refund. Now I just have to figure why my engine is now tapping at idle and ticking at acceleration.

I want to thank Cheryl and Tyler especially for being so helpful and more than kind to this new member who doesn't know what he's doing half the time. Hopefully this thread went into enough detail just in case someone else who still has this vintage of Mustang or other returnless Fords like an old Taurus might have an idea of what to do if they stumble upon this thread.

No problem! For the record, this one was weird. :blink: :lol: I've never seen, or heard of this problem happening to anyone else. It would have been VERY easy to throw an FPDM at it. Lots of people in your situation probably would have done exactly that! :silly:

Do you still have the hesitation on acceleration? Still getting the P0113?

The last time I took it out, just down the street and back, it didn't really hesitate, but generally it seemed like it had a loss of power. At idle it's shaking pretty badly, and at acceleration there's a sort of ticking or rattling sound. Last night I started it in the garage and there was a an intermittent tapping at idle. The P0113 has not returned.

Any access to Global OBD live data? Fuel trims and O2's would be a great place to start. Kinda sounds like it's running lean still... The ticking on acceleration could be spark knock. :huh:

Don't have fancy live wave form scanner, just a basic Actron with rough numbers.

Idle
STFT1 -3.1
STFT2 11.7-18
LTFT1 .8
LTFT2 4.7
O2S11 .21-.84
O2S12 .035-.08
O2S21 .23-.60
O2S22 ..885-.93

2000 RPM

STFT1 4.7
STFT2 4.7
LTFT1 .8
LTFT2 3.1
O2S11 .74-.825
O2S12 .83
O2S21 .115-.125
O2S22 .34-.4

3000 RPM

STFT1 -3.9
STFT2 32.8
LTFT1 0
LTFT2 .8


And then she started smokin'......:sick:

Smoking? :huh: What color?

Definitely looks like a problem on Bank 2. If it runs rough at idle, then you could start with a basic power balance test. Find the cylinder that makes no difference to the engine when you short its spark out. That'll be the one that's misfiring.

I believe your 3.8L uses a single coil pack, so you can do all your testing there. Check out this video for the general idea:

Seemed like a normal greyish smoke, not a white smoke. Came from center rear of engine. There wasn't a ton of it, but now I'm afraid to start it...

For the coil test, does the light need to be clamped to ground?

All this because I just wanted to get rid of a long crank...maybe I should have just left it alone...

Yessir, connected to ground. Any ground will do. You can also significantly reduce the chances of getting shocked by not resting your arms on anything metal during testing. Keeping the test light close to the tower is key, but reducing your body's connection to ground also helps.

As for the smoke... Any strong oil leaks? Wondering about a fluid burning on the exhaust pipes, mostly.

Interior of the car still reeks of smoke....:sick:

Pretty much have no confidence in myself at this point that I won't screw up my car any more than I already have...

I wanted to be good at this stuff, I really did. Not meant to be, I guess.

Huh? :huh: I don't see that you did anything wrong so far. You got screwed over by the fuel pump, sure, but that wasn't your fault.

C'mon, try the balance test. As long as there's no fuel around, then the worst thing that can happen is you'll get bit by a spark. Best case, you can narrow down a weak cylinder.

Ok, I worked up the courage to test the coil pack during Eagles/Chiefs halftime, it checks out ok. All have spark and drop RPMs when unplugged.