2003 Z06 Dies

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Discussion

vetteheadracer

Original Poster:

8,271 posts

260 months

Monday 5th January 2004
quotequote all
Driving home from work tonight, gone about 2 miles, doing about 70, suddenly no power, coast to a halt in a layby on the A34.

Do the usual checks, try re-starting no joy. Call the AA, find it is the fuel pump fuse has blown.

Change the fuse, car starts, idles fine, go to pull away, car dies again.

Relay home

Any bright ideas?

Changed to a 30 amp fuse and the car runs, but can't rely on it until I know what is wrong. No DIC codes set.

malc350

1,035 posts

253 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
quotequote all
Hi Nige, first place I look for help is the forums at: www.corvetteactioncenter.com because you can generally bet that someone in the US has experienced the same problem.

To search the forums you have to register but I've searched the C5 forums with the query: fuel pump and it returned the following:

www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=255294&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

Someone has specifically experienced a defective fuel pump on a 2004 Z06 (it can happen with anything I guess) at: www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38453&highlight=fuel+pump

Hope this helps. In my (3 x C4s) experience you did the right thing by checking fuses first as I've found my problems were nearly always down to a bad electrical component or connection. Don't want to guess in this case but it could be just a duff fuel pump, especially as Chevy seem to source parts from all over the place.

Your car must be under a GM warranty, which seems to be the source of some discussion on Pistonheads forum - my experience of GM dealers over here is they struggle with a vauxhall Astra / Vectra/ anything. I did wonder how they'd cope with Corvette warranty work..........?

jaytee368

2,058 posts

251 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
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Hey Nige, at least you can fall back on the unreliable C4. Hope you can get it sorted.

LuS1fer

41,783 posts

252 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
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When the Camaro LS1 was first launched, the fuel pumps used to burn out if you ran out of fuel. This was a widespread fault and may be indicative that the stock pump isn't that good.

vetteheadracer

Original Poster:

8,271 posts

260 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
quotequote all
Hi JT,

Had to borrow Snakey today as Velveteen is over at my second storage area!!

L81

314 posts

254 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
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vetteheadracer said:

Had to borrow Snakey today

It's a hard life!!! Talk about a coincidence. My unbelievably reliable (even though criminally neglected) 23 year old Granada died on the way home from work last night as well. It's the 1st time in ages that it's crapped out on me & it just had to do it on double yellow lines, next to a junction right opposite a police station! Great fun. The problem was the electric fuel pump circuit. I guess bypassing your Z06 fuel pump circuit by running a wire from the battery +ve terminal out through the window, along the side of the car & joined to the fuel pump terminal isn't what you'd want to do?
You could always try here: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zeroforum?id=1
good luck

jaytee368

2,058 posts

251 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
quotequote all
Nige, do the depths you're prepared to go to know no bounds!

vetteheadracer

Original Poster:

8,271 posts

260 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
quotequote all
Beggers cannot be choosers JT!

blackzr

280 posts

253 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
quotequote all
Sorry Nige, only got your message this morning. We had a death in the family yesterday which kind of floored us all.
Coupled to that a nice young man in a Toyota killed my "other" Z on Sunday night when he jumped a set of traffic lights in Milton Keynes and removed the front of my car back to the engine (including the bonnet) told the police he had been doing 25mph and didn't see me. I nearly killed the little s**t.

I left a message on your phone, give ma a call when you pick it up.

>> Edited by blackzr on Tuesday 6th January 12:33

ZR1427

17,999 posts

256 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
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Geoff ,firstly sorry to hear about your family bereavment.

Was it your lightweight vette that got hit,,gotta do a darn sight more than 25mph to take the front end off.

Nigel,if you want to borrow my old Sierra its just gone thru another MOT.

vetteheadracer

Original Poster:

8,271 posts

260 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
quotequote all
Thanks for the offer Cliffy, but I will get the Black LT4 out and use that.
Spoke to Geoff just now, and it was the Citreon that got smacked in MK, luckily it wasn't the ZR1 otherwise I think Geoff would currently be awaiting trial for Manslaughter on the grounds of somebody messed with his motor!!

Slapvettehead

27 posts

255 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
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:smokin 30amp fuse!!!!!! Do you have shares in Hampshire Fire & Rescue?

anonymous-user

61 months

Tuesday 6th January 2004
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Hope it's not the Hampshire Constabulary practising with their new, high-tech remote "kill" switch!

te51cle

2,342 posts

255 months

Thursday 8th January 2004
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Any news on the problem/fix ?

vetteheadracer

Original Poster:

8,271 posts

260 months

Thursday 8th January 2004
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Car is off to Manchester next week!!

C5RagTop

1,610 posts

255 months

Thursday 8th January 2004
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Nige, look out for the yellow ragtop which got squeezed between the lorry and the armco at 50mph and is there for repair.

anonymous-user

61 months

Thursday 8th January 2004
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Sorry to hear the news, but I guess Manchester's got the best chance of delivering a fix. Hope it works out OK.

vetteheadracer

Original Poster:

8,271 posts

260 months

Thursday 15th January 2004
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Dealer found the fault today!

One of the wires in the main loom that passes under the battery tray had rubbed against the bottom corner of the battery tray and this was shorting!

Took them ages to find the fault, but at least I now know why the fuse was blowing. It would appear that seeing as I have done no mods in this are, that the fault was created at the factory. It appears that the battery box was installed too close to the loom and after 19,000 miles had rubbed the insulation badly enough to expose the wire.

Gixer

4,463 posts

255 months

Thursday 15th January 2004
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thats similar to a fault I had on the ZR1 a while back. Mine was blowing the A/C fuse but not all the time. This was a pain as when this fuse went I lost the heater controls, trip computer and full engine power mode. It turned out to be the Oxygen sensor's wire loom. The clip that keeps the loom away from the exhaust had broken and the wire would sometimes rub and short on the heat shield. would never have thought of looking at those sensors if it wasnt for Paul Gamsa and his knowledge of the car.

anonymous-user

61 months

Thursday 15th January 2004
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Very glad to hear you got a fix on that one. C5 owners up and down the country will be out with a torch peering under our battery trays in search of chafed wires.