Betty Humpter

The car was running fine.

No noise from the fuel pump (no death whine)

Detailed the engine (got it hot then cleaned it)

Got done cleaning and took it for a drive (no problems)

Went to start it later and it woulnt start. -let it sit overnight-

Started right up the next morning. Drove it to the store, came out to start it and it wouldnt start.

Could it be the fuel pump relay?

any other thoughts?

SCL

It's possible it is the relay -- and the relay is easy to check...in fact, it's easy to repair. But you can by-pass the relay by simply providing 12+ volts to one side of the fuel pump fuse (I forget which side).

I recently had a similar problem after doing some repair work under the hood. I was almost sure I had a bad fuel pump relay, until I took it apart and found nothing wrong with it (and did some other diagnosing as well). I eventually found that the engine speed sensor connector was loose. I had disconnected a lot of stuff while doing some engine work, and apparently left this one loose.

I would try this...
1. bypass the fuel pump relay and the fuse by plugging 12 volts directly into the FP fuse holder...I think into the side closest to the driver.
2. if that solves the problem, move backwards in the circuit and see if the relay is putting out 12 volts. To do this, put a volt meter on the other side of the fuse holder and crank the car -- you should see 12 volts. If not...it's on to the FP relay...and if the FP relay is OK, then some other sensor is not working properly, which will result in the ECU not triggering the FP relay.

Also, if the FP is beginning to fail, it will not necessarily make any noise. So if you put 12 volts to it with the engine not running, you should hear it. If not, it has most likely failed. ;-( When mine failed it was running great one day, and the next day was complete dead -- no warning signs at all.

UrS4boy

These cars do not "prime" the fuel pump when the ignition is turned on. The engine needs to be cranking at more than 28 RPM (starter-driven speed) before the cam position sensor generates a signal that the ECU uses to tell the J17 FP relay to fire.

This post and its link(s) will help:

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...php?p=18872779

Here is some fuel pump info (follow the links too)

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...php?p=18872736

In case the FP is working fine, it might be the cam position sensor:

Here is some info. Check it out and get back to us:

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...php?p=18872773

(All of the above are in the FAQ by the way)