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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
'91
Isuzu Rodeo, Road Side Casualty
Q:
My
’91 Isuzu Rodeo died while I was on the highway with no warning lights,
noise or any other warning. After I pulled over, I tried to re-start.
The engine barely turned over. It sounded like a dead battery. I replaced
the battery and the car cranked. I drove it home (approx 10 miles) with
no problem. After I got it home, I killed it and it restarted with no
problem. I let it run for a few minutes and tried the same thing again.
Dead battery sound again. The next day I started the car and it started
immediately but only ran for a few seconds. I did that two more times.
Now it sounds like it is running out of gas. I think something is shutting
it down but I have no idea what that could be or how to go about figuring
it out. The last car I knew how to repair was a 350 Chevrolet. Oh yeah
it has 250k miles.
A:You
may just have a charging system problem. When you turn the key to crank/start
the engine on your vehicle a signal is sent to the fuel pump relay to
supply power to the fuel pump. Once the engine is running, you let off
the key so it returns to the run position. At this point two things happen;
the fuel pump relay loses the signal from the ignition switch to power
the fuel pump. The fuel pump relay then receives a signal from the alternator
to supply power to the fuel pump. Your vehicle just happens to need a
good working alternator for the fuel pump to work. This system was not
used on many vehicles but in your case, a new alternator should turn your
fuel pump back on.
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