Help, cant get the micra started.

S

Simaroon

Buy & Sell Member
hello, i hope someone can help me here. its the first trouble ive had with the micra, its been so reliable, anyhow...

it was low on petrol (light was on) on the way home from work but didnt think it was too bad and made it home, when i went to go back out in the car to get petrol it wouldnt start, so i put about 2litres (left over from lawn mower) in there and it started fine, got 20yards up the street and it cut out, felt like petrol run out. so i had a lift to a garage and filled a 5litre jack, put it in the micra but its just refusing to start now! i was quite shocked as i honestly thought it was just low on fuel. any ideas or common faults i should be aware of when fuel runs out.???

thanks
 
i would try another 5 litres first simaroon, if its on an incline 5 L may not be enough, or else try a drop of fuel down the throttlebody
 
It's more than likely there isn't enough petrol in it to fire up. I've had this sort of thing happen to me before. Driven with the fuel warning light on, about 4/5 litres left in the tank, then it hasn't fired up again because there isn't enough fuel. And there is one thing you do have to worry about when your car runs out of fuel - any gunk left at the bottom of the tank can be sucked up into the engine, clogging the fuel pump and injectors. So be very careful
 
thanks for your quick replies!

the lawn mower just uses unleaded so safe there :)

id say theres about 7litres in there now, ill get another 5 tomorrow and try it again. could you give me some pointer as to where to put it in the throttle body, not done that before.

im hoping its just fuel,
 
Daniel said:
It's more than likely there isn't enough petrol in it to fire up. I've had this sort of thing happen to me before. Driven with the fuel warning light on, about 4/5 litres left in the tank, then it hasn't fired up again because there isn't enough fuel. And there is one thing you do have to worry about when your car runs out of fuel - any gunk left at the bottom of the tank can be sucked up into the engine, clogging the fuel pump and injectors. So be very careful
Click to expand...

No it can't that's an old wifes tale the pick up is solid mounted
 
Simaroon said:
thanks for your quick replies!

the lawn mower just uses unleaded so safe there :)

id say theres about 7litres in there now, ill get another 5 tomorrow and try it again. could you give me some pointer as to where to put it in the throttle body, not done that before.

im hoping its just fuel,
Click to expand...

just remove the airbox lid and drop about 50cc,s down :)
 
With the ignition on but not cranking the engine. You should hear the fuel filling the lines up and the fuel pump humming, up until the system has primed.

Will give you an idea if theres enough petrol in it :)
 
This happens to my gfs micra sometimes when she runs low. The way I fix it is by taking out the fuel pump fuse, start her up, it will eventually splutter and semi start then cut out. Put fuse back in and start her up. Has worked every time for us. Good luck
 
wilfy said:
This happens to my gfs micra sometimes when she runs low. The way I fix it is by taking out the fuel pump fuse, start her up, it will eventually splutter and semi start then cut out. Put fuse back in and start her up. Has worked every time for us. Good luck
Click to expand...

this hapen'd to the sr when the eng got changed. both coolant sensor and gauge sensor's were disconnected and it kept flooding, glad i remember'd that teqnique ! (temp fix)
 
wilfy said:
This happens to my gfs micra sometimes when she runs low. The way I fix it is by taking out the fuel pump fuse, start her up, it will eventually splutter and semi start then cut out. Put fuse back in and start her up. Has worked every time for us. Good luck
Click to expand...

thanks wilfy, could you give me a rough idea where to find the fuel pump fuse, i will try that.
 
The fuel pump has a filter which sits in a case, then the fuel filter, then each injector has mesh on them. No chance of getting into the engine, especially the size of the injector holes lol
 
right just put another 5litres in , about 13 litres intotal in there now, still not starting, but i cant here the fuel priming either, checked the fuse and its ok. do you think it may be that fuel pump died when it ran out of petrol?
where is the fuel pump so i can get my head right by it, and any suggestions where to get a new pump from, price?
 
Fuel pump is underneath the rear passenger seat. Just 2 metal clips at the front (give the front of the seat a good yank and they should come out), and 2 bolts holding it in at the back (you can only get to these through the boot). Then just give the seat a good wriggling, and you should be able to pull it out without taking the back part of the seat off.

A new pump is anything between £20 and £60, depending on condition. I would find it very unusual if the pump has died though, I've run out of fuel a few times but never had a problem with the pump not working after filling her up again.
 
thanks for your reply mate, ive found the fuel pump now, when i turn on the ignition cant here any priming, i ve checked the fuse is ok, and when i put a drop of petrol down the throttle body it fired straight up for about 5 seconds and died again?

does that sound like the fuel pump to you? i thought it might just be a blocked filter (wheres filter) but that still wouldnt effect the pump not priming

thanks for your help
 
That's almost certainly a problem with the pump then. Even if the fuel lines, filter (located in the engine bay, on the right hand side at the back - usually a small silver metal cylinder), or injectors were blocked, you would still hear the fuel pump priming itself. You checked all the fuses as well I take it?
 
ive only checked the fuse in the cabin, is there more in the bay?

if not ill be getting on ebay now for a cheap pump, or are there traders on here i could use?

appreciate your help bud
 
As far as I'm aware, the only fuse is the one behind that small panel, next to your right knee. I don't think there's any in the engine bay, just stuff for any electrics in the engine bay instead of in the actual car.

A search on eBay will throw up some fuel pumps, I just did a quick check and there's some on there for £30/£40. Or ask around on here, someone might have a spare one lying around after fitting an aftermarket fuel pump.
 
just found the filter thanks, could i take that off, open it up and clean it or will i need to buy a new one.?

and its a bit strange the pump died when it ran out of fuel, must be more than coincidence
 
just seen them on ebay also, going to just get a cheapy £30 now, should be a piece of #### to change shouldnt it, anything to be aware of?
 
Well it's always worth seeing if you can give the pump a damn good clean, just in case. You don't want to end up forking out for a new pump, just in case it's perfectly fine. Could be that a ground cable might have come loose, but it's probably quite unlikely. I'm sure someone on here might have an idea of what else it could be, but I would find it a bit strange if the pump has indeed packed up from you simply running low on fuel. But if you decide to get another one to try, they are fairly easy to change. Just be sure to put a few old rages down, any fuel left inside them tends to leak everywhere as soon as you remove them
 
Mate check for spark, then double check the fuses. Especially the ecu fuse!!! Fusebox to the front of the battery.

Does your engine management light come on??
 
Stani1029 said:
Mate check for spark, then double check the fuses. Especially the ecu fuse!!! Fusebox to the front of the battery.

Does your engine management light come on??
Click to expand...

thanks for your help bud, i thought it would have spark because it started with fuel down the throttle body.???

ill go and double check the fuel pump fuse and ecu fuse now. thanks

engine management light not on
 
couldnt find an ECU fuse????? fuel pump fuse is def ok, swapped it for another 15a still no joy. ive just give up now and its only the fuel pump i can suggest, i do find it weird how it happened when it ran out of fuel tho
 
Just had a look in my own engine bay, only fuse boxes I could see where next to and in front of the battery. Not sure where else to suggest, as I've never had a problem with mine. I'm sure someone on here will know where to look though (Y)
 
Simaroon said:
couldnt find an ECU fuse????? fuel pump fuse is def ok, swapped it for another 15a still no joy. ive just give up now and its only the fuel pump i can suggest, i do find it weird how it happened when it ran out of fuel tho
Click to expand...

the pump is immersed in the fuel eh, so no doubt the fuel helps to keep it cool (especially when its spinning its nuts off with no backpressure to slow it down :eek:)
i would still check with a meter that there,s 12v going in and out before buying a pump tho
 
You'd need to bypass it with a piece of wire or check for voltage getting to it etc etc...but i guess you could swap it out with another one from the car as theres bound to be one the same used for something else.

...unfortunatly i cant remember where in the car the relay lives. Drivers side lower kick panel as a total guess.
 
Simaroon said:
and its totally safe to bypass it with a wire?
would not be constantly priming, causing bad flooding
Click to expand...

its the ecu that signals the pump eh, and the cutout when there is no rpm signal is to cut the fuel in the event of an accident (as an alternative to an inertia switch)
 
Simaroon said:
thanks for your help bud, i thought it would have spark because it started with fuel down the throttle body.???

ill go and double check the fuel pump fuse and ecu fuse now. thanks

engine management light not on
Click to expand...

My bad never read that it started with fuel down the tb. And i meant does the engine management light come on on ignition? Im now guessing it does as it started :)

Wierd one eh?!!
 
Simaroon said:
and its totally safe to bypass it with a wire?
would not be constantly priming, causing bad flooding
Click to expand...

You're only testing, if the pump / car starts you can shut off and know theres a good chance the relay is duff (or you can unplug the relay and test it off the car). I dont recommend driving the car with it bypassed :)
 
a quick update to this incase anyone searches the thread in the future. it was the fuel pump which was gone.

changed the pump and its smiles all round.

thanks for the help folks(Y)
 

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