Questions and Answers

Nissan Maxima Blows Fuel Pump Fuses Q. Dear Mr.Ciulla, I have a 1987 Nissan Maxima with 198,000 miles on it. The car has been running great until yesterday. When I turned on the ignition , the starter kept spinning but the engine didn't start. I was startled for a moment, then I checked for the fuse and sure enough: fuel pump fuse was blown. I replaced it then tried to start again, the engine ran for a few minutes then stopped.

I checked the fuse and it was blown again. I repeated this process two more times, blown two fuses, then decided not to continue. My question is what could have caused this problem? Do I have a short somewhere in the electrical system or loose connection?

• 1987 Nissan Maxima
• 3.0 liter fuel injected V-6 engine
• Automatic transmission
• 198,000 miles
• Cruise control

Thank you very much for your advice.
Khanh

A. Definitely a short circuit. Take out the lower half of the back seat. The connecter there is the connector for the fuel pump. Unplug it and try to start the engine. It won't start of course but if the fuse doesn't blow you will know it's a bad fuel pump.

If it does blow, then the short is in the wiring.

You will see a cover with four phillips head screws. Remove the cover and you will see the top of the fuel tank. You can remove the fuel pump from there.