98 accord ex v6 is the car I have. This is happenning for long periods of time. For instance, I drove to a work site one morning parked and started working near the car. I kept hearing this buzzing sound every 3-5 minutes near the pass. rear wheel well. It would come on for 5-10 seconds then stop. This went on for several hours constantly that day. This evening I noticed it doing it again after I got home from work. I was working on the outside of the house and washing the car and it did the same thing then. I think its the fuel pump. This would seem to make sense if it did it a few times every now the then to keep pressure up. How can I be losing pressure? Or could it be a short? I wonder if it is related to my other problem I am having while driving with it not feeling like it has full power at certain speeds under certain loads.

SteveD


Modified by SteveD at 3:58 AM 8/16/2003

 

sounds like a possible bad ignition switch .... if that doesent solve it then take it to the dealer

 

How could that make that happen?

 

bad relay or ground to the pump.

anything else come on at the same time?

any recent work done thats related to the fuel system.

 

If it's the pump you should hear it more clearly by opening the gas cap & listening there. Or maybe open the trunk & listen to see if it's something else (CD changer)?

Maybe a bad ignition switch. It closes the 'run' circuit. If this is it, your dashboard should light up as if you'd turned it on.

Bad main relay? I don't know if it's possible to fail this way? Like the relay contacts are closing sometimes? The main relay is like a switch that turns on the pump.

BTW, it's not 'losing pressure'. When the engine's running the pump is running constantly.

It's not a bad ground for the pump. The ground is always connected. If you had a bad ground, then the pump would sometimes quit when it's supposed to be running.

 

Thanks........thats alot of good leads to follow up on.

 

When you hear the noise, remove your fuel cap. If the noise goes away, it's your 2-way valve doing its job. The 2-way valve vents fuel vapor from your fuel tank to your EVAP canister. It happens more when your fuel tank is low and when it's warm outside.

Your fuel pump is controlled by the PCM through the main relay. The relay would have to stick closed, the wiring to the pump would have to be shorted to battery voltage or the PCM would have to command the pump on (it will only prime with the engine NOT running) for the pump to stay on. All of these scenarios are unlikely.

 

I know 3 other people with V6 Accords, and all of their cars do the same thing...

 

Removed the gas cap and it stopped making the noise. Another member also mentioned that it was most likely the evaporative emissions control system. Thanks for the info. I have not owned another car for 13 yrs. so this ones new to me. My old 90 CRX Si was a simple car to work on. This car has many more features I am still learning about.