Broke down

[Brian VT]

Sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck. 77 miles from home.
Was driving along fine then the engine just shut off and I coasted to a stop. It won’t fire.
I pressed the Shraeder valve and fuel came out (I wasn’t cranking the engine).
I wiggled the connectors at FSS. Don’t know if that could have just stopped working?
I got fuel about 10 mi. back. Dunno if that could be the culprit. Not sure what to do other than hope AAA can find a tow that will take the job.
Ugh.

 

[captain720]

Sorry to hear about that! Do you hear the FSS click?

 

[Brian VT]

I don’t have anyone to turn the key.
Should I put the key on and pull push the connector?

 

[Austin86250]

I don’t have anyone to turn the key.
Should I put the key on and pull push the connector?

Yes

 

[Brian VT]

It clicks.

 

[Brian VT]

What next? Either now or when I get it home.

 

[tradergem]

Check for fuel at injectors?

 

[gandalf]

If the FSS clicks, and is presumably working, I would suspect bad fuel. "I got fuel about 10 miles back." It sounds as though you got some bad fuel.

 

[Nero]

If it's confirmed you got bad fuel, make sure to reach out to the station, usually they'll reimburse you. Hope you get it sorted out.

 

[Greenie]

That stinks! It'll be interesting to hear what the problem ended up being. Breaking down alongside the road thankfully isn't common for an engine that once started just needs fuel & air.

 

[Old Goat]

When you get home, remove the Filter and dump into a clear glass jar and see what you have.
Sniff it, smell like gas?

Let it set for a while, water will go to the bottom..you already knew that.

Goat

 

[Brian VT]

Luckily I joined AAA about a month ago.
First time in my life.
Brought me and the truck home 77 miles.
The fuel stop was an independent so I’ll have to hope they want to make it right if it was the fuel (what else could it be?). It’s not like there’s a “corporate” that I can appeal to.
The problem with making a claim anyway is the tow was covered and if I do the repair myself then I have no receipts other than $20 for the fuel.
Maybe I should now have it towed to a mechanic and have them fix it so I have receipts?

 

[Brian VT]

…and have him document the bad fuel?

 

[Nero]

…and have him document the bad fuel?

I would do what Goat suggested first. If it smells of gasoline vs diesel, should be an easy open and shut case.

If you have the water drain at the bottom of the filter, that also is a good option instead of taking the filter off.

 

[david85]

Try cranking the engine while under the hood with the schrader valve at the filter open. That will tell you right away if you have a fuel delivery problem or not. Or better yet, disconnect the line that feeds the filter and connect a hose into a cup. I had a lift pump fail a few years ago. One of the internal check valves stopped working. In my case there were warning signs while driving in stop & go traffic.

The other thing to consider is if your fuel pickup tube broke off in the tank. Could try switching tanks and repeating the above fuel deliver test.

I don't want to jinx it, but IDIs usually give warning signs before they die. This is fairly unusual to have it just shut off like this.