Fuel pump continues running 15 minutes after turning car off?

[Boat Racer]

I just heard a new unusual sound coming from the rear of my 2013 FFH. I had taken it for a short drive and returned it to the garage and turned it off normally and got out of the car. I happened to go out to the garage again about 10-20 minutes later and heard a "humming" coming from the rear of the car. After looking around the car, I'm fairly sure that the sound was coming from the fuel pump (which I assume is mounted in the fuel tank at the rear of the car). I listened to it "hum" for about 30 seconds and then it shut off for about 30 seconds and then it started humming again for another 15 seconds or so and then it quit humming for good................I think. After another 30 minutes or so, I went back in the garage and so far it's quiet. Has anyone else experienced this problem? I did a search on this forum but couldn't find anything. The car has just a little over 6,000 miles on it now and up to now, I have not experienced any unusual problems with it. Does anybody have any other ideas of what might be causing this humming if not the fuel pump?

[GrySql]

Don't know, I've not heard that.

The HVB does have cooling fans mounted in the trunk just over the fuel tank, did you lift the trunk lid?

Edited August 7, 2013 by GrySql

[jeff_h]

Fan for the HVB, runs after the car shuts off, there's a thread on here about it and it's pretty common... the warmer it is, the longer you'll hear it.

[Boat Racer]

Thanks guys. That makes sense now that it could be the HVB cooling fans. I did open the trunk to listen but couldn't tell exactly where the noise was coming from back there before it shut off. I feel much better now, that I don't have to make my first trip to the dealer. :)

[GrySql]

If you hear it again, lower one (or both) of the backseat's down and listen there.

They are in that area and should be easy to hear. Page 154 of the OM, second box.

 

But, with the Fuel Module Recall being in effect, make sure you do not smell fuel when inspecting in the rear, or under, the car.

[Boat Racer]

If you hear it again, lower one (or both) of the backseat's down and listen there.

They are in that area and should be easy to hear. Page 154 of the OM, second box.

 

But, with the Fuel Module Recall being in effect, make sure you do not smell fuel when inspecting in the rear, or under, the car.

I will do that if I hear it again. Thank you for the reference to that OM page explaining that. I will keep my nose tuned for any fuel smell when checking under the car.

[Boat Racer]

I have an update. I went out in the garage today and started up the car for maybe 15 seconds (used the power steering) to turn the front wheels to install new splash guards) and then shut it off again. Right after that, I heard that "humming" noise again. This time, I pulled down the rear seats and listened in that area near the HVB and didn't hear it as loud as outside and or under the car. I crawled under the car and I think that I have semi-localized the sound to somewhere about a foot inside the drivers side rear wheel which looks to be near the fuel tank. There is a cover in that area, so I can't tell exactly where the sound is coming from but it does sound louder under the car vs. inside the car with the rear seats down. I'm still thinking it could be the fuel pump. It did turn off after a few minutes for maybe 30 seconds, and then turned on again for maybe a minute and then shut off again for good. Do you guys still think it's the cooling fans for the HVB? If so, why would then need to turn on when I only used the battery for 15 seconds to turn the front wheels? I would think that it would take more of a load than that to create enough heat to require the cooling fans to turn on.

[hybridbear]

I have an update. I went out in the garage today and started up the car for maybe 15 seconds (used the power steering) to turn the front wheels to install new splash guards) and then shut it off again. Right after that, I heard that "humming" noise again. This time, I pulled down the rear seats and listened in that area near the HVB and didn't hear it as loud as outside and or under the car. I crawled under the car and I think that I have semi-localized the sound to somewhere about a foot inside the drivers side rear wheel which looks to be near the fuel tank. There is a cover in that area, so I can't tell exactly where the sound is coming from but it does sound louder under the car vs. inside the car with the rear seats down. I'm still thinking it could be the fuel pump. It did turn off after a few minutes for maybe 30 seconds, and then turned on again for maybe a minute and then shut off again for good. Do you guys still think it's the cooling fans for the HVB? If so, why would then need to turn on when I only used the battery for 15 seconds to turn the front wheels? I would think that it would take more of a load than that to create enough heat to require the cooling fans to turn on.

If you're concerned you can take it to the dealer. I have no idea. I don't often hear the HVB cooling fans come on to know really what they sound like for you to compare.

[Boat Racer]

If you're concerned you can take it to the dealer. I have no idea. I don't often hear the HVB cooling fans come on to know really what they sound like for you to compare.

As long as the humming sound is turning itself off after a few minutes, I'm not concerned enough to make a special trip to the dealer. If at some point, it starts running longer or not turning off, I will take it to the dealer to get looked at. I think the only thing that it could hurt (if it is the fuel pump) is just a slight drain on the battery (as long as it continues to shut off after a couple of minutes of running).

[rfruth]

probably is the HBV fan(s) cooling off the battery pack after the car is shut down but with the temps we have around here the 12v battery would really get a work out (not an issue with my 2010, the fan & fuel pump is done the moment you shut off the car) Would like a new car but this is a biggie for me

[GrySql]

The car's fuel pump is placed in the fuel tank for these cars (and most others).

It looks like it is positioned on the driver's side, top forward corner of the fuel tank. *see picture

See what you think.

 

The sound location that you refer to seems like the right location for the fuel pump sound to be coming from.

For that reason I would seriously consider taking your car to the Dealer for a service check.

 

 

[Boat Racer]

Thank you for the diagram drawing of the fuel tank and the location. The fuel pump location does appear to be where the sound is coming from. I just today received the notice from Ford for the 13B07 reprogram for the fuel economy improvement so I made an appointment to take the car in for that on Saturday. I also asked them to check out the noise from the fuel pump area and they will see if they can try and duplicate that situation in order to hear the noise and diagnose the cause.

[GrySql]

Thank you for the diagram drawing of the fuel tank and the location. The fuel pump location does appear to be where the sound is coming from. I just today received the notice from Ford for the 13B07 reprogram for the fuel economy improvement so I made an appointment to take the car in for that on Saturday. I also asked them to check out the noise from the fuel pump area and they will see if they can try and duplicate that situation in order to hear the noise and diagnose the cause.

 

Good thinking, I hope they can determine what the noise is. That is the kind of odd mechanical puzzle, that if noted on the Forum, can help someone else in the future.

I look forward to hearing what happens.

[Boat Racer]

I will post back after the trip to the dealer to advise if they were able to determine the cause of the "humming" noise. There is probably a 50% or greater chance that I can't get it to replicate the noise when they are listening for it.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Boat Racer

[Boat Racer]

I think that I can make this issue repeat for the dealer service tech on Saturday. I just now went back out in the garage and turned the car on for about 15 seconds and then turned it off and got out of the car. Almost exactly 5 minutes later the humming noise started (which I now believe is the fuel pump). It ran for 8 minutes and then shut off for about 10 seconds and then turned on again and ran for another minute before turning off for good. It just doesn't make any sense to me that this would be normal programming. If it is a common problem, I'm surprised that no one else has experienced it. It's a pretty quiet humming noise, so the car does have to be in a quiet garage or you most likely would not hear it.

 

At least, I think that I will now be able to duplicate the issue for the dealer service tech. I will report back after I get their opinion on this issue.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Boat Racer

[neod192]

Good luck finding a quiet garage at a dealership. My dealer couldn't even hear the loud ping pong axle noise...

[Boat Racer]

Good luck finding a quiet garage at a dealership. My dealer couldn't even hear the loud ping pong axle noise...

Yeah, good point. :headscratch:

[hybridbear]

We all look forward to your answers from the dealer. I really don't think it sounds normal for the fuel pump to be running so long after shut down, if it is in fact the fuel pump. I hope they don't just blow you off and say "that's normal" without doing any research. Who knows, it could be normal in the hybrid. They do so many things differently from the gas vehicles.

[Boat Racer]

I just got back from the dealer after having them apply the 13B07 mileage improvement software update and having them check out the fuel pump coming on by itself after the car was shut off. Of course, they couldn't duplicate the problem there at the dealer which doesn't surprise me much. I couldn't duplicate it myself either yesterday after taking the car for a short drive when the car was warmed up. I was able to duplicate the problem this morning when it was cold before I drove it to the dealer. It might only happen when the car is cold. The service tech suggested checking again tomorrow morning when the car is cold to see if it is still happening after the software update. I will do that and report back again then. Hopefully the software update cured the issue.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Boat Racer

[Boat Racer]

Well, the new software update didn't fix the fuel pump turning on by itself after turning the ignition off issue. The symptoms have changed slightly however.............for the worse. It didn't turn itself on at the 5 minute mark this time so after waiting until 6 minutes (after turning ignition off), I thought the issue was solved and went back in the house. I came back out in the garage at the 9 minute mark and the fuel pump was running at that time, so it turned itself on sometime between the 6-9 minute mark. It continued running until the 18 minutes mark (for total on time of 9-12 minutes). During that time, it turned itself off 2 or 3 times for maybe 10 seconds each) before turning back on again. At the 18 minute mark it turned off for good. It can't be a stuck relay if it is cycling on and off like this. I think that something in the program is telling it to do it, but why? It only seems to do it when the car is cold and hasn't been driven.

 

I will set up an appointment with the dealer again to let them keep the car overnight so that they can test it when the car is cold. Weird!!

[jeff_h]

I will set up an appointment with the dealer again to let them keep the car overnight so that they can test it when the car is cold. Weird!!

If you are able to make this happen when cold, and have a quiet garage, have you tried using your cell phone to record it for later playback?

[Boat Racer]

No, I didn't think of trying to record the sound but that is a good idea. I will try to do that and see if the recording is good enough to show it to the dealer service department.

[dalesky]

I did hear something running, once, in that area. It was when the car was just a couple of weeks old, and I think I opened and closed the rear door to listen. It stopped when I shut the door if I remember correctly. No idea if there was a correlation. I had just come home from a fairly long drive. Never heard it again, and I have listened for it a couple of times.

Fuel pump wouldn't be likely, but the fan is.

[Boat Racer]

I did hear something running, once, in that area. It was when the car was just a couple of weeks old, and I think I opened and closed the rear door to listen. It stopped when I shut the door if I remember correctly. No idea if there was a correlation. I had just come home from a fairly long drive. Never heard it again, and I have listened for it a couple of times.

Fuel pump wouldn't be likely, but the fan is.

Yeah, it sounds like it might have been the fan in your case. Opening and closing the doors in my case have no effect on the humming. I did manage to get a really bad video with audio of the noise from my cell phone this morning. It started 6.5 minutes after I turned the ignition off and ran for 10 minutes while turning off then back on again twice towards the end of the 10 minutes. The last time it turned on, it also sounded like it also triggered another valve that kind of sounded like some kind of vacuum valve. That is only the second time that I have heard that particular sound and it didn't do that before the latest software update. Hopefully, the dealer service tech will be able to hear it on my cell phone speakers to get an idea of what it sounds like.

[GrySql]

I hope they can figure it out soon, very odd.