Fuel pump continues running 15 minutes after turning car off?

[Fusion_Diffusion]

I skipped this forum in the past, thinking it doesn't apply to me but last night after a 60 mile trip and parking the car in my garage, I heard it. I came out to put something in the car and heard it coming from near the fuel door. It was very late and even with getting an extra hour for turning the clocks back, I decided to leave it alone and went to bed.

I just remembered it now and took the car to the corner and back to force the ICE to come on, if just for a minute. After about 6 min. I heard it again for about 8 min. and than it turned off and back on again for about 2 min. Than again for the third time for about a minute and then off for good.

It's very hard to hear from inside the car, even with the seat backs folded down. (Ford did a great job insulating the cabin….) When I crawled under the car the noise was much more pronounced.

 

The point here is that it happened even when the car was warm, after a 60 mile trip, so maybe a cold car is not a requirement.

 

I'll keep listening and see if it goes away or if I need to visit the dealer.

[Boat Racer]

I skipped this forum in the past, thinking it doesn't apply to me but last night after a 60 mile trip and parking the car in my garage, I heard it. I came out to put something in the car and heard it coming from near the fuel door. It was very late and even with getting an extra hour for turning the clocks back, I decided to leave it alone and went to bed.

I just remembered it now and took the car to the corner and back to force the ICE to come on, if just for a minute. After about 6 min. I heard it again for about 8 min. and than it turned off and back on again for about 2 min. Than again for the third time for about a minute and then off for good.

It's very hard to hear from inside the car, even with the seat backs folded down. (Ford did a great job insulating the cabin….) When I crawled under the car the noise was much more pronounced.

 

The point here is that it happened even when the car was warm, after a 60 mile trip, so maybe a cold car is not a requirement.

 

I'll keep listening and see if it goes away or if I need to visit the dealer.

Good luck. Let us know if the dealer can figure out what is causing the noise. I think it's the fuel pump but not sure as the problem just ceased on my car back in August (on its own) and I haven't heard it again since then. Very weird!!

[Fusion_Diffusion]

Thank you 'Boat Racer',

 

If I end up going to the dealer and fixing this, I'll be happy to share.

 

It almost sounds like the pump was building up to get to a certain pressure, maybe in the tank or in the fuel lines and needs the two stops to get it just right.

 

If not for the dead silent garage at 2 a.m. and me needing to go back out to the car 5 min. after turning it off, I probably wouldn't have heard it. So maybe it was there all along or maybe it just started two weeks ago after I got the update.

[dalesky]

I skipped this forum in the past, thinking it doesn't apply to me but last night after a 60 mile trip and parking the car in my garage, I heard it. I came out to put something in the car and heard it coming from near the fuel door. It was very late and even with getting an extra hour for turning the clocks back, I decided to leave it alone and went to bed.

I just remembered it now and took the car to the corner and back to force the ICE to come on, if just for a minute. After about 6 min. I heard it again for about 8 min. and than it turned off and back on again for about 2 min. Than again for the third time for about a minute and then off for good.

It's very hard to hear from inside the car, even with the seat backs folded down. (Ford did a great job insulating the cabin….) When I crawled under the car the noise was much more pronounced.

 

The point here is that it happened even when the car was warm, after a 60 mile trip, so maybe a cold car is not a requirement.

 

I'll keep listening and see if it goes away or if I need to visit the dealer.

Yes, let us know what you find out. I have heard it just than one time, when the car was quite new. BTW, yesterday, after a nice leisurely drive I came home and saw mileage of 51! I love this car.

[B25Nut]

Boat Racer and Fusion Diffusion: Do you ever hear the sounds that the HVB makes when it periodically cycles itself? If you do and it sounds different than what you think is the fuel pump, then you may have a problem. Otherwise, I think you are just hearing the HVB. That is the only sound I have ever heard from the back my FFH.

[Fusion_Diffusion]

Fuel pump needing 10 min. to pump for any reason after turning the car off or HVB fan cooling a 'cold car', both don't make sense.

 

I hope it goes away for me like it did for 'Boat Racer' but will continue to listen for it.

[Boat Racer]

Boat Racer and Fusion Diffusion: Do you ever hear the sounds that the HVB makes when it periodically cycles itself? If you do and it sounds different than what you think is the fuel pump, then you may have a problem. Otherwise, I think you are just hearing the HVB. That is the only sound I have ever heard from the back my FFH.

I don't think that I have ever heard the sound of the HVB cycling but I don't think that is what I heard. One time when the car was making this noise, I pulled down the rear seat backs and listened closely to the HVB area and I didn't hear any noise coming from that area. The noise is the loudest just inside and slightly in front of the left rear wheel (near the fuel tank).

[Fusion_Diffusion]

The noise is so faint that even while knowing it's there, I couldn't hear it from inside the car.

 

My guess is that more FFH cars are doing this but because you need complete silence to hear it and because most drivers don't stay by their cars 5 min. after turning it off, many are missing it.

 

As long as it doesn't have any negative effects on performance or mileage, I'm not too concerned about it for now...

[Fusion_Diffusion]

I think you are right, 'B25Nut'. It probably is the HVB fan.

 

I was out in my garage again tonight, finally installing my license plates (which I was avoiding for 2 months so I won't appear on 'Stop Light Cameras',) and just moving the car 1 foot back, without the ICE at all, the noise came on about 5 min. later.

 

Again the first time for about 8 minutes, short stop and again for about 2 minutes and after a short break again for about a minute. Before it started the third time, it made a sound like that of a ceiling fan when you push the 'change direction' button while it's in motion. That last revolution, right when it stops and goes the other way.

 

I don't think a fuel pump would make that kind of sound.

 

Going to call my service advisor at Galpin Ford tomorrow and he'll probably call the tech people to get an answer for me.

[hybridbear]

If you have a ScanGauge there is an XGauge you can program to see when the HVB fans are running.

 

For the owners who hear this noise: have you had the fuel delivery module recall completed yet?

[Boat Racer]

 

 

For the owners who hear this noise: have you had the fuel delivery module recall completed yet?

No, I haven't had the fuel delivery module recall completed. I don't think my car was included in the recall.

[acdii]

I may have found what you are hearing. In another post, links to the hybrid docs were posted, most excellent indeed.

 

 

For 2013 MY, a new family of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) will be introduced. Some of these vehicles will be

able to charge the battery by plugging the vehicle into the grid as well as using an engine –driven generator and

regenerative brakes to charge the battery while driving (Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)); others will only

be using an engine –driven generator and regenerative brakes to charge the battery while driving (Hybrid Electric

Vehicles (HEV)). For both types of vehicle, depending on the vehicle drive cycle, there could be very little or no

engine operation during the driving cycle. This poses a challenge as historically, evaporative system leak

diagnostics has relied on engine vacuum to evacuate the fuel tank and perform a large portion of the leak check

and purge flow diagnostics. Additionally, the Engine Off Natural Vacuum (EONV) test that runs after key off relies

on a exhaust system to heat up underbody components and reject heat into the fuel tank. It is the cooling of the

fuel in the tank that generates the vacuum that enables to EONV test to perform the 0.020" leak check. If the

engine does not run, both of the current engine-running and engine –off evap system diagnostics are not feasible.

In spite of this, the OBD-II regulations still require manufacturers to monitor the evaporative system for leaks and to

perform a functional purge flow check. One solution is to add a vacuum pump that can generate vacuum on

demand to facilitate the evaporative system diagnostics. The system that is being used is manufactured by the

Denso Corporation and is called Evaporative Leak Check Module (ELCM

So what you are hearing, could most likely be this system performing its checks.

 

 

During normal operation, the ELCM is vented to atmosphere through the COV. This allows for purging during

engine operation as well as fuel fill. During ELCM leak detection execution, the vacuum pump is turned on. With

the pump on, vacuum is drawn across the reference orifice and the ensuing vacuum level becomes the threshold

for pass/fail criteria. Once the reference is established, it is time to perform the actual leak testing. This is

accomplished by energizing the COV and turning on the vacuum pump. Depending on the volume of the

evaporative system being evacuated, it could take anywhere from 2 to15 minutes for the vacuum level to saturate.

Once saturation vacuum is reached, the vacuum level is compared against the vacuum level when the reference

check was performed. Vacuum levels lower than the reference check are considered to be fails and vacuum levels

above the reference check are considered to be passes..

The ELCM leak detection test runs at key off if entry conditions such as vehicle soak, fuel level, ambient

temperature, BARO, etc. are satisfied. The test sequence begins with a pump warm-up time of 5 minutes followed

by a reference check calculation. Once the reference check is obtained, the pump is turned off which allows the

vacuum to equalize to atmosphere. The changeover valve is then energized and the Evap system is evacuated.

The pump stays on until the vacuum crosses the reference check threshold or the vacuum trace flat-lines above

the reference check threshold.

Heres the link

Edited November 14, 2013 by acdii

[Fusion_Diffusion]

Thanks 'acdii', I think this is what I described in previous post #28 "It almost sounds like the pump was building up to get to a certain pressure, maybe in the tank or in the fuel lines and needs the two stops to get it just right."

 

When I called my service adviser, he looked up my VIN and said there are no recalls or updates but said he'll call me if more people had the same issue and if Ford has a 'fix'.

 

I didn't check again for it lately but since it has no adverse effect on performance, I'm not concerned.

[dalesky]

 

I may have found what you are hearing. In another post, links to the hybrid docs were posted, most excellent indeed.

 

So what you are hearing, could most likely be this system performing its checks.

 

Heres the link

 

Nicely done! Great sleuthing. Modern cars are so complex that the average service writer probably has little idea of the many integrated systems. This whole area of venting and purging, pressure and evaporative systems is amazingly technical. What would be nice for this forum would be a technician from Ford who maybe monitored topics or was available in one thread for complex issues like this "pump" noise one.

I am going to suggest that to one of the Ford folks on Facebook. Again, thanks for the info.

[Boat Racer]

 

I may have found what you are hearing. In another post, links to the hybrid docs were posted, most excellent indeed.

 

So what you are hearing, could most likely be this system performing its checks.

 

Heres the link

 

Nice detective job!! This could be the cause of the noise that a few of have been hearing. A vacuum pump could sound very similar to a fuel pump sound. :-)

[GrySql]

After over a year I finally heard my car passing gas!!

I walked into the garage and was standing at my workbench when the car gave a short vibration at the rear of the car and then a wheezing sound like a pressure relief valve bypassing.

This occured about 15-20 minutes after my wife returned from the store, the garage was very quiet with the door down and I heard it clearly.

 

Well, I think that is the sign of a healthy FFH. Who knew?

 

My Dad used to always say:

A fartin' mule will never tire,

A fartin' man is the one to hire.

[camelot]

Ditto, great research! Now I see why they are having so much trouble with my evap system.!

[scn101]

I noticed my one week old 2014 doing this very thing. I guessed it had something to do with the EVAP system and low and behold, I read this thread. I'm relieved to know nothing's wrong...

[Texasota]

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.

I beleive the mysterious noise I recently heard on my 2015 FFH was precisely what has been explained in this thread. Thank you .