The fuel filter in your vehicle plays a vital role in preventing contaminants (such as dust or little paint chips) from being drawn in by the car engine as it sucks fuel. This ensures your vehicle draws in only pure fuel, and its performance is always at its peak.
With time, the contaminants it prevents from entering the car’s engine build up, making it necessary for you to change the filter. When this is the case, you must supplant the filter, or the engine won’t receive sufficient fuel for the car to run correctly.
Expectedly, the car’s performance should be at its peak once you supplant the filter, but unfortunately, there are instances where things go wrong, and the vehicle fails to start.
This has happened to many people leaving them not knowing why the car won’t start after a fuel filter change.
Supposing you also experienced the same problem, this post offers you the most needed help. It will answer the above question and guide you on what you should do to resolve the issue.
Contents
Understanding Why Your Vehicle Won’t Start After You Changed the Filter
There are several reasons to account for the above problem. Some of the most prevalent include the following.
1. Air bubbles in the Fuel tubes
When supplanting the filter, you must empty the fuel tubes, which creates chances of air being trapped in the pipes. If this happens, fuel injection into the engine is delayed or hindered because the air has to be compressed up to the appropriate fuel injection pressure for injection to occur.
Solution: If you think the problem arises because of trapped air in the fuel tubes, you should try priming the filter and the system correctly.
2. Wrong Connection
The problem could also arise if the fuel hose is not connected to the correct filter port. This can happen if you make the connection quickly and complete the task without rechecking what you did.
Solution: Inspect the fuel hose connection and ensure it is done correctly. You should be able to do this because there are flow direction marks that should guide you.
3. Damaged Fuel Hose
When replacing fuel horses, they can damage them. Supposing this happens, it would create a massive drop in the fuel pressure causing insufficient fuel to reach the engine. In the worst cases, there may be no fuel getting into the engine – something that causes a car starting issue.
Solution: Scrutinize the fuel hoses to see any damage. If you spot any damage, the right thing to do is to supplant the hose pipe with a good one.
4. Bad Fuel Pump
Another source of the problem could be a bad fuel pump. It can occur for various reasons – for example, when the fuel pump draws in unfiltered oil or gets entangled with foreign matters.
Solution: The only solution is to replace the bad fuel pump with a functional one.
Is there a Procedure to follow after the Fuel Filter has Been Changed?
If you followed the correct procedure of supplanting the fuel filter, you should do a few things after you are successful with the process.
- The first step is reconnecting the negative (-ve) terminal on the vehicle’s battery and reattaching the fuel’s pump relay/fuse.
- After the above, start the engine and leave it running for a few minutes.
- Next, confirm that there are no fuel leaks from the system
- Wait some time for the fuel to re-establish before starting the engine
Is this Common Only to Diesel Engines?
The problem isn’t limited to diesel engines; It is also a problem in gasoline vehicles; however, it tends to be more prevalent in diesel engines since diesel fuel has a lot of impurities.
How Long Does it Take for a New Fuel Filter to Work?
It just takes a few minutes for the new fuel filter to start working, but only when appropriately connected! You must turn the engine on and off about four times (with a span of 2 to 3 minutes before on/off).
Could the Fuel System Have Other Issues Besides the Fuel Filter Even if the Latter Changed?
Yes. As we said while discussing the possible reasons why the carb won’t start after replacing the fuel filter, there can be other issues. Some of them include:
- Clogged fuel injectors
- Damaged or kinky fuel hoses
- Damaged fuel pump
- Drained battery
- Wrong gasoline!
Wrapping Up
Having discussed the importance of your car’s fuel filter, it’s now upon you to ensure you always have a functional one by replacing any malfunctioning filter. If you run into a vehicle that won’t start after a filter change, use our guide to resolve it.
