The fuel pump relay, located deep inside the TIPM, is the most common relay to fail since it's powered on 100% of the time while driving. You likely found this website because your dealer wants to change your fuel pump ($600+) or TIPM ($1500+). Symptoms include:
- Multiple attempts to start, perhaps occurring most often in the morning when the vehicle is cold. The problem gets worse over time and eventually won't start at all. Vehicle acts like it's out of gas (ie. crank, no start). 70% of our customers experience this failure mode.
- Unexplained battery drainage due to a fuel pump relay that is stuck in the closed/on position. You can likely hear the fuel pump running if listening from the rear of the vehicle after it's turned off. Battery drainage may still occur even after a new battery or fuel pump is installed. 25% of our customers experience this failure.
- The vehicle stalls while driving and you coast to a stop. This situation is sometimes fuel pump relay related, but also could be due to thermal expansion issues inside the TIPM or other electrical components.
- The vehicle won't start and appears to be out of gas. It's normal for the starter to continue cranking for 10 seconds or more despite pushing the start button a second time or trying to turn the key off.
- Jump starting your vehicle temporarily resolves your starting issue since fuel pump relays perform better at higher voltages. When you start your vehicle, you're relying on the roughly 12.50 VDC battery voltage. If jump starting from another running vehicle, you're pushing nearly 14.0 VDC to the vehicle since the alternator outputs a higher voltage.
- Remote start might temporarily resolve your starting issue since its use disables power to certain areas of the vehicle. Disabling power to these areas allows for higher battery voltages during the starting process and fuel pump relays perform better at higher voltages.
- Your vehicle starts fine in warm months, but won't start during colder months.
- Your vehicle tries to start, but stalls seconds or minutes after starting.
NOTE: If you turn your key or push the start button and nothing happens (ie. your starter does not rotate the engine), you have a starting issue that is unrelated to the fuel pump circuit and our parts will not help.
Location of the fuel pump relay soldered to one of six circuit boards inside a TIPM-7 series fuse box |
Symptoms of Faulty Wiper, Door Lock, and Similar Relays
Problems with front and/or rear windshield wipers (on/off, high/low speed), door locks, front and/or rear washer fluid, horn, backup lights, and other relays are becoming more common with time. The most common double relay (two relays in one enclosure) failures are 2007 and newer Jeep Wrangler wiper and door lock issues. These relays are used less often, but are similar to the fuel pump relay in that they fail to power on the device and sometimes get stuck in the on position. Most failures result in the function being inoperable. Most of the time, functions that are located on double relays (wipers, door locks, washer fluid) will fail in pairs, which means you will lose two functions at the same time. If you experience loss of two functions at a time, there is a very good chance the double relay has failed. Symptoms include:
- Windshield wipers won't turn on or will only work on low speed.
- My horn won't work or will get stuck on (forcing you to pull the fuse or disconnect the battery).
- My door locks work intermittently or fail to lock/unlock, Normally only the lock or unlock function fails, but not both.
- My backup lights work intermittently, all the time, or not at all.
You can save thousands of dollars by implementing one the proven solutions listed on this page for a fuel relay problem. A TIPM repair is often the cheapest solution for wiper, door lock, washer fluid, horn, and backup light problems. We also encourage you to file complaints at the following locations: CAS, Car Complaints, and NHTSA.