FF Suby Speedster broke down and flat towed.

Subaru fuel pumps need 12 volts to work.  Anything less and they simply on't operate.

If that's the problem, it could be a loose or weak ground, a faulty relay or a loose or weak joint in the wiring harness.

Try hard wiring the fuel pump to a good 12 volt source and see if starts humming.

I'm in the process of figuring out how to rewire my fuel pump for that very reason.

@ Jimmy V.    i concur...fuel pressure relay..similar to "blown fuse"....i saw that exact ROLL BACK scenario TWICE for exactly this same issue when first got my car....luckily "john boy" steele did warranty this with OUTFRONT subaru guys....just added more fuse power with updated wiring fix.....good luck with the remedy and please do let us SUBIE guys know what it was for future reference

kinda remember Gerds car and the towing ordeal for U old timers..

see added fuse and relay wiring right side of photo

Flat towed??? 

Call to Beck is warranted for info. 

The fact that you just filled it up makes me wonder if the sensor for rollover automatic fuel pump cutoff has been activated?  Not sure if this incorporated in your system or bypassed?

I just emailed Carey for any info. he can remember from my conversion. 

 Troy, the car was returned to my home on a roll back. The guy was about to pass on doing it but stuck with it and we came up with a way to keep the chains from destroying the front radiator scoop.  

I have filled the car up to this level many times but who knows I will check it out. I have also had a electrical issue with my horn circuit that started when I changed my steering wheel. The horn went off on it's own last week while driving and I pulled over and pulled one of the wires at the horn. I haven't made time to address the issue. I sure hope it hasn't caused some larger electrical problem. As I said, my combo gauge glass was fogged up and I think this is the result of something getting hot under the dash. 

This makes me sad .... 

Yeah, but it was a cheerful tow truck, wasn't it?  "Sunny Acres towing"?

And the guy was super careful, unlike GERD's nincompoop who took off without securing ANY tie-downs to the car, which then fell off the hauler onto the street at the first good turn.

Carey emailed me and told me about the only time he has seen the fuel pump my car has fail ( Walboro GSL392BX )  is after running the tank dry of fuel and subsequently sucking a bunch of crude into the pump. I just had happened to have run my tank bone dry the last time out and made it almost 10 miles in barely running mode to get to a gas station. I am sure this would have sucked up any and all crude in the bottom of my tank. I will still test the pump by running 12v power direct to it before I diagnose it as bad. I will report back when I can get time to work on it. 

Ah good luck Jimmy. Do yourself a favor and make sure it's the pump before replacing. If it's not running at all you've got it.

I neglected this step and as a consequence happen to have a spare good pump...

Also, Bridget died one time when the cat burned through an O2 sensor wire I'd negligently left unbound. Just cut off and would not restart. Found and fixed easily; lesson learned.

I just replace the in tank gas pump in a non-speedster.  The new pump had a tag on it not to run the pump without gas in the tank as the gas acts as a lubricant and cooling.  

I had time today to look into the non-running fuel pump issue. I jacked the car up and removed the passenger side wheel. Carey has a Walboro high pressure fuel pump mounted on the pan directly below the fuel tank. I first checked for current to the pump. I turned the ignition key to the start position and this is where I would normally hear the faint hum of the pump. I hear nothing. I checked for 12v.current to the pump and have nothing. The 12v hot wire runs over to a junction with the radiator fan and thermostat switch. I am going to look for the fuse that is in line with the pump. It may be on the same circuit as the cooling fan. I hate wiring issues. I would rather have had a bad pump and that is it. I still may have a bad pump, I haven't checked it yet by running a separate 12v power source to it. More to come. 

 Who said a pan based car isn't strong or rigid enough. I have the front of the car jacked up under the axle next to the shock tower base. After the tire near the jack was off the ground a couple of inches the other front tire and the rear wheel on the jack side all came off the ground. I am able to open either door and they shut and latch smooth as silk so there is no body flex at all. That is better than many factory built convertibles I have owned. The pan attached correctly to the frame bonded to the glass body make for a super strong unit. At least it is in my car.

I showed the very same thing on my car years ago (even included photos for the site non-believers) that you can even jack it up right under the rear edge of the door and the car/pan still doesn't twist.  I think that whole thing about pan cars twisting is a myth.

I have an email in to Carey. I am stumped for now. I am getting zero voltage to the fuel pump and noticed a faint buzzing from the back of the car. I removed the rear seat cushion and exposed the ECU. The brown relay? box is buzzing when I turn the ignition to the start position. I did a scan with my scan gauge and it is showing a low voltage condition but I am getting 13.7 at the alternator post when the car isn't running of course. I am going to remove the drivers side rear wheel tomorrow and open the battery box and check the posts for tightness and corrosion. The battery is a small ATV battery in a custom made box mounted in the drivers side rear wheel well. My car was a challenge to convert to Subaru power. Carey said the ECU is very sensitive to voltage and if it is low will not work. Maybe I am not getting enough voltage to the ECU and it isn't telling the fuel pump to run? I am guessing now but I am curious to what the bussing means. I doubt it is anything good...

You're close to solving this.

Relays sometimes buzz when they go bad.

Carey seems to think the main ignition relay has gone bad. He had never heard one of them buzzing so I sent him a clip of it. I have a new relay ordered. I hope it fixes my problem. Sorry the sound quality if the clip sounds more like a bodily function than a buzz.

@Jimmy V.   my bad...i forgot you have a mostly SUBARU brain in your car.....my fuel pressure relay and the like are totally aftermarket stuff....but still a kinda related problem.....kinda   i was ok with nutz & bolts...but electrical was never my strong point....so i feel your pain.... hope you remedy your issue so you can drive it like you stole it very soon

Uh, Jimmy, I think your car should have stayed away from that burrito.

@Lane Anderson posted:

Uh, Jimmy, I think your car should have stayed away from that burrito.

Now that's funny...  

All I'm going to say is that just doesn't sound right!

@Jimmy V. posted:

I had time today to look into the non-running fuel pump issue. I jacked the car up and removed the passenger side wheel. Carey has a Walboro high pressure fuel pump mounted on the pan directly below the fuel tank. I first checked for current to the pump. I turned the ignition key to the start position and this is where I would normally hear the faint hum of the pump. I hear nothing. I checked for 12v.current to the pump and have nothing. The 12v hot wire runs over to a junction with the radiator fan and thermostat switch. I am going to look for the fuse that is in line with the pump. It may be on the same circuit as the cooling fan. I hate wiring issues. I would rather have had a bad pump and that is it. I still may have a bad pump, I haven't checked it yet by running a separate 12v power source to it. More to come. 

 Who said a pan based car isn't strong or rigid enough. I have the front of the car jacked up under the axle next to the shock tower base. After the tire near the jack was off the ground a couple of inches the other front tire and the rear wheel on the jack side all came off the ground. I am able to open either door and they shut and latch smooth as silk so there is no body flex at all. That is better than many factory built convertibles I have owned. The pan attached correctly to the frame bonded to the glass body make for a super strong unit. At least it is in my car.

@Jimmy V. Hopefully it’s just the pump. Probably good to check for a good place to install a tow hook. I was talking to my friend about this topic a few weeks ago to avoid damage. 

Just drop a Gas-X into the tank and your car will be fine.

its an EYEtalian tuneup,,drive the P out of it..

I will have a new hopefully quiet relay on Thursday. I hope it fixes the issue.  I am loosing prime driving days!

The new ignition relay came in and is doing the same thing as the old relay. It buzzes soon as the key is turned on. The fuel pump is good. I unhooked it and connected 12V power to it and it runs fine. I am not getting any current to the pump when the key is turned on. I called Carey again and it turns out That Mike will be driving within 20 miles of my house this weekend. Mike is going to stop by and look at my car on his way back from dropping a car off and I think picking one up on the way back. Mike will have another ECU and a fuel pump relay  with him, which Carey thinks is the real problem. All I can say is what amazing customer service. I am blown away and very appreciative. We have a real treasure in the Company called Special Edition! I really hope Mike can figure this out. I miss driving my Speedster.

I think you've got a short between the relay signal + and the relay power +.

I inadvertently wired a fan relay on Bridget this way once and that's what happened: buzz, no fan.

You'd think a 12v+ wire would be fine wherever it comes from but if the switch signal to the relay is somehow wired to the + FROM the relay to the component you get this weird feedback loop.

Trace the wires. Something is somehow shorted in a way that the fuse can't notice.

Thanks for the info. I agree with what you wrote. The week prior to this happening the horn went off and wouldn't stop until I pulled the power wire at the horn and I hadn't had time to look into why this happened. So something caused this as well. I also had a fogged up combo gauge when the car stopped running so I am not sure why this happened but think it was caused by some heated up wiring. The pump power runs from a connection block where the radiator fan and thermostat switch are attached. I checked this out but will do it better. Thanks again for your help Ed.