Z22yh- high pressure fuel pump or something else?

[Sheepy]

Hi all.

In a bit of a conundrum with my car. Vauxhall Zafira 2.2.
Fault codes- p1191, p0303, p0304.
Six months ago high pressure fuel pump failed, had it repaired and everything run fine since. Last week, spanner light came on, then that went off and the engine light came on and car went into limp mode. Car lost so much power in the end it wasn’t drivable and had to be towed to the garage. Oh and fuel came out the exhaust pipe. RAC tried new spark plugs it made no difference.
Garage thinks it’s the high pressure fuel pump, we put a secondhand replacement in which also didn’t work. The guy that sold me the secondhand pump stakes his life that it works. So, is the problem the pump and I’m unlucky that both pumps are broken, or is it’s something else? I understand the fuel pressure regulator is also a big problem, could it be that and it’s making it seem like the pumps aren’t working? Or could it be a fuse?
Other suggestions people have put forward it faulty coil pack and injectors.
Car is so lacking in power it’s not at all drive-able.
Very limited funds to get this fixed so don’t want to buy yet another pump only for that to not be the answer!
I know very little about cars, but any thoughts much appreciated before speaking to the garage tomorrow!

 

[MattyF]

Hi, I'm almost certain it's your pump. The second hand one will probably be knackered also. Fault code P1191 indicates low fuel rail pressure. The most likely causes of this are either the high pressure fuel pump or the fuel regulator. I had this problem several years ago. I first replaced the fuel regulator for £60. This made no difference so I then changed the pump £290. I cleared the codes and everything then worked perfectly. On the advice of a Vauxhall technician I met through this site I cleaned the fuel system and have run the car since on the premium unleaded such as V-power, BP ultimate etc. The car ran perfectly for 6 months until I had no choice one day but to use the cheap supermarket low grade unleaded. The same week, the fuel pump failed again and I shelled out another £290. I have since religiously only filled with the premium unleaded and use an injector cleaner every 6 months. 5 years on, the pump is still working as it should, fingers crossed. The high pressure fuel pump unfortunately is the achilles heel of this engine. It is essential that you use only premium grade unleaded.
Another cause could be the electric fuel lifter pump in the fuel tank but this would be unlikely as if petrol was coming through the exhaus it shows that the fuel is still being lifted but is not gaining sufficient pressure to ignite (again suggesting its your high pressure pump).
Changing the high pressure pump and regulator takes less than 15 mins but if your car knowlege isn't great you're best off getting a garage to do it. you could end up causing a dangerous fuel leak. Also get the garage to change the filter underneath the car. They cost about £15 and its a 10 minute job.
When these cars were fairly new, the regulators had a serious fault and were seizing, causing the cars to go into limp mode. Sometimes a seized regulator would also blow the pump. This was featured on BBC Watchdog program and Vauxhall recalled the cars to fit a new regulator. As a precaution I would change the regulator at the same time as the pump.
Do not ever buy a second hand pump, there is no way of testing it without specialist Vauxhall tooling.
Good Luck!