Yes. Green Lawn Garage advises that a clogged fuel filter can prevent you from being able to get your car started. You may start to have difficulties getting the engine to ignite before the fuel filter clogs completely. This makes it important to bring your vehicle to our shop at the first sign of trouble so you don’t end up with a dead engine. Aside from starting difficulties, here are other signs your fuel filter is clogged.
A Misfiring Engine
If the engine starts, it is going to misfire. What we mean by this is one or more of the cylinders will not detonate the fuel and air inside of it because it does not have enough fuel for the detonation. Unfortunately, the lack of fuel is caused by the clogged fuel filter. If the fuel cannot make it through the filter, it cannot make it into the engine.
A Rough Idle
If the engine is misfiring, the idle will be rough. Rough idling is a natural byproduct of a misfiring engine. In fact, if you notice that your idle is getting rougher when you are sitting at a stoplight, you may want to drive to our shop so we can check the fuel system. The fuel filter isn’t the only part that can get clogged. The fuel injectors can also clog, as can the fuel lines.
Frequent Stalling
If the fuel filter is severely clogged, your engine may actually start to stall. This is a sign that the cylinder block is completely fuel-starved. In other words, there is no fuel in the cylinders to be burned when the spark plugs generate sparks.
Fuel Pump Failure
Poor performance is not the only thing caused by a clogged fuel filter. The filter can cause the fuel pump to fail. The fuel pump uses an electronic motor to pull the fuel out of the tank and push it into the engine. When the fuel makes contact with the clogged filter, this process slows down. It’s kind of like walking through water. Unfortunately, this makes the fuel pump work harder.
Whining Fuel Pump
As the fuel pump works extra hard to try to get the fuel through the clogged filter, it will start to whine. The fuel pump is located in the fuel tank, so you will hear the whining in the tank. The more the fuel pump struggles the higher the chance that the motor will burn out prematurely.
Call Green Lawn Garage in Denver, PA, today to schedule a service appointment for your automobile if you suspect that the fuel pump or another fuel system part is clogged.