to the OP... best way to know for 100% sure if its the fuel pump or not is to pull the pump and run direct power to it from the battery... but 99% of the time if it starts on starting fluid then its the fuel pump...

 

Yikes! I shore never ment to start a huge pissing match. But back to the jeep.

I did a bit of testing and found that I am getting no power to the fuel pump. I also noticed that when I turn the starter switch, I get a little snapping noise like something is arcing in the column. Took my new {salvaged} column into town today and a key fitted for it. Now I can replace the old piece of junk column and maybe I will be able to track this down. I would have bet it was the pump, until I heard and slightly smelled wire sparking when trying to start today. I think that I am getting to the bottom of this now.

 

If replacing the parts in the column doesn't work. The next thing I would do is check for power at the relay, if you have power there check to see if you are getting power to the Ballast Resistor. If you have power at both and no power to the pump the resistor is probably bad. The other guy trying to give advice has no idea what he is talking about, good thing you didn't run out and replace the pump without some testing.

 

How does one test it.

 

each vehicles ballast has a specific amount of resistance... i forget what these have... you can check what it is on a new one from autzone without buying it maybe... then check yours... but ive never seen one fix anything...

 

Interesting discussion. I've been having fuel pump issues with my Cherokee for quite a while. Hard to figure it out when I generally have only a few hours a week to work on it. My first guess should have been the ballast resister, as my is physically broken. I checked it's resistance with a volt ohm meter, and saw there was some resistance, but then noticed that it says 1.1 Ohm on the side. My was reading 800k ohm. But what interested me in the article is how it mentioned voltage going through it. I noticed that when I turned the key, I would get voltage on one side (the side toward the bumper). If I put 12 volts to the other lead, my pump would run. Can't wait to try a new ballast resister tomorrow. Also notice that when I short the resistor, the Jeep runs fine. Even still, I'm installing a new resistor. Not sure if the old fuel pump was bad, but the fuel filter was surely plugged, and might have caused the ballast resistor to go.

 

X2. Coming from a certified GM mechanic

 

i have 1995 jeep cherokee what should pressure

 

31 with the vacuum hose connected to the fuel pressure regulator and 39 unplugged.