Fuel pump dies.... steps to take?

[Don Banfield <banfield@domain.elided>]

Hi,
	On my way to work today, about 1 mile away, my 88 alfa spider's
engine abruptly starting slowing down.... like I had taken my foot off the
accelerator (but I hadn't).  I pushed in the clutch, and it took another
~3 seconds for the engine to completely stop.  It definitely wasn't
sudden, but rather a very gradual slowing till it finally stopped once it
fell below ~700rpm.
	I feel lucky that I was able to coast it into a garage at the
bottom of the next hill, 1/4 mile away.  Unfortunately, they don't want to
do anything more with it than let it sit overnight in their parking lot.
I guess that's better than the side of the road.

	My question is:  What do you suspect the problem is?

	I'm guessing the fuel pump (one of them).  Or perhaps the fuse
that runs the fuel pump?  Perhaps a relay for the FI system?  Something
else?

	It turns over fine now, but I didn't have stuff with me (or time
right now) to do any more diagnostics.

	If it's a fuse (best case), where is it, and what do I replace it
with.  How do I ensure that's it?

	If its something else, how do I diagnose what it is?

	Can you give me an estimate of how hard each of the possibilities
are to fix?  i.e., can I do them myself in this garage's parking lot
tonight or tomorrow?

	Thanks alot!

Don Banfield

Don Banfield					Senior Research Associate
banfield@domain.elided                   Cornell University Astronomy
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided