Quote:
Originally Posted by donj
Recently, while charging the battery, the fuel pump apparently activated and pumped gas until the engine was full and began leaking - out the rear main seal, I assume. The gas leak led to an explosion in the garage where the car was stored causing some damage. What could have caused this to happen?
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There is no way to pump gas until engine is "full". Unless somehow one or more injectors were open and the gas was pouring into one or more cylinders and then into crankcase. Very unlikely.
When fuel pump runs, it pumps gas into the injector rails and then back to the tank via a fuel pressure regulator. It could run for hours that way. There is nothing to "fill". It just recirculates.
However, there are a number of hose clamped connections throughout system including the ones that connect the injectors to the rails. It is quite common for those connections to leak. It is also possible that a hose, like the front connection between the rails, could be weak or damaged.
With gas leaking around the engine and a charger connected to the battery (also under hood?) all you need is one spark.
I am assuming an original pump. If an aftermarket or later model pump was used, it could overpressure the system if the return line is somehow restricted.
I really can't see how the pump would run by itself. It requires the ignition to be turned on but then only runs for a few seconds unless the starter is engaged. Were you trying to start car with charger hooked up?