Can't fill fuel tank with pumped gas, only from a can

[swankboy]

2001 Boxster 2.7L 45k miles, 5 speed manual>

Tonight is the first time I tried to fill my gas tank since getting my car back from being repaired from an accident. The external cosmetic damage to the car overall wasn't great, but there was a lot of damage underneath from rebar set into the ground that held a wooden snow fence in place. There was a lot of fuel line and coolant line repair among other things. There was no damage to the car on the side the fuel filler is on nor, to my knowledge, any damage to the gas tank itself or filler tube.

Anyway, I was low on gas leaving work so I stopped to fill up with about an 1/8 of a tank left (I had to drive 40 miles to get home). I start to fill it and the pump clicks off. I try again and it clicks off again. I pull the nozzle back and gas starts to gush out. Okay. So I try again, but with the pump at its lowest fill rate and it still does it. So, I drove for awhile until I got to another station where I know I've filled up before with no problem. Same issue.

So I drove all the way home (barely). First thing I did was find some tubing. I found some 5/8" thick walled tube about 3' long. I pushed it down into the filler and it went where I could feel it working it's way into the tank. So it wasn't obstructed as far as I could tell, so I grabbed the 2 gallon gas can I have in the garage, took my other car and filled it. I was able to fill the tank in my Boxster with it. I made another trip and filled it again with the can. Now I have about 1/3 of a tank.

So I can fill the tank with a gas can, but not from a pump. My guess is that air is getting trapped and has nowhere to go when attempting to fill with pump gas. Is there a breather that's blocked or not open, or something else that didn't get reset or otherwise screwed up? Ideas?

Tomorrow I plan to call the place that did the work obviously, but hoping there's an easy solution I don't know about that I can fix tonight.

[Cassiebox]

first - check fuse E6 to see if it's blown. Replace or swap in another just in case. There are some TSBs for this issue as it could be a couple of things - hose from fuel sending unit blocking flapper in filler neck, EVAP canister, or just the blown fuse. Lots of info in the archives. Solution might as simple as an "Italian tune-up" - ask me how I know ;)

Here are a couple of threads to look at as well. If you're a contributing member to renntech.org, you can print a copy of the TSBs as there are 2-3 which apply to this issue.

http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18417

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5265

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...ic=9358&hl=

Edited December 9, 2008 by Cassiebox

[swankboy]

Well, I checked for the clicking noise when pushing my finger through the filler flap and there was no noise. I checked the fuse and it's not blown. I decided for good measure to swap it with the E7 fuse which is also 7.5a. Tried the fuel filler flap again and no clicking noise. I went to the gas station and I still have the filling issue. I'm going to call the repair shop that worked on it since this never occurred before the accident and see if they have a fix or can get it in. Thanks for the suggestions and information, I hope I can get this easily and cheaply (as in free) resolved soon.

[geoff]

Try putting a piece of electrical tape on the cell phone connector behind the center console. See this post and this one

[GOALIE31]

How could you tell if the Evap Cannister is bad without a code?

[JFP in PA]

Try putting a piece of electrical tape on the cell phone connector behind the center console. See this post and this one

The E6 fuse for the telephone is shared by the fuel filler flap system. If the unused telephone plug shorts to ground, it blows the fuse needed by the lower flap.

Edited January 14, 2012 by JFP in PA

[JFP in PA]

How could you tell if the Evap Cannister is bad without a code?

If the EVAP canister was dead, you would have a code. The tank filling issue is caused by an anti surge flap at the base of the filler neck not opening when the upper flap at the filler neck entrance is opened (the "click" mentioned above). On the early cars, there were lines inside the tank that would slip out of position and block the lower flap, causing the issue and requiring accessing the tank to move them back out of the way. Later cars, this problem tended to be electrical (the E6 fuse). If memory serves, there are TSB’s on both.