What happens when your fuel pressure regulator goes out?

When a fuel pressure regulator fails, the fuel will reach the fuel injectors with either too much or too little pressure. That causes a rich fuel mixture or a lean one. Both are problems for your engine that the computer will likely detect and try to compensate for by altering the time that the injectors open. Sometimes the pressure is off by quite a bit when the fuel pressure regulator goes bad. Too much for the injectors to compensate. In that case, your engine will run poorly or not at all.

Can you clean a fuel pressure regulator?

Although there are methods that claim to clean a fuel pressure regulator, they are often unnecessary and unable to address the root cause of a malfunctioning regulator. The fuel that enters the fuel pressure regulator has passed through the main fuel filter, or at least the filter screen in the fuel tank. A clogged fuel pressure regulator - one that might need to be cleaned - is extremely rare.

Where is a fuel pressure regulator located?

Where the fuel pressure regulator can be found on a vehicle depends on the type of fuel delivery system used on that vehicle. If your engine relies on what is known as a “continuous return” style system, the likely location for the fuel pressure regulator is on the fuel rail that feeds the injectors on the engine. If, on the other hand, the regulator is part of a “returnless” system used on newer vehicles, it is probably part of the fuel pump assembly unit mounted inside the fuel tank.