Fuel Pump Relay

dvcobra · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2006, 05:30 AM

Everything has been running great for about 1 year and all of a sudden my fuel pump relay went bad. Then a week later another went bad and now it only lasted a block or so. I haven't been able to find any bad wires. Any suggestions??

bremillard · #2 (**permalink**) 12-27-2006, 11:47 AM

My guess is an internal short in your pump. It's probably going to be the next part that goes south. Do you have a return on your pump? If not you should think about getting one as it will relieve a lot of the current draw of your present setup. -Bob

Rick Parker · #3 (**permalink**) 12-27-2006, 01:32 PM

Quote:

My guess is an internal short in your pump. It's probably going to be the next part that goes south. Do you have a return on your pump? If not you should think about getting one as it will relieve a lot of the current draw of your present setup. -Bob

Very sound advice

dvcobra · #4 (**permalink**) 12-27-2006, 03:51 PM

Is there a way to test the pump for an intermittent internal short? Yes, I have a return line
Thank you for your help.

bremillard · #5 (**permalink**) 12-28-2006, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvcobra

Is there a way to test the pump for an intermittent internal short? Yes, I have a return line
Thank you for your help.

First, check all of your wiring-the entire fuel pump circuit. Check the grounds as well. If all of the connections are tight and the grounds are good, barring an improbable run of bad relays, your problem has to be in the pump. It could have a bad bearing or wires causing excess current draw. Do you have a fuse in the circuit. If not, you should to prevent the kind of thing you are experiencing from happening. If the pump is causing the relays to burn up that quickly you probably have a safety issue that needs immediate address. -Bob

RICK LAKE · #6 (**permalink**) 12-28-2006, 10:58 AM

DVCOBRA You are saying that the relay goes bad. Does the fuse blow to this curcuit? You need to use an amp meter in line between the pump and the relay and see how much ampage is being drawn. You may have a leak ground to the relay, OHM it out. Your pump could be going bad, is it internal or external of the gas tank? If you pull apart the relay, are the contact points burnt? What size wire are you running to and from the relay. I recommend 10 gauge for power into and out of relay. Also what is the amp reading on the relay? If it is a 20 amp, get a 30. You have to remember that the amp spike when the curcuit is turned on could be as high as 50 amps for a split second. for an intermitant internal short you need to OHM out the fuel pump when hot. I am guessing that the pump should be 10-20 ohms, lower you will need to call who makes the pump and see what the spec is. If your fuel pump is in the gas tank all ways keep a 1/4 tank of fuel in it. This helps keep the pump cool. Rick Lake

dvcobra · #7 (**permalink**) 12-29-2006, 09:42 AM

Thanks for all your input. I will have to check all this out this weekend. If I am lucky, I'll have it figured out before the new years celebration. Gas and booze don't mix well.