Fuel pump went out today...

Skuza

Skuza

Well-Known Member
Nov 1, 2006
1,459
Lake St Clair, MI
Boat Info
400 Sundancer
Engines
7.4L Horizons
Luckily this happened at the dock. I was warming the engines to check for any leaks and to make sure coolant was topped off and about 10 minutes into running the port motor stalled out. I tried restarting but nothing. I noticed that there was no fuel pump motor noise while attempting to start. I gave the motor a couple taps and the pump ran again and the motor started. It only ran for about 10 seconds and then quit again. It has to be the pump.
SO since I'm going to be having a gas smelling mess should I do both while I'm having fun or do one. Don't mention doing the fuel lines since I'm there too. Thats too much fun for one day. This is only the second time the boat has been run since it went in the water. I guess if these pumps go out on cars they can go out on boats too. Anyone else have one go out and have any pointers?

Sorry I shoulda added these are remote electric pumps mounted to the fwd bulkhead in the bilge. Very easy to get at.
They are Parker pumps.
 
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I was bent set on changing mine. Had kept dropping out on me. After some confusion of which model I had, I ended up pulling the old one to view the numbers on the old one. Ended up finding a short at the connector right at the pump. After some cleaning and reinstalling. Good as new....

There is also a relay that runs power to the pump. Check to see if your getting power too...

Good luck!!!
 
If you're positive it's the pump, probably not a bad idea to do both. It's not crucial, but like you said, as long you're doing one...

I'm not familiar with the fuel line set up on your boat, specifically how much access you have on either side of the pump. But, if you have access to a soft line on both sides, or at least the high side, you can crimp the line closed with a pair of vise-grips. Use a piece of rubber/cloth/etc so as not to risk damaging the fuel line. There are actual pliers made for this purpose, but I have yet to find a need for them.
 
I got a price today in the ~$300 range ea. I was shocked! I think I will let the other fail. I have to do a couple more troubleshooting measures to make sure it is the pump.
 
Newer, higher pressures? I don't know. That's what I get for allowing MM to do the work.
 
Update today. I checked things over and feel kinda dumb. The thing I thought was a fuel pump is actually some sort of solenoid/valve on the fuel line between the tank and the engine. The fuel pumps are down on the sides of the engine where the fuel coolers are. Well I checked for power to both the solenoid thing and the fuel pump which there was none. I checked the fuses that are under the electrical cover on the top of the engine. After moving some of the plugs and two relays around in there the pump started to work again. I also noticed that the two relays click when you cycle the ignition switch. I wonder if its a bad relay now? It stinks to think that I didn't do anything and now they are working again. Murphy's law states it will quit again 3 miles offshore at the start of the next trip.
 
Yes, there is a fuse and a relay that drives the fuel pump, which is down inside the fuel cooler's case. The fuse is a mini fuse on the top of the engine and very close to the relay.

The relays are cheap. Get a spare and keep it with your other spares.

The solenoid valve takes the place of anti-syphon valves on the fuel tank. They should be wired to the purple ignition wire from the helm's ignition switch and therefore are hot when in the start or run position. The engine mounted relays do not control the solenoid valves. If you have intermittent power at the solenoid with the ignition in run, you might have a wiring problem or bad ignition switches.

Best regards,
Frank C
 
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