Help ,fuel pump / controller

[yidal8]

Yes , my pump was getting noisy , yes , I got a new pump from Scottsdale last week , no , I did not have time to install it yet . My car died last night , could not restart also this morning - probabely fried the controller also . Which wire from the pump can I connect to ground to get it to 'limp home ' ?Car died 5 miles from home .This sucks . 91Q45 , 134Kmi. , second pump installed at 71Kmi.Thanks for your help

[maxnix]

Try a search on fuel pump. Dennis has posted this temporary fix before. Usually it is just to get the car started and into the service bay, so 5 miles may be a stretch for the controller.

[Q45tech]

Think about it logically. The +12 volts for the pump doesn't come from the controller, so what you need is chassis ground for the pump to work. The ground wire to/from the pump is in the white connector that plugs into controller, so this wire must be grounded externally..[as the internal circuitry is no longer providing this function].......without touching the other wires in the connector.........2 of which go directly to engine ecu.

The pump is not designed to see +12 to +14 volts for very long as it will heat up .............pumping 10-15 times the normal cruise fuel which is just returned to the tank from the FP regulator.

This is in part a warm weather strategy to expose only the minimal amount of fuel to the hot engine compartment in recirculation.........on high the pump moves over 60 gallons per hour because the engine could consume 25 gallons in an hour.

[yidal8]

Thanks Q45tech, I did it , and drove the car home the 5 miles with no problem . I changed the pump last night , waiting for the controller from Scottsdale . Took the old controller apart and can see the overheating at the connector + the solder joint inside .Question : Can I fix the solder joint and use this controller with the new pump - or something else was destroyd already in the controller ?

[maxnix]

Posts exist on this topic also. If I recall correctly, sometimes the solder will work for a long time, sometimes it will fail again soon. Worth trying and keeping as a spare, but new one will give you better peace of mind.

Best to read the original posts.__________________Brian1995 Q45 & Q45t

Discover the power of the button!

[Q45tech]

See how easy it would be with a spare controller you juset remove a few plastic screw in the trunk and rig some support for the new spare controller and run a wire from the chassis to frame ground.......you would be surprised at the uses a 2,3,4 foot number #12 wire with tiny alligator clips on each end has.

[yidal8]

Q45tech - I already have my wire w/alligator clips at the ready in my trunk tray .I repaired the solder joint of the controller , the car is running fine , can't hear the new pump , even from the trunk . Therefore , I decided to return the new controller just ordered back to Scottsdale . Your idea of installing a redundant/backup controller system is interesting though . But with changing the fuel filter every 20Kmi. , hopefully I am good now for 60-70Kmi.

[QShip]

To preserve the controller as long as possible, what should be done?

I change the fuel filter every year, what else can I do?

[DAEDALUS]

Replace the pump at the first sign of it going bad...noticeably louder humming. Keep the tank at least 1/2 full to prolong the life of the pump itself.

[QShip]

Thank you!!