Old electric fuel pump burned up

[ajgaines]

I was running the engine yesterday when the engine suddenly shut off. A ton of smoke had built up in the boat and after inspecting the engine I found that the electric fuel pump had burned up. There was a small hole in the side where a black plastic thing had melted out.

Some pertinent information is that the gas had previously been terrible which clogged up my carburetor previously. I did a total clean of the tank and put in new lines but kept the same fuel pump. So my thought was the bad gas had somehow messed up the old pump. I had also installed a fuel water filter in line between the tank and the pump.

I tried to replace the electric fuel pump with a similar one that only pushed 1-2 psi but it seems as if it won't suck any fuel at all.

So my questions are...
Any idea what caused the electric fuel pump to burn up?
What should I replace it with? The new fuel pump I tried installing won't push any fuel at all.


Cheers,

Alec

[zellerj]

My guess is that the suction tube is plugged in the tank causing the fuel pump to work very hard and overheat. Another idea is there is a hole in the downstream gas line or suction tube that prevents a vacuum from forming. Have you ever tried to suck up a soda with a straw with a hole in it?

I would test your new pump with gas using a new container, bypassing all of the tank, pickup tube and hose to the pump. If it works in this case then you know the problem is in the tank and supply tubing.

check over your new fuel system and make sure it is airtight. Make sure the suction tube is pristine, and no junk is ending up in the filter.

[ndutton]

There was an era of defective Facet cylinder pumps, I wonder if you have one of them. My memory is foggy but I think it was about 20 years ago.

[roadnsky]

I believe that THIS post by Don back in 2006 is what Neil is remembering.
(I KNOW he remembers my Hot Facet testing)


"Most electric fuel pump manufactures today recommend 5 to 10 amp fuse protection in this circuit, but many engines supplied by Universal in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s (probably several thousand!) were shipped without fuses in this circuit. The Facet Pump Company currently recommends 5 amp fuse protection in this circuit, but many of the earlier Facet pumps had stickers allowing up to 10 amp fuse protection.

This circuit is particularly hazardous due to the “soldering iron” effect. If this circuit is only protected by the 20 amp fuse between the coil and the ignition switch, a partially shorted fuel pump can create considerable heat (equivalent to a soldering iron, hence the name of this process) while only drawing 10 to 18 amps – thereby never blowing the 20 amp fuse. Considerable heat can be generated even at 8 to 10 amps, which is probably why Facet is now recommending 5 amp fusing."

[Sinterklaas]

I found the same type of hole in my fuel pump after a sudden shut down (after 5 hrs of running quite well). Did you ever find any contributing causes or was it just the pump?

[W2ET]

Same type, and in the same place.

Bill

[Sinterklaas]

Bill....do you mean you had the same issue happen with a pump?

[W2ET]

No, I was just looking at the two pics.

Bill