Another SU Fuel Pump Failure

Getting ready to replace yet another fuel pump. Anyone else out there having problems with SU Pumps? This will be my third one on this car in a year +. Have ordered the electronic version from Moss instead of the standard. Opinions?

You'll be really happy with the electrocic one. I've been using them for several years
with no problems.

Bob.

Two things.

1. Check to make sure the power feed and the ground wire have good continuity. High resistance connections will kill a fuel pump as it will be working at too low of a voltage. This will also kill a solid state pump too, so it's good to check.

2. If it is a points type pump, it's a good idea to clean the points before installation, just as you would points in a distributor. I've gone round and round with Burlen on this, but I think the brown anti corrosion wrapping paper is outgassing and forming a film on the point surfaces. The symptom is that the pump works fine when new, but fails in short order. There will be no continuity with the points closed. Cleaning the points with an emery board solves the problem.

I believe that Burlen now does include a written statement saying that cleaning the points will not void warranty.

It's definitely a PITA though.

Kelvin.

Kelvin - It is not the brown wrapping paper that is the problem, new SU fuel pumps have come wrapped in that paper for many years. The problem is the alloy in the points contacts, it films over any time is sits with no current flowing through them. New SU pumps used to come with a st of instructions that said to clean them with solvent before using installing the pump. This is the same problem that will result in a pump not running if the pump is set on the shelf for long periods of time or installed in a car that is not driven for long periods. The film builds up over time and results in the contacts being insulate from one another and will not conduct current. Part of the problem in trying to clean the points that are installed in the pump is gaining access to the lower set, that are shielded by the pedestal. To properly clean the contacts the pedestal mounting screws have to be removed and the pedestal rotated has to be rotated back around the swivel pin that holds the lower trunnion to the points assembly. With the pedestal rotated back, the lower contacts are exposed sufficiently to clean them with a small sharpening stone of some 400 grit sand paper on a narrow stick.

Bob - Kelvin's advice about making sure that the power and ground are both making good enough contact at both ends so that no voltage is lost across the connections is a valid check, especially where you have had multiple pumps exhibit the problem over time. You should also check that there is no obstruction in the fuel line from the tank to the pump. If you have an obstruction on the inlet side of the pump, the pump will labor to pull fuel into it, or stall completely and if power is left on, it will cause the swamping resistor inside the coil housing to burn out and result in the arc suppression circuit being compromised. The result of this, is that points will burn down to nothing in a short period of time. Worse yet, if the swamping resistor is burned out in an all electronic pump, the pump will cease to work.

E-mail me at SUfuelpumps@donobi.net and I'll send you some information on how to check to see if the inlet side of the pump is causing your problem.
Cheers,

Make sure you get the right polarity pump pos or neg ground. I recently changed mine to neg ground and had to do some modifying of my electronic fuel pump.

I had the same problem with a new SU fuel pump. My problem was that it was intermittent. Died after 3K miles. Got to go home in a tow truck. Replaced mine with a auto parts store brand and now carry a facet as a spare. I am finding new parts to be very suspect. I now could care less about originality. You don't get any points for sitting on the side of the road with original parts. I wired my backup fuel pump the same as what is on the car now. In the event I need to replace it - it should be a simple plug and play.

Cheers.

I've been using a dual polarity pump that comes from Germany in MGB for several years - mounts in the original location and works perfectly. But I've never tried one in an A. Want me to check with the manufacturer? Basil 707.762,.0974 basiladams@yahoo.com

I would hope the electronic version had incorporated some burn-out protection capabilites under fault conditions but it sounds like that it was not the case or maybe not feasible. It sounds like they're still more trouble-free than the original points one however. Ed