Hello,

This evening I installed my new Facet Duralift fuel pump as an upgrade from mechanical on my 1990 f250. It has the 7.3 IDI. I was having to crank 10 to 15 seconds on the first start of the day. I am hoping to avoid problems when it is -20 in a couple of months.

I hooked up all the wiring and turned the key to check everything. Wait to start light did not come on. There was kind of a loud "snap" from under the hood and the wiring harness plug that is sort of below the fuel filter was smoking (see picture). The key was on less than 5 seconds and the smoke stopped when I shut off the key. The aforementioned plug and wires were warm.

I hooked the relay switch wire to what I thought was the fuel shut off but space was tight and I may have shorted the signal wire to the body of the fuel shut off, not sure. (see picture my index finger is pointing to the screw I hooked the wire to)

I have no power to the fuel shut off now.

Where should I start looking in the morning? I suspect or I should say hope I just blew a fuse. The wires around the "smoking plug" do not look burned, but it was poor light for searching. Did I wire to the right screw on the fuel shut off? The pump still runs and the relay still works when hooked to alternate power source and the engine still turns over. Did I make any errors that are obvious? What next?

Over-all view of pump installation

 

In the engine plug you have pictured, on the truck side of the plug is 2 fusible links, they will be blue in color, one you cooked and feeds the FSS and glow plug controller, the other one feeds the fuel heater.

You'll have to replace that fusible link and you should be good to go. Make sure to get the same color and do NOT put a piece of regular wire in there or you'll be putting out a fire next.

 

Thank you for the quick answer. Sounds like I couldn't hope for an easier fix. Will most auto parts stores have that fusible link? How about where I hooked in to the fuel shut of with my signal wire, is that correct or is there a better place? Thank you again.

 

Hopefully that pop was just the fusible link, I agree with ifrythings on that assessment. I've blown a few in my time but no pops...

I have the same e-pump and also ran the signal wire to that post. Only been running for a few weeks but it should be a good spot for it. Not everyone agrees with that statement here, BTW, but I don't think the little bit of extra juice running through that circuit is going to hurt anything at all.

That ring connector looks quite large in the photo, perhaps you accidentally grounded the FSS to the IP case? Maybe it's just bad perspective in the photo.

 

Also bear in mind that the Facet isn't designed for very high temps, just 180°.
The air coming off your radiator, block and headers are higher than that and where your pump is located will certainly be affected by high under-hood temps.

 

my duralift pump is mounted in the same place. been there for close to 10 years now without any problems.
i have power coming from a relay tagged directly to the battery, and the relay is triggered by a keyed power source off the fuse box.

 

Hello again,

I am looking for that fusible link, but I don't know what it looks like or where to look other than a general area. Can anyone help?

 

O.K., I've taken a picture of what I think is my problem. There are 2 blue wires going into the previously pictured plug. The insulation on the top wire in the picture below is empty, the wire is burned up. Is that blue wire the blue fusible link that was mentioned or is that regular wire? Or can I just replace that with normal wire?

 

That's encouraging! Do you do much stop and go or towing since the install? I know you have put a ton of miles on your pickups over the years.

To OP-- yes the blue wire is the fuse link. Must be replaced by an identical type/diameter fuse link.

 

For a super quick fix you can swap the 2 pins that have the fusible links on them, they both come from the ignition switch, one feeds the FSS and the other is the fuel heater, swap them around and you'll be back to driving till you get a new fusible link.

Yes most part stores will have fusible links, whatever you do, do NOT put a regular piece of wire in there, if you can't find the link put a 20 amp fuse in its place (that's what factory did on 92 and up trucks)

 

most of the miles on the 88 were put on while towing or weighing over 15,000 lbs.
and probably 1/4 of the miles were done in stop and go traffic.
the only issues i ever have with it are dirty connections on the ground crimp connector.

but i know when that happens because it starts to run like crap.

 

Excellent. I know they have a great rep, just don't want to see anyone struggling with temp-related issues on the pump. Overall I think it's common for upper-engine bay installs, and basically zero problems.

 

Hello,

Everything is all back together and it works great. My mistake was when I hooked to the fuel shut off. Space is tight and I shorted right to the housing there. I used a smaller ring terminal and some heat shrink and that solved my issue. I reached in and turned the key on and by the time I walked to the front of the truck the filter bowl on the pump was already full of fuel. Pushed the schraeder valve a couple of times and the truck started with probably 5 seconds of cranking. From dry pump and lines to running truck was less than 30 seconds. Every start since the first, it is like it is running as soon as the starter engages. We'll see how it goes after sitting all night or even a couple days, but I think this is a good set up. I know on those -20 days I'll at least have fuel where it belongs when the wait to start light goes off. Thank you to everyone for the great help. All of the advice I got was right on and to the point. I hope I'll be able to help someone the same way down the line. Thank you again.

 

my 88 is no longer a first line use truck, sometimes it sits for 3-4 months without starting. but it will fire rite up with less than 10 seconds cranking every time i get in it.

 

That's almost exactly how I mounted mine.