Jump to content

98 fuel pump


Jimslade

Recommended Posts

Hi.

I have a '98 VFR which has been sitting for a few years (job, kids, overseas assignment....).

 

Have done careful bootstrap (new battery, drained all fuel out, oil/filter change, little bit of oil in cylinders, manual turnover... all good so far).

Put in a gallon of fresh gas. Starter is turning it over easily but it's not firing. I'm assuming no fuel, but I'm guessing.

Seems like connectors to the fuel pump are getting voltage when I turn it on (2 sec of 12v, then drops off which I've read is the right behavior? IDK).

I'm not hearing any sound however when I switch it on, which from memory... I remember I'd get a short whine of the pump priming the gas when I first turned it on.

 

Does the pump just gum up and totally stop working if it has sat for years? Is the next step to replace the pump and filter? Anything else I can do/test before throwing money at it?
Anyone with more smarts to me know what a next step is? 🙂 I hate to just start replacing stuff but that's kind of where I'm at.

Here's a photo looking into the tank.

Thank you!

gastank.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Yes, you should hear the Fuel Pump prime for aporox 2secs every time you turn ignition to on.

 

Unplug the electrical connector to the pump, take note of which terminal has the Green wire.

 

Make a couple of test leads and connect these to your battery. With the ignition switch to off, carefully touch the other ends to your fuel pump terminals, negative to where the Green wire went.

If the Fuel Pump doesn't run then you'll need a new one.

 

If you hear the Pump running. Then you need to confirm the Green wire for the pump connector is properly Grounded and the Brown wire you have solid 12v for 2secs at switch on. Make sure the pump terminals and connector are clean and make good contact with the pump connections, even a spray of WD40 into the connector might help.

 

There certainly appears to be a lot of crud around the fuel filter in your photo!

 

Good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don’t write pump of just yet. Remove and with a pick tool give rotor a push.... see if pump spins after that. Another thing to check is wiring downstream from the connector. I had a terminal broken off once on a different bike....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
1 hour ago, Magneto said:

Don’t write pump of just yet. Remove and with a pick tool give rotor a push.... see if pump spins after that. Another thing to check is wiring downstream from the connector. I had a terminal broken off once on a different bike....

 

Agree Magneto, but could you ever trust a pump after needing a push start!

 

The pump is 23 years old, assuming its the original, and the crud around the fuel filter isn't good, who knows what the pump has ingested over the years along with years of non activity, potential condensation and bad fuel.

 

There are excellent Japanese built non OEM pumps out there that are not too expensive.

If it were mine, I'd ditch the pump and filter, give the tank a good clean out, then fit a new pump and filter.

YMMV. :fing02:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pumps get stuck because of crud, once unstuck and flushed should be as reliable as any 23 years old pump. Replacement is a nice option, but why stop at the pump whole bike is a museum piece 😉

Prices for Japanese armature are plain crazy. Trim motor just took a dump on my outboard the other week, 600 bucks from Suzuki. Damn Showa. We are being taken advantage off....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice!

Took me a while to get to this.

I pulled the pump, and it looked rotten, so I just ordered a new kit from Quantum Fuel. Aftermarket pump and filter was $130. OEM was looking to be over $400....

Downside was the wiring didn't match so I needed to splice in the new wiring.

 

Anyway, below are old pump and new pump photos.

I am having trouble with the pump/tank seal. I've tried less torque, more torque, swapped for the old seal (it was in great condition), and just tried some Permatex PermaShield fuel resistant gasket dressing on the gasket... it still has a small leak so I'm letting it dry more before trying to tip the tank over again. (I let it set for ~45min before trying it... too short?)


Anybody have experience getting this seal to, well, seal? :) When I turn the tank over to remount it, it starts dripping fuel.
Thank you!

BTW, advice for whoever finds this looking for fuel pump solutions: you should also order 12mm crush washers for the banjo bolt. You aren't' supposed to reuse crush washers. This cost me an extra day once I realized.

oldpump.jpg

newpump.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK so think i got the pump back on and no gas showers leaks. 

Pump is now priming (yay!) but the bike still isn't firing up. 

I've added injector cleaner to the gasoline and cranked it over a bunch.  Nothing yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Glad you have a new pump in and it appears to be priming.

 

- Have you tried starting your bike with the Sidestand in the UP position? (all to do with ECM ignition enable logic)

 

- Have you checked the state of, or replaced the spark plugs?

 

- Are you getting any smell of fuel from the exhaust? Perhaps your injectors have gummed up!

 

- What is the status of your Fi Light? Sidestand Down.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Quick update.... didn't have time to work on it for a while.
Tried to start, pulled a couple plugs, seemed dry. Great spark however.
Picked up some starter fluid and sprayed into the intake valves... got it firing enough to burn out the staring fluid.
SO.... is there anything else I need to check/do before I go after pulling the injectors? Pulling the throttle body to get to the injectors looks like a bunch of work so I'm looking for an easy way out. 😂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Yeah - removing 5th injectors is a pain.  Hopefully crud in the fuel tank did not get past the pump, but you could have the same degradation in the fuel rail, FPR and injectors.  One thing you could do b/f removing injectors is to remove the fuel pressure regulator and see if you can get any idea if there's any crud in there or the fuel rail. Also check the FPR for fuel in the vacuum side.  A visual inspection may not be definitive, but if you do find anything, then you'll definitely want to get the injectors out.  The spray holes in injectors are tiny - it does not take much to clog them.  23 years is a long time for gasoline to sit in there and deteriorate - you may need to just bite the bullet - pull and have them cleaned to eliminate them from the equation.  It's not very expensive and in any event, even if not the cause of the no-start, a good maintenance practice. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.