Ficht electric Fuel Pump Tester

[K447]

The Ficht electric fuel pump is fairly straight forward to test, if you can get at the electrical connections to control the pump and check the voltages. The fuel pump connector is locked onto the top of the fuel pump, while the Brown control wire runs directly from the fuel pump to the large EMM 40-pin connector. Just tapping into the Brown wire to force the fuel pump ON is tricky, especially if you want to avoid damaging the wiring.

I built this test harness, which allows me to not only control the fuel pump easily but also monitor the voltage and current draw at the fuel pump.

[Mr. GP1800]

Me thinks you have too much time on your hands.

[K447]

The electrical diagram is fairly straightforward. The Pink Fuel Level signal goes straight through from fuel pump back to the wire harness for the EMM and display.

The Black ground and Red/White fused power wires also connect straight through, but are also branched out to allow control and monitoring.

The Brown wire from the EMM goes to the fuel pump through a 5 Amp or higher rated diode. This allows an ammeter to be connected for measuring how much current draw (amperage) the fuel pump is using, yet when the ammeter is disconnected the fuel pump can continue to work normally. In my testing the diode inserts a nominal 0.4 volt voltage loss when the ammeter is not present.


To build this tester I extracted the fuel pump wiring and connector from a parted-out Ficht engine wire harness.

Note the wire colors and connector pin sequence, this is the stock Ficht wire harness connector end.


I also needed a male connector to plug into the stock EMM wire harness fuel pump connection.

I took apart a non-working Ficht fuel pump. When you remove the plastic 'cap' which contains the fuel pump 'male' connector, inside is another male plug and mating connector.


When the internal fuel pump connector is rewired as needed and plugged into the 'gender changer' right angle top piece, it creates an 'extension cable' that plugs nicely into the fuel pump and the wire harness of the watercraft you are working on.


If you don't have a spare/broken Ficht fuel pump handy, the same 'Carter' electrical connectors can be found on some Chrysler fuel pumps, such as the year 2000 minivans.

[K447]

The connector recovered from inside the fuel pump will not have the correct wire colors. Remove the pins and rewire according to the new wire pattern for the gender changer and EMM wire harness end.

Note: Be sure to use a heavy enough wire gauge for the new connector wiring. I used 16 gauge stranded copper wire. I soldered all four pins to their new wires, as any crimp looseness or poor connections will cause trouble.

Grip the center rib of the colored plastic piece.


It pulls straight out.



Use a small flat screwdriver or spudger to lift the small plastic pin retention tabs. While each tab is lifted, slide the corresponding wire and contact out from the rear of the connector.

[K447]

When the wiring is complete, check the pin sequencing by plugging the fuel pump end into the wire harness end. The wire colors on each connector should match with the other connector.



Note that the completed test jig is directional. The end designated for the fuel pump cannot be swapped with the end that plugs into the watercraft wire harness.

For reference, here is an unmodified connector and wiring from inside a Polaris Ficht fuel pump assembly.

Polaris Ficht Fuel pump part numbers 71-300S and 2410129

Note that the wire colors are quite different from what is used in the Ficht wire harness.


The wire gauge for the sender is much thinner than the power wires for the actual fuel pump motor.


I removed the pins from the connector and changed the wire colors to be consistent. Also used one size wire for all the pins.

[K447]

Me thinks you have too much time on your hands.

Yes it did take some time to put this together.

Now that I have it, I can test and check a Ficht fuel pump in minutes, including disconnecting the fuel pump and plugging this in.

The only hard part now is sliding that small red plastic locking tab over before I can unplug the connector from the fuel pump. After you have done it a few times, your fingers can figure it out without looking.

BTW, the wire harness connector is quite common on automotive fuel pumps, so there are some aftermarket sources. I found the Standard Motor Products replacement connector is S-949

I have not yet found a source for the male version of this connector, other than harvesting one from an old fuel pump.

[K447]

How to use the Ficht fuel pump tester

In use, the tester can confirm that the fuel pump runs by forcing the Brown wire to ground through the test switch. This applies full battery power and ground to the fuel pump so it should immediately begin running.

Fuel pressure can be confirmed easily via the Schrader tee connection (turn fuel pump off and release the gas cap before hooking up the fuel pressure tester).

Tip: A quick and pragmatic test is to grip the fuel hoses with your hand, then start the fuel pump. If the fuel pressure is good you should feel the fuel hoses expand and stiffen with the pressure.

Connecting an ammeter to the test rig verifies the fuel pump is drawing appropriate amperage. My Virage TXi fuel pump draws just over 2.0 Amps with engine not running, powered from an AGM battery.

The voltmeter connection has two modes. With the switch up the voltmeter is connected between Black wire ground and Red/White, which is the fused direct power feed from the battery to the fuel pump (5 Amp fuse). This is useful not only for watching the battery power to the fuel pump, but it also effectively shows the voltage at the battery*. If the engine is running, this is the charging system voltage.

* Minus voltage drops in the wiring harness

Note: On a Ficht engine, the battery charging voltage is controlled by the EMM, not the LR-503 module.

With the voltmeter test switch in the down position, the voltmeter is connected in parallel with the fuel pump via the EMM Brown wire signal. If the EMM is not providing full and consistent ground to the fuel pump you will see it here.

[K447]

Quick and dirty wire crimp pin connections for the Ficht fuel pump harness connector

If you have an urgent need to tap into the wire harness connector for the fuel pump, I have sometimes used this method.

Trim standard wide wire crimp male tab connectors down to about 1/2 width. File the edges smooth. The narrowed tab should slide nicely into the wire harness connector.

Note that you must not allow the connections to short to adjacent pins or anything else. I suggest sliding heat shrink tubing right over the crimp so just the narrow metal tab is exposed.

At the fuel pump side be sure you only connect to the two outer pins. And get the polarity right, no crossed connections please.

Do not short to the inner pins. And make sure those connections are firm enough to not fall off by themselves.

Always use at least 18 gauge wire for the fuel pump, 16 gauge is better.

Photos are of some temporary pieces I made up a while ago.

[beerdart]

http://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/index.php/cPath/109

http://www.carterfueldelivery.com/fuelpumps/special_features.php

[K447]

http://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/index.php/cPath/109
http://www.carterfueldelivery.com/fu...l_features.php

As best I can see, neither of those links gets me closer to a source for the male connector.

The $100+ CV1000 fuel pump testing kit does appear to include a Chrysler/Dodge adapter connector 888-626 that could work.

This is one of the few online sources Google found for just the adapter connector outside of buying the entire kit



Price of the 888-626 adapter is apparently about $22.81

Looking at the Carter 888-626 adapter photo, it may be the case that the male connector only exists as a fuel pump right angle connector.

[K447]

Thanks for the pointer Steve

Not quite the same as the part extracted from the actual Ficht fuel pump, but usable with some direct crimp or solder connections.

Racetronix - Connector, Fuel Bulkhead 4-Way 280/150

Item Code: RCS-027 $8

Delphi GT-Series atmosphere-side connector supports fuel pump current draw up to 30 amps
2 x Delphi 280-Series vapor-side terminals supports pump current draw up to 30 amps
2 x Delphi 150-Series vapor-side terminals support current draw up to 14 amps
Fitted with o-ring
Dielectric lube / grease packet supplied





Printable specs page


And this will be handy too;
Connector Set, 4-Way GT280S

Item Code: RCS-031
Manufacturers : Racetronix
Categories: METRI-PACK CONNECTORS