upgrading fuel pump wiring

90turbo1

Registered User
so i have had problems with my fuel pump, walbro 225lph pump. my first problem was the place i bought it from sent the wrong strainer, seal, ect with it. but pump was correct.

then my positive wire burnt off in the tank.

has anyone upgraded the wiring to there pumps?
 
so i have had problems with my fuel pump, walbro 225lph pump. my first problem was the place i bought it from sent the wrong strainer, seal, ect with it. but pump was correct.

then my positive wire burnt off in the tank.

has anyone upgraded the wiring to there pumps?

Yes, there are a couple of threads on this. Ricardo purchased a kit off ebay and installed it on his 94.
 
Well my main problem is that the wire burnt the connector at the metal plate that is the top of the sending hanger unit. i resoldered and shrank wrapped it. but to prevent this in the future i would like to upgrade the wiring and terminal. which looks as if its not servacible on the hanger unit.
 
Well my main problem is that the wire burnt the connector at the metal plate that is the top of the sending hanger unit. i resoldered and shrank wrapped it. but to prevent this in the future i would like to upgrade the wiring and terminal. which looks as if its not servacible on the hanger unit.


Sounds like you have bigger issues, high resistance at the pump or a short.
You could drop the tank down which I think you did already twice. And upgrade the positive wire down to the pin. It will take some time, and be creative. The positive wire supplied by Ractronix is much larger then stock.
 
Do you have a pic of this situation that you could share? That might help us search our brains for any additional info we could give.
 
NO OF ALL THE THINGS i DID i DID NOT TAKE A PIC.

I have documentation on this car since it was new. and it had three pumps replaced on it for low pressure. I am thinking this was the problem all along and the positive wire was not making 100% contact to the pin in the hanger assembly.

but yes, I now have 14 guage wire from pump positive to the plate where the lock ring secures. then i have stock wires from the outside of the tank to the relay. it appears to be working good now, but would like a more permanent solution.

when you look at the bottom of the sending unit where the wires come into the tank the positive pin was black and not crimped, there was solder on it (maybee someone tried to fix it earlier) and the wire was disconected. Now either I damaged the solder installing my pump (which is a possibility being that the pump did run for 15-30 sec on first start up) or it was like that and the new pump brought out the flaw.

if I can find a way to run the new wires outside of the tank not using a ford connector and go straight to the relay in trunk thats what I would like to do.

but for now It appears to be holding nicely.
 
Well, I suppose that you could run new wires through the hanger assembly, but I don't know where you would find a good insulated "bulkhead connector" that stands up to fuel vapors. I think it's a good idea if you can find the right parts, though.
 
NO OF ALL THE THINGS i DID i DID NOT TAKE A PIC.

I have documentation on this car since it was new. and it had three pumps replaced on it for low pressure. I am thinking this was the problem all along and the positive wire was not making 100% contact to the pin in the hanger assembly.

but yes, I now have 14 guage wire from pump positive to the plate where the lock ring secures. then i have stock wires from the outside of the tank to the relay. it appears to be working good now, but would like a more permanent solution.

when you look at the bottom of the sending unit where the wires come into the tank the positive pin was black and not crimped, there was solder on it (maybee someone tried to fix it earlier) and the wire was disconected. Now either I damaged the solder installing my pump (which is a possibility being that the pump did run for 15-30 sec on first start up) or it was like that and the new pump brought out the flaw.

if I can find a way to run the new wires outside of the tank not using a ford connector and go straight to the relay in trunk thats what I would like to do.

but for now It appears to be holding nicely.


You could just buy a wire and run a grommet with some silicone thru the metal on the sender. But id be afraid of the grommet failing with the fuel, the wire shaffing and shorting and causing a fire or an explosion. I would keep the stock connector I think that is also the reason why the connector points is full gel to prevent the wire from shorting and igniting the fumes.
 
Yes, and as many members here know, even the stock Ford fuel pump harness connector doesn't live long when exposed to gas and gas fumes.
 
What it sounds like to me is someone heated something up too much when soldering and caused damage in the harness connector(s). Personally, I'd go to a junk yard and get a fuel level sender unit (the hanger part) and a good 4-5" of the associated wiring harness/connector from a 96/97 Bird. This way you get the upgraded FLSU and a known good harness to eliminate two possible sources relating to your issue.

PS: I use the Racetronix wiring kit, using the stock wiring/relay as the trigger for the Racetronix relay. I got 14V at the pump using the "stock", thinner gauge in-tank wiring.
 
thanks, all good recommendations. well I will look further into this and if I have to drop that tank again, you can bet your ~~~ I will be putting an access door into the floor...

ha ha
 
Is it recommended that all 190/255 pumps get a wiring upgrade or just applications where WOT represents the majority of usage.

Tks
 
Sounds like a great idea. But are you just doing for peace of mind? Is it working well now and you are just looking for an upgrade. The way you make it sound is that the care keeps burning up that wire.
 
No car has not burnt the wire since I fixed it. but.. since the pump is 255lph now and this car has burnt that wire before I was just looking for alternatives or ideas to make it better. maybee run 14 guage all the way to the pump and bypass the ford connector completly.
 
No car has not burnt the wire since I fixed it. but.. since the pump is 255lph now and this car has burnt that wire before I was just looking for alternatives or ideas to make it better. maybee run 14 guage all the way to the pump and bypass the ford connector completly.

imo, no can never go wrong upgrading any and all wires to larger or even just new wire. just make sure you keep the same circuit likeness as the original to prevent any operational problems. remember solder and heat shrink is your friend. thats they best way to install new wires.
 
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