hey all, I have an 87 ranger 2.9 liter. A while back I had some trouble with the fuel relay, but got it fixed (I thought) but today on the way home from work my truck died. got it towed home put my little jumper on the relay and pumps run truck starts. It's something to do with the heat. I really don't want to be worrying about this problem all the time, so i want to put in a switch to turn the pumps on/off in case this happens to me again. my question to you would be where is the best place to tie the switch into? When the relay went before I had the switch idea all figured out but I never wrote it down and I'm to tired right now to try and figure it out again, but I got to get to work tomorrow and I'm gonna have to figure something out soon. I'll probably just tie it into the wires right before the relay, but I think I remember playing with the E-Fuel cuttoff, wires last time and getting the pumps to run that way wich would mean the power goes there first, which would mean I could tie into there, but my brains running slow right now so I might be wrong. any help would be appreciated.

 

The problem with adding a switch/bypass would be a safety issue first and foremost.. But,, for/in an emergency you could either jump the dianostic connector (FP lead to ground) wich would close the fuel relay and run the pump as long as the jumper was installed and the ignition switch was on, or, adding applied power and/or switch at the inertia switch if there was a problem 'before' or at the relay.. Understandably walking, or paying tow bills may not be a good thing, but again your safety cushion is lost.. Checking the system or proving it out is easier with the diagnostic connector jumped and then checking for a current flow on back to the pump through the closed relay, inertia and on down.. Might help you diagnose the problem prior to any modifications if you can check it during a no start condition, as well as verify a good/bad pump..

[IMG]local://upfiles/6756/9F57A597302E472C8B413A1CCDCD942D.gif[/IMG]

 

thanks for your response. I have had a few problems with the relay as I mentioned, but perhaps I should explain. about a month agoMy original relay died at a gas station on my home from work(no prior problems). I used the jumper method you mentioned to find that out(after scratching my head for a while kicking the fuel tank). So I bought a new relay and put it in. the relay was funky, it ran the pump even w/o the key in. I personally don't have many tools, but my friend does and knows cars so i go to bring it over there. while driving there a puff of smoke comes out of my dash near the steering wheel. so I put in the jumper and continued to my friends house(no problems). we started going over relay, etc.. on a lark he puts in the old relay and bam pumps work truck starts. couldn't see any melted wires or anything in the dash and every thing else checked out. Ran fine until today. So I'm flummoxed as to the problem and thats the reason I just want to put a switch although I agree it is very much a safety issue.

 

could be grounding out somewhere... i would check the wires all the way back.. i had the same issue with a civic hatchback i had.