Fuel pump fuse keep blowing

[cr00k_lyn]

Ok I never had a problem with this till this past week, my fuse pump fuse blew 2 times in 1 week, probably around 40miles of driving before it blew the second time around. So my question is what can cause this and what can i check for? I bumped the fuse to a 30 instead of a 15 for now...dunno if that will help. Also I use this blue wire(for the fan) and tap that to the fuel pump fuse..not sure if that's the problem but i doubt it b/c its been running like that for a yr.

Heres a pic of the blue wire( for the fan ) that i put into the fuel pump fuse box.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/cr00klyn718/IMG_2643.jpg

[g6civcx]

Is this an S13? I think so from the pix, but not sure :)

[cr00k_lyn]

Is this an S13? I think so from the pix, but not sure :)


sure is...

btw also i have a relay for the fan...

I was advised not to wire the power for the fan to the fuel pump fuse, but Im not really sure what else i can hook it up too.

[jdm_s14_zenki]

my fuses for the fuel pump kept blowing. come to find out after $160 for a tow truck, my walbro fp took a crap on me. i replaced the fp and havent had the prob. since.

[NemeGuero]

I would advise against putting that wire in the fuel pump fuse. It is probably putting too much drain and you won't get a good 12 volts to your fuel pump.

It also probably isn't secured, or has a bad ground and is more than likely leading to the short.

Go straight to the battery if you need a good 12V source.

[Gnnr]

^Agreed. I have my Taurus fan hooked directly to the batter, untill I get a fan controller. And you're NOT supposed to use a higher amp fuse.

[cr00k_lyn]

my fuses for the fuel pump kept blowing. come to find out after $160 for a tow truck, my walbro fp took a crap on me. i replaced the fp and havent had the prob. since.


How often did the fuse blow when this was happening to u?

[theicecreamdan]

dont use your fuel pump circuit to power anything but your fuel pump, i think thats the best way to fix your problem

[jdm_s14_zenki]

How often did the fuse blow when this was happening to u?
everytime a new fuse was p ut in, then i try to start the car, it would blow.

[g6civcx]

Don't use the fuel pump circuit. It's only rated to handle the fuel pump's maximum load. If you piggyback a fan on top of that it will overdraw current and blow the fuse.

If you throw a bigger fuse on it may overheat the circuit and burn down your car.

My best recommendation for you is to remove the fan from the fuel pump circuitry. Wire the fan straight from the battery with an inline fuse. Then use a thermoswitch to activate, like how the condenser fan works. You can also get an aftermarket thermoswitch to kick on the fan.

[NemeGuero]

That's what I'm sayin'!!

[ledzeppelin240]

Yeah the fuel pump circuit runs at a max of about 8-9 amps, and hooking up your fans parallel to it is drawing more than 10amps easily. I would personally run power from the large white wire (battery +) under the relay box in your picture with an inline fuse....

[cr00k_lyn]

vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHJmuy_ASi


diagram (I tried):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/cr00klyn718/wires.jpg

[smithers584]

ok well first off, dont ever replace a fuse with something bigger. fuses are made to blow when you are pulling to much amperage, this is to keep your wires from burning and starting your car on fire. by replacing the fuse with a 30 amp, you are putting your car at risk because the wires will melt if to much is drawn before your fuse will pop. just a little common sense i think, may not be that big of a deal, but its up to you.

[theicecreamdan]

if you notice, there are empty spots in the fuse box, it is possible to wire up a whole new circuit in there,

[NemeGuero]

Really? Are they powered though, Dan?

[ledzeppelin240]

What amperage is the relay rated for? It could be the electric fan motors going too, you could check to see what kind of amps they are pulling with a clamp on amp meter. If the wire is getting hot that means it is either too small of gauge or there is excessive current flow in that circuit. Like said before never put a larger fuse in, if you still have that 30A fuse in thats why your wires are heating up...

The extra circuits are not powered, although I can't quite remember but there may be power to some of the extra fuse spots, you would have to run to connectors in and then you can put the fuse in...

[cr00k_lyn]

Ok I put a new relay with bigger gauged wires, and used retaped the blue wire, and tapped it into the big blue relay in the fuse box.

here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/cr00klyn718/8814a293.jpg



Is this way Ok?

[Tex Willer]

There has been some issues with corrosion causing short-circuit on the
top of the fuel tank on the s13,where the wires go into the tank

[g6civcx]

I don't know what you're doing because a relay isn't just a relay. Understand that you're designing new electronic circuits, and if you don't know what you're doing you'll run into trouble. I'll just talk a little about relays here since I have no idea what kind of relay you're using.

The purpose of a relay is to use a small current to control a much larger current. If you didn't have relays, every wire would have to be 2-gauge, and the car would weigh 200 pounds more and cost 2 times as much :)

The relay allows a low-current signal to trip a switch that completes another circuit. High-current can then flow through the newly completed circuit. When you want to disconnect the power flow, the control signal is taken away from the relay, and the circuit is disconnected from power.

The ECU uses the fuel pump relay to turn the fuel pump on and off. If you didn't use a fuel pump relay, you would have to run a thick wire to the ECU, then run another thick wire from the ECU to the fuel pump itself. The ECU would have the daunting task of connecting and disconnecting a large power flow to the fuel pump.

Since the ECU is a very sensitive digital computer, it is much nicer to have the ECU output a low-current signal, and have something else mess with connecting and disconnecting power to the fuel pump. This is the job of the fuel pump relay.

The relay gets the ECU signal as input. The relay then sends power to the fuel pump or takes power as needed. There is also a fuse to make sure you don't draw too much current.

The reason why we don't want you to piggyback is because the wiring that supplies power to the fuel pump is only rated to support a fuel pump, and nothing else. Also, you can't just throw a higher gauge wire in somewhere in the middle. You have to completely replace the wire that goes from the fuse to the relay because this wire is thin as well.

Plus also keep in mind that relays are only rated to handle a certain amount of power. When you piggyback on the relay, even with thicker gauges, you can still have problems.

The best way is to get a clean ignition power signal. There is a thick wire that runs to the relay box that supplies ignition power to the accessories. Your best bet is to splice into that wire, and wire in your inline fuse.

[cr00k_lyn]

There has been some issues with corrosion causing short-circuit on the
top of the fuel tank on the s13,where the wires go into the tank

Thanks, yeah i notice the plug is corroded. Imma swap it out with the new sending unit i have.

[g6civcx]

Check for grounds and shorts.