Tony

Ok..this poor little thing is taken a beating this last week...engine fires...recalls...."dust ups".."knickers in a twist"etc etc


Ironically, Today I'm out running errands and have to run by the house real quick to pick up some tools in order install some appliances at a friends house.
I'm in a hurry, pull to the bottom of the driveway, park and jump out. I leave the car running as i head into the garage and gather my tools. Suddenly, not 30 sec later, i hear the car surge and the idle start to acclerate....and the car quits!

WTF!!..never done that one before.

I'm pissed now as I'm already running late and my car is dead at the bottom of the driveway...blocking in the truck(the back up).

I hop in, turn the key and the car catches runs for a few secs and quits. I look down at my Fuel pressure gauge on my gauge cluster (driver side parcel shelf) and its at 0 psi WTF!!!
Stay calm...cool..move over to the pax side and access the CE panel.
1) Fuel pump fuse....CHECK OK...
2) Fuel pump relay..heck ...only 2 yrs old or so..but pull it and jumper it anyway with my hand dandy switched relay jumper ..SWITCH ON...AH HA!!!.......FUEL PRESSURE!!!
3) grab spare relay from glove box and install.

On the road again in less than 5 minutes.

I have a sharktuner...shark plotter...and i will say unequivocally, that this single gauge has saved my *** so many times over the years and has given me so much invaluable tuning info that i will all ways have one in my car.(hot starts...flooded starts...bad pressrue regulators..bad dampers..helped solve'm all)

I use an Autometer gauge...remote sensor..propperly tapped to the end of the fuel rail with rated thread sealant...stock fuel pressure with shark tuner...(although as high as 90 psi with out)..been that way for 6 years or more..same gauge..same set up.

So, i was actually witness to a fuel pump relay failure as it happened! car was running great...came home..and it quit while idling. I heard it, turned and looked as my fuel pump relay failed!
Im going to take it apart one of these days to see what actually failed...
My 044 pump cant be drawing to much current as the fuse would go first i would assume.??..


Anyway......uh...Flame away!

Lizard928

Tony,

I have had the same thing happen with the rail gauge.

However if your 044 is not running through a separate relay, I recommend that you do that immediately.

It is possible that the relay can get too hot and just shut off. Also I have seen chinese fuses that just dont pop...... Not a good thing for the wiring in the car......

IcemanG17

I looked at the autometer "electric" setup...but $250 seems a bit steep...however an engine fire is WORSE

Brent

Tony, would you mind showing your connection at the fuel rail and wire routing up to the firewall? I do like the idea of having the fuel pressure readings available from inside the car.

Lizard928

I'm not sure how Tony did his.
The kit I used was not $250 (significantly less).
As for installation, I cheated.....

I use the Porkensioner in my vehicle, so I removed the end off the warning circuit wire and plugged that to the guage. In the cabin, I split the lead, attaching the fuse panel end to ground, and attaching the engine bay side to the gauge. Works like a charm and no extra wires routed.

jorj7

Before I got the supercharger, I installed the motodyne fuel pressure guage kit on the fuel rail.
The VDO gauge that came with the kit failed. I replaced it with the Autometer electric sender
and a Summit mechanical gauge:



The Autometer gauge is mounted inside the cabin and also wired to the LMA-3 (similar to Tony's).



This is the Autometer gauge I used:



This set up proved very helpful when diagnosing my fuel delivery problems. Here is a log
that shows the fuel pressure dropping (orange), while the AFR (purple) raises:



I changed fuel pressure regulators, increased the supply line and return line(s), and tried
several different pump configurations. Jim M also modified my fuel rails to take the AN fittings
and the Autometer sender directly:



I also moved the mechanical fuel pressure gauge to the fuel pressure regulator, which had a port already installed:



I also added a mechanical gauge at the back, before the filter to check the pressure drop from
front to back:



After all that, I hope I've taken care of the fuel delivery problem. Here is a run from earlier this
year. The fuel pressure raise is constant. The AFR still moves around, so Bill and I still had
some Sharktuning to do:



I was hoping to really test this all at the Silver State ORR, but I'll have postpone that until next year.
I also think fuel pressure is an important parameter to monitor/measure when tuning a highly modified
928. Once everything has been sorted out, I'll remove the gauges from the rear and off the fuel
pressure regulator, but I'll keep the sender on the fuel rail. For stock, all this is probably overkill.

Brent

I like your idea Colin and will keep that in mind when the TB is due.

George, all I can say is: Damn, that's very impressive.

AO

I agree with Tony. I've had mine (just a mechanical gauge, but am considering a remote sender) on my car for the past 5 or 6 years. It is a great diagnostic tool and with our cars that like to eat relays, you just never know when you need it. That's why I prefer permanent installation. It eliminates - or directs you to - a number of possible faults when dealing with no-starts or poor running.

killav

I am using a Stewart Warner Electronic fuel guage. I think it was about $150 through Summit Racing. No leaks and it has been installed a little over a year now.

Tony

Gott ask...did you make that CF intake tube your self? It all looks sharp!

Im toying around with the idea of making some decorative type covers for some of the "busy crap" i have going on under my hood.


as for the fuel pressure gauges..What George says/shows...that shows what you can do with it as far as tuning and diagnostics.

Colin that was smart!! I ran the signal wire through one of the rubber grommets on the firewall.

Any BTDT,pics of setting up the remote relay for the 044 pump?

Lizard928

Tony,

Thanks, I thought so too and it saved a great deal of time

As to the relay setup, if you search on the board here there are many who have done it. I believe AO did a nice write up.
The relay is relocated into the spare tire well area. The reason for this is that the factory wiring is simply not strong enough for the 044 pump (too many amps).

killav

I wish I could lay claim but no, it came with the kit. Thanks for the kudos!!

T_MaX

Even thou I still hate seeing this type of mod (fuel gauge), I think this one of the best ideas Ive seen so far.

jorj7

Tony,

I ran a line from the battery to the relay, then ran the existing fuel pump
line to the relay trigger line. Ran the output of the relay to a inline fuse,
then to the 044. I ran the other relay lead to ground. I have one in the
fuel cell enclosure and a second one i the rear bumper. I'm running two
044s, one in the tank and one outside with separate positive feeds for each.
They run in parallel, so the pressure only 2 psi more when I run them both,
but the flow is about 90% more. Both are switchable in the passenger
compartment, so when cruising I only run one, when racing I run both,
and in emergency, I can shut both down.

jorj7

By the way, here is the in cell pump mounting:



And the external one:



I've since wrapped a sheet of rubber around the pump to insulate the vibration. You can also
see one of the fuel coolers (with fan) above the pump.