EFI – Fuel pump relay
PURPOSE
The fuel pump relay is designed to switch the fuel pump on with a low voltage. At the same time the relay is a heavy duty switch making it possible to switch on and off without wearing out the switch or preventing arcing in the switch. A fuel pump relay is designed to switch off if overloaded.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR
When the fuel pump relay seems to be getting warm to hot, this indicates that it is either being overloaded or becoming faulty. A hot relay is a relay in trouble. Apart from being hot it may show physical signs of slightly melting around the terminals. This may be the effect of the cause and the suspect cause being the fuel pump overloading the relay. If caught early this can prevent a breakdown.
IS IT EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR?
Changing a relay is easy but the cost may range from $8.00-$120.00. Therefore it is important to check with your auto electrician to make sure it is the relay and not something else causing the relay to malfunction.
TEMPORARY REPAIR AND LONG TERM REPLACEMENT
If your relay is a common type it may be swapped with an air conditioning relay as they should both be identical, specifically for common type vehicles. A common type relay may be bypassed as a more complicated type may be bypassed by both but it’s worth trying. If you want to swap the relays over, make sure that they’re of the same amperage. You should see 30 amps or 60 amps or 80 amps. They’re both either the same quantity of terminals or voltage or amperage or colour.
This article is found in the Virtual mechanic CD Rom
You can download it for the price of a latte, but you will learn not to buy a lemon
By Darren Gow-Brown, Melbourne Australia ©2009