2.3L ('83-'97) 1988 2.3 fuel pump question

[TonyLittell]

Edit:

Looks like I have 2 pumps. Pick of what I believe to be the inline pump posted below in post 5. also a couple other questions in that post also


I’m really confused and need some help. I have a 88 ranger 2.3 fuel injected xlt regular cab.
Wont start but if I hit it with starting fluid it will run smoothly. I did replace the relay and same issue. I also checked the inertia switch so I’m guessing I have a fuel pump issue.
Im doing searches and everything tells me the 2.3 only uses an internal tank pump. But when I try to find parts it shows an internal and an external inline pump. When I look around the tank area I see a pig tail that I’m guessing would be for a truck that has 2 pumps and since I just have a pigtail mine doesn’t? (Just guessing)So like I said, I’m really confused.
Can someone help me understand if I have a 1 or 2 pump system and if it’s a one pump system give me a part number?
Thanks for all of the help

 

[franklin2]

Ford loved to change things mid-year. I looked up your truck on autozone's site and they keep saying you "may" need two pumps. When I changed the truck from a 1988 to a 1989, everything cleared up and there is one in tank pump. So if you only have one pump, I would try the 89 model and see if it fits. The two pump system was just two pumps in parallel wiring wise, so it doesn't matter if you run one pump as long as it's a high pressure version like the 89 apparently came with. That and check to see what fuel filter you have in the system. It should be a metal high pressure type fuel filter if you are only running one pump in the tank. The 89 calls for one like below.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If you have a 2 pump system, you will have a low pressure in tank "lift" pump, and a high pressure pump frame mounted under the drivers foot. It may be hidden by a bracket.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yes, what they said, if it's a two pump system the high pressure pump is in the drivers frame rail near the fuel filter pictured above, if it's a single pump system in the drivers frame rail you'll just have the filter in the frame rail, you should be able to follow the lines on the inlet of that filter back to near the tank...

From my understanding if the fuel tank is plastic it will be a single pump and metal tank will be a two pump system. but yes Ford liked their mid year changes for no good reason...

 

[TonyLittell]

So this is what I found under the truck. It looks like 2 different fuel filters and then maybe the inline pump further forward? The 2 pictures are both the front and back of what I think is the pump. I installed a new pump relay, I put a jumper to bypass the inertia switch and I checked the 15 amp fuse under the dash. I guess my next step would be to replace the eec relay?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

On almost all frame rail mounted pumps I've owned, the pump stopped working because of a bad connection of the wire behind the rubber closure. Take the pump down, work the rubber back so you can see the spade connector. You can try to slightly squeeze the female connector while its off the pump. Or ( make sure you have enough length) cut the end off and install a new one. Pay attention to the ends, one is wider than the other. Use a paint pen to mark one wire and spot on pump. I just used commonly available crimp on spade connectors and didn't worry about width. Maybe test fit the spade connector first to make sure its a tight fit.
While you have the pump down, test it. Apply 12V and ground to pump, makes sure it runs. Don't get gas in eyes....

 

[Shran]

So this is what I found under the truck. It looks like 2 different fuel filters and then maybe the inline pump further forward? The 2 pictures are both the front and back of what I think is the pump. I installed a new pump relay, I put a jumper to bypass the inertia switch and I checked the 15 amp fuse under the dash. I guess my next step would be to replace the eec relay?

Your first picture is the high pressure pump, the second picture is the fuel filter.

You do for sure have a pump in the tank. There are a lot of failure points in the system. I have found that electrical issues are very common, namely the inertia switch and relay(s) and there is a ground wire near the battery that often gets corroded off. What alwaysfloored said also about the pump connectors... and the plug on the sending unit too.

If you can rule out an electrical issue I have often had the low pressure pump in the tank go bad and it'll overheat the high pressure one to where it stops working (usually temporarily.) Once it cools off a bit it'll run for a while longer until the cycle repeats. High pressure pumps going bad is fairly rare, it's almost always the one in the tank.

 

[TonyLittell]

Your first picture is the high pressure pump, the second picture is the fuel filter.

You do for sure have a pump in the tank. There are a lot of failure points in the system. I have found that electrical issues are very common, namely the inertia switch and relay(s) and there is a ground wire near the battery that often gets corroded off. What alwaysfloored said also about the pump connectors... and the plug on the sending unit too.

If you can rule out an electrical issue I have often had the low pressure pump in the tank go bad and it'll overheat the high pressure one to where it stops working (usually temporarily.) Once it cools off a bit it'll run for a while longer until the cycle repeats. High pressure pumps going bad is fairly rare, it's almost always the one in the tank.

Pulled the boots off and everything looked surprisingly good. I went ahead and cut the ends off and put new connectors on it and then I turned the key on and put a wire probe on the red wire and it lit up. So I’m getting power to that inline pump. Guessing the pump is dead. I didn’t check power going into the tank pump as I wasn’t sure what wire was the power wire and I ran out of time.
Can anyone tell me which wire to trace for the tank pump? There is another piece plugged into the fuel line that looks like some kind of canister filter about 12” before the inline pump. What is that and should I replace it while replacing the filter and inline pump?

 

[Shran]

That other canister thing is an accumulator so that the high pressure pump doesn’t ever starve for fuel. I think by ‘88 they were just empty… no filter inside. Older trucks had a as filter. I would leave it alone, they are very hard to open and very easy to break.

Not sure on the wire, I don’t have a diagram handy but there are four wires that go to the sending unit, and only one will have +12v to it. The others are for the fuel gauge and pump ground.

 

[franklin2]

If you do want to open the reservoir and check for the filter, the best thing to do is disconnect the fuel lines and unbolt it from the frame. Then put it in a vise carefully and try to unscrew it with a strap wrench or large pliers. Be careful, like was said it is easy to break. If that filter is in there you will want to change it. Ford considered it a "lifetime filter". One of their better ideas.

The same wire that feeds the high pressure inline pump, feeds the pump in the tank. There should be a splice near the high pressure pump where the wire splits and feeds the inline high pressure pump, and then continues to the rear and the in tank pump.

Make sure when you are checking for power, that you use the same ground that the pump is using. If you probe the power wire and you have power, you want to make sure the pump ground wire is good also.

 

[TonyLittell]

If you do want to open the reservoir and check for the filter, the best thing to do is disconnect the fuel lines and unbolt it from the frame. Then put it in a vise carefully and try to unscrew it with a strap wrench or large pliers. Be careful, like was said it is easy to break. If that filter is in there you will want to change it. Ford considered it a "lifetime filter". One of their better ideas.

The same wire that feeds the high pressure inline pump, feeds the pump in the tank. There should be a splice near the high pressure pump where the wire splits and feeds the inline high pressure pump, and then continues to the rear and the in tank pump.

Make sure when you are checking for power, that you use the same ground that the pump is using. If you probe the power wire and you have power, you want to make sure the pump ground wire is good also.

So when I was removing the fuel filter and the inline fuel pump, I broke the lower line from the accumulator right where it slides into a larger line that goes up to the engine somewhere if that makes sense. There was definitely a bunch of gas in that line. Here are a couple pictures. What it looks like is the line coming from the accumulator just slides into the other line with no connection holding them together? If that’s the case can I push it back through the larger line and just connect with a hose clamp? If not, do you have any idea as to what the actual lower line coming off the accumulator is called and where I can find it? I’m having trouble finding it

 

[TonyLittell]

Also this is how my negative battery cable looks. Does this look correct? I notice one of the ground wires goes forward to the core support. One looks like some kind of Fusable link and then one goes down towards the motor somewhere (haven’t traced that one yet.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

So when I was removing the fuel filter and the inline fuel pump, I broke the lower line from the accumulator right where it slides into a larger line that goes up to the engine somewhere if that makes sense. There was definitely a bunch of gas in that line. Here are a couple pictures. What it looks like is the line coming from the accumulator just slides into the other line with no connection holding them together? If that’s the case can I push it back through the larger line and just connect with a hose clamp? If not, do you have any idea as to what the actual lower line coming off the accumulator is called and where I can find it? I’m having trouble finding it

My WAG (Wild Ass Guess) is the bigger line is a protective cover. The smaller line is high pressure fuel line, I'm not sure of the correct name if any. There are brass repair pieces. In a pinch I used air line repair pieces meant for big truck airlines, I happened to have in my tool box.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Also this is how my negative battery cable looks. Does this look correct? I notice one of the ground wires goes forward to the core support. One looks like some kind of Fusable link and then one goes down towards the motor somewhere (haven’t traced that one yet.

The smaller lines look like they should have new ends put on.

There looks to be an inline fuse holder meant for the glass fuses of the past. You would press together and twist to get those apart.

 

[TonyLittell]

The smaller lines look like they should have new ends put on.

There looks to be an inline fuse holder meant for the glass fuses of the past. You would press together and twist to get those apart.

I took the inline fusable link apart and it looks like it is actually just male and female connector ends that push together. i will cut all the small wires and re-solider them to the cable and I will probably just do away with that fuseable link and hard wire it in as well. and then I will go to the other ends of the smaller wires and clean/put new ends on them and eliminate the possibility of it being a grounding issue

ALso the fuel line is 5/16 isnt it? I cant find anything written on this crusty old crap! lol