testing an 08' California Vintage fuel pump

[dlapierre]

Any suggestions on the easiest way to check to see if the  fuel pump is my problem? The problem started yesterday on a road trip with a brief hesitation at speed. Then later, at a stop, it stalled. I started it again, but unless I kept the rev's up, it would stall again.

Today, after changing the oil and getting ready to do a valve adjustment (annual check), I started it. It then quit after only about 10 seconds. Now the fuel pump isn't spooling up. I've checked and replaced the 10 amp fuse. The relays all click, though some louder than the others.  I swapped relays just to see. No difference.

I can turn on the ignition (that's how I know the relays work) and can turn the engine over. I'm not hearing any life out of the fuel pump, though.

Is there an easy way to short the fuel pump to see if will work  just to see if that is the issue and not some other problem, short of taking off the tank, that is?

[rodekyll]

Find the ends of the wires coming from the tank.  Two of them are the pump wires.  Take them directly to the battery to see if the pump spins.

I got a chunk of something in my pump one day that stopped me in my tracks right after making a brief, but terrifying screetch.  It sounded like the gas tank bearings had seized at speed.  I had just filled up and didn't want to drain the gas to pull the pump.  I pulled the plug and REVERSED the leads as I connected it to the battery.  It blew the chunk out the way it had come in and I went on my merry way.

[Kiwi_Roy]

You can just jumper the ECU power relay 30 to 87, leave the key off and the pump should run.

If the pump is not priming when you first turn the key on chances are the ECU is not getting the signal to start, check for power at the petcock fuse. Ooops, you don't have an electric petcock do you!
Make sure your side-stand switch is not open, if the switch is a bit dickery it can cause the pump to act weird.
Is the neutral light on solid?
You haven't just had the battery out have you?

[dlapierre]

Thx. Come to think of it,I did hear a bit of a screech sound a couple of days ago when I started the bike. Wasn't that loud but I thought it a bit strange.

I'll trace the wires from the pump. I'm assuming the whole system is 12 volt.

Roy, where will I find the points on the ECU you suggested.

[Kiwi_Roy]

The ECU power relay is not actually part of the ECU, just wired to it fed from fuse 7, I don't know the layout of that bike.

If the side-stand switch is on it's way out the ECU will be resetting all the time, I would try looking there first I think.

Down load Carl Allison's schematic it's item (50)

Are you managing to get the bike to crank OK"
It's wired quite a bit different than the earlier models, all sorts of weird interlocking.
(Luigi sank to a whole nuther level  )

I sent you a PM

[dlapierre]

Yes. It's cranking just fine.

[Kiwi_Roy]

Everything on that bike depends on the side-stand switch or have you shorted that out already.
When it starts to go bad you will get sort of half voltage on the relays which can cause the ECU to drop out.
Have you figured out which relay drives the pump, it's the one powered from Fuse 7
Looking at the relay you have
 ---   30 at the top
 ---   87 in the middle
| | |  85, 87A, 86 at the bottom
Poke a wire in 30 and 87 the pump should run, if you poke the leads of your multimeter in there on the 10 Amp scale it should read ~5 Amps, much more indicates a blockage.

[Wayne Orwig]

Everything on that bike depends on the side-stand switch or have you shorted that out already.

But then, it won't crank if that is failing, right.

[Kiwi_Roy]

But then, it won't crank if that is failing, right.

It depends on how bad the switch is, I have seen mine where I got about half Voltage to the relays.
The Start relay will operate at slightly less Voltage than the ECU relay because of the safety diode.

Dennis said "Any suggestions on the easiest way to check to see if the  fuel pump is my problem? The problem started yesterday on a road trip with a brief hesitation at speed. Then later, at a stop, it stalled. I started it again, but unless I kept the rev's up, it would stall again. The relays all click, though some louder than the others.  I swapped relays just to see. No difference.
I can turn on the ignition (that's how I know the relays work) and can turn the engine over. I'm not hearing any life out of the fuel pump, though."

I concluded that there is a low Voltage issue somewhere in the circuit. either the stand switch or ignition switch but I leaned toward the former because it still cranks.
I sent a sketch showing how to test the pump by jumping 30-87 of the power relay.

BTW I have seen the safety diode open in several cases and another case where the owner was able to get the battery installed backwards and it did what it was put there for.