Stock Lift Pump/Fuse Question

[24Vdodge]

I finally (been busy lately) got around to completing the installation the other day of my Fuel Boss mechanical fuel pump on my truck.I bypassed the stock lift pump all together. You can still hear the stock lift pump cycle when you first start/bump the key on the truck. I know sooner or later it is going to stop working and trip the check engine light. My question is..if I pulled the fuse for the lift pump will that make the check engine light come on? Or if I unplug the wiring harness to the stock lift pump will that make the check engine light come on? I want to disable the stock lift pump some way since I am no longer using it but I don't want the check engine light to come on. I really don't want to stare at that orange light.Thanks for the tips and help.

[dripley]

Just unplug the the pig tail to it. I dont believe it will trip the CEL. Wont take much to find out.

[Mopar1973Man]

There isn't a fuse for the stock lift pump. All you can do is unplug the pump. It will most likely toss a P0230 code though...

[dobienut]

Just curious as to why you'd want to bypass it anyway? If you blow a belt off your Fuel Boss the system is designed to automatically start the electric pump back up to keep you supplied with fuel:whistle:

[Lone Watie]

I installed the switch with the pig tail and that works out pretty well, that way I have it for priming and in case I lose a belt. It wasn't too difficult to do, just ran a couple wires and put a switch in the cab. I don't use the pressure switch at all for my setup, I just directly wired the pigtail to my switch. The pressure switch is there but not wired up. One of these days I'll pull it out of the fuel line and run a straight hose up to the filter. Maybe when I install my new filter setup next week.

[Hawkez]

I am also curious on why you are choosing to delete the OEM pump. I am considering the same pump for my truck, how was the install? What are you seeing for fuel pressure now vs before?

[24Vdodge]

There isn't a fuse for the stock lift pump. All you can do is unplug the pump. It will most likely toss a P0230 code though..

There is a relay in the PDC for fuel system. That's the one I was referring to. But now that I think about it it probably controls something in the injection pump as well. Since I've already bypassed the stock lift pump maybe I will just unplug the pigtail to it. Do you know if there is anyway to reflash the ECM with a smarty or something to delete the P0230 code permanently? I don't have a scan gauge. Really don't want to stare at the orange check engine light. Maybe I will pick up one of those cheap scan gauges so I can keep deleting the code every time it pops up. Not really sure. Do you have any thoughts as to the solution?

[dripley]

The relay in the PDC is for the VP. Not sure how to eliminate the code.

[IBMobile]

I don't think it will through a code. With a Fule Boss the hobbs switch opens the ground wire for the electric pump, that would be the same as unplugging it. An open circuit is an on circuit. The wire diagram show power from the ECM but the ground goes to the body/chassis, so no feed back to the ECM to show were the power is going to.

[24Vdodge]

This is going to be a long winded post (you might need cliff notes) will try to answer all questions and give you some of my reasons, and why I did what I did. I bypassed the stock lift pump for several reasons. One, for a faster, simpler install. Two less switches, several less fittings and hose connections for leakage. It is just a simple system altogether now. Plus it was cheaper to buy the straight mechanical kit. Less switches, hoses and fittings worked out to be $100 less than buying that kit with all the extra stuff, I did not really want. Not telling anyone what to do. Everyone has to make their own decision as to what they feel comfortable doing with their own truck. I don't think I would want to rely on the stock lift pump as a back up after it's been sitting, rattling stagnant on the side of the block, in the event that a belt does come off. All the reading I did, dobienut, you were the only one I found that had a belt come off, while bashing snow drifts. My truck now builds fuel pressure instantly at cold start. I don't think the stock lift pump would run for but a split second, if that, so I just decided to get rid of it altogether. With all the reading I did on the net I couldn't find anyone that runs the Assasin belt driven mechanical lift pump and uses the stock lift pump as a back-up. Being that the Assasin and the Fuel Boss are similar design, using the same principles, I wondered why the Fuel Boss couldn't be ran like that. Also, no one that runs the Fass or Air Dog fuel replacement systems relies on the stock lift pump as a backup. Typically they are bypassed altogether. My last truck was a 2000 Dodge 3500. I put a Air Dog 100 on the truck, put over 200,000 miles on that truck and never used the stock lift pump and never had one problem without it. I spoke with Richard at Glacier Diesel and ran that thought past him, about straight mechanical. He said there is nothing wrong with running it straight mechanical. He told me about 50% of the kits he has sold have been set up as straight mechanical, no stock lift pump. He said one of his first guinea pig trucks was set up as straight mechanical and the belt on that truck went over 130,000 miles without being replaced. I spoke with someone somewhat local to me who is running a Fuel Boss straight mechanical, no stock lift pump, and it has been on the truck some 200,000 miles and he is only on his second belt and has never popped one off. I did it for a simpler install, less things to go wrong. I've been driving Dodge Cummins trucks for many years, bought one brand new back in the day. I watch my gauges like a hawk. My left eye will be glued to the fuel pressure gauge in the event a belt pops off. I will pull the truck over immediately and replace it with the spare belt in the glove box. I have full confidence in the system. It's a better system than what they left the factory with. I've only put about 100 miles on the truck since I put it on last week. The truck had the bone stock fuel system on it, before I put the Fuel Boss on it. It was like most bone stock trucks - only had 9 to 10 for fuel pressure. It now has 15 at idle and 20 running down the road at 70 miles per hour. The truck definitely starts easier. The idle is smoother and it has a noticeable difference in power. When I put the kit on I filled the fuel filter full of fuel and spun it on. (I replaced the stock fuel filter canister with one of Richard's upgraded fuel filter kits,MK-10 with the big line kit) I did NOT spin the fuel boss with a drill to prime the system or put a air compressor hose in the fuel tank to try and prime the system. After the fuel filter was full of fuel I simply got in the truck and started cranking the key. Keep in mind all the new lines were bone dry. Within 8 to 10 seconds the truck fired right up. It never hiccuped or coughed. After it idled for a few minutes I pulled it out of the shop and took it on a short test drive. No problems. I have a 2,000 mile road trip at the end of the week hauling a loaded trailer. Will report back when I get home. One other thing I would like to say....buying something from Richard was nothing but a pleasure. He returned my emails almost immediately and one phone call as well. I spent several hours reading posts dating back to 2001 while doing research before I made my decision about buying a Fuel Boss. A lot of people talk about these trucks losing prime after changing a fuel filter. I'm not sure if I'm the only person who does this...back in the fall of 1998 I bought one of these trucks brand new. After the second fuel filter change, bumping the key to fill the fuel filter canister, or opening a few injector lines to bleed the air from the system,,, I thought that there has to be a better way. So I started filling the canister with clean fuel at the filter change, no more losing prime. I always fill my filter when I change them, and the truck starts right up. The way I look at it; the Fuel Boss is a simple mechanical pump. It's no different than any of the old 12 valve trucks. As soon as you turn the starter over it's going to start pumping fuel. It's just like the lever actuated lift pumps on the 12 valve trucks. As soon as you crank the starter, the cam shaft starts rotating and it starts pumping fuel. Fuel Boss just runs off the crank instead of the cam. I've owned several first gen CTD Dodges also and always did the same thing at the time of fuel filter change, fill it with fuel, hit the key and truck starts immediately. I keep a 1 gallon can of fresh diesel in the bed of my truck on long road trips, in case I need to change a filter. Simple quick and easy the way I look at it and no over working the starter or making a mess opening injectors, did that once. Again, everyone needs to make their own decision as to what they feel comfortable doing with their own truck. I just do what I like for mine.

[dobienut]

Good explaination You will never regret getting this pump IMO. Best money I spent on my truck

[24Vdodge]

I don't think it will through a code. With a Fule Boss the hobbs switch opens the ground wire for the electric pump, that would be the same as unplugging it. An open circuit is an on circuit. The wire diagram show power from the ECM but the ground goes to the body/chassis, so no feed back to the ECM to show were the power is going to.

OK, so you are saying if I unplug it it won't throw a code. I would rather not stare at an orange check engine light. Since I don't have a tool to reset it with, I was not sure what to do. Now I wonder what all the guys who P-pumped their 1998.5-2002 Dodges did with the stock lift pump pig tail. Did they unplug it or leave it plugged in once they bypassed it? for that matter the guys who put a stock lift pump and cam swap from a 12 valve into their 24 valve- what they did? Maybe that's the best thing to do, just unplug the pigtail to the lift pump and hope it doesn't throw a code.

[dripley]

I could not agree more. It is your truck and you do what you think is right.

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm pretty sure the P0230 code will be thrown but the CEL light will not come on.

[CTcummins24V]

I'm running mine without the hobbs switch because it kept cycling on and off even though I had good pressure... maybe a bad switch. I just cut the new wiring harness in the kit in half and made the connections. Dielectric grease on the connections and silicone on the cut wire ends (to prevent corrosion)....oh and NO CODES.

[IBMobile]

Mine did the same. The hobbs switch is adjustable. There is an adjusting screw under a rubber cap. Turn it clockwise to increase the cut off pressure. I used an ohm meter and the fuel pressure gauge to fine tune it.

[24Vdodge]

Ok. Thanks for the help guys. I had to go pick up a new trailer yesterday. I put 480 miles on the truck. The truck ran very smooth. 20 pounds of fuel pressure running down the road. Two times I let it idle for a few minutes and it idled at 16. Everything was going real smooth until diesel fuel started running down the a pillar at the back of the gauge. I turned the needle valve off under the hood. I didn't have a chance to look at it today. Not sure what went wrong. Thanks.

[dripley]

I drilled a small hole in the pod below the gauge to allow me to know it was leaking before it ran down the back. I did have small leak that was easy to detect just by running my finger over the hole. As small as it was it might have taken me a while to realize it. My fitting on the gauge needed a little tightening was all.

[Dieselfuture]

I drilled a small hole in the pod below the gauge to allow me to know it was leaking before it ran down the back. I did have small leak that was easy to detect just by running my finger over the hole. As small as it was it might have taken me a while to realize it. My fitting on the gauge needed a little tightening was all.

Mike is right. 0230 will be set but, you wont know about it unless you check for codes. i just installed mechanical gauges in my truck and found out that I still had an in tank fuel pump"factory recall i believe", unplugged the relay for it thinking it was air dog relay and hot wired it and then heard noise in tank not under truck. Anyway i ran the truck that way for few minutes before i figured it out, never had check engine light come on. not until later I checked for codes and discovered 230. As for fuel in cab I ran an old blue 1/2 inch fuel line that comes with airdog, from gauge to firewall. it sticks out about 2 inches past firewall and i slid the other end over a fitting on the gauge and put a clamp on it. Now I just got to look once in a while to make sure nothing is dripping under the truck. P.S. I got push on fittings for air and fuel gauge lines, not compression.

[dripley]

I dont think I could have gotten 1/2" fuel line to mine in the A pillar. Wher is your fuel gauge located?