Fires Right Up, Runs For A Minute, Then Dies. Won't Start.

[davido]

It's been sitting a while. I have an electric pump. All has worked fine in the past.

This past weekend and today was the same. At first it started right up. It ran on high idle for maybe a minute and then died. After that, it wouldn't start again. I didn't want to kill the batteries, so I stopped cranking tonight. Also ran out of daylight with the kiddos.

Any recommendations? I didn't crack the exit tube from the electric pump to be sure it was pushing. Just seems odd that it fires right up and then dies. I assume it's fuel starvation, but unsure how to resolve it.

Any help is much appreciated.

[beltguy]

David, it is not clear how your electric fuel pump is plumbed. If it is an inline system, we need to know if you leave it powered or if you only power it to prime the engine. If you only turn it on for priming, it sounds like it is restricting flow.

The next question is what fuel filter system you are using. If it is something like a Davco 382, you probably have an air leak in the filter system.

Obviously you have checked fuel level.

If it is a stock fuel filter system, I would pull the filters and see if you can see any gunk from bad fuel. For sure I would replace the filters as a troubleshooting process.

Jim

[davido]

The elec pump is not inline.

I'll check the filters. Thanks!

[beltguy]

If the filters don't solve the problem, I would start looking at the supply line to see if you can find an air leak.

It is fairly easy to re-plumb the fuel supply line using DOT tubing. That assumes you can access the top of the tank from the inside of the bus (have access to the service panels in the floor of the bus).

Some Eagles had a check valve in the supply line to keep from loosing prime. It doesn't sound like that is a problem. However, if you re-plumb the supply system, I would include the check valve.

Jim

[davido]

So tonight, turn on the pump and it fired right up, again. But then it ran it for about 15 minutes without issue.

Go figure. I think it was air in the lines, and the third time was a charm.

Thanks for the backup.


Now I found an air line leak. Any recommendations on places to order hoses and fittings?

[beltguy]

I get my DOT tubing and fittings at McMaster Carr:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#d.o.t.-tubing/=146ewe9

http://www.mcmaster.com/#push-to-connec ... s/=146exki

You will note that the second link is for push-to-connect fittings. Some folks do not like that type of fitting, but it is used by OEMs.

McMaster-Carr is a great company to deal with and will sell to the general public. They are very quick to ship and their prices seem fair to me.

Jim

[davido]

Thanks again!