[Healeys] Fuel Pumps (AGAIN!)

[Kees Oudesluijs]

  Bob,


I have heard as well from Pel de Haas, a Dutch business partner of Dave 
Dubois who also converts SU-pumps using Dave´s system, that he is not 
well and at least for the moment out of action.

Your problems with the SU-pump are really a mystery to me. If adjusted 
following the instructions there should be no problem at all. The only 
thing that can cause problems is electrolytic corrosion of the points. 
Perhaps the pump ventilation is not connected up? Both the vent on the 
cover and the vent on the coil housing should be connected via a tube to 
a dry place, usually the boot. Also a rubber band or friction tape 
should be used to seal the cover. If the vent on the cover has a plastic 
cap instead of a tube connection, this should point upwards as should be 
the small domed air chamber of the pump body. This is not always the 
case as often the coil housing has been fitted in the wrong orientation. 
The pump should always be fitted horizontally with the outlet on top.

If the pump/car is stored for a longer period, especially in a not 
dehumidified or damp environment, it is best to remove the cover and 
slide a bit of acid free paper between the points to prevent 
electrolytic corrosion. However I never had to do this on my own car, 
where the pump is situated in the boot.


Kees Oudesluijs



Op 27-11-2018 om 05:17 schreef Bob Spidell:
> I've been using fuel pumps with Dave DuBois' opto-electric mods for 
> years.  Although Dave's work and response is impeccable I've not had 
> consistent success with them, though everything in the design and 
> implementation indicates they should be infallible.  I had 3 'in 
> rotation;' one failed after less than a thousand miles this summer--I 
> changed it out for another DD conversion on the side of the road--and 
> that one has now failed.  It worked fine after installation for over 
> 5,000 miles but has sat in my shop for about 5 months, and failed to 
> answer the call today.  I swapped in my last 'spare' and, so far it's 
> working though I've only put about 10 miles on it.  Others have worked 
> for over 10K miles before expiring.  Apparently, Dave has health 
> issues so cannot address the problems with these pumps.
>
> Although having committed to these solid state conversions I still 
> have plenty of parts to assemble a couple points-driven pumps. Problem 
> is, I haven't had good luck with them either and, last I checked, the 
> aftermarket points are of suspect quality (Dave concurred with this 
> assessment).  I have studied all aspects of these pumps and done my 
> best to assemble and adjust them, and they aren't abused in 
> service--though some have suffered from getting, er, 'moist' in 
> serious rainstorms--and I just don't understand it (I've 'fixed' a 
> couple in motel rooms).  I know Kees and others have gotten years and 
> thousands of mile off points they don't work reliably for me and, yes, 
> I've used capacitors, transistors, diodes and TVSes for spark 
> suppression, all with the same erratic longevity and reliability.  I 
> do think, at over 5K miles/year on my BJ8 I probably work my car 
> harder than most but still think I should be able to get more from 
> these pumps.  I don't abuse them aside from driving my car fairly 
> frequently and for one long trip of up to 5K miles every year.
>
> Still, I will stick with SU pumps because, well, just because. They 
> are the heartbeat of a Healey and the kind that run continuously are 
> annoying.   But, I don't know where to go from here.  I hate to buy 
> another as I probably have enough parts to assemble 4 or 5 with points 
> (if I could find good quality points).  SC Parts was advertising an 
> aftermarket substitute--diaphragm type--but it has weird fittings--I'm 
> not going to cut into my original banjo-fitted pipes--and is for 
> negative ground only.
>
> Thanks for listening.
>
> Bob
>
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