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mike73's avatar
mike73
Explorer
Sep 15, 2013

NEED HELP ASAP!

A week ago i noticed rv was struggling to maintain fuel pressure and rv would start then die after a few mins. Called rv mobile mechanic and after doing his diagnostics he felt it was definitely a bad fuel pump. So here's what happened next.

So i had a local mobile rv mehanic come to my house and put in a front and rear fuel pump, new fuel filter and new regulator as well as siphon out all old gas n refuel with new gas. Test drove afterwards and finally the rv maintained good fuel pressure. We went for a 20 mile drive and everything was good. Well this morning went for another drive and everything was fine for approximately 10 or so miles then all of a sudden the rv died. Please any ideas? His shop opens tomorrow morning so it will need to be towed there. For right now, its dead on the side of the road.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    My info says that your 1988 or 1989 chassis has two fuel pumps. There's a low pressure pump in the tank that feeds high pressure pump external to the tank, probably on the driver side frame rail. RockAuto has the listings, part numbers, pictures and prices. Rare for a site to show F53 chassis but they do.
    Later fuel injected Fords have only one pump and it's in-tank, high pressure.
    So let me make sure I'm clear. You have two pumps and have replaced both?
    I looked at to model years because a given year coach model is likely on the prior year chassis model. Like ours in Signature.
  • Yes the mechanic replaced both pumps. He also replaced the fuel filter as well as the regulator. Once we had it maintaining good fuel pressure we braved a 2 mile drive to the gas station where we filled the 36 gallon tank up. Everything seemed great. It drove perfect without hesitation the entire time he was driving with me. We maybe went 20 miles. The next day i decided to do a test run before i was going to drive on a trip yesterday. I did a 15 mile drive on saturday and everything was fine again. Sunday i made it about 8 miles into my trip and all of a sudden it just died. One quick hesitation in the gas pedal then suddenly nothing. Totally stalled out while driving approx 45mph. Drifted to a safe pull over spot. It wouldnt even crank over after an hour of sitting.
  • mike73 wrote:
    ...snip...It wouldnt even crank over after an hour of sitting.


    Exactly what are you saying here? If "it doesn't crank over" then that means the starter is bad, the battery is dead, you have a bad connection somewhere, or the engine is frozen. Could be others, but I can't think of them right now.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Both Pumps plus Filter... If the symptoms are still there and still same, sounds like fuel supply wasn't the problem. Still, without a spec, 30PSI sounds low.
    That said, I've had a coil get tired once it was hot. That was on an 83 460 and it was the oil-filled metal "can" type. Quit on the road. Would run once it cooled. We'd been towing a car, with A/C on in the RV. Drove car separately and A/C off in the RV, made it the last hour to our destination. Replaced coil next day and no further problems.
    "Doesn't Crank" means different things to different people and might even be regional dialect. Up North, seems to mean "dead battery" or the like. In the Sweet South, anything from "Won't Start" all the way down to stuck ignition switch.
    I don't know what I'd rather chase. Electrical Gremlins are cagey little buggers.
  • Holy crap..after all of that it was the fuel cutoff for rollovers under the dash.. The connection was loose..as soon as i saw it wasnt perfectly connected i fixed it and turned the key. Rv fired right up. Just drove it for 50 miles. No issues. Something so basic was a total nightmare
  • mike73 wrote:
    Holy crap..after all of that it was the fuel cutoff for rollovers under the dash.. The connection was loose..as soon as i saw it wasnt perfectly connected i fixed it and turned the key. Rv fired right up. Just drove it for 50 miles. No issues. Something so basic was a total nightmare


    Uhm...if you were turning the RV 'upside down' that would have been a good piece of troubleshooting information to have :R :E LOL.

    Glad you found it. I had a wire inside a frame once that would short with certain body movements. Get out, reach up under frame and shake a few wires and it was perfect- until the next time about 2 months later.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    See a pharmacist and get a label saying:

    SHAKE WELL BEFORE USING

    Glad it's fixed. Now you have new, reliable, pumps and filter!
  • Thank you everyone who chimed in. I really appreciate it. Like u said, atleast now i have 2 new pumps, filter n regulator.

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