Electronic fuel pump controller

[Beech]

Here is a web site to obtain a jumper for your fuel pump controller if it fails. (they do) I just picked one up for a Christmas present.

http://burnsmoto.com/

 

Here is a discussion of it:

http://www.hexcode.co.za/techinfo/electric-fuel-pump-controller

[stevent]

Wow that's pretty clever....

[Nate9k9]

If you are keeping the old electronic unit you can make your own jumper. Just cut off the plug from the bad unit and soldier it to a two conductor wire (extention cord) and soldier a SAE or Euro (BMW) plug. Not hard to do at all. You have to make sure your polarity is correct.

[Ponch]

Or buy one.

[Nesbocaj]

The first thing I did on the RT was to replace the FPC. I carry the old one as a spare-to-share.

[mig]

I can handle most mechanical repairs but this one scares the crap out of me at the thought of being stuck and no way around it. So when i bought my bike 3 months ago, I got a failed unit and made the jumper. Much easier to carry. and quick to make.

 

[Beech]

I have a jumper coming, but I do so much riding in the summer and a few rallies, I figure if I had a spare voltage controller in the parts locker (under the back seat) it may do me or someone on the road some good. Using the jumper,all you really need is to get to the nearest beemer dealer and hope they stock it. This could be a big deal on a GS. I carry a spare oil window and a 50mm rear drive seal. On longer trips I suspect an alternator belt would be good but I keep an eye on it and have changed it every couple of years in the past. I see on the new RT's the alternator is not adjustable and you need to either use the factory tool or have strong fingers to roll the belt on as you turn the crank.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Question:

 

If the FPC is jumpered, how does the fuel pump behave when the engine stops running?

 

I'm imagining an engine stall that occurs because of a fuel system rupture that might occur during a crash. On my old 1100RT, the fuel pump automatically stops running a split-second after the engine stops spinning. Is that the case on a 1200RT if the FPC has been bypassed?

 

If a jumper means that the fuel pump starts running as soon as you turn the ignition key on (and doesn't stop until you turn the key off), I think that's a serious safety concern. This would mean the pump can keep running after a crash.

 

If not, well, maybe no big deal. Just a thought.

 

[mig]

Well I bet it keeps running full speed until the ignition is turned off, but this is an emergency measure to get you to a dealership or home.

[RichardSpag]

 

Beech,

 

"I see on the new RT's the alternator is not adjustable and you need to either use the factory tool or have strong fingers to roll the belt on as you turn the crank"

 

Actually all you need is a plastic bottle or coke can to ease the belt on!

 

Cheers

 

Richard

[Beech]

Richard, that is a good tip. This kind of stuff saves you on the road! Yes, there is an issue with a jumpered fuel pump electronic control. It will run at full speed all the time it has power. It is strictly an emergency procedure. I know of no commercial pump installation that does not have a relief valve either in the pump or the piping. I assume BMW is the same on this. I would inspect your bike, it there is corrosion, replace the unit. Or install one of the new coated unites and keep your old one as a spare as one of the posters has done. I too would feel very uneasy riding a bike with the jumper in place. But there are situations I can visualize that would justify it.

[BMWRich58]

I know of no commercial pump installation that does not have a relief valve either in the pump or the piping.

 

Doesn't the bikes fuel system incorporate a fuel pressure regulator? Not to say it won't stop fuel flowing incase of an accident but......

 

I too bought the "jumper cable" after having the FPC go *south* on me in "No Man's Land Texas"...

 

My problem was caused by "water ingress". After I got home from the dealer repair an Trip,I removed the FPC and resealed the unit with silicone.

20+K miles later with countless of storms and washings,the FPC continues to perform flawlessly!!!

[Beech]

The purpose of the fuel pump controller is to regulate the pressure by controlling the speed of the pump. The bike's computer controls the effective voltage (for the pump) via this "electronic fuel pump controller". The old systems just had the pump going full speed at 12 VDC and a dump regulator valve system on the fuel pump line. That is why using a jumper any longer than needed is not a good plan. I like the idea of making sure everything is dry, in good shape then some well placed duct tape or something. I see in the parts diagram a cover gasket.? I guess the system has issues.

[Sailorlite]

Yes, the cover and gasket shown in the parts diagram do look like they are meant to keep water away from the FPC. My "research" concludes that although they're on the parts list they're not on my bike ('08 RT) - and that the cover actually came only on the early 12GS's.

 

I guess the cover is available from BMW for not too much $$ and might be a better investment than the bypass wiring rig.

[dirtrider]

Afternoon Beech

 

 

I think you will find your 1200 RT/or/GS have a mechanical fuel pressure regulator in addition to the speed regulated fuel pump.

The idea behind FPC (fuel pump controller) is to lower the load on the fuel pump when max fuel flow isn’t needed and limit the amount of fuel pumped through the system when not needed. The FPC also replaces the old mechanical fuel pump relay.

 

As for the (early GS) fuel pump cover. That isn’t used any more as far as I can tell. The cover never did keep the water out but instead trapped it under the cover. A lot of riders (including myself) removed those early fuel pump covers as they seemed to cause more problems than good they offered.

 

[NewBlue]

dirtrider is correct. Pumps do not produce pressure, they produce flow. It is the resistance to the flow that gives you pressure. By varying the voltage to the pump they vary the flow.

It is a fixed displacement pump that can vary the flow by varying the speed. The pressure will still be determined by the fuel pressure regulator.

 

BMW does not use an external fuel pump relay but it is still controlled by the ECU. They use a speed signal input to keep the pump running after start-up. Engine stops, no speed signal, no pump. Unless, as mentioned, it is bypassed.

 

The majority of the fuel sent out from the pump is returned back to tank. Restrict the return and the best you can hope for is the pump stalls, amp draw goes up, circuit shuts down. If not, bad things happen.

 

The FPR is a preset mechanical type. At one time they were adjustable but give someone a screw to turn and ....

[BeemerLover]

Preventive maintenance is the key to managing this problem. The reason that the pump controller fails in the first place is that it gets wet. It is located in the "well" where the fuel pump is attached to the tank and water gets in this well. If the controller gasket leaks the controller will corrode. The next time you have your tupperware off look to see if there is evidence that water has sat in the "well" if so, take the controller off to see if it is corroded. If the "well" looks as if it has been dry then put a thick coating of grease around the controller gasket to prevent water getting past the gasket. Do this also after installing a new controller. There are several previous threads on this with pictures so do a search if you want to see what all this looks like.

 

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Well I bet it keeps running full speed until the ignition is turned off, but this is an emergency measure to get you to a dealership or home.

 

If you know the FPC is going to get replaced eventually, why not carry a new one with you and install it as soon as the bike breaks down (due to a wet/corroded FPC) by the side of the road?

 

Not only would this restore the bike to normal operating configuration immediately, but it would eliminate the need for a trip to the dealer when you get home - or if you're into DIY, another round of garage surgery.

 

A similar rationale applies for other emergency spares. I carry a new alternator belt under the seat, rather than an old one; if I swap the belt out by the side of the road, I don't want to have to do it again (with a new one) as soon as I get home.

[Beech]

02 13537705871 FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR - 4 BAR 0.09 1 $75.11

Yes, a better way to say it would be that the pump and controller keep up with demand for the operation of the injectors. In this case, it looks like 4 BAR is back pressure created by the regulator. No resistance no pressure.

[racer7]

Mitch,

Sure the pump will run as long as its got power (its only got the two connectors on top) so it depends on where the 12V comes from.

 

I had to do the emergency bypass and plugged mine into 10A stock outlet on my 08RT. So it would be timed the same as the ZFE controlled outlet- meaning it would run for a while after the motor was shut off. However, the plug is in easy reach and can be pulled from the socket which would immediately stop the pump. A stopped pump will stop a bike from running in a second or so if at speed, a few seconds at idle. One can alternatively cut into the original lead and splice the jumper there- then it has the same behavior as original. You could even do a "permanently installed" bypass where you simply solder the jumper leads permanently in parallel with the fpc and simply plug it in when the fpc fails.

 

The bypass is only an emergency thing good for completing, if needed, a few days running before a proper replacement - but your point is interesting. If you're excessively distrqcted by a minor mechanical, you might be more likely to crash out, also. As always, no substitute for situational awareness. In my case. though Bob's is not my local dealer, I happened to be going by there so stopped in to exchange my dead fpc for a warranty replacement. Took BMW about 90 min to approve the claim, facilitated by Bob's service dept to whom I handed the obviously corroded and dead one with its plug cut off, plus the info on the codes shown by my GS-911 (great roadside troubleshooting device). I suspect any of the good dealers with solid relationships with BMW can get this done similarly if you're on the road and need a replacement.

 

I guess if you don't mind having a $150 spare you can always carry a spare fpc instead of a homemade or $20 jumper. Only problem with that is that you get to buy instead of BMW picking up the cost if its under warranty, as was mine.

 

Though BMW bought me one fpc, I have bought another to carry because a look at the design clearly shows the changes in the newer part (a black powder coated case to prevent external corrosion and, maybe, some internal changes in the board?) are not going to address two of the main fpc weaknesses- the first being that it sits in a well that can collect water and the second that the silicon material on the bottom of it does not keep out water as the fpc heats and cools as it passes 7A of current it takes to run the fuel pump. I expect time to show that while the new version is less failure prone, it can still fail if wet enough. I killed my original plain case one riding in frog chokers and I believe a repeat is possible with the replacement. The only obvious failure mode addressed by the coated case is the prevention of case corrosion from spreading into the lower silicon seal and breaking that seal though maybe there are some board changes that reduce heat so there is less internal vacuum created when it cools that would help suck water into the board. The internal board corrosion on mine was obvious and probably caused by cooling induced water penetration. It would be possible to truly waterproof the board by using a hard epoxy sealant rather than the flimsy rubbery material used now but that would no doubt raise the parts cost.

 

Perhaps the Brit guys who log these things will note whether its the old or new part that dies? They certainly get to ride in enough wet stuff to find out if the new fpc is much better. Then we could get some hard data on whether the new fpc is really much of an improvement or not. I'm guessing its a 30-50% fix, no better, but only a few years of real world data will show what's true.

[johnlt]

I did buy a spare for my Alaska trip and didn't need it there but did need it a year later here near home. I now made a jumper from the bad unit and carry it with me. If I do another long trip like Alaska, I may pony up and get another spare but for local riding, the jumper will suffice.

[racer7]

Agree. And any you buy from BMW are covered by the usual 2 yr parts warranty.

[basilr]

I now have a spare, but just for curiosity, if I had to do a hotwire, which is the blue wire - positive or negative?

[racer7]

For the plug from the fpc to the fuel pump blue is negative, yellow is positive.

 

For the three wires that connect from the bike to the top of the fpc, brown is ground as always and blue/green is positive. The third wire supports modulation function.

[dirtrider]

For anybody contemplating having to jumper your FPC in the future you might print this out and stick it in plastic bag on your bike or in your owners manual.

 

This shows hacking the wiring between the FPC supply and the pump connector (right at the pump area) . Not recommended to hack the wring unless you are stuck in the middle of nowhere with no other way.

 

If you make a jumper that plugs into your accessory plug the center terminal on the plug is (+) and the outer petal band is (-).

 

In a pinch you can make a jumper from a Gerbings heated garment supply wire and plug, or your tire pump wire harness (if you carry an aftermarket electric pump)

 

I made my tire pump wire disconnectable (sp) from the pump with a small connector and an additional plug with short pig tails to be used as a FPC jumper (that way I only need to carry the one harness fro both tire pump and FPC jumper.

 

 

[tallman]

I smell a business opportunity.

 

Have your people call mine.

[BMWRich58]

...an Italian mate posted this same info on UKGSer about a year ago...

[Beech]

Digging through my connector drawer, I found {special tool # 61 0618) or PN 8330 0 402 343 which is a "Repair plug, 2pin" kit. It has a plug (black) just like the blue one in your picture. Two leads coming out of it labeled #1 & #2, #1 being positive as determined by the square side indexing of the plug. It also has some crimp connectors and some slide over heat shrink tubing that is silicone filled and gets gooshie when heated. A nice little kit to power up the pump from your choice of 12 volts. But then if you have a bad controller you already have a plug by just snipping it off the controller!

[KDeline]

So before you go cutting into the wire harness, how do you confirm the controller is the reason the bike is not starting if you don't have the GS 911?

[dirtrider]

So before you go cutting into the wire harness, how do you confirm the controller is the reason the bike is not starting if you don't have the GS 911?

 

Evening KDeline

 

Just listen for the fuel pump to run for a few seconds at key on. If you hear it (the pump) whirr then the pump isn’t the reason for not starting.

OR, lift the FPC slightly and to the side then slide a test light probe down in the well and into the yellow wire terminal at the blue pump connector. If it lights at key on or engine cranking then the FPC isn’t the issue.

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

So before you go cutting into the wire harness, how do you confirm the controller is the reason the bike is not starting if you don't have the GS 911?

 

According to my dealer, the GS-911 won't tell you for for certain, either. Even though that was the code I got on my GS-911 when my FPC was failing early this fall, the dealer told me that it could be anything in the whole "chain of command," including the pump.

 

Given that the FPC is a known weak point, if the fuel pump isn't spinning it seems to me that FPC should always be the first suspect (just like the HES on oilheads). If you are carrying a spare or a jumper, just put it in and see what happens. If your pump starts spinning, your work is done; if not, consider that step part of the diagnostic process: you know the problem lies somewhere else, so start checking other things, like the fuel pump itself.