Help in Reno needed... ASAP

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thesameguy

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Posts
623
Howdy all -

I have a friend with a Bounder on an F53 who is stuck in Reno of all places. He called yesterday from the side of the road and after some diagnosis we're pretty sure it's the fuel pump - jumping the relay gets voltage to the fuse, but no pressure in the rail. To make matters worse, the pump died right after filling up, so he's got 100 gallons of fuel in the tank. I would jump on the road and lend a hand dropping the tank, but I've got no mobile way of dealing with that kind of weight or volume so we're looking for a shop. Everybody is telling him it'll be days before they can even look at the issue, so I was hoping someone here might know a place in or around Reno that would be worth calling.

Any thoughts are much appreciated!
 
Some folks have handled an F53 fuel pump change without dropping the tank by cutting a carefully located square hole in the bedroom floor, usually in the underbed storage area. After the pump swap, the cut out can be replaced by adding an aluminum strap flange to the top and screwing it in place.
 
An inline pump is a good temporary fix, and will let the motorhome drive well enough to let you burn up most of the fuel before you drop the tank and fix it right.  The location of the in-line filter on the frame rail is a good place to mount it.  See the articles in our Library Here and Here.

You'll need about 40-50 PSI in the fuel line to run the engine.

If the inline pump won't suck fuel through the stalled in-tank pump, another place to tap is the fuel line going to the generator.  The generator's fuel pump isn't big enough to supply the main engine, but the fuel line running to it comes directly from the auxiliary pickup in the tank.  Just don't let the fuel level get below 1/4 tank or the aux pickup will suck air instead of fuel.

Does your friend have a road service policy with Coach-Net, FMCA or Good Sam?  Not only will they find a qualified repair shop and give you a free tow there, but shops often bump work coming from these companies to the front of the line, so they'll get more business from them in the future.
 
We called a dozen place and a half dozen mobile mechanics, none of which could help "soon." Ended up referred to a transmission shop - Levrett Transmission - who has an RV lift and could take the work. After sitting for nearly two days, it started right up, enough to get the shop a few miles from the KOA where it had been previously towed (from the side of the road).

We had done some over-the-phone diagnosis - checked the coil pickup, the fuel pump relay, and the fuse and all were working properly. Power directly to the fuel pump fuse would not get pressure in the rail, so it seemed a dead pump for sure. At the shop, they were checking wiring along the frame rail and found this:

http://sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/f53gizmo.jpg

which seems to be the source of the issue. 12v in, intermittent 10v out. The shop says "it's a capacitor" which I think is 100% incorrect. I think it's an inertia switch (maybe an old-school mercury-type one) and is faulty... Can anyone comment on that?
 
thesameguy said:
At the shop, they were checking wiring along the frame rail and found this:

http://sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/f53gizmo.jpg

which seems to be the source of the issue. 12v in, intermittent 10v out. The shop says "it's a capacitor" which I think is 100% incorrect. I think it's an inertia switch (maybe an old-school mercury-type one) and is faulty... Can anyone comment on that?

The inertia switch on F53 is on the left side of the steering column. I suspect it is indeed a capacitor to eliminate some RFI. It is definitely not a Ford item. And probably not a Fleetwood item.
 
I remember reading years ago about a switch that was designed to cut off the fuel pump after an accident to prevent pumping fuel and possibly feeding a fire in a wreck.
 
HueyPilotVN said:
I remember reading years ago about a switch that was designed to cut off the fuel pump after an accident to prevent pumping fuel and possibly feeding a fire in a wreck.

As Richard said, Bill, that's the inertia switch that's mounted on the left side of the steering column on an F53 chassis.
 
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