Fuel Relays (Post #584) 9/4/2019

Before I had the pad poured for the new shop, I was regularly starting the Big White Bus and letting her get up to temp. I even would take her out on short trips just to get the fluids circulating.

The Saturday before the crew was scheduled to come out, I went out to start the old girl and all I got was lots of turning but no starting. That’s right, she went from starting every time to not running at all. Being that we live in the “country” now my mind began to race. Parked vehicles are basically hotels for rodents of every size and shape.

I had proven this with the camper debacle. We parked a bumper pull at my daughter’s house for a year. When we went to use it the mice and field rats had chewed most of the wires under the rock shield. We even had a squirrel storing acorns in the compartment behind the outdoor rinse station. How that furry bastard was getting in I never learned.

So when the BWB wouldn’t start, I thought for sure a rodent had gotten on top the fuel tank and munched my wires. I began the investigation by pulling the access panel over the fuel pump. That was for two reasons, one, so I could hear the pump come on, and so I could assess the status of the wiring.

Good news in all this those wires were not compromised by rodent incisors. I traced the wiring to the front and didn’t see anything amiss. The next thing was to see if the fuel pump ran when the ignition was turned on. It did not. Did I have a failed fuel pump? It’s happened before. Or did I have a failed fuel relay? That has never happened. The relays on the BWB were original from the factory and had not failed in over 250,000 miles.

So I found the fuel pump relays under the passenger side seat.

Blue is fuel pump relay.

Black is main relay.

manual

Location
Fuel pump relays, labeled for easy identification.

I was able to find the fuel pump relay that goes into the blue plug. It was available at my local O’Reilly Auto Parts. I just matched the numbers on the relay and got the following part number.

New Parts (2)

As you can see this relay is “Made in China” so you can fully expect it to fail in 1-2 years. Quality control is foreign to China in their manufacturing. Resellers in the good ole USA don’t give a rat’s ass if the parts suck because, if it fails you’ll be running back to get another, and another, …well you get the picture.

The relay that goes into the black plug is different. As you can see it has a red stripe on it. I’m still doing my research on what the difference is but it IS DIFFERENT.

Old Relay Top Side
Main Relay

The side looks like this.

Old Relay A side

I’ve added the numbers to make it easier to see.

Old Relay A side with numbers

None of the relays available at my O’Reilly’s worked for the red stripe “main” relay. According to Atlantic British’s website there is only one part for both relays. I haven’t tried their part yet so I can’t say if that is the case. I can say that the relay replacement from O’Reilly’s from the blue plug will not work in the black plug. The BWB would not start in that configuration.

So I’ve begun research to find the replacement relay before my only spare fails.

As always, buy a spare and put it in the on-board parts chest.

Next up, new oxygen sensors to alleviate my engine stalling. Yeah, its a guess at this point, but I’ve replaced everything else.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

2 Replies to “Fuel Relays (Post #584) 9/4/2019”

  1. Im new to having a Rover. We have a 2011 Range Rover. The driver door handle does not open the door. What might be the normal cause.

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