Folks, On Saturday I did a thorough investigation of the tank's plumbing. The fuel pressure light would wink out in about 1-2 seconds and the pump sounded normal (not straining). I made sure that the fuel return plumbing in the tank was clean by blowing air thru it and hearing bubbly noises from inside tank (the tank was 1/2 full and the end of the return line was below surface of the fuel). The two vapor recovery connections on the tank were clear (blew thru them), and the vapor container's three connections were clear. I double checked the vapor line inlet valve in that it didn't release pressure but only allowed air in. The vapor recovery line was clear all the way to the engine - little volume goes thru this line that's for sure. And I checked the exhaust system for leaks and there are none nearby the tank that would cause the tank to heat up.
I've still no idea just what is going here with this tank. As to the different styles of FI pumps that Alfa put on SPICA cars, Wes I. has a great write up here: http://www.wesingram.com/SPICA_Fuel_Supply_Diagnostic_Guide_Nov_2004.pdf . My '73 GTV has the correct 2-port (one inlet, one outlet) FI pump. The newer models had the 3 ports. Bruce On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 11:53 AM, John Palumbo <[email protected]> wrote: > I just thought of something else. If your pump only has one port exiting > the top of the pump, its quite possible you have an entirely wrong pump for > that particular car! I mean the newer Bosch pumps for the electronic > injection cars have only one port exiting the top of the pump. So maybe > someone swapped-out one these for the old styled original pump that was on > the car, thinking that it would be more reliable. > > T-Mobile, America's First Nationwide 4G Network > Sent by Samsung Mobile > > Bruce Giller <[email protected]> wrote: > > >John, > > > >My FI fuel pump is the new style with only two ports so there's no way the > >gas can back into the tank from it. > > > >Bruce > > > >On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 7:18 AM, John Palumbo <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > >> Just a quick thought, I would tend to think it would have something to > do > >> with the fuel delivery from the fuel pump. The fuel it would seem is > >> getting pumped back into the tank, instead of to the pump where it > belongs, > >> hense you noticed it took longer for the pressure light to go out. > >> > >> If I can recall, the older pumps had three ports on them, one to the > SPICA > >> pump, one as a return to the tank, and I think the third was for some > >> emmissions thing, I'm not sure. I know the the newer pumps had only two > >> ports. > >> > >> So maybe if you had a spare pump, you could try installing it and see if > >> it does the same thing. Perhaps there is a sort of check valve system, > >> similiar to that of a diode thats gone bad, it being that alows the > fuel to > >> flow in only one direction, to the SPICA pump. The other thought would > be > >> to run it with the fuel cap off. But there should be no logical reason > why > >> the tank should be over pressurizing. > >> > >> John > >> > >> T-Mobile, America's First Nationwide 4G Network > >> Sent by Samsung Mobile > >> > >> Bruce Giller <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> >Yesterday we (David Tallerico and I) attended a Seat Time session at > >> Summit > >> >Point track after a too-long hiatus. The weather temp wasn't hot but > >> >pretty warm - mid to upper 80's or so. It is 1.5 hour drive from my > house > >> >there and we stopped in Charles Town for gas. at around 7:50 am. At > the > >> >station the car would not restart and we discovered that it was getting > >> any > >> >gas for the plugs were dry. The fuel pressure light went out but it > took > >> >longer than usual for it to go out; usually after running for a bit, it > >> >only takes 1 second for it to wink out. I removed the return hose from > >> the > >> >SPICA pump and gas was pumped out with the fuel pump on. We 'fixed' > the > >> >non-starting problem with starter fluid sprayed down the throats. Off > to > >> >the track! > >> > ..................... -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
