Fuel pump question

[Top Cat]

Last couple times I rode I heard a high pitched humming noise.
It dosen't do it all the time but 90 percent of the time I would say.
I can hear it louder if I get down by the left front of the motor. Left as I sit on the bike. I opened the gas cap and the noise got considerably louder. This is what makes me thing it is the fuel pump. Any one had a fuel pump go and do you think this is the problem? I bet a fuel pump is expensive to buy and have installed huh. :'(

[macmac]

Get a longish 3/8" drive ratchet extention, or build them all up, or get some sort of metal rod you can hold to the fuel pump and place you ear on while it is running.

It will make a normal sound, which is why you need to listem 2 times.. Once when you don't hear the new sound and once more when you do.

The pump is exposed on the left side behind and above the left side dog bowl if you have one still.

[ringadingh]

Mine has made a distinct whine ever since Ive owned the bike, mainly when I first turn on the ignition. it will whine for 3-4 seconds until the pressure is built up and then I don't hear it anymore.

[Top Cat]

I went out and listened to it as Mac instructed, so now I know what it normally sounds like. Then I took it for a couple miles up the road and back. It didn't make the whining noise this time. I will see what the pump sounds like tomorrow when I hear the whine again.

[macmac]

When you first turn the key the pump primes itself and the rest of the system. You will hear the pump come on, and it stops when full psi has been reached. There is no demand untill you active the system on the demand to start the engine. Then the pump will be on and making some sounds, even if you can't hear it.

With a mechanics stethescope you sure will hear it, or a long enough rod. I have both and use both to hear, since i can also feel with the rod. ( my hearing sucks)

[redjay]

Hi,
My fuel pump has been whining for about 6 weeks now. It starts a few seconds after starting the engine and stays that way. It is not the gas cap whistle as it still does it when you open the cap with the engine running. It is the same noise you hear as the pump primes itself when you turn on the ignition, but it is there all the time when the engine is running.

No plans to change it until it either quits or gets too noisy.
I believe they are around $400 plus.

[stewdogg]

I took my fuel filter out along with the hoses and screen and sprayed them clean with carb cleaner. Got some brown gunk out of all of it. My bike was sitting a couple of years before I got her so my issue was some varnished gunky fuel.
Taking the filter out and cleaning it is a hell of a lot cheaper than $400+ for a new filter that comes with a fuel pump :)
The fuel pump is pretty easy to install by yourself as long as you can take your gas tank off.

[redjay]

Stewdog, was your fuel pump whining before you cleaned the filter ? If so was the whine gone after you cleaned it ? Is the filter not inside the pump and unserviceable ?

[stewdogg]

Originally Posted by redjay

Stewdog, was your fuel pump whining before you cleaned the filter ? If so was the whine gone after you cleaned it ? Is the filter not inside the pump and unserviceable ?

I could start my bike and idle but not go past 1/2 throttle without it falling apart. I was having a fuel delivery problem not whining. It turned out to be a piece of o-ring stuck in the injector.
On a 1500 the fuel filter mounts ahead of the pump. They both come out seperatly and the filter is in a metal casing with a hose hook up on each side. I was only able to spray cleaner into it... you can't take it apart to put a new filter in it.
I talked to Kawa and they told me that they had no plans to sell the filter seperate from the pump. They told me that if my filter is that clogged that I would most likely need a new pump ??? I was going to try and find a generic filter that would work in its place but found my culprit before I had to do so.

[macmac]

stewdogg tell us as much as you can about the pump. I have never yet held one in my hand, dead or alive.

Man built it, but can it be taken apart? Was there any sign of carbon brushes, which there must be... What about replacing the assumed babbit bearings (probably bronze)

You didn't happen to get any pics of that pump did you?

What about the filter? Did you happen to notice if it had any drain back check valve?

The pump on a 1500 is internal and the pump on the 1600 is partly internal, and partly exposed.

These noisey ones are the first I am aware of in Nomads.

[cactusjack]

My fuel pump started getting noisier when I was coming home from Custer. Not the usual priming noise, but a more steady whine. I was thinking maybe it was questionable quality fuel at some small town gas station on the Custer trip.

[Top Cat]

Yeah CJ, that sounds like what I have. Does your fuel pump still make the noise? If so, is it constant or is it a now and then thing?

[stewdogg]

Originally Posted by macmac

stewdogg tell us as much as you can about the pump. I have never yet held one in my hand, dead or alive.

Man built it, but can it be taken apart? Was there any sign of carbon brushes, which there must be... What about replacing the assumed babbit bearings (probably bronze)

You didn't happen to get any pics of that pump did you?

What about the filter? Did you happen to notice if it had any drain back check valve?

The pump on a 1500 is internal and the pump on the 1600 is partly internal, and partly exposed.

These noisey ones are the first I am aware of in Nomads.

I didn't take too much time looking at the pump because the filter and pickup screen were my main concern. I know for a fact the filter wasn't made to come apart and I'm sure the pump isn't either. The pump (from what I recall) was setup just like the filter sealed and not ment to come apart for service.
The filter only had and input from the pickup screen and an outlet to the pump.
No pics sorry... I always think about it after the fact.
Sorry I'm not more helpful

[macmac]

Thanks for the straight up answer, I figured the pump would be sealed tight. It lives in fuel and the brushes must spark. That could create a bad day, if air got in in it all. On the other hand i had hopes there was some way to add lube, since the shaft is sealed from fuel and or the bearings could be replaced.

What I still don't know probably won't matter, but is the wine from the shaft and bearings or the impellors?

Since neither can be replaced the best thing we can do is nothing more than buy a pump when it's time is up.

[dogdoc]

I hear mine when it primes for a few seconds and then its quiet. No problems here.