Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Electric fuel pump

Is it normal for the electric pump on a Plus 8 (1970s) to tick all the time? I can understand why you might hear it ticking/pumping when you initially turn the ignition on and the carburettor/fuel lines etc are filling up, but I would have expected that to stop after a few seconds (without actually starting the engine). Or does the pump tick (ie run) all the time even when there is no actual fuel flow into the carb? (There is no return fuel line from the carb).



Many thanks

The looks very much like a Facet Pump. I have one on my 4/4 and it does click all the time.

Not an EFI question, but I'll give it a try.

Facets and SU pumps usually exhibit different signs of distress, whether mild or severe. Some Facets are said to tick continuously, but I have never figured out whether that is because the owners have NEVER remedied some problem and just live with it forever constantly, a Morgan owner's tradition.

However, the image you posted looks remarkably like an old SU electric pump. (I posted an example of an older one below)..which is also more likely for a UK mog of the day. The USA's FACET only began began in 1976 and the UK was a big market for a while after. A ticking su carburetor normally means a leak OR another problem, that could cause a similar condition. Do a simple test. While the pump is ticking at you, clamp the fuel hose anywhere between the pump and the carb and see if the ticking stops. If it does, you will have diagnosed the pump as ok, but not the site or cause of the leak. But you can move on from there.

BTW, while you are in this area, check if you have an inertia switch wired on the pump power line. Mechanical pumps stop with the engine but electric pumps keep feeding the sparks and/or flames with gusto. Been there and I dislike it.

gmg

Your picture of the SU Pump looks decidedly like a Facet Cylinder Pump. FACET Pump



They do tick all the time. You can get a rubber isolator kit that minimises the noise, but they are unlike the SU style pumps that stop ticking when the carbs are primed.

This is what the SU Pump looks like SU Pump

The SU pump on my old Mini deffo stops ticking when the carbs are primed

Yep the MGBs have the same (although mine has been replaced with a Facet, which clicks all the time, like my Mog).

At least with the clicks, you know it's working!

Melvyn also lists the Facet Pump for the 1977 Carb +8 Melvyn Rutter Fuel Pump

If the +8 in question is pre 1977, then it may be a later addition? DId it originally have a mechanical fuel pump?

Thank you for your help.


Yes. As I mentioned, his car was made before Facet even began. That is why I mentioned the importance of an inertia switch. Melvyn will not mention that. Of course, they became a legal requirement on all later cars not long after, to date. Too many disasters.

As for the carb fuel pump.... (shrug)

The only thing of importance is to find him, just in case, a fuel pump that requires the least amount removal and re-installation changes, unless his personal safety demands more.

By the way, for clamping hoses and other such stuff, I find my best friend to be a small needle nose vice grip.

gmg

Just to add to the confusion, the Facet pump was previously known as the Bendix pump.

Most of the Mk2 Escort rally prep manuals from the 1970's refer to it as such .

Used to run double pumps in the rally cars; wired up so you can change over on the fly.

Used to change them at the start of every season for reliability

Steer clear of the cheap copy pumps - absolute crap

Arwyn