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Fuel Pump Diagnostics

ByPaul Kolbo:

Have you ever found yourself trolling along on your ST, enjoying
the scenery, enjoying the ride, only to have the moment ruined by
the feeling of a motor struggling and starving for fuel? Or have
you noticed that your ST seems to be misfiring at higher RPMs
while doing the ton? I have and, although it wasn't chronic enough
to stop riding, it was something I always had in the back of my
mind and wrote about on occasion.

The story starts in the year, 2000. On the way to WESTOC

Durango, I suffered a stall condition on the highway between
Ouray and Silverton. It was a hot day and we were experiencing
altitude changes just prior to the stall. I was able to limp down to a
gas station in Silverton to top off with fresh fuel and some
roadside diagnostics. After disconnecting the fuel line to the fuel
filter and dumping out the filter contents, the bike started up with
a hard choke and ran fine the rest of the vacation. While in
Durango, I bypassed the vacuum shutoff and replaced the fuel
filter but was not able to pinpoint any obvious defect or plugging
in either component.

Two years later in August of 2002, another hot day, the bike stalled
again. Another session of roadside diagnostics did not reveal any
major issue and after 15 minutes the bike fired right up and ran
fine. In 2003 the stall happened twice on the way to WESTOC
Moscow. Both times were in very hot ambient temperatures and
rapid altitude changes. Curiously, the stalls happened immediately
after descending a substantial altitude. This time I was able to
determine that the pump was not pumping fuel by disconnecting
the fuel line to the filter and running the bike off the choke. I was
then able to make the pump functional by blowing back through
the fuel line into the tank/pump. This led me to a theory that I was
experiencing a vapor lock situation that would stop fuel flow. I

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reasoned this situation was precipitated by altitude changes and

hot weather. While both did play a role in the final outcome, it
wasn't bubbles or inadequate tank ventilation that led to the pump
failure.

Fuel starvation on ST1100s is not all that rare. There have been
plenty of stories of stalling problems. Discussions with other
owners with similar issues led to the realization that something
common might be the root source of these mystery stalls. These
discussions wound up yielding a list of possibilities that could be
eliminated by diagnostic techniques.

Possible Cause Diagnostic Solution

1. Contaminated Fuel Replace filter, drain and inspect tank.

2. Vacuum shutoff
Bypass fuel line from tank direct to filter.
valve
3. Tank Vent Blockage Inspect vent line for blockage
Remove cap and check airflow in both
4. Fuel Cap
directions.
Flow rate volume check, flow pressure
5. Fuel Pump
check.

After spending the last three years eliminating all five, I was
perplexed as to the source of my issue. I credit Rob Parker for
promoting the idea that, while my flow rate met the Honda
minimum spec, perhaps my pump was weaker than others, or
intermittent. Rob rigged a low pressure gauge with a piece of fuel
line with splices for easy installation in between the pump outlet
and filter inlet. We then began collecting flow rate and pressure
measurements on STs in our area.

Year Flow Rate (15 Seconds) Pressure (Fuel Cap off)

'92 500 ml 16.5 oz/in2

'98 na Erratic (This pump is a known failure)
'99 700 ml 20 oz/in2
'91 500 ml 17 oz/in2

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'94 250 ml 11 oz/in2 (This is my '94)

The results from the last bike listed, my '94, are different from the
others. Bear in mind that the flow rate still meets the Honda
minimum spec of 650 ml/minute. (More on this later.) Ideally you
would want to collect many more samples that would also include
a fair number that exhibit the stall failure. We don't have that luxury
at this time and, with WESTOC 2004 approaching, I decided to bite
the bullet and purchase a new pump. (Service Honda - $273)

Note the pump pressure, not high at all. I could blow about 20
oz/in2 with my lungs.

'94 550 ml 18.5 oz/in2

It appears the new pump is more in line with our limited sample
average. However there still is no evidence the old pump was bad.
It flowed the fuel above the minimum spec until some condition
(heat and/or altitude) would stop the fuel flow. So the next step
was to analyze the old pump and see if we could find the
"smoking gun" that causes it to stop pumping fuel.

An afternoon in
Rob Parker's
garage would
yield the most
likely
explanation.
First we verified
the pump was
flowing the
same rate on the
bench with an
external 12-volt
source. This
essentially
eliminated my
ST1100 as the

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source of the
weak pump
(power source, pump relay or other). After further disassembly of
the pump from the inlet screen, tubes and mounting fixture we
confirmed the pump component, removed from the rest of the fuel
pump assembly, was still weak. This eliminated the lines and filter
inlet.

I made the first significant discovery during the pump diagnostic.

While orienting the pump inlet to the water, I heard rattling from
inside the pump housing. I could make this rattling come and go
by changing the pump orientation. This rattling was not present
when the motor was not running. The rattling sounded like one of
the rotating parts (impeller or motor windings) was interfering
inside. Despite the unsettling noise, I could not make the pump
lock up.

The second discovery was not an accident. We felt heat was

involved so we directed hot air from a heat gun into the pump
inlet. We had the heat set to the low position and kept it about 3
inches from the inlet to avoid melting things. After about 30
seconds the motor would start to slow down and eventually stop
completely. Dunking the pump into a pail of water would
immediately revive the pump motor. Voila!!! I repeated this several
times to prove the failure was consistent. We didn't have a
temperature probe but I felt confident that it wasn't an unrealistic
temperature. There wasn't any melting of plastic, nor did we
impart any permanent change in the behavior of the pump stall.
The failure was always about 30 seconds after directing the hot air
into the inlet.

The final step is

total pump
disassembly. It took
a series of hacksaw
and Dremel swipes
to separate the
housing. It is worth

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noting that before

the housing was cut
open, I noted the
impeller had
perhaps a 1/16" of
fore/aft movement
(not lateral).
Because the pump
inlet screen is fixed,
there is no way of
inspecting another
pump to see if this
is normal. The
pump internals did
not yield any
broken pieces but the magnets did
have corners chunked off. The
impeller is only about the size of a
quarter and it didn't appear to have
any worn or broken areas. Nothing
about the internals yielded the clue
to why this pump would stall when
heated or why there was play in the
impeller axle. I wonder if this motor
wasn't missing a bushing or spacer
to begin with.

Conclusion: This was a fun exercise and I am satisfied with our

post analysis that leads to the following summary. My current
theory is when the fuel tank heats, the pump can fail when the fuel
reaches a very hot temperature. The orientation of the pump
motor, that causes the rattle, might increase the probability of
interference in the pump. Sufficient cooling, or blowing back
through the pump, would allow the pump to function again. It's
worth noting that the tank pressure would exceed 20 oz/sqin at
operating temps when the gas cap is secured. Shallow throttle
operation would allow the pressure to maintain a minimal
pressure. Heavy throttle operation would deplete the tank

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pressure and lead to fuel starvation. In other words, the pump may
have locked at some point while descending and fuel starvation
wouldn't occur until ascending the next hill. This is why I took the
pressure measurements with the gas cap off.

To those who suffer the occasional fuel starvation issues:

Eliminate steps 1-4 first. When 1-4 is eliminated, check the flow
rate first for step 5. I believe the flow rate/volume is directly related
to the pressure. So if you're pumping around 500 ml/15 secs
(remember, with the gas cap off) you're probably OK. If you find
the flow rate to be very low, then check the pressure.

Thanks go out to Rob Parker who provided his knowledge and

pressure gauge and John Oosterhuis for his pictures.

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