Go Back  Offshoreonly.com > Technical > General Q & A
Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place! >

Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

Notices

Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

Thread Tools
 
Old 01-23-2007 | 03:28 PM
  #1  
Thread Starter
Registered
 
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 444
Likes: 1
Default Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

After the Supercharger install I wanted to verify the accuracy of my electric gage....Got the right guage to go into the schrader valve and @ first it was pretty steady but I needed to change the pick up to 1/2 inch and install new shut off valve. Well now I fred it iup and the fuel preasure is all over the board looks like the guage is vibrating badly and I can not get an accurate reading to save my life. I am guessing that I have an air leak somewhere in the new pick up or valve connections some where. I am sure it is not in the pick up beacause I ran it with no shutoff valve and the preassure was steady...then installed new valve and now this.

What causes the mechanical guage @ the rail to bounce around wildly say from 20psi to 50 psi when the electric guage on the dash stays stable......Any thoughts?

Mechanical is at the Schrader valve...
electric is at the FMU unit from Procharger...
Help!

Bryan
Bryan Rose is offline  
Reply
Old 01-24-2007 | 12:07 AM
  #2  
LAKESIDE RESTORATIONS's Avatar
Lakeside Restorations.com
 
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,512
Likes: 2
From: NorthEastern, PA
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

Check for an air or fuel leak. Also make sure you dont have any blockages in the line or pick up.. Did you remove the check ball from the tank fitting when you went to 1/2' ?? Also a remote possibility of a bad or mis adjusted regulator or bad / leaking injector.. Unless you have a bad gauge.. Hard to tell for sure without being there, but start with double checking the simple stuff first.. Also make sure that the mechanical gauge is on properly.. Jamie / Lakeside
__________________
www.LakesideRestorations.com 570-639-2628
We Make Fast Toys Faster, Cool Toys Cooler and Old Toys New!.. Performance, Custom & OEM Parts & much MORE![/CENTER]
LAKESIDE RESTORATIONS is offline  
Reply
Old 01-24-2007 | 07:02 AM
  #3  
monstaaa's Avatar
Registered
 
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,551
Likes: 3
From: long island, newyork
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

did u change the electric fuel pump during this install?
monstaaa is offline  
Reply
Old 01-24-2007 | 07:08 AM
  #4  
Sonic30ss's Avatar
Gold Member
20 Year Member
Gold Member
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,237
Likes: 165
From: SWFL
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

EFI or Carb?
Sonic30ss is offline  
Reply
Old 01-24-2007 | 07:39 AM
  #5  
Registered
 
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 429
Likes: 0
From: Lady Lake, FL
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

dumb ? but I had a new gage go bad drove me nuts needle was not tight to shaft it was a holley brand
eliminatethis is offline  
Reply
Old 01-24-2007 | 09:34 AM
  #6  
mjb
Registered
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 261
Likes: 0
From: Fairhaven, MD.
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

I had the same problem and solved it. Several important questions:
EFI or Carb?
if EFI- is it cool fuel setup with remote regulator(in cool fuel)?
if cool fuel- is it stock setup,pump and lines?
any fuel rail modifications?
mjb is offline  
Reply
Old 01-24-2007 | 12:07 PM
  #7  
Thread Starter
Registered
 
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 444
Likes: 1
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

Originally Posted by mjb
I had the same problem and solved it. Several important questions:
EFI or Carb?
if EFI- is it cool fuel setup with remote regulator(in cool fuel)?
if cool fuel- is it stock setup,pump and lines?
any fuel rail modifications?
EFI
yes on the cool fuel.....but it goes from the tank ,to the seperator, to the fuel pump, Aeromotive 1000, to the regulator,to the rail.....return from the regulator goes to cool fuel cooler and back to seperator.

No mods to the fuel rail.

How did you fix it?


Bryan
Bryan Rose is offline  
Reply
Old 01-25-2007 | 04:11 AM
  #8  
Sonic30ss's Avatar
Gold Member
20 Year Member
Gold Member
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,237
Likes: 165
From: SWFL
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

Bryan, I had the same problem with pressure guages in place of the schrader valves. Turns out the pressure pulses in the fuel rails created from the injectors opening and closing caused the guages to fail. When I put a shop type guage with a rubber hose on the schrader valve, the hose dampened the pulses enough so the reading was steady. Try it before you tear into anything else.
Sonic30ss is offline  
Reply
Old 01-25-2007 | 08:27 AM
  #9  
Registered
 
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 405
Likes: 1
From: Royal Oak, MI
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

As sonic said, those pressure spikes are real. You need to find a way to dampen them out. A good gauge that is intended for EFI should be internaly damped, or like he said use a long line to the guage or a reservoir in between the rail and the gauge.
bcarpman is offline  
Reply
Old 01-25-2007 | 10:19 AM
  #10  
mjb
Registered
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 261
Likes: 0
From: Fairhaven, MD.
Default Re: Verifying Fuel Preasure at the rail, needle bouncing all over the place!

Sounds like you don't have the stock cool fuel setup. The pressure flutuations are caused because in a batch type fuel injector set up, 4 injectors are opening and closing all at the same time. Increasing the volume of fuel available in the hoses/rail will help reduce this problem. Also, having the regulator as close to the rail as possible will help. There are many people, including myself, that feel that the regualtor should be after the rail, not before it. The stock cool fuel setup has problems in both of these areas and they are magnified with any engine modifications, resulting in even more needle bounce. Do a search for "needle bounce" on this forum. There are a lot of previous threads on this issue. You will never eliminate the bounce but you can reduce it. and as the previous post states, these fluctuations will cause your gauges to fail and leak fuel into the bilge. I learned that the hard way....TWICE! Now my gauges have rubber hose between the regulator and the gauge to help prevent that. and buy GOOD gauges. Cheap gauges will fail quickly in this application.
mjb is offline  
Reply


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.