Any ideas, my MSD, B-A-P burned

SNKBYT

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The fuse holder on my MSD Boost a pump burned again. This is the second time in four years. Normally, a wire/connection will burn/overheat due to high amperage or caused due to a poor connection. Last time this happened, I rechecked all the wiring to the the splice at the fuel pump. Everything looked good. Has anyone else had this problem. Is the fuse holder/fuse suspect to corrosion or vibration, thus making a poor connection? I replaced the unit after the first one burned, so that rules out the unit. Any ideas or thoughts would be appreceiated.:dunno:
 

plumcrazy

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my only thought is...if i remember correctly you make some good power. get a real fuel system on that thing. forget the BAP especially since you're having trouble at times with it. its just not worth the chance.

that car is too nice !!!
 

BOTTLEFED

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According to to ohm's law, if your resistance increases and voltage stays the same, then amperage will increase in direct proportion. So if your system has too much resistance, then your amperage is going to be too high and things will start getting hot.
High resistance could be in a loose connection, bad ground, corroded wire/connection, gauge/thickness of wire too small, broken wire strands, etc.
You also have to take into account that voltage is increasing so amperage increases as well.
If you at a look at my write-up, I used 10ga. wire to and from the BAP. When you start increasing voltage, you need heavier gauge wire to flow that extra amperage, especially if you are running it from the front of the car, like most people do (that's why I mounted mine in the back, as close to the fuel pump as possible). You may just be overpowering your wiring and causing it to get hot.
Also, check the wiring at the BAP unit itself. When I got mine (used) it had broken strands and loose wiring right out of the unit. I opened it up and resoldered some new, heavy gauge wire at the transformer.
If you have burned through 2 units, you need to start looking at your installation ;)
 

Red Snake

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Are you running an aftermarket fuel pump?


I f you are running a Walbro 255 you can't let your car get below 1/8 tank of gas. If you do, the pump can run dry and cause the problem that you are describing.

The 255 doesnt hang quite as low in the tank, therefore you can't run it all the way to "E".:2tu:

Don't ask me how I know this, lol. :D
 
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SNKBYT

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Wouldn't the heat/burn be at the point of highest resistance? Thus being a bad connection. If the resistance was too high on the output side going to the fuel pump, wouldn't the melt down be at the point of highest resistance. Is this the fuse point/connection since this is the first interrupted point of the wire?
 

Red Snake

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Wouldn't the heat/burn be at the point of highest resistance? Thus being a bad connection. If the resistance was too high on the output side going to the fuel pump, wouldn't the melt down be at the point of highest resistance. Is this the fuse point/connection since this is the first interrupted point of the wire?

When I ran my car too low on fuel (with the Walbro pump in the tank) it did the exact thing he described. Replaced the fuse, filled up with gas and VIOLA....no more issues.:2tu:
 

1TONY1

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The fuse holder on my MSD Boost a pump burned again. This is the second time in four years. Normally, a wire/connection will burn/overheat due to high amperage or caused due to a poor connection. Last time this happened, I rechecked all the wiring to the the splice at the fuel pump. Everything looked good. Has anyone else had this problem. Is the fuse holder/fuse suspect to corrosion or vibration, thus making a poor connection? I replaced the unit after the first one burned, so that rules out the unit. Any ideas or thoughts would be appreceiated.:dunno:


Let me guess, yours is mounted by the brake booster ?

Several reasons why I recommend the KenneBell BAP.
 

BOTTLEFED

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Wouldn't the heat/burn be at the point of highest resistance? Thus being a bad connection. If the resistance was too high on the output side going to the fuel pump, wouldn't the melt down be at the point of highest resistance. Is this the fuse point/connection since this is the first interrupted point of the wire?
the fuse holder could be the problem it the wire reduces down or you just have it connected with a butt splice or bad connection
just because a connection/wire reads good continuity doesn't mean it will flow the amperage you are pumping
 

Jack B

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According to to ohm's law, if your resistance increases and voltage stays the same, then amperage will increase in direct proportion. So if your system has too much resistance, then your amperage is going to be too high and things will start getting hot.
High resistance could be in a loose connection, bad ground, corroded wire/connection, gauge/thickness of wire too small, broken wire strands, etc.
You also have to take into account that voltage is increasing so amperage increases as well.
If you at a look at my write-up, I used 10ga. wire to and from the BAP. When you start increasing voltage, you need heavier gauge wire to flow that extra amperage, especially if you are running it from the front of the car, like most people do (that's why I mounted mine in the back, as close to the fuel pump as possible). You may just be overpowering your wiring and causing it to get hot.
Also, check the wiring at the BAP unit itself. When I got mine (used) it had broken strands and loose wiring right out of the unit. I opened it up and resoldered some new, heavy gauge wire at the transformer.
If you have burned through 2 units, you need to start looking at your installation ;)

Lets look at it a bit differently, at a fixed voltage if i increase the impedance the current will go down. The actual problem is the solder joint in the connector. This has always been an issue with this type of holder. If there is very little resistance in a new holder you have very little heat. Once the joint starts to fail you will have escalating heat and a subsequent failure. A bad wire termination can also add to this issue.

Where you have any continuous current exceeding the 5 ampere range it is highly advisable to go to a 1-1/2 X 13/32 fuse. This will allow you to carry a max of 20 amperes safely. A good combination is a Ferraz FEB-11-11 holder and a TRM fuse of the correct rating. The fuse should not be loaded more than 60%. In other words divide the circuit full load amps by .6 to size the fuse. Use a piece of heat shrink to insulate the terminations.
 

treesnake

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When I ran my car too low on fuel (with the Walbro pump in the tank) it did the exact thing he described. Replaced the fuse, filled up with gas and VIOLA....no more issues.:2tu:

Same exact thing happened to me...:dunno:
 

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