This ties in with another question on the BB. After removing the fuel pump from my '87 GL, I tried wiring it direct to the battery. It pumps one stroke, then stops. But if I break the circuit, it pumps one more stroke again and stops. There must be something in the wiring that cycles the pump, some sort of a make and break thing. What is the "thing" I'm looking for, and could it effect the fuel delivery of my pump? Thanks.

The pump should run continuously if it is tied directly to the battery. The pump is bad. The may be some debris in it.

On my offroad and race built rigs, I run the fuel pump directly from the power junction box, then to a toggle switch that connects it to ground all the time. (i.e. basically run straight to the battery) So if you wire it directly to the battery, it will work, if it is good. I would definatly say that either you have the polarity crossed, or you have a bad pump.

Adam, did you wire up a stock pump this way? Also, I took another fuel pump from my parts car and it does the same thing, pump one stroke and stop. I'm not doubting your word, I'm just trying to avoid buying a new one. It seems to me that the pump should run constantly if wired directly to a battery, too. Thanks for your help.

If it hasn't been going for a while, it may be a little siezed. Try connecting it to the battery and tapping on the pump end with a screwdriver handle or something. I had to do this for quite a while with one of mine.

 

If the outlet or inlet is blocked, it will also cause what you describe.

I AM SO STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

It was the filter under the hood that was plugged this whole time! I would swear that I blew through the filter in the right direction to check it the first time. Apparently not! Anyhow, the good news is it runs fine now. Lesson learned: Check the simple things first. THOROUGHLY! Thanks for all of your advice.

Glad you got it fixed. Thanks for the update.