Proper Installation of Vortech MAXFLOW Fuel Pump Booster

[mbmast]

So my Marauder's been sitting in my garage for almost two years now, undrivable because ever since I had a Vortech supercharger kit installed, I've had nothing but Lighting Control Module (LCM) related problems (headlights going on and off, headlights sometimes not going on at all, turn signals going out, horn activated, horn activated and not going off until the car was stopped, the engine shut off, the key removed AND a cable yanked out of the LCM -- the usual LCM related problems).

Only the problem is not the LCM (although certainly the LCM is affected by whatever the problem actually is). I know this because I'm now on my 3rd LCM and they all behave the same way. The shop that did the work could not find the problem and they took the car to Vortech in Oxnard, CA and they couldn't find the problem.

So now I'm in the mood to fix this, finally. Here's what I know for sure. Of the 5 power supply lines going into the LCM, two of them, C2145c-1 and C2145c-9, occasionally see voltages reaching 16 volts.

The only thing I am aware of that could produce 16 volts in a 12 volt car is the fuel pump booster. It may be installed incorrectly.

The Vortech instructions for a 2004 Cobra (the only Ford related instructions provided by Vortech) state "CUT GREEN WIRE W/ YELLOW STRIPE FROM PCM TO FPDM" and splice in the fuel pump booster. And, like the Cobra, it is the green wire with the yellow stripe that connects the PCM to the FPDM in the Marauder (pin 7). My booster is NOT installed like this.

However, VMP Tuning's installation instructions state that their booster is to be spiced into the FPDM's main power line on pin 9 (and the provide an actual picture of the Cobra's connector, which is the same as the Marauder's 14405 connector). This IS how my booster is installed.

These are very conflicting instructions. I'm wondering if the way my booster is installed is causing 16 volts to show up in places it's not supposed to be (like in the LCM).

Thoughts?

[tbone]

Uninstall and/or return all electrical items to stock in the reverse order of how they were installed until the problem goes away. You don't need a fuel pump booster to start it, just a proper tune.

LCM problems don't include issues with the horn going off. That would probably be the factory alarm system. It sounds like someone hacked up your electrical system at some point.

[RubberCtyRauder]

The LCM is under warranty incase you were not aware, they recently extended it due to the nature of the issues it has called to like 250,000 miles and 15 years or something. Not that this is your issue, just bringing it up for knowledge.

I am like the least electrical genius here. plenty here that should have knowledge, but it may take a day or two for answer, in the mean time, this may be some good info. regarding wiring and BAP..

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74289

[Turbov6Bryan]

Great ideas guys!

How about the rest of the electrical system? Do any other wires get 16volts?

So I'm not saying to throw parts at the car, but at least check the power voltage output of the alternator all the time

I've had a few alternators short out intermittently, going full field and produce 16 plus volts and blow out headlight bulbs.. I've had friends call me with voltage boosters stuck full field, unplugging the quick disconnect on the alt shuts down the excite wire on the alt... Then your running on battery voltage

Sounds like your gonna have it fixed pretty quick, just have a lot of patience

Is your BAP wired between the shut off switch and FPDM shown in that thread?

Off topic, what injectors are you running 39 or 42? What size blower?

[RocketCouch]

So my Marauder's been sitting in my garage for almost two years now, undrivable because ever since I had a Vortech supercharger kit installed, I've had nothing but Lighting Control Module (LCM) related problems (headlights going on and off, headlights sometimes not going on at all, turn signals going out, horn activated, horn activated and not going off until the car was stopped, the engine shut off, the key removed AND a cable yanked out of the LCM -- the usual LCM related problems).

Only the problem is not the LCM (although certainly the LCM is affected by whatever the problem actually is). I know this because I'm now on my 3rd LCM and they all behave the same way. The shop that did the work could not find the problem and they took the car to Vortech in Oxnard, CA and they couldn't find the problem.

So now I'm in the mood to fix this, finally. Here's what I know for sure. Of the 5 power supply lines going into the LCM, two of them, C2145c-1 and C2145c-9, occasionally see voltages reaching 16 volts.

The only thing I am aware of that could produce 16 volts in a 12 volt car is the fuel pump booster. It may be installed incorrectly.

The Vortech instructions for a 2004 Cobra (the only Ford related instructions provided by Vortech) state "CUT GREEN WIRE W/ YELLOW STRIPE FROM PCM TO FPDM" and splice in the fuel pump booster. And, like the Cobra, it is the green wire with the yellow stripe that connects the PCM to the FPDM in the Marauder (pin 7). My booster is NOT installed like this.

However, VMP Tuning's installation instructions state that their booster is to be spiced into the FPDM's main power line on pin 9 (and the provide an actual picture of the Cobra's connector, which is the same as the Marauder's 14405 connector). This IS how my booster is installed.

These are very conflicting instructions. I'm wondering if the way my booster is installed is causing 16 volts to show up in places it's not supposed to be (like in the LCM).

Thoughts?

Who installed the fuel pump booster? You're a hop skip and a jump from me and other competent shops out here in So Cal. Eddie at Addiction Motorsports in Canoga Park is well versed and may be able to help. Tell him Chris sent you. I agree with what tbone said that you should put it back to stock and see if the problem goes away. Lets get that girl up and running! Let me know how I can help

[mbmast]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to remove the booster and see if things go back to normal. This is a Reinhart kit (and yes, I had to wait months and months and write nasty letters to get all the parts) that includes the Vortech booster. The kit was installed by Little People Customs in Ventura, CA.

@Chris, thanks for the suggestion re: Addiction Motorsports. I may just do that.

So, back to my original question: Should a fuel pump booster (designed to work with returnless fuel systems that utilize a fuel pump driver module) be installed on the FPDM power supply side (basically in between the inertia fuel shutoff switch and the FPDM or in between the powertrain control module and the FPDM?

I've seen both set of instructions for different boosters. Vortech says it goes in between the PCM and the FPDM while VMP Tuning says it goes in between the inertia shutoff fuel shutoff switch and the FPDM. Mine is wired in between the inertial switch and the FPDM (which contradicts Vortech's installation instructions).

@Turbov6Bryan Not sure about injector size. The blower is a Paxton Novi 1200 SL. I was shooting for just under 600HP. It's got the forged steel crank and Manley forged pistons and connecting rods; 9.5:1. And Manley valve springs. I need to be driving this thing.

[Zack]

The Booster goes between the out wire of the inertia switch and FPDM. Its that easy

[Zack]

You'd be cutting the white wire coming out of the inertia switch

[mbmast]

That is how it is connected. I'm about to remove it to see removing it resolves my LCM issues. I'll also be logging data coming in and out of the LCM to compare it against the last set of data, where things were misbehaving.

[mbmast]

I removed the Vortech fuel pump booster and I have the same LCM issues. If I pursue this LCM issue further on this site, I'll open a new topic up, as this one is concerned with the proper installation of the Vortech fuel pump booster.

@Zack's statement that the Vortech fuel pump booster is to be spliced in between the Inertia switch and the FPDM (the white wire) is the way mine was connected, but it disagrees with the instructions provided by Vortech (but does agree with instructions provided by other fuel pump booster manufacturers). I've sent Vortech an email asking them to confirm their instructions but have not heard back yet.

And just for completeness, I had (prior to disconnecting it) the white wire from the Inertia switch connected to a relay located in the trunk. The relay then provided fused power, directly from the battery using heavy gauge wire, to the Vortech booster, also mounted in the trunk, and then from the booster to the FPDM on pin 9 of the 14405 connector (circuit C3127).

[Zack]

You're saying you still have 16v with the booster removed? Or just LCM Issues?

[mbmast]

@zack, Yes, I still have the same LCM issues with the Vortech booster removed and still occasionally see 16 volts on 2 of the power supply lines: C2145c-1 and C2145c-9. I have not had time to really analyze the data closely after the removal of the Vortech booster. I'll do that this weekend. I'm using a data acquisition device to monitor the LCM voltages in real time. I may have seen the 12 volts on C2145b-16 drop to zero for a fraction of a second. This is the line that runs through the ignition switch. I'll be paying very close attention to that as well this weekend.

[tbone]

The alternator contains an internal voltage regulator. Possibly that is the issue.

[Zack]

@zack, Yes, I still have the same LCM issues with the Vortech booster removed and still occasionally see 16 volts on 2 of the power supply lines: C2145c-1 and C2145c-9. I have not had time to really analyze the data closely after the removal of the Vortech booster. I'll do that this weekend. I'm using a data acquisition device to monitor the LCM voltages in real time. I may have seen the 12 volts on C2145b-16 drop to zero for a fraction of a second. This is the line that runs through the ignition switch. I'll be paying very close attention to that as well this weekend.


The alternator contains an internal voltage regulator. Possibly that is the issue.

Yes, the alternator is the next and only obvious answer.

[mbmast]

The voltage on the battery while the engine is running is around 13.5 volts. I haven't checked the alternator yet, but I will do a proper test of it soon.

I have some interesting data from my LCM data capture exercise:

LineNo: 630648, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 13.583703, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.581165
LineNo: 630649, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 13.599817, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.581177
LineNo: 630650, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 13.584924, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.581196
LineNo: 630651, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 13.566369, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.581202
LineNo: 630652, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 11.548516, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.581192
LineNo: 630653, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 11.272144, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.579156
LineNo: 630653, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-16, voltage: 10.396887, 5 sample rolling average: 0.5845103
LineNo: 630654, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 11.518486, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.576828
LineNo: 630655, Time: 161, Channel: C2145b-6, voltage: 11.582208, 1000 sample rolling average: 13.574748

C2145b-16 is the headlight circuit. You can see on line 630,653 that the headlight circuit is being turned on. The voltage is 10.39 volts and the average of the previous 5 samples was 0.58 (the off-a-little-bit voltages may be a calibration issue with the data acquisition device). Note that the voltage on C2145b-6 drops by about 2 volts. This is the always-hot circuit in the LCM (there are two others, C2145b-1 and C2145b-12). Only C2145b-6 drops 2 volts when the headlights come on and C2145b-6 only drops just before the headlights come on. The correlation is 100%.

With the engine off, C2145b-6 is 12.38 volts and very steady. While cranking over, the voltage drops as low as 8 volts, but only for about a millisecond. While the engine is running, but before the headlights flash, the voltage is around 13.5. Occasionally it suddenly drops about 2 or 2.5 volts and then the headlights come on. While the headlights are on (about a second) the voltage on C2145b-6 is around 13 volts. After the headlights go off, the voltage immediately climbs back up to 13.5.

What I don't know is which is causing which. If the current draw on the C2145b-6 circuit were large because of the headlights, I would expect to see a voltage drop, but not of 2 or 2.5 volts. While the headlights are on, the voltage drop is only .5 volts. So why does it drop 2 to 2.5 volts just when the headlights are coming on? Are the headlights causing the voltage drop on C2145b-6 or is the voltage drop on C2145b-6 causing the headlights to come on? Also, the other two always-hot LCM lines (C2145b-1 and C2145b-12) don't do anything noteworthy.

C2145b-6 is wired into the Central Junction Box (under the dash, driver's side, near the kick panel), fuse F2.27, 25amps. I'll inspect that fuse for i-don't-know-what, but that is the fuse.

More later...

[mbmast]

@Zack I just heard back from Vortech. They claim that the booster must go in between the PCM and the FPDM and not in between the Intertia switch and the FPDM.

My question to Vortech:


Could you please confirm that the wiring instructions for the MAXFLOW Fuel Pump Booster given in your Wiring Instructions document available here http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/images/64.pdf are correct.

Both Wiring Schematic Example #1 and #2 state that the non-programmable Vortech fuel pump booster is to be spliced in between the Powertrain Control Module and the Fuel Pump Driver Module: “cut green wire w/ yellow strip from PCM to FPDM.”

Is this correct? Instructions for other fuel pump boosters state that the booster should be spiced into the power supply line coming from the Inertia Fuel Cuttoff Switch to the white (power input) line going into the FPDM.

Vortech's response:


Our fuel pump booster is not used in the way others are used. It must be connected as stated in the manual.

Do you have instructions from Vortech that state otherwise? If so, what model Vortech booster do you have?

[Zack]

They are just being super cautious.
As long as the Inertia switch cuts power in the event of a crash, it's fine.
See where I'm going with this?