ok, i just became the proud owner of a 71 dodge dart… fuel pump was not working, and am converting to an electric (airtex e8016s) and am told i need a relay. airtex doesn’t seem to have one, is there another i can use? fairly new at this sort of thing, but have fixed a 72 honda motorbike, so not afraid of engines or whatnot. any help appreciated!
You need a 5 pole relay…the poles are numbered 84 - 85- 86 - 87- 87A… Need a diagram? GO online…me typing the whole procedure here will get exhausting.
You can go to ANY junkyard and find these relays…SUPER DUPER COMMON. Saabs have a bunch of them…BMW’s many cars.
Basically you run power and ground to the relays solenoid (or rather you starve the solenoid of one of the connections…I like to switch using ground)…then you pipe in whatever type of connections you need to make and break to the other side of the solenoid…at rest the solenoid connects 86 and 87a I believe…when energized it will connect poles 86 to 87… I will grab one of mine and look on the side of it…theres a handy dandy breakdown of the poles and the solenoid on the side of most relays… Let me know if you need more help and I will draw you a diagram in Paint and post it…
SCREW IT…heres what you need to read…
http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/hweb2.pdf
I’ve become a bit of a whiz with relays ever since I learned how to do custom stereos alarms remote starts…Did that for a living too at one point jeez almost 18 years ago now…lol
Your setup will only need 4 poles…you will be energizing and de-energizing the solenoid and that solenoid will make and break the electrical connection for you without putting a ton of load on a little switch…that is their primary function…they work like a charm and are very reliable…let me know if you need more help…
Why u going to an electric pump anyway…sometimes they can be annoying and if you dont have over 600HP you really dont need one…Jusy pop that trusty Dusty mechanical pump back on and you will be motorin in no time…much easier IMHO
Replacing the mechanical pump would seem to be the most economical and simplest option. But the rundown on relays was excellent if you are going that route.
thank you, honda blackbird! love the name, btw…
the decision to go electric was made after many tries to find a new one with barely any luck, even through the classic car/ mopar /dart specific forums. i’m not as concerned about original, just running. so far those ‘trusty dusty’ mechanical ones are the ones i’ve had issues with. (not my first run a an older car)
My username? I stole the name from my motorcycle The MIGHTY CBR1100XX. Are you saying that you cannot locate a new mechanical Fuel Pump? You gotta be kidding…They are available I PROMISE you. I will send you links… I am certain you will be able to buy a new one that will last you many many years… Is that what you are saying? Is this a Slant 6 or the 340? I can find both…I have access to one of the largest part warehouses in the area…they will have it or can get it in one day for sure… I will let you know. Others on here will find them too and may beat me to it…Im running out the door at the moment… BUT…HEY GUYS…SHOW HER A NEW MECH FUEL PUMP EH?
Watch me be wrong and for some reason this part is no longer available…I cant see that happnin tho…
Heres one on ebay… EZ Peasy Japanesey…might be made in USA tho…but you get the idea
Rockauto.com lists 3 or 4 (I6 or V8) mechanical fuel pumps for '71 Darts, $20-$30.
Summit Racing carries fuel pumps for the V8 and Slant 6 engine. Scroll down and select the correct engine for your Dart
Ed B.
Wiring up a relay is easy on an application like this but there is one thing you should keep in mind.
Vehicles with electric fuel pumps are required by Federal law to be set up so the fuel pump will not continue to run after the engine stops due to an accident. On a deal like this the law would not apply to you but it is a safety issue.
The reason for the law is to prevent a pump from continuing to dump gasoline from a ruptured fuel line onto an engine fire.
The relay can be set up to operate whenever the key is in the RUN position or with a little ingenuity it can also be made to operate only when the engine is running.
This may involve triggering the relay off of the starter solenoid circuit, tie it in with the voltage regulator, etc.
Another option might be to pirate an inertia switch from a Ford and wire that in. It all depends on the route you choose to go.
Just something to be aware of anyway.
Hmmm how can we kill the relay if the engine is stopped? An inertia switch sure would do it but I cant envision one… AH…how bout this…when the engine oil light comes on…it will kill the pump…the oil light will come on when the engine stalls…but then again if she had low oil pressure it would stop the car…lol.
Hmmm must be a way …I need to think of this a bit.
Federal law applies ONLY to newly manufactured vehicles…And a relay is not needed. Just a fused connection to the “on” terminal of your ignition switch…Electric pumps work better when mounted as close to the gas tank as possible. Older carbureted Subaru’s had a nice electric pump, quiet and reliable, that was VERY adaptable…What engine is in your Dart? The 273-318 pumps are readily available… Autozone has both the 6 and V8 OEM pumps, $28 and $18 …
hey! awesome- i should be either hondascrambler, or hondaascot… ha! working my way to an 1100!
it’s the slant 6, 225ci, which becomes a 3.7 liter. it’s not that i couldn’t find one, it was more the time frame i wanted/needed one… again, really, more personal reasons. but! i will GLADLY accept links… but 1 day? really? i went through several sites, and they said what turned out to be far longer… and the ebay link(thank you) is for a different style, the one in the dart currently has a carter pump. if i do the mech i’d like the same one… http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/details/QQDodgeQQDartQQCarterQQFuel_PumpQQ1971QQC44M4844.html?apwcid=P1135867996W43b3f85c7ab9e&apwid8z4715I
when i’d called a few days ago, the fellow said it wasn’t in stock there, called a few other places, same deal, no matter what the site had posted.
what i couldn’t locate in town was a working fuel pump from a junkyard- crazy, yes. but… louisville doesn’t have that many that aren’t picked over regularly- just bad timing, i think. dunno. i’ll check the link that have been posted, with big-time gratitute!
225, 3.7 liter… a pal just wrecked their old car, a toyota camry wagon, 92… whaddya think? does it have something useful? not up on cars after my 83 pontiac 6000…
thank you!!
thank you, too! will check!
The relay, but not the pump. The fuel injection pump on that '92 will blow the carb apart. It is designed to pump up to 100 psi, where the '72 mechanical will get to 6-7 psi max. I suggest just going with a mechanical replacement. They are cheap and reliable.
ok, for whatever reason, in my online searching for fuel pumps, several sites did not come up, including the two recommended here. i already have the electric, so going with that, at least for now. thanks for all the help, off i go to hook everything up!
I REALLY wish you wouldnt go with the electric pump. Is there a major reason for not being able to wait a day or 2?
I dont want the electric pump on there… Please go Mechanical. Where are you located…I can find you the part via my warehouse…because they are strategically placed all over the country…I will be able to get you one thru them on my account and all you need to do is use your card or cash to pay for it… AND it will be cheaper than anywhere because it will be under my mechanic shop account…saving 25% or more in every case…Where u at?
The Federal law on electric fuel pump operation has been around for many decades as far as I know. It was first mentioned to me at some VW and Subaru service schools way back when.
1980 give and take?)
The elec. fuel pumps on carbed Subarus were controlled by the voltage regulator. The theory was that when the engine stopped the alt. would quit charging. This would interrupt the circuit for the fuel pump.
The downside was that an alt. or regulator failure, broken alt. belt, or even a very loose belt could cause the fuel pump to become inoperative.
If the Dart were mine I’d just put a mechanical pump on it and be done with it.
The only reason I can think of for switching to an electric fuel pump on your Dart is that you have a worn lobe on the camshaft and a mechanical pump won’t work. This used to be the reason in early time periods for going with an electric fuel pump on carbureted engines. If this isn’t the case, I think ou would be better off to stick with a mechanical pump.
One rason that mechanical fuel pumps sometimes caused the lobe on the camshaft to wear was that some fuel pumps had a vacuum booster side to operate the vacuum wipers. This exerted more pressure on the camshaft to operate the pump. I’m quite certain that your Dart has electric wipers, and I would guess that the cam lobe is just fine.