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Facet Failure Discussion

KALEWIS

KALEWIS

Well Known Member
180 on the Hobbs and the electric fuel pump has stopped. Flipped the master switch, no sound of the fuel pump. FUEL PSI 0.0 Fuse is OK. The pump is not on a switch. Runs all the time.

So. What causes these things to tucker out in less than 200 hours?

Is it the sitting time between flights?

Water? I have never found water in the fuel. (Running 93 mogas mostly)

Luckily a hangar neighbor has the same part # new in the box he gave us. More of an annoyance than a complaint. But seems to be a short lifespan.
 
Sorry Kyle. No bearings, no electrical contacts, no diaphragm...hard to wear one out. Sounds like you just got a lemon.
 
Are your Avionics fans running? They are on the same circuit. If not, you may save yourself the hassle of removing the tank to get to the pump. Probably a Hail Mary since the fuse is OK, but it's easy to check.
 
Mine died at 40 hours. I carry a spare in my parts box. In a pinch, you can find one at NAPA auto parts. Tell them it's for a 2000 Nissan pickup truck.
 
Had every intention of removing the boost pump today. Removed the access panel, flipped the master and tapped the pump housing with my "metric" screwdriver and it started pumping again. Made noise and showed 2.2 PSI on the skyview. Fixed for now. And I have a spare one I will carry in the plane.
 
Kyle,

Depending on the annoyance factor of gaining access you may want to replace it anyway. Nothing sucks more than putting everything back together only to have it stop again. Murphy is truly an SOB, ;)

Rich
 
I had a fuel problem at ~35 hours. Was at 10,500' on the way to KPGA, Page AZ when the fuel pressure started to fluctuate. First thought was that there was a wiring or terminal problem until the engine started to also fluctuate between 2000 rpm and 5.000 rpm. Cancelled the flight plan and diverted to the nearest air field. Landed and could find nothing wrong, both pumps worked fine. Turn off the Fawcett pump and there was a small drop in pressure, back on and it went back up. The place was deserted so I took off again for Page, about 25 minutes away. Fuel problem came back after about 10 minutes. Flew on by reducing the throttle setting and climbing as high as I could go. Eventually got to Page and two A&P's and me worked on my plane for almost 4 hours before finding the problem. It was the left over part of a drilled out rivet at the Fawcett pump inlet. It would bounce around and occasionally jam the plunger. When it did that it also prevented the mechanical pump from drawing fuel, t completely stopped the fuel flow. How did it get in there as there is a screen at the tank outlet? When doing the landing gear upgrade I had removed the fuel tank and did not cover up the fuel inlet tube to the Fawcett pump. That swagged end on the tube that sticks up through the floor skin looks just like a SMALL FUNNEL!
After washing out the cockpit )-: I flew on and have had no further problems. Remove your pump and check it out, please.
Henry
 
Henry,

I was away from my home airport when this occurred. I did not experience any rough engine or drop in fuel pressure. The engine driven pump held constant at 5-5.5 PSI so fuel flow was not a problem.

Flew again today for an hour with no anomilies and the boost pump was still running after engine shutdown. Perhaps a slug of water stopped it temporarily even though I never saw it when sumping the gascolator.
 
KALEWIS said:
Had every intention of removing the boost pump today. Removed the access panel, flipped the master and tapped the pump housing with my "metric" screwdriver and it started pumping again. Made noise and showed 2.2 PSI on the skyview. Fixed for now. And I have a spare one I will carry in the plane.
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Governor (Maine) David Valcik had the exact same scenario. The pump did eventually die.
 
KALEWIS said:
Henry,

I was away from my home airport when this occurred. I did not experience any rough engine or drop in fuel pressure. The engine driven pump held constant at 5-5.5 PSI so fuel flow was not a problem.

Flew again today for an hour with no anomilies and the boost pump was still running after engine shutdown. Perhaps a slug of water stopped it temporarily even though I never saw it when sumping the gascolator.
Click to expand...

I had a '71 MGB with Lucas vibrator pump like this. It almost always worked, but when it didn't, I had a small hammer by the seat and could reach out ( without getting up) and smack it under the rocker panel when it did not start. Can you reach yours from the seat?:D
 
Unsure if your failure mode was the same as mine in a 7 installation. In the first 200 hrs I had 3 failures with these pumps, got to the point I'd have at least one on the shelf for my potential & friends failures. I figured it was a heat problem & increased the air ventilation around it, failure rate dropped and now I install a small fan on all my current projects. That first plane has 600+hrs on its last pump.
 
KALEWIS said:
Had every intention of removing the boost pump today. Removed the access panel, flipped the master and tapped the pump housing with my "metric" screwdriver and it started pumping again. Made noise and showed 2.2 PSI on the skyview. Fixed for now. And I have a spare one I will carry in the plane.
Click to expand...

... These little pumps are very close tolerance inside and any debris, regardless of how minute, will lock them up. Usually a small tap will make it take off again. So, always try this first prior to replacing it as they are very robust electronically and have only a very limited quantity of mechanical parts (not much to go wrong). Thanks, Allan ...:)
 
fuel pump filter

These pumps require a filter before the pump so says the directions that came with my pump. I believe it said to use at least a 65 micron or smaller, I have been using a 30 micron filter and so far no problems. I do service the filter at oil changes.
 
Fuel pump gremlin today

All ready to fly this morning and went to sump the fuel, but the fuel pump was "quiet". Fuse was working properly. Opened up the baggage floor panel and could not see any obvious problems. Using the back of the screw driver, 4 or 5 taps and all of a sudden it came back to life. Operated fine for a test flight - even pulled the fuse & replaced it several times on the ground and in the air - pump restarted each time. Added two hours of flying and everything seems A-OK now. Had about 9 hours of operation since doing the tank mods. Have seen some tiny bits of debris in the gascolator almost each time I've sumped. (worked hard to clean out the tank but it seems impossible to get every piece of debris.)

I'm assuming it was just dirt (or ice in the fuel?) For those of you who have had to replace the pump, did you experience this kind of stoppage prior to the complete failure?
 
That's exactly how ours acted. 6+ hours since it "restarted" and has been fine since. Have a replacement on the shelf just in case.
 
Boost pump failed to start again

Similar to experience during winter, pump not functional when master turned on. Removed baggage cover and tapped it a few times with screw driver, ...came back to life. Found some particles/debris in gascolator so speculating (again) that might be related. Certainly not ice! Several subsequent starts were uneventful.

Thinking of buying a backup pump - would hate to get stranded somewhere if it gives out entirely. Been lucky so far that the failures have been at home base. Everything else has been so reliable over first 130 hours ... this has been a annoyance, hopefully it doesn't become more than that.
 
Joe my Facet pump that came with the kit from Vans, is number 41827. No idea what that means.
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Me either. I could not find 41827 on Facet's website. I did find THIS PICTURE with 41827 on the label in the lower right hand corner. But that could be a label number and not the part number of the pump. RV-12 plans page 28-02 shows the pump part number 40105.
 
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