G2160 lift pump overheating and dying over and over

[Scotti35]

Hi all,

I have a 2010 G2160 mower with 3-cyl diesel. 816 hours. Been having an ongoing problem with the electric lift pump dying.

The setup is:
Tank -> filter -> lift pump -> filter -> injection pump

Last year, it lost power... replaced fuel filters, and boom. Good to go. This year, the same thing happened. Replaced filters, but this time the lift pump was kaput. This caused the old 'stutter and sputter and then die' problem. Okay, well, that explains last year's issues: the pump was slowly dying.

I have now replaced the lift pump TWICE this year, and the latest one just died on me again today (no more ticking noise when ignition is on, and loss of power on slopes with full tank). I also noticed that the lift pump itself was hot to the touch - and I mean WAY too hot!

I have not found any leaky fuel lines, the multiple fuel filters are clean, I blew out the return line with compressed air last time around, and the diesel itself seems crystal clear. I haven't checked for schmutz in the tank because that's a PITA. But with a new lift pump, the thing runs great for about 10 hours - and then, like clockwork, pump is kaput again.

I'm losing my mind here... I'm starting to wonder if it's an electrical problem, but voltage at the pump is right about 12V when it runs.

Does anybody have any idea what I'm missing here?? Thanks!

 

[lmichael]

Are you buying OEM pumps? I read about non OEM ones on a different forum being quite suspect. And yeah one thing about diesel is the fuel can get some type of algae buildup in the tank and cause flow issues. Another thought is perhaps you are having alternator issues beginning with perhaps a bad diode allowing some AC current to leak through. That will kill a DC device quickly

 

[Scotti35]

Hmm, thanks. I've been using aftermarket pumps.

The other thing is that all of our equipment has been having lift pump failures, fuel leaks, etc. the whole summer long. Excavator, farm tractor, telehandler, etc. All diesel, one fuel problem after another... Not just lift pump failures though. In the telehandler, it was clearly corrosion in the metal fuel tank, so that one was obvious. But then its mechanical lift pump died recently, but again the fuel looked good, tanks + filters were clean, and so on.

That would all point to a fuel problem, but the fuel itself is like 6 months old, and super-clean. I've replaced fuel filters that were squeaky clean just for good measure. I added some biocide to the fuel in case it was an algae problem, but that didn't seem to help.

Gonna get new fuel in a few days, so we'll see if that helps. I think I might just bite the bullet and get the little guy professionally serviced after explaining my woes. I've got a new MTM lift pump for the G2160, but I feel like I'm just running in circles instead of actually fixing the problem.

Alternator: Now that would be interesting! Hmm...

Thanks for the help!

 

[Scotti35]

Update: I've got AC coming out of the (original 2010) alternator. Only 0.15Vac, but more than 0. Also, the battery terminals have been corroding for 18 months now, and I couldn't figure out why. *Smacks forehead*
Battery is only 1 year old, but has some trouble holding a charge for long.

So that prolly means that bad alternator -> dead lift pump + leaky battery.

I've got parts ordered, so we'll see how it goes after that. Thanks again, @lmichael!

 

[Scotti35]

Installed alternator, new battery, and new lift pump. All's well so far after 4 hours of mowing. Lift pump is no longer hot afterwards, and she runs great!