Now, now, Mike, we do TOO have a clue, it’s just the opposite kind. You’re “fun” season is over and ours is just beginning. An unseasonal 27 this morning, but by Friday it’ll be back up into the 70’s. I LOVE winter!
Yeah, I’m still here, decided to leave in the morning.instead.
You got that right Chris, I want gasoline at my fingertips when there’s two Frieghtliners side by side in the rear view mirror gaining ground, I want it for cold starts two. I have started the Caddy many times on smoke only but I’m kind of lazy now and want to do it the easy way, especially on a road trip! .
I checked for juice (12v) coming back to fuse block from my Fuel Pump switch and it’s good Mike. I guess it could be frozen but there is no sound and doesn’t pull dome light down at all, I think it’s fried.
I decided to say heck with it and have some fun, I cut and split some patties this afternoon. latter, herb
If you guys wonder what that bic wheel is in about all my pics it’s for the counterweight for the lay down bandsaw, There’s a 5gal. bucket full of concrete with lift cable around wheel hooked to saw so it counterbalances saw, mainly feeding it down thru log at the right speed, works good.
Date on pics n/a
Sorry for your mishap Herb. We do get attached to these wood cruisers, and miss them when they’re “out sick”. I logged 185 miles today to Dr. and back. Ran very nice till the last as the hay filter is plugging. I don’t have much luck washing mine, I guess it’s too fine of hay. Hope for a speedy recovery.
Thanks Carl, yeah I’ve been looking forward to this trip. I had 400lb of wood ready to bag, been drying in “hotbox” for about 3 weeks, it tested 9% when my friend (bagman) came by to help bag and load Wed morning. For the trip back my brother who I’m going down there to help has fire wood that I was going to chopsaw. O well, that day will come.
I’m really leaving now! herb
Herb, I have an induction ammeter here to check current draw on the 12 volt lines. You probably have a compass around so hold it over the fuel pump switch wire and see if it deflects when you turn on the switch. Leave the switch on and then turn on the ignition second. My guess is you have an old generator / alternator ammeter in one of your tool boxes. The dome light might be an indicator or maybe not. I do the same thing. Remember when you turn the ignition on, the pump just turns on for just a couple of seconds to build pressure and then goes off. It doesn’t actually keep running until the engine is cranked and started. I know I’m preaching to the choir. I have had a few cars that needed a smack to the gas tank to get the fuel pump going again. They are sealed brush motors if I recall right.
Hope you have had a nice trip back to Kansas, the homeland. I have no ruby slippers to click here. I grew up 20 miles east of NYC and I have NO desire to ever go back. Home is planet earth at the moment and no matter where I go I’m home … Also, I like to use the expression “that no matter where you go, there you are” …
Give a holler when you get back,
Mike
Thanks Mike, yeah I live in Iowa but my family and heart is in Kansas, nice to be back home though.
Wouldn’t the fact that when I loosed the fuel line w/switch on and had no fuel pressure identify the pump as the culprit no matter what?
I wired it the way I read you doing, with spads out of fuse socket to switch. It does have 12v back to fuse box, does it go to relay from there, maybe it could be the relay?
Is the pump in the tank, does it have access from floor or do I have to drop tank to change pump?
With all the knowledge out there I know someone has been though this problem, Please share!!! thanks, herb.
Hey Herb, I wanted to ask you a question before you left but now that you are back I can ask it about your band saw. It appears from the pictures that you are using a metal cutting blade in there, is that correct? How long does it take to saw through a round? Is there enough set in the teeth to keep from overheating the blade? Approximately what blade speed are you using? Thanks.
Don
Hi Herb, Glad you made it back safe and sound. The problem could definitely also be a relay. There may be a spud to check the fuel pump itself. My 93 chevy truck had a spud on the firewall on the drivers side. It is a direct line from there back to the fuel pump and you can open the spud and apply 12 volts directly to the lead to see if the pump will run. It bypasses all the computer and relay stuff. There is the possibility of a bad ground wire where the harness comes out of the tank. As you had to replace all those rusted brake lines this is a high probability … Does the gas gauge read OK ??? It may use the same ground. Dropping a tank is a pain in the ars … You know how to get a hold of me. I’m pretty much office bound right now … Mike
Thanks Mike, I’ll check that out.
Hi Don, The saw is an old one from my machine shop, I put a 3 hp motor on it (instead of half) and speed it up about 3 times. I’m using a 115" X 5/8" X .032" X 6 “hook” teeth per inch. It’s goes though a 20" log in about 2 mins, It would go faster if I took some weight off of counterbalance but it seems to like that speed.
latter, herb
I was trying to figure out why the Caddy wouldn’t start on gas and I did something I hadn’t done since I changed oil about 1500 miles ago, I checked the oil!! To my surprise oil didn’t show on the dipstick, I had to add 3 qts. to get it up to the full mark. It hadn’t used oil before, after I scratched my head for a while I checked the PCV hose and it had oil in it. I think because of a lot more vacuum then it is designed for at that point, right before throttle, vacuum over came the PCV valve and sucked air and oil out of engine!!!
Be sure to check your oil more often then normal when running woodgas! I’m really glad I found that problem, not only because it was sucking oil out of my engine but because of the vacuum leak. it’s a 3/4" hose. I’m anxious to find out if it will perform better now that it can’t pull air though engine, another lesson learned!!! latter, herb
Just a fast update on Caddy, it was 2 degrees here this morning and 2" of snow on the ground. The Caddy is sitting outside in a snow bank, picked up a new fuel pump relay Saturday and stuck it in, didn’t make it work. MikeL says I have to bite the bullet, get under it and start checking wires. I guess deep down inside I know that too but still hoping for an easy fix. Going to get it in the shop, get a fire going and get serious about finding the problem tomorrow.
Congratulations Wayne, your Ram sounds pretty tuff!!!
latter, herb
Say Herb, Something just hit me. Some of those vehicles had a 3 prong plug on the oil sending unit to turn the fuel pump off and kill the engine if the engine runs out of oil or if it is in a wreck. Maybe that is where the oil is leaking out as well ??? My 91 olds did that. Did the oil light come on while you were driving ?? Just a thought and now another thought. Check to see if there is a cutout switch as well. This might be activated if the car is hit hard or rolls. It would be right in the line going to the pump and would probably have a reset button on it. The ones I have seen are usually in the side of the trunk on the driver’s side near the rear end. If there is one maybe you hit it with a sack of wood … Mike L
Well I pulled the Caddy in, jacked it up, got under it, separated out wires going to top of tank to test. Went to get test light and when I turned ignition switch on the PUMP CAME ON!!! I guess I lucked out. I don’t know what I did but I’m glad the pump is working!!! I even started the engine and it ran fine.
I have a few other things I want to do to it and then I’ll be ready to " lite and load"!!! latter, herb
Hi Herb, Maybe my ice in the pump theory was the case as it quit after that first cold snap. I have had a couple of cars that required that I bang on the tank a few times to get the pump to spin. Of course it could still be corroded connections at the tank or a poor ground. I hope it lasts for you. Did you disconnect and re-connect the battery to reset the computer ?? BTW, how much snow did you get ?? They told us to expect under an inch but we got between 3 and 4 … Mike
The good news is it’s fixed. The bad news is you don’t know why? Intermittents are a bear. Hope it’s fixed 
Yeah me too Carl, I kept shaking the wires around and the pump still worked so I let it down and drove it to Casey’s Store, it ran just fine!
Thanks for the help Mike. I don’t remember if I tired to start it after I put oil in it, it was out in the snow when I did that, maybe it does have that “shut off” switch for fuel pump on oil sender but oil light didn’t come on last time I drove it! I’m just glad I didn’t have to drop that tank!!! latter, herb
Herb
On my 02 Silverado pump quit buddy banged on the tank and it took off . 2 weeks later I had to replace the pump banging didn’t work anymore. Nice thing about chev pickups it is fairly easy to pull the box to get to the top of the tank.Far easier than dropping the tank
Yeah Tom, I may be haunted by the fuel pump problem again. O well I can always start and drive it on wood only if I have to. I’m planning on driving it to my oldest Daughters house tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s only about 40 miles southwest of here.
My biggest problem now is my right rear air shock. The Caddy has that “self leveling” system. I unhooked the shocks from the rest of the system (because of leak) and put air stems on them so I could just air them up with compressor. Well that worked good for a while and now the right rear shock slow leaks. Does anyone know if there is some kind of stopleak for air shocks? They have stop leak for everything else! latter, herb
Well I got everything fixed and I discovered that both of my sea choice fans that I use for starting quit! Had to order two new ones and all I can do is wait for them. I want to go for a ride!!
I had them inside of filter 1/2 inch from top pushing gas down and out via 2"pvc. I’ll bet they’re not made to run inside of a gasifier, has anyone else used them inside hay filter? latter, herb
Hi Herb,
They are probably going to corrode faster inside the hay filter. Wayne has them off to the side, and the gas flow is drawing away from them (any leaks with the tennis ball valve will purge the blowers of woodgas).
You can try starting without blowers, Wayne demonstrates in this video: http://youtu.be/MsOHdtFwKhQ