Fuel Pump: Is this Going to Blow Up?

[88blazerboy]

Hi,

Yesterday, I dropped my fuel tank out on my 88 Blazer and swapped out the old fuel pump with a new one that, for the most part, is nearly the same, except that it puts out 60 psi instead of 12 psi (doing an LS swap).

The new fuel pump's inner pigtail wiring wasn't a match with the Blazer's fuel sending unit. Both fuel pumps had two wires, so I attached the black wire from the new pump's pigtail to the sending unit bracket (where the old pump's black wire went); I then spliced the Blazer's other wire with the red wire from the new pigtail.

After submerging the new pump with the wire splice into 12 gallons of gasoline and sealing everything back up, two questions dawned on me:

1) is this going to work?

2) is this going to blow up, and if so, what would be the best life insurance policy I can get for my family?

Seriously - will there be any issues with the wire splice submerged in fuel? I imagine the metal contacts on the ends of the pigtails are no different than a metal splice case butting the two wires together, but then again, I'm really not that smart - just determined. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[88blazerboy]

Well - it's been great that 73 people have viewed this post and none have responded. I see how much people care about me blowing myself up.

I looked a bit further into the subject on other forums and from what I could find, fuel pump wire splicing is a mixed bag: most people think it is a really stupid and dangerous idea, and others (who have done it many times) say it isn't a big deal. I decided to roll the dice and turn the key this weekend and nothing happened--at all. Dead pump! I guess I didn't even wire it right.

[Skylark]

POOF! Your a pile of... Just kidding On a connection like that I would solder and heat shrink.

[someotherguy]

Well - it's been great that 73 people have viewed this post and none have responded. I see how much people care about me blowing myself up.

This kind of response always surprises me. Regardless of how many views, if the people that read it didn't have an educated or correct answer, do you really want them responding?

I looked a bit further into the subject on other forums and from what I could find, fuel pump wire splicing is a mixed bag: most people think it is a really stupid and dangerous idea, and others (who have done it many times) say it isn't a big deal. I decided to roll the dice and turn the key this weekend and nothing happened--at all. Dead pump! I guess I didn't even wire it right.

There are replacement pigtail kits that come with crimp connectors right there in the bag. I'm not fond of them for this application but apparently there are big companies whose lawyers didn't warn them of any sufficient liability to prevent including them.

Like Skylark though I would consider solder and heatshrink, mostly because it's such an important connection and one that is also difficult to access later. I would be a little concerned about finding heat shrink that can withstand immersion in fuel.

Richard