AlSpeciale

does the ballast need to be connected for the engine to run?
I'm changing the ballast because my fuel pump is making a humming noise. I believe it is the ballast.

lawsoncl

Yes. the resistor is in series with the fuel pump. It's there to reduce the voltage and noise from the pump when running. When cranking, the resistor is bypassed to give the pump full voltage. As mentioned it can be eliminated if you connect the remaining wires together.

It's normal to hear some noise from the fuel pump.

AlSpeciale

yes that's what they meant.
I checked my ballast and theres cracking on back side, and corrosion on metal prongs and the spade connectors. Thinking this might be the culprit

AlSpeciale

I believe the noise I'm hearing is too loud. I have to blast the stereo to not hear it. It's annoying.

dave1123

The resistor is there to reduce the voltage that the pump runs at when it's got a constant fuel flow to make it last longer, not just make it quieter. You can bypass it until you get a new one, but I wouldn't run it that way forever. Not unless you enjoy changing pumps!

Dave51

Clean up the connectors and check the resistance. Should be about 1.5Ω.

Dave51

Although if you don't have a multimeter I guess it would be cheaper to just switch it out.

Dave51

IMO, that ain't a ballast resistor.

AlSpeciale

its the pump that's making noise. But if the ballast isn't working properly it can cause the pump to run louder

Steve Hayes

So replace them both!

AlSpeciale

pump us supposed to make noise just not so loud. I'll try the ballast first because it's cheaper than the pump.

Dave51

Well "loud" may be subjective, but needing the stereo to drown out the noise might be stretching it.

Again, check the resistance of the ballast.

lawsoncl

For sure clean up the connection. I wouldn't replace it unless it's broken or cracked. When they fail they usually go open circuit and the pump doesn't run at all. You can check it check with a meter that you're seeing voltage drop across it - from memory, it drops down to 7 or 8 volts to the pump?

aa7kn

best way to avoid the connector corrosion at the balast resister is to put heat shrink tubing over the wires, then solder the wires to the tabs on the balast resister,. then slide the heat shrink tubing over the tabs and shrink the tubing with a lighter, it makes a nice tight seal that lasts longer then you'll own the car.

aa7kn

I agree it is your balast resistor. the resistor is bypassed during start up so the pump gets full 12 volts. after the engine starts, the balast resister is now in the curcuit and drops the voltage down to something less than 12 Volts so as to make the pump last longer and not be so loud running full forse. when the balast resister goes bad it can either open up, causing your enging to stop running, or the resistance will decrease causing the pump to have full 12 volts. so I would suggest changing the ballast resister, they are cheap and available on E-Bay or a auto parts store. I'm sure that will solve your problem.