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MG MGB Technical - solid state fuel pump


Hi guys,
Have '72 mgb roadster and want to get a spare fuel pump for my big trip to France next year. Am planning a long tour.
What is the verdict on the electronic /solid state pumps. Have heared various reports. Mgoc have some on special offer at the moment, are they anygood ?
Thanks
Ken
k proud

I have one fitted to my 1300 and it's worked without issue for a number of years, even after a lay-up which is when the old points system is (most) likely to give problems.
I've also fitted the electronic upgrade to a pump for the V8 but that's still sitting in the boot waiting to be used in earnest (but that's a whole other story ;-)).
I say go electronic every time (but I would as an electronics engineer by education...)

Hope you enjoy the trip and don't need to use the spare :-)
Best of...
MGmike
M McAndrew

Having spent many years working on electronics I'd say ... get a proper SU, and the points version. One of my cars came to me with a cheaper solid-state type and that kept going intermittent, and I was stranded until it started to work again, whereas with the points type you can usually get them going again.

One thing you do have to bear in mind keeping a points-type as a spare is that the points will oxydise over time, and may need a light clean with fine wet & dry pulled through before first fit.
Paul Hunt

Fitted a Moprod it failed on the A55 expressway after less than 2000miles bought a Points SU 8years ago still going strong.
The original SU lasted over 30 years,
Take Paul Hunts advice.
Bill
W M Griffiths

Another vote for points type SU. It won't take a moment to polish the points before fitting. The more recent models have a rubber O ring in place of one of the fibre washers. The banjo fitting is also a strange size. A whitworth open ended, a socket won't fit.
Michael Beswick

Have both points and electronic SU pumps. The latter has been on my V8 roadster for 10 years without a hiccup. Points version has been on my other V8 for 2 years, also with no probs. I did have a German "Blue" pointless which became very noisy and as a consequence never really trusted it and replaced it . Have also had Facets without a problem.
Allan Reeling

Ken..replaced my SU fuel pump in my 79 MGB with the SU electronic solid state version about 12 years ago and has worked perfectly. So, for my 2 penny worth, go with that unit. Enjoy your trip..

Cheers

Gary
79 MGB
gary hansen

From the other side of the pond. Since I have a retirement business of restoring SU fuel pumps and converting them to solid state (I am using an optical trigger whereas Burlen Fuel Systems uses a Hall effect trigger). When Burlen Fuel first introduced their all electronic pumps, it was pretty much a crap shoot if the pump would work right out of the box and I would up with a lot of them sent to me to get them working. I found that everyone of the pumps that failed out of the box had the Hall shield maladjusted, or perhaps I should say the Hall shield was adjusted right on the ragged edge of the operating range of its adjustment. I found that if one followed (what I considered) the standard way of adjusting something like the Hall shield, i.e. run the shield through the operating range until the pump quit running, then reversing the direction of adjustment, and run it back through the running range until the pump again stopped, then split the two extremes and set the Hall shield as close to the middle of the operating range and tighten it down. I have never had a pump returned after adjusting them properly.

I also have the all electronic pumps in both our MGTD and MGB for the past ten years (plus or minus) and have never had so much as a hiccup in all that time, regardless of how long either car has sit without running.

Points style pumps are equally reliable when properly adjusted and as long as the arc suppression circuit is not compromised and the car is used on a regular basis. If the car is put into hibernation each winter, the points need to be cleaned to remove any oxidation that has built up over the hibernation period. Again, prior to the all electronic pumps were brought out by Burlen Fuel system, I used the points style pumps and never had any problem after finding out what needed to be done to keep them running - not a problem with the TD where the pump is mounted in the engine compartment. The MGB on the other hand, I considered a bit of a pain, having crawl under the to service the points.

Because the pumps that were sent to me for restoration were mostly from people who didn't know that they had to service the pump periodically (or just plain didn't like to do it), I developed the optical trigger system so they could have a reliable pump without the need for periodic servicing. Laziness? Perhaps, but consider what people are now used to in a vehicle. Most of today's cars can almost go their entire life span without having to do anything other than change oil (or have it changed) periodically).

The bottom line - I won't argue the virtue of wither the points style pumps or the ones converted to solid state or all electronic. They both have there place in the big scheme of things. Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

I bought a cheap generic electric fuel pump of fleabay very cheaply. I fitted it to see if it worked and it did!
I have got faith in the original points pump but keep the electric one in the boot with all the other spares I tend to carry around ( especially rubber components as I have had quite a few failures in the last couple of years)! I am hoping I don't need to use it but if I do it would be for a get me home situation.
AdrianS

Dave DeBois,
Is your optical design copyright or available to replicate? More out of interest on how you've implemented it than converting more pumps, although I do have a few spares I could use as seed stock ;-)

Drop me an email if you prefer.
Best of....
MGmike
M McAndrew

"The banjo fitting is also a strange size. A whitworth open ended, a socket won't fit."
It is either 3/8 or 7/16 (I am sitting in a motel at the airport using airport transfers tonbridge or I would have gone down to the basement and checked for sure) Whitworth either open end or box end. Cheers - Dave
DW DuBois

My daily driver actually has two pumps in series. One points SU which is the primary and a Facet as secondary. Switching between the two is simple and involves no crawling under car or petrol down sleeve!!
Allan Reeling

This thread was discussed between 31/08/2015 and 07/09/2015

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