Do fuel pump inertia switches go bad... | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Do fuel pump inertia switches go bad...

jacklad

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Joined
August 18, 2008
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City, State
Los Angeles
Year, Model & Trim Level
'97 XLT, '03 XLT
...and if so, are they difficult to replace? Recently went to dinner with family in our 03 Explorer - after eating car wouldn't start - tow truck guy thought is was fuel pump - mechanic ran diagnostic, and the problem was the fuel pump inertia switch - it was reset, and all was good...until it happened again - have been able to reset it each time - it seems that pump, etc. are fine - would like to replace switch myself (if possible) - anything I should know?
 



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They typically dont go bad. But considering the location of the switch, a strong kick from the passenger's foot might be trip the switch.
 






I actually purchased a replacement ($30 from Ford dealer) - figured it was cheap enough to give a shot to replacing - any tips or traps that you know of to watch for?
 






As long as you disconnect the battery beforehand, you should be okay.
 






the parts guy at Ford mentioned that too - just curious as to why? Is that a general rule when replacing anything electrical, or is it specific to this switch? Also, will I lose memory on radio, or will the battery disconnect trigger security lock on radio?
 






Thats just a general rule for working on anything electrical.

Yes you will loose memory on the radio but I have no idea if the security lock on the radio will trip.
 






THanks - I'm gonna give it a shot tonight - I'll get you a progress report tomorow -
 






Welcome to this forum! You could easily test the old switch. Take it out, connect a continuity tester to it, shake it, and test it again. The manufacturer of this part is a company called First Inertia. I once ordered a catalog from them when Ford started to use this part on their vehicles.
 






Thanks for that, but I went ahead and swapped it out for a new switch - found that the female power connector to the switch looked like it had been zapped pretty good - the plastic end was melted and burned, but it still fit onto the new switch, which seems so far to work fine - i was able to trip it (no start), re-set it and start the car right up - I don't know if it was the original switch that may have caused the damage to the power connector, or if there was some sort of short somewhere else that ended up there - I'm gonna have it looked at, but would you have any ideas as to cause?
 












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