I have been approached many times over the past few months about how I plumbed my fuel cell. So in an effort to help keep from having to repeat myself over and over here is how I have my fuel cell hooked up.

So what do you need to install a fuel cell...

1 Fuel Cell
1 Fuel Filter
1 Fuel Pump
1 Bypass Regulator
AN Fittings & Hose

Seems simple so far...

Installing a fuel cell may at first seem like a daunting task, but in reality its fairly simple. Let's break it down step by step.

The first step is going to be installing your Fuel Cell. This is wide open and is completely up to the installer. I chose a 22 Gallon Jazz cell and mounted it up at the cab.

The second step is plumbing. Like I said before I used a Jazz cell, the Jazz cell has a -8AN pickup line. Mine is plumbed -8 from the cell to the first stop, a large cartridge style filter. Having a filter before the pump is a good idea as it will keep any crap from possibly damaging the pump. Next in line is -10AN hose from the filter to the pump. For my pump I used a Pierburg pump. Next in line is running -6AN hose from the pump to the bypass regulator. I'm using an Aeromotive bypass regulator. From the regulator I ran a -8AN line back to the cell, and -6AN line from the regulator to stock fuel filter.

Simple enough huh?

Ok, so now that we have covered that it's time to talk about regulators. Some of our trucks are regulated at the fuel rail and some are regulated in the tank. The easy way to figure this out is weather or not you have a return line. If your tank has a return your truck is regulated at the rail and if it does not have a return it is regulated in the tank. Now, our trucks run at approx ~60-65 psi of fuel pressure and this has to be maintained somehow. If your truck is regulated at the rail then you don't need to worry about adding a standalone regulator. If your truck is regulated in the tank then you will need to add a bypass regulator. It has to be a bypass regulator so that excess fuel goes back to the tank and doesn't damage the pump.

Confused yet? Though so.

Let's check out some photos... these should help.

Here is the cell.

A is the pickup line
B is the return line from the bypass regulator
C is the vent line



First in line out of the fuel cell is the filter.



Next inline after the filter is the pump. The pump should be placed within 24" of the cell.



After the pump comes the regulator. You can see the in and out lines off the regulator, the bypass/return line is coming off of the bottom.



Wondering where to buy all the parts needed to plumb your cell? Here is where I picked up my parts...

Cell: Jaz 22 gallon - Kartek (www.kartek.com) Cost: $250
Pump: Pierburg - Kartek (www.kartek.com) Cost: $150
Filter: Kartek - Kartek (www.kartek.com) Cost: $60
Regulator: Aeromotive Bypass (www.jegs.com) Cost: $150
AN Fittings/Hose: (www.jegs.com) Cost: ~$200 (AN fittings and braided hose are expensive!)

(http://www.kartek.com/products/all/fuel/fuel.htm)

You can also find these parts at local off-road, race car, or hot rod shops. Also these parts aren't the final word on what you have to use. All you need to have is a pump capable of over 65 psi and a bypass regulator capable of 65 psi.

Hopefully this will help those of you looking to install a fuel cell. If I missed anything or you want some more clarification feel free to ask.

 

Wiring is super simple. The pump is just two wires. I can take a look at them when I get home for the colors, or just ask around here, Bob was the one that told me to begin with so there is a thread here with that info.

The sender is a different story however. I found the closest sender I could get and it was off by 22ohms at empty and full was like 60. So I stuck a 22ohm resistor inline with it so empty is empty and 3/4 is full on the gauge. It worked while it worked... I still need to check and see why the gauge quit on me.

 

Hmm... I'm going to go with TRS might be wrong on this one... everybody I talked to said 65... running on 65 it runs great. 30-40 seems way low for an EFI engine... I don't think I've ever seen one that runs below 50-60psi of rail pressure.