The stupidification of gauges

[redpoint5]

The omission/stupidification of gauges is not only annoying, but can be very costly.

My truck (Dodge/Cummins) has a low pressure fuel feed pump and a high pressure injection pump that are both electric. The low pressure pump is absolutely notorious for giving out, but the truck can continue to operate without any hint that a failure has occurred. The problem is that a failed low pressure pump ($150) will cause the injector pump ($1200) to fail shortly after. There is NO gauge that warns of low fuel pressure for either pump.

Fortunately for me, I was an idiot and ran my truck out of fuel TWICE, each time finding that the low pressure pump had died when it failed to prime the fuel system. I got less than 40k miles out of each pump. Finally I replaced the low pressure pump with an aftermarket unit, and installed a performance computer which includes a sensor to monitor fuel pressure.

The truck should have been built with a pump designed to last as long as the motor, and it would have cost Dodge an extra 2 bucks to put in an idiot light that comes on when fuel pressure drops below threshold.

[mechman600]

It was actually a Cummins problem. That pump is part of the engine package supplied by Cummins. It was actually made by Carter and stamped with a Cummins part number. The very first step after buying one of these trucks is to install a decent aftermarket pump with a built in low pressure warning LED mounted in the cabin. They are a few hundred bucks and well worth it, as you obviously know.