Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Hello to my fellow Dodge Cummins owners!
I wanted to share some things I learned about the BD FlowMax lift pump installed on my 2001 Ram 2500. I do not spend a lot of time posting on blogs but have spent many hours reading on TDR to find the answers to problems no local mechanic or dealer could help with.
"None of us are as smart as all of us" and many thanks to the members for the knowledge and excellent mod ideas I have done over the years with your help.
IF YOU HAVE BD V1 FLOWMAX YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THIS
So, back in 2009 I had a VP44 failure at around 320,000 kms and had the truck towed to Turner Diesel in Georgetown Ontario Canada and they installed a BD pump and they also recommended a new heavy duty Flowmax lift pump. I do some wrenching on the truck but as I needed for work asap I had Turner fix the dead VP44. Plus I knew little about the fuel system except to change out the stock lift pump (used Cummins OEM lift pumps) ever couple of years proactively as my truck goes into some nasty backwoods roads that would be a huge tow bill out.
Forward to Dec 2012 and on a trip to Canadian Tire the truck died after 30 seconds after starting trying to get home. My low pressure warning light was on too.
Thank god Turner installed the light. I know I should have gauges but the $2900 VP bill wrecked my budget for mods and the L. E. D warning light was better than nothing. Got it home running for 30 seconds at a time (I live close by). BTW I have a big line kit and I think that would have saved my VP44 butt too as the VP could not keep drawing fuel/running with the dead lift pump as it would have with restrictive stock lines/banjo fittings and fry the VP44 again ( if I had no warning light). It could only draw for 30 seconds and die.
I confirmed I had 12volts at the LP connector from the VP source. Putting 12 volts directly to the pump showed it was running, but barely. It was only 3 years old and had less than 70,000 kms on it. Not very impressed for a $550 dollar HD part. Needless to say I was not keen to get another BD pump (not knowing it was still under warranty) and called around to some big US diesel shops for advice. Most mentioned a higher than expected BD FlowMax failure rate and recommended FASS or Airdog type pumps. Researching those products I found most people liked them (but they can fail too) and some people downright were not happy at all. Of course the truck would not break down in July and the thought of dropping the tank or lifting the box in cold weather in my driveway for a FASS/Airdog seemed like a cruel Christmas present from my normally reliable beast. Steves Diesel in Bowmanville Ontario really helped as they gave me the low down on why the pumps fail and mentioned the new V2 version is bulletproof so far. They told me to call BD as I might have warranty.
For a long time I have smelled diesel near my truck outside but never found a fuel system leak... until I was trouble shooting the old FlowMax V1.
Diesel was very slowly leaking out of the wiring exit at the bottom of the motor can. Not all FlowMax V1 pumps fail but a wet wiring harness at the bottom of the pump means it will soon as its filling up with fuel! The seal at the top of the motor shaft fails (the pump is mounted gerotor pump up/motor can under) from dirt in the fuel or wear. Since a tank drop/bed lift was not happening in the cold/snow in my driveway I ordered and paid for another BD FlowMax V2 (I also like to buy Canadian if I can). If it had been the summer my "inner scottsman" alarm would have said pay the same and get more value with a Fass/Airdog. Needless to say the new pump arrived the day of a nasty snow storm. Almost 3 hours later of freezing my arse off in the snow and it was installed.
The BD Flowmax V2 has the following changes:
Gerotor down/motor can "up" mounting with separate mounting bracket and clamps. If the seal weeps now it will not fill the can full of fuel and slow down/kill the motor. Duhh!
Apparently some people have had the regulator stick shut due to debris in the fuel so they offer a outboard motor type fuel bowl/plastic screen filter ahead of the pump that's clear to monitor dirt build up.
We all know heat is the number 2 enemy (number 1 fuel starvation) of the VP44/computer so a nice quality harness/relay is included to use the factory signal as a relay trigger like a Fass/Airdog. I could be wrong but a higher output motor must pull more amps than a stock lift pump. Less amps=less heat on the VP computer which can only be a good thing.
If replacing a V1 with a V2 (not sure how many will though!) you will need to cut off the current Flowmax electric motor connector and solder it on to the supplied new BD relay harness as I had to. The included harness BD supplies is designed with a stock factory LP connector that does not match the factory wiring harness from the V1 kit installation connector thats soldered on to the truck wiring harness side. The relay trigger coil has no polarity but I checked some relay wiring diagrams online and used the blue BD harness wire as "positive". It worked fine. This issue only applies if you have a BD Flowmax V1 now. I found this out after working topside down installing the harness/relay with tywraps to find the BD harness end was incompatible with the truck harness LP connector and it had to come back out (in to the house) to solder the correct connector from the old pump motor. Luckily it was a blizzard out so nobody walking by heard me scream profanity when I discovered this and had to remove the freshly installed harness/relay.
There are some good and bad posts online about BD`s customer service but I have only good things to say about my experience with them. After I got the old pump off I called them and a gentleman named Vic in warranty asked for the numbers off the bottom of the pump casting,a picture of the pump and a copy of my receipt from Turner Automotive. No need to send in the old pump and no arguing or hassles. They owned up to the problems as they should. If you have a V1 now make sure to check the exit of the motor harness for fuel seepage (I bet its leaking, wink,wink) and do a claim now before the risk of frying your VP44 down the road. Thats why you bought it in the first place. You will have to buy the new V2 pump first (to minimize down time) but can get a refund once the warranty process is done. If they do not reprice these pumps away from fuel/air separation systems though I can see most folks going the Fass/Airdog route though from a value standpoint alone.
Sorry for the long post but if you have or know someone with a V1 Flowmax keep an eye on it for seepage as mentioned. It might save you a grand or two (or 3).
Sean
I wanted to share some things I learned about the BD FlowMax lift pump installed on my 2001 Ram 2500. I do not spend a lot of time posting on blogs but have spent many hours reading on TDR to find the answers to problems no local mechanic or dealer could help with.
"None of us are as smart as all of us" and many thanks to the members for the knowledge and excellent mod ideas I have done over the years with your help.
IF YOU HAVE BD V1 FLOWMAX YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THIS
So, back in 2009 I had a VP44 failure at around 320,000 kms and had the truck towed to Turner Diesel in Georgetown Ontario Canada and they installed a BD pump and they also recommended a new heavy duty Flowmax lift pump. I do some wrenching on the truck but as I needed for work asap I had Turner fix the dead VP44. Plus I knew little about the fuel system except to change out the stock lift pump (used Cummins OEM lift pumps) ever couple of years proactively as my truck goes into some nasty backwoods roads that would be a huge tow bill out.
Forward to Dec 2012 and on a trip to Canadian Tire the truck died after 30 seconds after starting trying to get home. My low pressure warning light was on too.
Thank god Turner installed the light. I know I should have gauges but the $2900 VP bill wrecked my budget for mods and the L. E. D warning light was better than nothing. Got it home running for 30 seconds at a time (I live close by). BTW I have a big line kit and I think that would have saved my VP44 butt too as the VP could not keep drawing fuel/running with the dead lift pump as it would have with restrictive stock lines/banjo fittings and fry the VP44 again ( if I had no warning light). It could only draw for 30 seconds and die.
I confirmed I had 12volts at the LP connector from the VP source. Putting 12 volts directly to the pump showed it was running, but barely. It was only 3 years old and had less than 70,000 kms on it. Not very impressed for a $550 dollar HD part. Needless to say I was not keen to get another BD pump (not knowing it was still under warranty) and called around to some big US diesel shops for advice. Most mentioned a higher than expected BD FlowMax failure rate and recommended FASS or Airdog type pumps. Researching those products I found most people liked them (but they can fail too) and some people downright were not happy at all. Of course the truck would not break down in July and the thought of dropping the tank or lifting the box in cold weather in my driveway for a FASS/Airdog seemed like a cruel Christmas present from my normally reliable beast. Steves Diesel in Bowmanville Ontario really helped as they gave me the low down on why the pumps fail and mentioned the new V2 version is bulletproof so far. They told me to call BD as I might have warranty.
For a long time I have smelled diesel near my truck outside but never found a fuel system leak... until I was trouble shooting the old FlowMax V1.
Diesel was very slowly leaking out of the wiring exit at the bottom of the motor can. Not all FlowMax V1 pumps fail but a wet wiring harness at the bottom of the pump means it will soon as its filling up with fuel! The seal at the top of the motor shaft fails (the pump is mounted gerotor pump up/motor can under) from dirt in the fuel or wear. Since a tank drop/bed lift was not happening in the cold/snow in my driveway I ordered and paid for another BD FlowMax V2 (I also like to buy Canadian if I can). If it had been the summer my "inner scottsman" alarm would have said pay the same and get more value with a Fass/Airdog. Needless to say the new pump arrived the day of a nasty snow storm. Almost 3 hours later of freezing my arse off in the snow and it was installed.
The BD Flowmax V2 has the following changes:
Gerotor down/motor can "up" mounting with separate mounting bracket and clamps. If the seal weeps now it will not fill the can full of fuel and slow down/kill the motor. Duhh!
Apparently some people have had the regulator stick shut due to debris in the fuel so they offer a outboard motor type fuel bowl/plastic screen filter ahead of the pump that's clear to monitor dirt build up.
We all know heat is the number 2 enemy (number 1 fuel starvation) of the VP44/computer so a nice quality harness/relay is included to use the factory signal as a relay trigger like a Fass/Airdog. I could be wrong but a higher output motor must pull more amps than a stock lift pump. Less amps=less heat on the VP computer which can only be a good thing.
If replacing a V1 with a V2 (not sure how many will though!) you will need to cut off the current Flowmax electric motor connector and solder it on to the supplied new BD relay harness as I had to. The included harness BD supplies is designed with a stock factory LP connector that does not match the factory wiring harness from the V1 kit installation connector thats soldered on to the truck wiring harness side. The relay trigger coil has no polarity but I checked some relay wiring diagrams online and used the blue BD harness wire as "positive". It worked fine. This issue only applies if you have a BD Flowmax V1 now. I found this out after working topside down installing the harness/relay with tywraps to find the BD harness end was incompatible with the truck harness LP connector and it had to come back out (in to the house) to solder the correct connector from the old pump motor. Luckily it was a blizzard out so nobody walking by heard me scream profanity when I discovered this and had to remove the freshly installed harness/relay.
There are some good and bad posts online about BD`s customer service but I have only good things to say about my experience with them. After I got the old pump off I called them and a gentleman named Vic in warranty asked for the numbers off the bottom of the pump casting,a picture of the pump and a copy of my receipt from Turner Automotive. No need to send in the old pump and no arguing or hassles. They owned up to the problems as they should. If you have a V1 now make sure to check the exit of the motor harness for fuel seepage (I bet its leaking, wink,wink) and do a claim now before the risk of frying your VP44 down the road. Thats why you bought it in the first place. You will have to buy the new V2 pump first (to minimize down time) but can get a refund once the warranty process is done. If they do not reprice these pumps away from fuel/air separation systems though I can see most folks going the Fass/Airdog route though from a value standpoint alone.
Sorry for the long post but if you have or know someone with a V1 Flowmax keep an eye on it for seepage as mentioned. It might save you a grand or two (or 3).
Sean
