Ford 1985 Jamboree Ralleye with a e350 engine Questions

[Jamboree85]

Greeting Everyone! New member here with several questions. I recently purchased a Ford 1985 Jamboree Ralleye with a e350 engine (Holly 4 barrel carburetor). It's a 28 footer. Got it towed into my backyard (it had been sitting a in an RV park for 9 years!). Previous owner drove it a long distance to the RV park and reported it ran great (RV has less than 60K miles on the odo). Changed oil, new battery, added fuel to an empty gas tank (about 5 gallons). Cranks nicely but won’t start. A common culprit is the fuel pump. But I have no idea where it’s located. Inside the tank or outside. I have read that it may be located near the engine by the oil filter but I don’t see anything that resembles a FP. There are two mechanical devices attached near the front of the gas tank (see photos), and from there lead to the engine. Could one of these be the fuel pump? Gonna check to see if the fuel is actually getting to the engine by checking the fuel line (will need a buddy), that’ll be first. Does this RV have two fuel tanks? Instrument panel shows “Fuel, Front and Rear - see picture). If so, do the tanks engage on their own as needed, or is there a manual switch? Nothing on my instrument panel for “switching”. Also, I’m not parked on level ground, rear end of RV lower than front a decent amount. Is my fuel possibly not getting to the fuel pump? I guess it would be worth a try to jack up the back and get close to level. Any leads, suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank You!

[Bagger97]

A carburetor sitting for 9 years will be garbage. All the fuel will turn to varnish and plug up every hole. The hood picture looks like a a/c unit and smog pump. Slide under and see if you have two fuel tanks.

[twinboat]

Red circle is fuel filter, the can screws off.

The yellow circle is a fuel pump. Check for 12 volts between both both push-on wires.

Should be humming if it's working.

There may be a roll over safety switch under the passenger side dash.

[Jamboree85]

Hi, thanks for all the feedback so far! Since the carb on the Ford 1985 Jamboree Ralleye with a e350 engine (that's sat idle more or less for 9 years!) is certainly no good, will rebuilding the carb suffice just to get it running? Just moving it around my property, don't plan on long 1000 mile journeys. HOWEVER, Springing $600 for a new 4 barrel Holly also a possibility depending on forum input. If it idle's nicely when on, I may just take it on a long trip. All the sites I've visited (rockauto, parts geek, ebay, et. al) have a new carb priced for ~ $600, but if anyone has any purchase tips, please pass them along. To rebuild or to buy brand new, that is the question!

ALSO, a sticker inside the engine compartment mentions that "This vehicle is equipped with a fuel pump shut off switch, etc. (see photo). Could this be a contributing factor? And where in the world is said "switch" located. If someone can take a picture of the cut-off and post it that would be swell!

I only see one large gas tank, but I'll take another look tomorrow. IF there are two tanks, is the a (hidden?) switch that engages one or the other or do they wok in tandem, on their own, as needed.

Thank You!

[GypsyR]

It jumps out at me that you keep saying "e350 engine". "E350" is Ford's short name for Ford Econoline van one ton chassis. The engine might be a 351 Windsor AKA a "5.8". Or if it is the optional bigger engine a 460 AKA "7.5". If you don't see a ticke runder the hood that mentions this the eight digit/letter in you VIN designates which engine you have. You can find out what it is with a little online searching or just ask here.

It's quite possible the carburetor might have issues from sitting so long ut I'll be darned if I would just throw it away without at least trying it and finding out. Or at least looking at it. I'd be after getting fuel TO the carburetor before I ever worried about what shape it's in. Basically either it will work or it won't. Find out.

You don't have dual fuel tanks. They must have been short of the non-dual tank control panels that day at the factory or someone swapped it later. The black plastic is a block off because there is no switch there. There would be if you had dual tanks.

Fuel inertia (cutoff) switch usually don't give much trouble but I have had one melt the wires at the connector. It should (hopefully) be somewhere around the driver's left foot but on some models they put them around the passenger's right foot. And sometimes the RV builder relocates things a bit from where Ford (the chassis builder) put them. You're looking for this thing:

You can just see the red of the button you press from the top to reset it if it's been tripped. A 12 volt test light is the best way to check it. Be aware that factory fuel pumps only run for a couple of seconds after the ignition switch is turned on. They only run continuously after the engine is running. So when checking for power you have to cycle the ignition switch and be quick. Your setup doesn't seem quite original Ford so it may not work exactly like that though.

[Jamboree85]

Thank You GypsyR for all your detailed and valuable advice. I have a trusted mechanic on the job now, lives only a few houses away Since I'm not gonna use the RV for tripping much (or hardly at all), the Mechanic suggested rebuilding the Holley 4 barrel carburetor. I'll show him what you wrote when he comes by and I'll post our progress. I'll go back and hunt around again for the fuel inertial switch, too

Again, Thank You!

[Jamboree85]

New Fuel Pump runs nicely when connected directly to battery, but in it's replacement spot (old FP was dead!) it just sits there - no power, no nothing. Have read here and other interweb pages problem could be the Relay Switch, or the mysterious (dreaded) Fuel Pump Inertial Switch. After much looking and craning of the neck, I can find neither (and yes, I have seen many photos of what both the relay switch and the Fuel Pump Inertial Switch look like). Some people say (Relay or Inertia Switch), are by the drives's left foot, way under the dash somewhere, other have suggested it's on the passenger side somewhere. Some folks say either/or is in the engine compartment, by the horn, the battery, etc. I understand that on RVs, make, model, year, etc. manufactures re-routed stuff accordingly making it extremely difficult to locate. Could it possibly just be a fuse? I'm posting photo's too of something under the passenger's side that has me flummoxed, a Type II Electronic Package. It need a 1 AMP fuse replacement. Could this possibly be associated with the problem? Finally, in plain view on the passenger is a small flat box with a switch on top that can be depressed and clicks. Any ideas of what this is and what it does? And thank you!

[GypsyR]

The last picture is in fact your inertia switch. THe wobbly feeling with button the reset. Unplug it and see if you have power there when the key is first turned on. For about three seconds, you have to be quick. And of course you can easily bypass the inertia switch with a simple jumper wire at the plug. I have personally had a couple of those style switches fail. (Years ago.)

I've never seen the first box before, it's definitely not a factory Ford part. If I had to guess my first thought would be some sort of aftermarket cruise control setup.

[Jamboree85]

Hey there. So I removed the Inertia Switch (it was printed right on the unit but impossible to read!) Just by removing the connection, would that be enough to create a circuit and bypass the switch? I get no fuel pump results like that. I placed a wire inside the connector on either end (no at all sure I got it right), again with no results on the FP. Can I clip those two wires on the connector and just connect them together, create a circuit this way and bypass the Inertia Switch? I have jumper wires, but don't I need exposed wires to try that out too. The factory inertia switch was indeed wobbly at the press down and had probably failed but who knows.

I have metered the wires to the Fuel Pump by the way and get .01. The batt is 12 volts so power not reaching the FP.

If this does not solve my "no power to fuel pump problem" I'll have to find the elusive FP relay!

Thanks GypsyR!

[GypsyR]

The "switch" buttons are all wobbly. Shake the assembly upside down to upset it then turn it right side up. The reset button should give you a firm click feeling then.

Easy to test with a multimeter or test light, either it is letting power through or not.

You can jumper the plug how you like, bit of wire, paperclip, or hack it off and twist the wires together. I would prefer a method that left the inertia switch usable myself.

My fuel pump relay was all the way up inside the driver's side front of the engine compartment with some other electrical bits. I doubt this helps you at all you might look for info online on where to find it. Instead of looking for RV info, try calling it an Econoline van though. As much a I detest Autozone they have a pretty good website. If you dig in they have a lot of repair info there by Alldata which is what many pro repair shops. Good stuff, and free too.

[Jamboree85]

Well, it's not the the Fuel Pump Inertia Switch. No power still to the Fuel Pump after jumping the connection. Metered the FPISwitch and it checked out ok. Guess I'm down to the Fuel Pump Relay (that is if I can ever locate it!) Have looked at all the suggested places w no success :( If it's not the relay, dunno what I'll do next. But maybe it's the relay Feel like I may have to eventually trace the wiring from the FP all the way back to the engine and locate the relay.

Ran battery cables to the fuel pump to triple check its function and it whirled like mad.

Thanks for all your help, GypsyR

[subford]

There is an oil pressure switch to bypass the starter solenoid while the engine is running for power to the fuel pump.
The starter solenoid will bypass the oil switch and the fuel pump cut off relay while cranking to get fuel to the Carb.
The oil pressure switch may feed a fuel pump cut off relay.
Note the above only applies if you have the 460 (7.5L) engine.

[Jamboree85]

Unsuccessfully (so far) determining the fuel-pump-no power fix has led me to YouTube where I found a sound, practical, inexpensive and safe workaround solution (where else!). Getting the Ford Jamboree Ralleye RV running (and it starts and idles great using a gas container and an electric fuel pump right into the Carb) is more of a goal because I probably won't be traveling any time soon in it. I just wanna see it up and running. When I hit the road, I'll do it in my other RV, my beloved tiny Toyota Itasca Spirit! (was on the road 9 months, only been back a month But who knows. I might just hit the road in the Jamboree one day!

Anyway, here's the workaround:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GjvRdssvFI

Workaround thoughts?

Best to all!

[subford]

Yes, I have "thoughts".

That video should be banned as it will wind up killing vehicle occupants and the first responders.
There is nothing to shut off the fuel pump if the engine dies or in a wreck.
There could also be fines involved.