

| Subject: | cheap fuel pressure gauge |
| From: | Mark McCulley |
| Date: | Wed, 13 May 1998 09:59:24 -0700 |
Any book on troubleshooting fuel injection systems will tell you that the first thing you need to do is measure fuel pressure. I came up with a relatively cheap fuel pressure gauge setup this weekend that I'd like to share. Sears sells a fuel pressure gauge that reads up to 100 psi for $39.95. Typical pressures in the Vanagon are under 40 psi, so this gauge is adequate for the Digijet and Digifant systems (some FI systems run over 100 psi I think). The gauge does not come with an attachment for Volkswagens so you'll have to make one. What I did was buy 1 foot of 1/4" fuel hose (5/16" would work better if you can find it). Be sure to get hose that's rated for fuel injection pressures. This costs $4 or so per foot. Also get two clamps for the hose--the solid kind not the kind with notches in the band. Unscrew the gauge from the elbow fitting and fit it to the hose and clamp it. The other end of the hose clamps to the T-fitting on the fuel lines in the engine compartment. Before attaching (and unattaching) the gauge to the fuel lines, you must depressure the fuel lines. There are various ways to do this. On the digifant (86 and up) you can remove the fuel pump relay and then run the engine until it dies. The fuel pump relay is the relay on the right in the box that's on the upper left side of the engine compartment--right above the coil. Check the Bentley for information on depressuring fuel lines on digijet (pre-86) systems. -Mark McCulley
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