NO START, No Prob. NO FUEL,
C rank/no-start conditions are a bread-and-butter repair for most automotive shops. These immediate problems generate estimates that yield corresponding diagnostic time, parts, and service that are almost never declined. That immediacy, coupled with the high cost of wrecker service, is a bit of a double-edged sword, though: jobs that come back usually come back with an irate customer, so it’s imperative to get the car repaired correctly on the first visit. Enter the Dorman OE FIX fuel pump control module for a variety of Ford and Mazda vehicles from 2004-2011 (P/N 590-001). These cars, trucks and SUVs that come in and don’t fire up frequently exhibit fuel pressure problems and the culprit is all too often the FPCM. On many vehicles, Ford chose to mount this module externally. At first blush, it might seem like it should last, but road salt, moisture, and galvanic corrosion all take their toll after rain and normal vehicle rust set in. The housing on these, made of aluminum, is usually mounted to a steel body or chassis component. On trucks, you’ll find these often bolted to a frame crossmember, and on many cars they’re attached directly to the unibody. The cast aluminum housings, bolted to steel, are an invitation for galvanic corrosion. Water and salt frequently cause pitting on the casings severe enough to crack them and expose the delicate electronic innards. Cast aluminum is also rather brittle, and the solid mounting Ford used on most vehicles proved to be detrimental to the longevity of the driver modules. That mounting also helped harbor water—trapped moisture wasn’t able to easily evaporate. Dorman engineers employed a few techniques to solve for these problems. The first was at the case itself. Ours, like Ford’s, is made of cast aluminum. However, ours is sealed in a tough-as-nails epoxy that passed salt-spray testing with flying colors. That epoxy helps stop galvanic corrosion in its tracks by sealing in the aluminum, which otherwise acts as an anode. Another way the galvanic corrosion is thwarted is through the use of standoffs: our kit raises the FPDM off the previous mounting surface by about a half an inch so water can go as quickly as it comes. Rather elegantly, our engineers chose to make those standoffs out of rubber, to also isolate the delicate electronics from the normal shocks and vibration a chassis-mounted item will experience. And the microprocessor within? Well, we didn’t snooze on that, either. It’s faster than the OEM processor, leading to improved response times. Perhaps best of all, the module is made right here in Pennsylvania by American workers. So when you’ve got a Blue Oval that’s come in on the hook with no fuel pressure, ask for a Dorman FPCM by name. You might want to take a good look at your customer, too—you won’t be seeing him again.
FUEL PUMP DRIVER MODULE WITH MOUNTING BOLTS 590-001: Ford & Mazda 2004-2011
Our upgraded FPDM next to an OEM unit so badly corroded its electronics were exposed.
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