1999 Ford Taurus Fuel Pump Driver Module
2005 Ford Five Hundred Fuel Pump Driver Module
The fuel-pump driver module controls the high-pressure fuel pumps of modern, computer-controlled, fuel-injected engines, including diesels. The module is typically installed on or very close to the fuel pump, and in the early years of the component's use, this practice led to a design fault. Manufacturers, including Ford, initially placed the module inside the vehicle immediately above the fuel pump, typically just beneath the floor pan. That practice had the module mounted under seats or covered by carpet, which led to overheating problems. The fuel-pump driver module is the most common part to fail in computerized diesel engines. When first installed in the technologically advanced diesel engines of the mid-1990s, the modules were made from materials that were unable to handle their own high operating temperatures and the extreme vibration they were exposed to when functioning.
2003 Ford Taurus Fuel Pump Driver Module Location
In some model vehicles, such as General Motors vehicles made between 1995 and 2002, the failure rate has been almost total. Aftermarket units are available that use advanced electronics that create less heat, with an improved heat transfer pad to minimize retention of the heat. Pairing the fuel-pump driver module with the incorrect fuel pump will also promote failure. Vehicles with modified engines that need more fuel than is standard, such as race cars and tuned-up street cars, require modified FPDMs. Running a standard module can result in overheating - the standard fuel pump asks too much of the module, and its electronics overheat - so the internal limiter shuts the control process down. Although the module should resume function when it cools to a safe temperature, the sudden cessation of fuel flow to a full-revving engine can have catastrophic effects.