Kawasaki Mule 2500 Died Twice on Hot Day

PhilG327 · Jul 3, 2020

I brought the battery home and put it on a good charger overnight. Only showed 12.1 volts after charger showed battery was fully charged. I'm going to find something to put a load on it and see how quickly it drops. Regardless, I may just buy a new one on Monday.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Much appreciated.

LouNY · Jul 3, 2020

I haven't found the link to the relay and fuel pump info I had yet,
but here is another; Kawasaki Mule has no power on fuel pump, but has power on the fuel relay. What can be a problem?

Zebrafive · Jul 4, 2020

LouNY said:
I haven't found the link to the relay and fuel pump info I had yet,
but here is another; Kawasaki Mule has no power on fuel pump, but has power on the fuel relay. What can be a problem?

That took me to site that wants "pay/fee" for an answer. I have power to my fuel pump

radios1 · Jul 4, 2020

Zebrafive said:
That took me to site that wants "pay/fee" for an answer. I have power to my fuel pump

if you have power to the fuel pump, then the pump is bad if the pump is not running..

PhilG327 · Jul 5, 2020

Noob question: If I turn the ignition key to "ON" should the fuel pump start making a noise or at least vibrate to the touch? Before trying to start the engine? It always did years ago when I was enjoying a procession of Italian cars and did all my own work!

Kyle_in_Tex · Jul 5, 2020

My gator HPX with kawasaki engine runs the fuel pump when the key is turned on, prior to cranking the engine. It needs fuel.

Zebrafive · Jul 5, 2020

radios1 said:
if you have power to the fuel pump, then the pump is bad if the pump is not running..

That was my thought too. I hit the pump with a hammer, short term fix, I know. Hammer is the box :laughing:

PhilG327 · Jul 8, 2020

Made some progress today. Found the old battery voltage would drop drastically under load. Replaced with a fully charged battery but not fixed. It starts and idles, but any throttle at all and it stalls out. At this point, I realized the fuel pump was not making any noise at all. None. Grabbed the volt meter and found the fuel pump was not getting ANY power. Checked the fuses I found under the seat and they are good. There's a relay there, right? Can anyone point me to the relay? What does it look like? Under the drivers side of the seat, right ? Does anyone have a part number?

I also had the thought to just try hot-wiring it

PhilG327 · Jul 12, 2020

Part number appears to be 27002-1068. If anyone can provide a picture or diagram of what exactly and where exactly under the seat I can find this relay, it would be greatly appreciated. (info on internet is contradictory) Thank you!

LouNY · Jul 13, 2020

The one on my brothers 2510 was under the seat on the drivers side to the rear of the under seat area,
it was a flatten triangle with one bolt securing it and 3 wires. Right next to a couple of other electrical modules.
Kawasaki wrapped it up in one of there wire bundle protectors with a couple of tie wraps and the velco closure.

PhilG327 · Jul 13, 2020

Thank you. That explains why I could not find it. I was looking for an old fashioned relay like the ones I used to replace back in the OLD days of clacking relays, vacuum tubes and resistors & capacitors. Antique stuff. I found some information on how to test the relay in a later model and will see if that shows the relay has failed. I can at least see if the relay is getting any power first. Would like to be sure it's bad before I buy a new one. Thanks again!

LouNY · Jul 13, 2020

It is a solid state relay with the signal coming from the front cylinders ignition system.
Welcome

PhilG327 · Jul 16, 2020

Thank you. I found two relays under the seat. One larger relay is mounted inside of the frame rails, while the smaller relay is on the outside of the frame rail behind the emergency brake. Both are intact and all wires are tight. Rather than keep throwing parts at it without a service manual I've decided to borrow a trailer and try to find a repair shop that I can trust. Some place with some experiences with Mules.

Thanks to all for all of your help and suggestions !

PhilG327 · Jul 23, 2020

Did a little more troubleshooting today. Put 12volts directly to fuel pump and found it did not pump and the only noise it makes is one click and nothing else. Dead quiet, no whirring, no nothing. Certainly nothing like any electric fuel pump I dealt with long ago in various imported sports cars (those were loud). Must be bad. Also found that when the pump is connected up again to the Mule wiring the voltage across the pump drops from 12v to only 9 1/2v. Only guessing now, but it must be loading down the circuit and causing a major drop in voltage. Will order a new pump tomorrow.

PhilG327 · Jul 25, 2020

Anybody have flow specs and/or psi specs for the OEM fuel pump ? I'm going to have to buy something off ebay or amazon as real OEM is more than I can afford. Especially, as I'm still really not absolutely positive that is the fix

Zebrafive · Jul 26, 2020

eBay has multiple choices for about $20

PhilG327 · Jul 30, 2020

FYI - after a few days of trying to find someone to repair my Mule with no luck at all, I rolled the dice and ordered a fuel pump and fuel pump relay off Amazon. Didn't pick the most expensive offerings or the cheapest, but went by (probably fake) reviews and said, "oh well what the heck". Will be interesting to see what arrives. Really need to get the old Mule running again

Kyle_in_Tex · Aug 1, 2020

PhilG327 said:
FYI - after a few days of trying to find someone to repair my Mule with no luck at all, I rolled the dice and ordered a fuel pump and fuel pump relay off Amazon. Didn't pick the most expensive offerings or the cheapest, but went by (probably fake) reviews and said, "oh well what the heck". Will be interesting to see what arrives. Really need to get the old Mule running again

I believe all the off brand pumps are made by the same place in china. Sometimes they last a month, sometimes they last 2 years. The OEM lasted about 10-12 years or so.

Zebrafive · Aug 1, 2020

PhilG327 said:
FYI - after a few days of trying to find someone to repair my Mule with no luck at all, I rolled the dice and ordered a fuel pump and fuel pump relay off Amazon. Didn't pick the most expensive offerings or the cheapest, but went by (probably fake) reviews and said, "oh well what the heck". Will be interesting to see what arrives. Really need to get the old Mule running again

Did you try the "hit it with a hammer" sometimes fix?

PhilG327 · Aug 2, 2020

Zebrafive said:
Did you try the "hit it with a hammer" sometimes fix?

I did try the hammer! We had a FIAT station wagon back in the late 70's that required a sharp rap with a long socket wrench handle until a replacement arrived from Italy some weeks later. I still get grief from my wife about that one