land-speed
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Cut off

To: John Beckett <landspeedracer@email.msn.com>
Subject: Re: Cut off
From: dahlgren <dahlgren@uconect.net>
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 09:54:31 -0500
With an EFI System if it is installed correctly and the controller is
worth anything at all should control the fuel pump. The normal mode of
operation is as follows..

switch on:
power up injector relay
power pump relay for 8 to 10 seconds to prime the fuel lines
shut off pump relay

start position:
crank engine
if RPM is greater than 100 power up pump relay
engine starts

run position:
keep injector relay powered up
check for RPM if less than 100 shut off pump relay 
else power pump relay

switch off:
shut off injector relay
when RPM drops below 100 shut off pump relay

Do this over and over until you are tired of racing today, ran out of
fuel, or blew the engine up....
A very quick check to see if this is installed correctly is to turn the
switch to the on position..If the fuel pump runs for the 5 or 10 seconds
and then stops it is installed correctly..If your EFI does not do this
there is one of a few problems.
#1 you installed or wired it incorrectly bypassing all the safety
methods built in to it.
#2 You intentionally thought you knew more than the engineers that
designed the system and put in a manual switch.
#3 the system is so unsophisticated that it ought to be pulled from the
market as it is a safety hazard..
This method works for every production car that i am aware of that has
not been tampered with. The reason they(the auto companies) do it this
way is to avoid the exact problem we are discussing. Fuel pump running
in a crash or with the engine off. They do also use an inertia switch to
shut off everything in the event of a crash but this is NOT suitable for
a racing car..
The simplest way for the tech guys to check for a correct installation
is to have the driver have only one switch to make the car run. Have the
driver power it up and listen for the electric pump. It should run for
the 5 to 10 seconds then stop. If it does not do this send them to the
end of the line and have them fix it correctly. The installation will be
safe when it passes this test..

Dave Dahlgren
Engine Management Systems..

BTW I am not reading from a user's manual on this.. I have installed
tuned and designed EFI for the last 15 years...and write computer code
that is inside EFI units that are for sale today....

John Beckett wrote:
> 
>     Chris
> 
>     With EFI you really need a separate fuel pump shut off switch. The Cut
> Off Switch we have been discussing on the list, in my opinion, should
> disconnect everything electrical on the vehicle. But its not a replacement
> for an individual fuel pump switch.
>     The worst thing you can do is put in some sort of barrel valve to stop
> fuel flow only. The problems created...increased line pressure and current
> draw...will make things much worse.
> 
>     John Beckett, LSR #79
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chris R Harris" <yesford@clear.net.nz>
> To: "land-speed" <land-speed@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2000 1:17 AM
> Subject: Re: Cut off
> 
> > List and especially Dan Warner,
> >                                               I already have a battery
> > isolating switch on the dash of my roadster in easy reach of the driver
> and
> > will install a second in series in a location like the back of the car
> like
> > the consensus suggest. My additional question is, with EFI, will the dash
> > mounted battery isolater switch fill the requirement for a fuel shut-off.
> > The dash switch will shut-off all current to the electric pump, EFI
> > electronic control unit and ignition, or do I still require a positive
> > mechanical barrel valve style fuel shut-off.
> > Chris Harris  C/GR  #397  New Zealand.

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>