Manual switch for elec. water pump?
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From: Atlanta
Manual switch for elec. water pump? Is there any such thing? Why would anybody want to be able to control an electric water pump from inside the car? It makes no sense whatsoever. I know somebody who says they have seen this done. I call BS!! 
Opinions? And it was on a SC 427, btw.
Opinions? And it was on a SC 427, btw.
Last edited by grb; Jul 1, 2008 at 08:18 AM. Reason: additional comment
I've never seen any real testing, but I have heard that one stands to gain a touch by turning it off for the 1/4 blast.. Not sure that I would want a manual switch in the event "I" forgot to turn it back on... Seems like asking for issues for a small if any gain.
Yes there is such a thing. Many people do it, especially in racecars to allow the driver to toggle the pump on and off in the pits/staging lanes/etc. It allows the pump to circulate water through the cooling system even when the car is off... This, combined with a manual fan switch can continue to make the cooling system work effectively with the car off, cooling the car in between rounds or before/after passes.
With an electric water pump as soon as you turn the accessories on, the pump will be pumping coolant to the radiator.
What would be the point to have a manual switch? Your car will overheat for starters!
What would be the point to have a manual switch? Your car will overheat for starters!
Yall are forgetting the RACECAR part. They may not have a key to turn to the "ACC." position. Even if they do, this would keep the drain on the battery lower if you wanted to run it while the engine is off. There would be no dome light, radio, etc. on with the pump.
Thread Starter
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From: Atlanta
So it would be something a racer might do but far too risky to risk on a daily or even occassional driver? How would the average guy remember to turn on his water pump? I guess he would see the temp gauge headed to red or sense an over-heating condition.
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Thread Starter
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From: Atlanta
Starting a car and putting it in gear are long established habits. In fact, you're not going anywhere until you do both. Having to remember to turn on a water pump is asking for disaster!
i dont think its possible to turn the pump completly off, u just get to select whether u want it on or on automatic, automatic is controlled by the pcm. i think it would be great to be able to have my whole cooling system flowing with the car off
FormerVendor
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As it has already been mentioned, with a switch you can over-ride the thermostat and turn your waterpump on to cool the engine down without the engine running, while it's at a temperature lower than the typical temperature that the thermostat kicks the pump on at.
Wiring in a manual switch doesn't necessarily have to mean that the pump is ONLY controlled manually. You would wire it so that the thermostat still automatically kicks the pump on when it's supposed to, whether or not the switch is on. You would just use the manual switch to allow you to kick the pump on if the engine is off or not at operating temperature.
Wiring in a manual switch doesn't necessarily have to mean that the pump is ONLY controlled manually. You would wire it so that the thermostat still automatically kicks the pump on when it's supposed to, whether or not the switch is on. You would just use the manual switch to allow you to kick the pump on if the engine is off or not at operating temperature.
FormerVendor
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Yep, it would be very simple to do. After you wire everything up that comes with the electric water pump kit you would then go back in a pretty much splice the the wire from your switch directly to the power wire of the pump if the pump is turned on by 12v. Otherwise if it's turned on by ground you would just use a relay with the switch to send a ground signal to the pump wire.
I am wiring mine to come on with the key on and with the manual switch. So it's always one when the key is on, but can be on without the key as well. It's the fail proof way of doing it.
Thread Starter
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From: Atlanta
So what you are all saying is you could have a switch to turn on your elec. water pump in order to circulate cooler water through the engine when needed, but you would wire it "properly" so that it would still come on automatically as the engine temp. rose.
No, you can wire it so that it comes on whenever the car is running, with the switch off, and when the car is off by flipping the switch. The thermostat should not control the wp, it should run whenever the engine is on. The switch should just be for when the engine is off....
There are tons of ways to wire it. For instance..
You wire it up in such a way that:
A) It turns on automatically with the key
B) Turns on when either low or fast fan setting comes on
C) Turns on manually with a switch.
If either A or B you could have a manual switch to over ride it to run it in the pits/staging lane
In addition to A/B/C, you could wire it up to also run through a relay on the normally closed side. With a WOT switch, you could have it switch the power to the normally open side removing power to the relaym turning the pump off for WOT. It would automatically come back on once your out of WOT.
Wiring has endless options, just a matter of how many relays you want to run.
You wire it up in such a way that:
A) It turns on automatically with the key
B) Turns on when either low or fast fan setting comes on
C) Turns on manually with a switch.
If either A or B you could have a manual switch to over ride it to run it in the pits/staging lane
In addition to A/B/C, you could wire it up to also run through a relay on the normally closed side. With a WOT switch, you could have it switch the power to the normally open side removing power to the relaym turning the pump off for WOT. It would automatically come back on once your out of WOT.
Wiring has endless options, just a matter of how many relays you want to run.