Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

This site sells the rubber bobbins that come with the pump

http://www.holden.co.uk/displayAgroups. ... Fuel+Pumps

(and an earth wire for the earlier Facet fuel pumps that only have one wire)
Although you could probably make your own for less than the ?7 + postage they want for it.

They also do the different fittings for the pump and various other lotus elan parts that are a bit cheaper than
"classic lotus specialists".

Innes

robertverhey wrote:

That does tend to assume the engine stops after a crash. Better than nothing though I suppose.
The oil warning light switch works the wrong way of course. Are there any oil pressure switches with change-over contact

You'd need to run it through a switching relay. Slightly more complex, but do-able. Anybody good a sketching a basic circuit diagram? If not I'll have a go....

Robert

That's more or less what I was thinking of doing, with a manual override both on and off. Not difficult to conceptualise but so far the thought of pulling out the interior to run the wiring has put me off. I'll probably do it when I next have another reason to strip out the carpeting. Years ago I did run some extra spare wiring from the boot, through the sills to under the dash specifically for jobs like this but the ends seem to have vanished

I'm also a bit wary of making the car more quirky to drive than it already is. On most cars you get in, operate key and drive off. With my Elan at the moment it's insert ignition key, insert red electrics master key, decide whether to use choke on rear carb (richer mixture + higher idle) or front carb (just richer mixture) or both or neither (Strombergs). Having to decide whether to override the fuel pump or not may be a level too far - especially if someone else is driving it.

Has anyone fitted an inertia switch to turn off the pump if you have a crash?

Yes,most modern F.I. cars have them as standard and are easy-peasey to fit (in-line) with the fuel pump...

John

robertverhey wrote:

That does tend to assume the engine stops after a crash. Better than nothing though I suppose.
The oil warning light switch works the wrong way of course. Are there any oil pressure switches with change-over contact

You'd need to run it through a switching relay. Slightly more complex, but do-able. Anybody good a sketching a basic circuit diagram? If not I'll have a go....

Robert

I though of that, but such a circuit is not as easy as it first seems, because the oil warning pressure switch is ON when the engine is off, then OFF when the engine is on (except if oil pressure is dangerously low) and it is ON very briefly when the engine starts.

john.p.clegg wrote:Has anyone fitted an inertia switch to turn off the pump if you have a crash?

Yes,most modern F.I. cars have them as standard and are easy-peasey to fit (in-line) with the fuel pump...

John

Trouble is they are priced as race equipment!

billwill wrote:

john.p.clegg wrote:Has anyone fitted an inertia switch to turn off the pump if you have a crash?

Yes,most modern F.I. cars have them as standard and are easy-peasey to fit (in-line) with the fuel pump...

John

Trouble is they are priced as race equipment!

?30 quid off fleebay? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/INERTIA-SWITCH-CR ... 0434962867

Innes

Sorry Bill,didn't see your earlier post about it having to operate via the oil pressure warning lamp...but why?...it won't empty the fuel in the carbs ,the engine will still run for a while...

John

P.S. even cheaper from the breakers yard ?10..

It's Stuart who was thinking of using the oil pressure. I was just pondering on how one could do that!!


This circuit using just one relay and a push button might do.

It works as follows.

When ignition is off oil pressure is low and oil pressure switch is closed.
As soon as you turn ignition on. The relay closes This OPENS the connection to the fuel pump so it doesn't run.

Press and hold the priming button until the carbs are full & the fuel pump is just ticking.
Release button
Start engine
Oil pressure now opens the oil pressure switch
The relay opens, which CLOSES the connection to the fuel pump, so with oil pressure present the fuel pump runs as normal.

I put mine in between the tyre and tank. Rubber mounted, very quiet rotary pump, low pressure.

Pete
66S2

Yes Verve but it's not electrical, and it's very easy to wire, it's called the original mechanical pump
A proper answer for your question? Dunno, I think most electrical pumps are meant to be located as close to the tank as possible... Someone else can hopefully answer this...

Innes

This Huco pump is very quiet and you can use it in the engine bay.

http://www.dellorto.co.uk/merchandise/p ... ctionID=18

Alan.

Verve wrote:A Daft Question ... please remember I`m an Enthusiast not an Engineer ; ) .

Is there a special pump that can be mounted in the engine bay , where it will definitely be drowned out by other noises , be also easier to wire ... and in the event of a break in the fuel line downstream ( like in an unfortunate accident ) .... it`s less likely to be able to spray fuel everywhere , being so far upstream with the vacuum broken ??

Verve .

I can't think of any reason why any of the Pumps pictured in this thread cannot be mounted in the Engine Bay, after all the original Mechanical Pump is down there.
In my own case I fitted not only the Pump but an in line Filter & a Pressure Regulator (which may not be optional).
The thought of putting all of that in what is already a "crowded place" was not an option for me; I wanted an Engine Bay that was a pleasure to look at. (Nearly got there )
Your broken Fuel line argument is a good one Batman but the risk of that happening can be reduced by using tougher fuel piping, the original Plastic stuff (open to correction, I think it was plastic?) does seem a bit fragile.
Luckily the Fuel line is tucked nicely away up in the Backbone of the Chassis, about the safest place to be in an Elan.

The "noise" aspect is all a bit subjective with an Elan & maybe less so in a +2 they're noisy little cars anyway.
Other than that I use the "ticking noise" when it stops I know I can stamp on the throttle & know that I'm pumping Fuel not Air through the Accelerator Jets

Hope you're keeping well?
Cheers
John

I've just read Innes answer & agree with the fitting of the Pump close to the Tank.
Pumps pump more efficiently than they can suck.
I suppose that if the Pump & Fuel Line are kept as low as possible in the Car the suction height could be kept to an acceptable minimum.

Cheers
John

Another reason to locate the pump as close to the tank as possible is that there's only a short run to a filter upstream of the pump so you needn't worry about long lenghts of clogged fuel lines!