after noon all,
i seem to have no luck with fuel pumps i've had 3 die on various vws ive owned over the last 6 years
i've also had no luck finding new german ones either or rebuild kits for them
so im thinking about an electric pump
my rotabug has some sort of universal repco pump but it runs an 8mm fuel line as well as a tank return line but a local vw mechanic has said i need to fit a shut off solenoid so that if i park up hill my sump doesnt end up full of petrol

can anyone shed any light on this for me is it necessary on modern pumps
thanks

Joel
btw its for a standardish (twin solexs) 1600 Lbug

Well, there might be something in this, but this presumes that the needle/seat/float assembly in the carb leaks badly enough, but, christ, it'd have to be a seriouly damaged needle and seat to be concerned with fuel making it into the sump enough to bother you.
If that was an issue, id be more concerned with the totally flooded engine first.

L8tr
E

I personally would be wiring this the fuel pump in such a way that it only runs while engine is running/ignition on.

I would also have a cutoff switch, this does two things firstly allows you to turn the pump off manually but also a thieft deterant. Like tassupervee, states if you needle and seat are good you shouldnt have too much of a problem. the other thing is that with electric pump you do have the ability to beat the needle and seat. if you install a pressure reg you will be able to adjust the pressure the carby has. most carbies like max 7 psi. SU's like no more than 3psi and webers 4psi. As long as you take the normal precautions (regulator and relay) all should be fine. You do nto need a high pressure pump but a high volume.

Besides. to full you sump there has to be heaps that goes wrong there. I would be concerned about other things before that. Almost seems that the person does nto understand what a needle and seat let alone a float does.

Cheers
T

i run an electric pump on my bug and have actually filled 2 cylinders with fuel on a hill. so i had a cut out switch wired in and fed from the oil pressure sender. so the pump wouldnt start unless there was oil pressure there and that was achieved in the first few kicks of the engine

thanks dave it took a while to figure it out and meant that we didnt have to buy a special relay for it

Yer that is an excellent suggestion.
However, id personally be inclined to use the oil pressure switch to pull in a dedicated relay for the pump.
Just a concession to the longevity of the switch contacts that were only really intended to pull in a 3 watt dash light.
A pedantic point I know but Im pedantic i spose!!! ;-P
L8tr
E

Yes love the idea but like super I would be running a relay. For the extra cost it is not worth mucking around, as you know it will let you down and teh worst possible moment. I still would recommend a regulator as well.

Cheers
T

i had also planned on using the oil pressure switch for the pump relay,

anyone know where to find these cut off vavles?
the mechanic that told me about this said try somewhere like elgas or some other gas supplies place
thanks

Joel

i've also heard of someone with a gemini using the alternator output for powering a relay only when the engines running

Joel

I recently installed a Carter rotary pump in my kombi to replace the dodgy stock pump. So far so good! When I looked into it the issues were that there are apparently a lot of cheap, noisy electric fuel pumps and you were better off with the more expensive and quieter rotary ones. You also need to make sure it runs at about 3 - 3.5 psi.

I power mine from a relay on the alternator light line. This means the pump only runs when the engine is running, which is handy in an accident!

I got a switch for mine, thats meant for LPG installs. It runs off the coil. When you prime the ignition it will prime the pump for a few secs. The switch senses sparks from the coil, so once the time in between them becomes to great it kills the pump. Eg if the engine dies the pump is killed. It was only $30 or so.

Well, I had a sump filled with petrol from parking my kombi on an uphill slope overnight! Actually it's happened to me twice. I am assuming that gravity has acted on the electric pump mechanism which has allowed fuel to pass through it, then the needle and seat on my RHS carby had also leaked and allowed fuel to drain into the cylinders on one side. Then I guess the fuel seeped past the rings and filled the case with oil. Result was hydraulic lock when I tried to start the engine. It just wouldn't turn over. Had to pull the plugs and crank the motor to blow the fuel out of the cylinders as well as change the oil! DON'T EVER DO THIS WITHOUT REMOVING THE COIL + WIRE OR THE SPARK WILL IGNITE THE SPILT / BLOWN OUT FUEL!!! Yes that did happen to me and it was no fun at all...
I'd planned to fit a solenoid operated cutout into the fuel line before the pump but haven't yet. I just reverse up the driveway instead and all is good. The best setup would include a fuel pressure regulator as well as a fuel cutoff device. Then again hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Cheers!
Toby

an lpg gas shop will have a good cuoff that can be wired from the coil + ve