Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

How can I find out the amperage draw of racing fuel pumps.
I've got an Aeromotive A 1000 and it's grossly overkill for my application. I'm going to go smaller over the winter. Want to get one that draws the least current.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art call Weldon when you get their pumps they have a flow chart amp draw vs pressure and voltage + you wont find a better part or warnnty

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art, there is a tool called a fuse buddy. It is made for flat blade fuses, not sure about round ones. Get the right one for your application and plug it into the circuit and it will tell the amp draw you have on that circuit NAPA sells them, not sure about anywhere else. Hope this helps.
Mark

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art, you can use your DVOM most have an amp setting. Just hook one wire to Batt pos. the other to your pumps pos. wire and read the display. If your meter doesn't do Amps please disregard, however I'm not sure I would purchase a fuel pump based on amp draw alone. Amp draw of an electric motor is not a true indicator of how good it is. Just my opinion. Joe

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

There is nothing wrong with the present setup. It's just overkill for the power I make.
And I'm looking the lower my amperage draw. I can slow my car down .08 to a tenth by putting the electric fans on. So I figure that there is something in a smaller fuel pump.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art,
The slower ET is probably because the Electric fans are blowing forward. It might be to your advantage to reverse the rotation & make them puller fans.
With a big enough battery your ride might be quicker. Keep it quiet.. I can see it now-- an ART fan rotation rule... ;~)

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Thanks Adger, but they already are reversed. I didn't think I could afford the pusher fans with my blistering 105 mph LOL Probably would slow me down a bunch.
There is a distinct correlation to my voltage and my horsepower. Leaving the alternator off costs me a tenth (in the wrong direction) Even though I have a full sized battery in the stock location (short leads)
I run a Mezeire water pump, 2 LC1 wide bands, an A 1000 fuel pump, the electric fan, and my ECU (which works from 8 to 20 volts).
But on the track or on the dyno. When I disconect the alternator it slows or loses power.
I think the fuel pump is the biggest amp draw. Thats why I want to go to a smaller one.
I'm only making 240 HP (hope for 260) so the A 1000 is gross overkill.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art--- call Aeromotive talk to their tech dept---these guys are sharp tell em your situation see what they say---also ask em about the #16306 fuel pump speed controller see if it will help your case---Good luck Comp

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art, between the 2 I'd have to say without a doubt your fans pull more amps than the fuel pump, 'course I'm unsure of what fans you run but for the most part they pull quite a bit. I personally don't run my fan during the run, flip it on coming up the return road. My car is in storage now or I'd test my pump which is the same as you run. As mentioned earlier I'm sure you can get this info from Aeromotive they do make a great product. As a side note the heaters in your 02's also are a fair amount of current draw. Joe

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

You don't want your fans running during a pass anyway. They actually tend to block air flow through the radiator. They can not move as much air as ram air above 40 MPH or so. Factory computers cut the fans off about that speed and just let them "wind mill". I don't know about other ECUs, but FAST cuts them off at WOT for the same reason. The car will actually run cooler that way, they will come back on in the shut down area. Art, you might check with the people that make the ECU you are using about that.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Before you call any pump manufacturer, make sure you have all the engine and vehicle information -- size, horsepower, fuel being used, system pressure (very important), fuel cell or modified factory tank, exisitng fuel line configuration, bypass regulator (type & location).

The manufacturer should be able to provide either actual flow curves for the suitable fuel pump or the numbers for said pump. Biggest mistake in fuel system design is too much pump................it'll kill the engine's performance.

good luck

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Jim, I'd have to disagree about the biggest mistake being putting too much pump to the system. In this instance at least it's better to go bigger, bigger lines, bigger pumps, bigger regulators from my experience have no detrimental effects on engine performance. Of course the entire system has to be compatable, example don't put 5/8 line with marginal pump ect. Most companies have complete systems that are designed to work as a unit. Joe

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Joe -- I guess we'll have to agree to disagree; it is best to design the system to match the engine's performance -- not design on a hypothetical performance. You'd be surprised how the properly sized fuel system will actually pick up a car's performance, especially in the first half of the track.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Jim Craig helped us with the size of the Weldon fuel pump and overall design of our system on our Super Stocker. The pump is far smaller than you would imagine and the car runs fairly well.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

I'll probably wait till the PRI show and try to talk with the manufacturers.
I'm sure there is something to be gained by going smaller. With the present set up the voltage drops over 1 volt when I turn the pump on with the motor off. Can't tell what happens with the motor on because the motor shuts down immediatly.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art,

I may be going out on a limb here, but I think you may be looking in the wrong area. Kind of like using a butterfly band-aid instead of having a cut sewn up...

You touched on what I believe is the answer. Your ECU may be able to run anywhere from 8 to 20 volts, but the tune definitely changes. Rather than have to run the alternator, you could tune the engine at each voltage via the battery adder function. The correct way to do it is to tune the engine while it's powered by a variable voltage inverter. Tune the car at a given voltage, like 13v, then adjust the inverter's output voltage to match another cell on your battery adder table in the ECU. Adjust the adder function on both the ignition and fuel (most likely it's a multiplier on the fuel) untill the engine is making the same power at the new voltage and then move on to a different voltage. Tuning the battery adder stuff is quick and painless, all you have to do is pick a single RPM point and adjust the battery adder function to get the engine running correctly...

Once you've done this, you will be able to run sans alternator with a decent battery and not loose ET. More than likely, you're loosing between 8 and 12 amps to the fuel pump, and a bit more than that to the water pump. Start the runs with the battery at roughly 12.5v or so, and end it in the 11's. No big deal if the battery voltage correction factors are set correctly!

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Sounds like good advice, was unsure of Art's systems capabilities. My system also has a voltage compensation table however I've yet to use it, never saw a noticeable change in voltage on my runs. Joe

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Art,
What you might need is a step up in your electrical system.
There are a few systems available. I would give Pat Collins a call @ http://www.techwestracing.com/
704-995-4286
I got a well known Comp team hooked up with him and he helped their program. I can tell you first hand that his Max Power system made more power on a dyno I am associated with than just a good 12 volt battery with a charger attached. That was with a MSD 7 system and the appropriate coil. Listen to him when he talks about coils.

Also, I agree with Jim about the correct sizing of the fuel system. The bigger is better way is similar to what I call the "Shotgun Way" Throw enough lead at anything and you will eventually hit it. You need big enough, but too big has some problems like air in the system and heat soak. Plus a few other issues.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

The voltage compensation table is to correct injector pulse width, but that has much more effect at lower RPM, not so much at higher RPM. Adjust that table at one RPM and you won't see the same A/F change at all RPM. More low, less up high. The correct way to address it is upgrading the electrical system to stabalize the voltage. EFI cars, IMHO, should have 2 16 volt batteries or an alternator if 12 volts. Low voltage will certainly lean an EFI car because the injectors open slower. I had two 12 volt batteries with an alternator in mine, everything was fine until it suddenly began to kick alternator belts off. I could kiss about .05 worth of ET goodbye when it did that.

Re: Fuel pump amperage draw?
 

Why not run a separate battery just for the engine controls?