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Currently have a kill switch rigged to turn off the fuel pump. Installed it to help with some diagnostics on flooding issues. Flooding is now fixed (fingers crossed) but my kid likes the kill switch as our car was once stolen.
However…. Having the kill switch to the fuel pump has proved dangerous. A couple of times The Kid has forgotten to turn it on and the three minutes or so of fuel left in the carb allows him to get the car into fast moving traffic where the fuel runs out and the engine stalls scaring the crap out of him
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Moved the kill switch over to the ‘engine’ fuse in the fuse box, installed in line by cutting and splicing in to the thinner black with white stripe wire that attaches to the rear of the ‘engine’ fuse socket. I assumed that this would prevent the engine from starting… but I was wrong. Darned thing still starts. Runs weirdly but still starts.
Two questions:
Where in the wiring should I splice in a kill switch to prevent engine from starting?
What does the ‘engine’ fuse actually protect?
Reminds me of when when I raced motocross in the 70's / 80's. Invariably, it wasn't uncommon for someone to forget to turn on their petcock when starting your bike on the line. Your bike would run off the fuel in the bowl for a few minutes but would normally run out halfway up the start straight, ruining your start. We didn't consider it dangerous, it just taught you to pay attention and to "think" about what you were doing.
Some guys even had little stickers on top of their tanks that said "don't forget to turn on the gas stupid"
could you wire an LED indicator that illuminated when the fuel pump was off?
I do like the idea of an idiot light. However I am dealing with a 17 year old driver... and idiot is an understatement. For a light to get his attention it would also have to give him an electric shock through the seat of his pants. Then again, that may be a good idea!
Reminds me of when when I raced motocross in the 70's / 80's. Invariably, it wasn't uncommon for someone to forget to turn on their petcock when starting your bike on the line. Your bike would run off the fuel in the bowl for a few minutes but would normally run out halfway up the start straight, ruining your start. We didn't consider it dangerous, it just taught you to pay attention and to "think" about what you were doing. Some guys even had little stickers on top of their tanks that said "don't forget to turn on the gas stupid"
I have done it myself when driving his car. Takes a few seconds for the spluttering stalling engine to trigger the 'Oh... fuel switch!' in my brain.
Hunt down where the trigger wire to the starter comes from. Use a switch to control a relay then go to the starter trigger wire.
Does seem the way to go. Very new to electronics, but a quick Google seems to tell me that anything that shuts off the starter or the coils would need to be a relay in the engine bay with a switch in the cab, due to the load the interrupted wire would be carrying. Couple of steps deeper than I hoped, but hey... if I rebuilt the freakin' engine and carb armed with zero experience and the help of you guys I can install a relay. Going to do some research and see if I can get that done.
