Thread: Wiring an IC pump?

So I got my IC pump mounted where I want it now I just need to wire it. I bought a relay/wire kit and want to know the best power source to use. I've read in the past that the best place to power it is via the fuel pump or an injector circuit. With that said, I think I may give an injector circuit a try. So, does anyone know the proper way to wire it to an injector circuit and what color wire in the wiring harness I should be splicing into? There is an injector circuit fuse in the engine bay fuse fox, however there is no room for an ad a fuse

Really you could use any ignition source that is active when the engine is running.

wire a add a fuse to a ignition "on" fuse in your fuse box. add a on/off switch too so you can power it off or on as needed.

The injector or fuel pump circuit is your trigger, not your power source. Use a properly sized fuse off the top lug of the relay center or battery as your power source. Then ground the relay to a solid ground source and use the injector/pump circuit as your trigger.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

The injector or fuel pump circuit is your trigger, not your power source. Use a properly sized fuse off the top lug of the relay center or battery as your power source. Then ground the relay to a solid ground source and use the injector/pump circuit as your trigger.

Ok very good, I knew I had something incorrect lol. What color wire to splice for the circuit trigger? There is orange, pink, blue, etc, etc

On the relay or in the fuse box?

I don't know your relay, so can't tell you much there based on wire color. Although to understand relays based off the numbers on them 65, 66, 87, 87a and 30, take a look at the12volt.com and in their relay section they explain everything about it.

On the fuse box, I'd need to look it up in the manual.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

On the relay or in the fuse box?

I don't know your relay, so can't tell you much there based on wire color. Although to understand relays based off the numbers on them 65, 66, 87, 87a and 30, take a look at the12volt.com and in their relay section they explain everything about it.

On the fuse box, I'd need to look it up in the manual.

Ok I will check it out. I was under the impression that I would have to splice into an actual wire connecting to one of the injectors.

You could if you wanted it visible and on the engine. That wire originates at the fuse box. Personally I'm into the clean and hidden thing, plus you need a lot less wire if your are powering from the top nut and triggering from the back of the box.

Pretty sure I use the fuel pump to trigger the IC pump relay. That way if you kick the key on to tune the car, the pump doesn't run and use extra battery power.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

You could if you wanted it visible and on the engine. That wire originates at the fuse box. Personally I'm into the clean and hidden thing, plus you need a lot less wire if your are powering from the top nut and triggering from the back of the box.

Pretty sure I use the fuel pump to trigger the IC pump relay. That way if you kick the key on to tune the car, the pump doesn't run and use extra battery power.

So you recommend using the fuel pump as the trigger over an injector circuit?

i did mine to the ignition with an inline fuse

I made mine much more complicated.
Mine was a little bit of a custom project. I had a theory that max cooling would not occur at 100% pump flow at all times. Looked into a variable control method. There is a local electronics shop that puts radio shack to shame as far as parts and expertise. A guy helped me understand a few things and introduced me to Pulse Width Modulation(PWM). You can't just throw a potentiometer inline and dial back the power because you will have a buildup of heat due to resistance. PWM operates by sending an effective signal by pulsing power at 100% and 0%. I wasn't sure if I was up in the night with these ideas, but while searching around on ZZP a few days later, I noticed that they have a variable pump speed controller. I felt validated to read that their unit uses PWM. The ZZP unit takes the signal from the TPS to turn up and down the pump speed. They indicate that they were able to get cooler temps with this method. I was thwarted recently because I had one wire off on my PWM unit, but now that I have it figured out, and bench tested, it's going in tomorrow.



I ran power from the top of the fuse box into a relay that is ignition switched and I also have a manual switch inline.
Mounted my potentiometer on the top of the shifter panel.



Sorry if this was a thread jack.

Clint, while I love the idea, I worry that the unsealed box in the engine bay is either a corrosion or water issue waiting to happen.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Clint, while I love the idea, I worry that the unsealed box in the engine bay is either a corrosion or water issue waiting to happen.

The box has a top and I will seal it.

Where do you get a relay for an ic pump? I didn't get one with my IC. Is the pump controller from ZZP worth the money?

relays can be bought at any parts store. if you buy a fog light wire kit, you get the relay, switch and wire. most come with a 30 amp relay.

Keep in mind if you mount your relay (expensive IMO at the store) in the engine bay, you want to waterproof it.

92-99 Bonneville and LeSabres had great waterproof relays in their engine bays with nice long heavy gauge wire going to the fans. Just giving you a heads up. Usually yards are cheap.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

Keep in mind if you mount your relay (expensive IMO at the store) in the engine bay, you want to waterproof it.

92-99 Bonneville and LeSabres had great waterproof relays in their engine bays with nice long heavy gauge wire going to the fans. Just giving you a heads up. Usually yards are cheap.

They even have the little piece to hook to a metal tab for mounting. Caddies are great for the metal piece to mount relays to btw

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

You could if you wanted it visible and on the engine. That wire originates at the fuse box. Personally I'm into the clean and hidden thing, plus you need a lot less wire if your are powering from the top nut and triggering from the back of the box.

Pretty sure I use the fuel pump to trigger the IC pump relay. That way if you kick the key on to tune the car, the pump doesn't run and use extra battery power.

We got the car started tonight, pump running and all. Thing is when we used a test light for both the fuel pump circuit and injector circuit, there was power to both of them even with the ignition just on run and the motor not running. However, this was by testing the fuse itself, not the wires in back of the fuse box as we were unsure of what wire is what (there are a lot of them). So as of now the pump turns on even with just the ignition on and motor off. Looks like I have some more homework to do!