Stealthy injector kill switch, 6th Generation Civic

[steffen707]

Okay here was my test rig, i went to the junkyard and got a main relay connector, plugged that into the main relay, on the other end I crimped spade connectors and inserted those into the cars main relay plug.

I started the car and reved the engine up to about 4,000rpm and then disconnected one wire at a time. Every wire except the blue will shut the car off. Some of them will just shut the fuel pump off and the engine will continue to run and slowly sputter to a stop.

Any wire that instantly shut the car off also shuts off the fuel pump. I checked by having my digital multi meter connected to the fuel pump, and when you would disconnect a wire like the black ground wire, the engine shut off and there was no voltage to the fuel pump.

I wanted to disconnect the power wire that feeds each injector, except I did not feel like hacking into my engine wire harness. Someday maybe i'll do that, but for now i'm going to do the relay switch.

SO, I totally agree that putting the switch on the ground wire is the best idea. Hopefully somebody that is curious if the fuel pump gets shut off will benefit from my testing.

[steffen707]

Hey California, did you get that push button switch at a store or online? My local auto parts places and hardware stores don't have any switches like that. I went to the junkyard and found an auto gear shifter just like yours from a 98 Civic EX. Copying is the highest form of flattery right?

[hawk2100n]

I have been thinking about a normally-closed push-button mounted in one of the blanks where the power mirror adjustment switch usually lives in fancier civics. Push to coast. I wanted to snag a big red or black one like you see in an old arcade machine for a clean install. There are two small blanks and a larger one. I would like for that to become my Eco control panel. Have the fuel cutoff and adjacent an alternator disconnect toggle.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by steffen707

Hey California, did you get that push button switch at a store or online? My local auto parts places and hardware stores don't have any switches like that.

I bought it in a brick-n-mortar store, not online. But I was out of town and don't remember the store name, sorry.

Originally Posted by steffen707

I went to the junkyard and found an auto gear shifter just like yours from a 98 Civic EX.

That's cool. You saved mucho cash then, probably. I was impatiently unwilling to search the yards. Impatience, like inexperience, always leads to lost cash in these projects, I have found.

Originally Posted by steffen707

Copying is the highest form of flattery right?

Yes indeedy, but be careful what you copy, 'cause sometimes I have little idea what I'm doing!! hahaha!

[steffen707]

I DID IT! I copied your push button setup, but I had to buy a smaller normally closed push button switch off ebay. I was worried about its amperage capacity but it hasn't been a problem yet.

I'll post some pictures tonight if you don't mind. I'm not thread jacking, just adding another option to the readers.

I'm guessing bump starting the car uses less gas than with the starter, but have you read/noticed/found any info about how much more fuel is used with the starter?

I've just started my P&G efforts, and so far its amazing how well it can work.

I can get 70+mpg in certain warm engine city only trips where I could only get 50-60mpg previously.

The example i've read a lot is if you can pulse at more than half your cruise mpg, and pulse for the same time as your coast, you will be better off.

What i'm finding on the limited testing i've done, is that I can pulse for 5 seconds (from 25mph to 35mph) and glide for 20-25 seconds back down to 25mph.

So even though i'm only getting 17-22 mpg pulsing in 3rd or 4th at relatively high throttle, I'm gliding for 4-5 times my pulse, giving me like 85-137.5mpg spread depending if its 17mpg for 4 times length, or 22mpg for 5 times length.

PRETTY AMAZING STUFF. Of course I need to hone my skills a bit, but i'm glad I did the mod.

Now my only concern is all this engine off electrical use. I think its draining my battery.....probably causing long term harm to it.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by steffen707

I'll post some pictures tonight if you don't mind. I'm not thread jacking, just adding another option to the readers.

You're on your way into the wonderful world of pulse and glide. I don't think the bump start uses really any significant extra power, other than the slight rev up you get when you get a good "spin" on the bump sometimes. The starter definitely draws some juice, which will ultimately have to be restored to the battery by the alternator.

Post pics! Would love to see them.

james

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by steffen707

What i'm finding on the limited testing i've done, is that I can pulse for 5 seconds (from 25mph to 35mph) and glide for 20-25 seconds back down to 25mph.

So even though i'm only getting 17-22 mpg pulsing in 3rd or 4th at relatively high throttle, I'm gliding for 4-5 times my pulse, giving me like 85-137.5mpg spread depending if its 17mpg for 4 times length, or 22mpg for 5 times length.

PRETTY AMAZING STUFF. Of course I need to hone my skills a bit, but i'm glad I did the mod.

Now my only concern is all this engine off electrical use. I think its draining my battery.....probably causing long term harm to it.

That's the ticket! The magic is in the glide.

I have a trickle charger that I plug in every night to maintain the battery. I ate up 2 batteries in 2 years before it. With the charger the next battery lasted 3 years. I'm in Texas so the heat is hard on them as well.

[steffen707]

Originally Posted by steffen707

I'm guessing bump starting the car uses less gas than with the starter, but have you read/noticed/found any info about how much more fuel is used with the starter?

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I don't think the bump start uses really any significant extra power, other than the slight rev up you get when you get a good "spin" on the bump sometimes. The starter definitely draws some juice, which will ultimately have to be restored to the battery by the alternator.

I wasn't as concerned about the electricity that the starter uses, but more about the gasoline spent to fire the engine back up. I figure that bump starting uses less fuel than using the starter. But has any info been gathered about how much fuel is used to start an engine?

Or like how many seconds at idle is equal to starting an engine? Kinda like, if you idle for more than 5 seconds its always better to shut the engine off and restart it to use less fuel?

[PaleMelanesian]

We've found a couple external studies that range from 7 to 15 seconds of idle fuel for a key start.

[steffen707]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

That's the ticket! The magic is in the glide.

I have a trickle charger that I plug in every night to maintain the battery. I ate up 2 batteries in 2 years before it. With the charger the next battery lasted 3 years. I'm in Texas so the heat is hard on them as well.

That's what I was going to do. I bought a harbor freight on board 1.5amp maintainer for $15 last year. Hooked it up to my crv for the winter, as I only drive that once a few weeks. WORKED FLAWLESSLY. Middle of winter after not driving it for a month, freezing cold, the car fired right up.

Anyways, i bought another one and am going to hook it up to my econobox as well.

I'll post pics shortly.