Electric chargecooler pump installations

[Qavion]

Thanks, Darren.

Everything seems to be working as you described. I should have the car back on the road in a few hours. That old clip was a huge pain. I had to pull lots of other pipes off the car to get a clear shot at it. I couldn't get a hacksaw on it, so I nibbled away at it with pair of side cutters. Took hours.

The electric water pump flow is not quite as powerful as I expected. Just a nice steady stream, not a fire hose.

I had a look at the old mechanical pump, the plastic vanes looked like they had melted! (after only a thousand kilometers or so). Maybe I didn't bleed the system properly last time I changed it. Either that or I have a blockage somewhere.

Michael, thanks for the tip. I knew his son was helping out during his recuperation, but it's good to hear Steve still has his enthusiasm. I'm always surprised at the effort he puts into answering my email... I even feel guilty at times

Cheers

Ian.

[dodge1979]

No problems, yes I expected a higher pressure too, but it appears not so. Give espritmon a run on your car and see what your mat temp is running at. Mine stays super cool at abou 32 degrees...

The worn impellot blades could either be a lower grade impellor as there are different qualities available, or a damaged housing causing premature wear..either way it doesnt matter as you can now fit and forget! Unless the charge radiator needs changing in the future!

[Qavion]

I'd just like to thank everyone on the forum who helped me with the hurdles involved with converting my '89 SE chargecooler pump to the electric type

The kit from Lotus Marques made things a lot easier, but it still took a few days to complete.

Problems included:

1) Having to partially remove the boot floor to fit the pump to the crossmember

2) not being able to use the original pump-to-coolant tank rubber hose (angles were too extreme). However, the old moulded pump-to-chargecooler pipe fitted a lot better (it is S-shaped).

3) needing an electric drill and a rivet gun to remove the spark plug lead support bracket from the old pump retainer and refitting it to the the new blanking plug retaining plate.

4) Old relay failure. Fortunately, the kit came with a new relay, but I had to figure out which relay controlled the vacuum solenoid (the relays had been shuffled, but I had wiring diagrams to identify the wire colours). Also, after removing the plumbing for the EBPV and the Thottle Jacking Capsule a few years ago, I couldn't remember which solenoid was which. I needed a multimeter to check this. The plumbing schematic in the manual seemed to disagree with the illustration of the fusebox.

5) Needing a strap wrench to remove the oil filter to get better access to the old pump.

6) Figuring out which electrical contacts (pins) to insert into which holes in the electrical plug (Murphy's Law came into play here ))

Anyway, everything seems to be working well. No more rubber impeller changes! Whoohoo.

Cheers!

Ian.

Edited January 31, 2012 by Qavion

[Rearwheelaction]

Ive got an Electric chargecooler pump with all the bits needed if anyone is looking for one. Its brand new and never been fitted.

[Gasman GT3]

How much Gareth?

[dodge1979]

There definately the best option if uve not.got.one ade....but youll need a.blanking plug too for the chargecooler removal

[Rearwheelaction]

Im looking £100 plus postage...And yes have the backing plug and other bits....

[MartinL]

Yes please if its still available, pm. me details for payment etc.

[Rearwheelaction]

ok

[sal786]

Hi All Esprit owners, Would like to change the mechanical pump to a electris pump, but do not know which make to go for.I know esprit owners have used Jaguar XKS water pumps and Bosch ones.(Was told that the pumps should push out 25 litres per minute)? Which make is the most reliable and is not to over priced. please help .........Thank you

[Bibs]

Hi Sal - This has been posted on here tonnes of times, have a search through this section and you'll find people of discussion about it

[dodge1979]

Easy. Buy a bosch pump about 90quid, wiring it in to run off an.ignition live through a.10amp fuse.dependant upon where you decide to locate the pump, some new.coolant hose may be required. Id recomend attachin it to the chassis.cross.brace that bolts on above the gearbox..loads of.room!

[Vulcan Grey]

Here's the main thread

 

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/17540-electric-chargecooler-pump-installations/

[Techspy]

I know this has been covered many times before but who knows what issues I will have along the way so here goes..

 

I had the impeller changed about 10 years ago. I sold the cars a few years after and just bought her back from a "non-enthusiest" so I have a bit of straightening out to do. I noticed my chargecooler was not cool to the touch and power was down on any drives but shorts trips. Here is how I tested to see if I had any flow. I actually had all this stuff sitting around from a water cooled PC I made so I was able to test it in a couple minutes.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY7G6Rgn6oo&feature=youtu.be

 

Fortunately I got back all the extra parts I sold the car with, which included a WCE electric conversion with the blanking plug and bracket. Thank God for small favors, nothing to buy and should not be down more than a few hours.

 

Anyway, I am going to pull the rear trunk panels and use a relay even though the WCE pump supposedly only draws 1.8 amps and can piggyback onto the fuel pump circuit.

 

Well, I am already making a note of some new swear words to use during the removal of the stock pump. Wish me luck and if you have any last minute advice, speak up!

Edited March 30, 2013 by Techspy

[Techspy]

Bolt is removed but having trouble removing the pump. Searching for suggestions...

[Techspy]

Job is done. In a nutshell, the hoses were a pain to get off, the housing was a pain to remove but after that it was pretty straight forward. Impeller on the oem pump had come loose from the hub.

[Bibs]

Its a service item, they never last more than a couple of years at best.

[Techspy]

By the way, does anyone know the actual chargecooler hose inside diameter? I want to relocate the pump lower but want to get some new hoses.

 

Thanks

[ramjet]

Not printed on the hose itself?

[dodge1979]

Or use a tape measure if its apart...

[sanj]

It's 5/8" (16mm) i.d.

[Paul93Lotus]

Thought I would add to this post for those considering a Bosch pump.  The pump that is on most supercharged Mercedes models especially AMG's including the McLaren SLR is Bosch part number 0 392 022 010.  It retails in the low $100ish range and has a partial metal impeller pump housing where as the SVT Lightning and Cobra models use a different model number. Most opt for the one used on Fords because the wiring connector was not readily available for this "010" model pump.  The 010 model moves more volume with an acceptable amperage that should not suck down batteries.  It is also, per the MB forums, way more reliable compared to the prior Bosch model...the 002.

 

I scoured the internet and finally found (and have verified) the proper Mercedes part numbers for this connector and two wiring pigtails that will snap into the plug. Ironically it was someone setting up a custom chargecooler for their Mercedes and it was also in German...but google translate to the rescue.

 

The connector was approx. $17 shipped from www.benzpartsforless.com...

 

Plastic electrical connector: # 2305400081   $1.67   Needed (1)

Wiring lead:  #0005402405   $4.63   Needed (2)

 

This will give you 18" of wiring from the plug with a "weatherpack" type silicone rubber seal at the connector.  The wires "click" and lock into the plug.  Received the Mercedes connector today and verified as the correct part for the job.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Paul93Lotus

[Petemon]

Just a quick point to add.  I bought the blanking plug from JAE, got it quick but it was expensive (about $85).  I thought about it later and the more economical option would be to remove the shaft from the OEM pump fill the hole with RTV and insert a carriage bolt into the driven side of the pump secured with a washer, nyloc nut a/o loctite (mash the threads past the nut too if you're really paranoid).  Total cost about 2 bucks, no waiting and I think ultimately the pump housing is just more robust and less likely to leak oil eventually.  The block off plug just seems a little looser than I'd like and the pump housing had a heavier o-ring.

 

Love the EBPV connector idea, couldn't be any easier and has a nice factory look, I even had a spare connector lying around.

 

I'm looking for a chargecooler, mine leaks into the manifold.  Let me know if anyone has one they are willing to part with.

[Bibs]

There's a nice upgrade available from Alunox if you're after more power?

 

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/57230-uprated-charge-cooler-from-alunox/

[mr.oogieboogie]

Used a jag water pump on mine. Had the end cap welded up on the chargecooler. I think the total cost was around £40 or £50