Hi all,
After using this forum for years, pulling from the seemingly endless pit of expertise, I felt it was finally time for me to give back.
While going through the process of installing an electric water-pump from Davies Craig, I noticed much of the information on this forum is either vague or incomplete. There seem to be a lot of mixed accounts and misinformation around both the installation of the kit, as well as the viability of an electric water-pump as a whole.
Because of this, I felt that perhaps some users on here would like a first hand account of the installation process, coming from someone who is currently running this pump with much success.
For clarification, this is in a Federal +2, and utilizes the water-pump with the included wiring harness and controller. I can confirm that this setup works very well in my car, however Loti seem to have a lot of… character, and your milage may vary.
The main headache of this installation was the discreet location of the pump. Because of the lack of space, I felt that the area below the front carb was my best bet. Using a section of the original lower-rad-hose, as well as a couple of 90 degree bends, I was able to place the pump JUST out of the way of the distributor. The orientation of the pump was also a concern of mine, as the pump wants to be upright in order to bleed air effectively out of the system.
One of the reoccurring criticisms of this modification is the belief that you will lose the use of your heater. If the stock heater return location is used, then this concern is absolutely valid. The issue can be easily resolved by T-ing in the heater hose before the electric pump, and capping off the old inlet on the timing cover.
I chose to leave the stock water pump in place, as it still allows coolant to pass through it, even without the impeller moving. I did, however, remove the thermostat, as it is no longer necessary for modulating the temperature.
The Davies Craig controller uses a single temperature sensor to read the coolant temperature and modify the pump’s behaviour accordingly. Because the kit comes with a fitting for said sensor, it was easy to plumb it in between the thermostat housing and the rad. Quick note: DO NOT shorten the wire running to the sensor. If you have extra wire, just bundle it up and tuck it away.
The rest of the wiring is pretty straight forward; 12v switched from the ignition switch, 12v fused from the solenoid, earth to earth, pump to pump. The controller has the ability to control an electric fan via a relay, which you’ll be happy to know works great with the stock fan.
Lastly, I hid the controller in the glovebox and ran the wiring out the back via a small hole. Looks clean and means you don’t have to look at it the whole time. The pump test light, which tells you if there’s an issue with the system, I wired in behind one of the stock dash lights to keep it discreet.
A couple of final notes:
I know you can run the pump without the controller as an “always on” situation, but I would advise against this. When set up correctly the controller works incredibly well, and allows the engine to warm up and maintain temperature as it is supposed to.
It appears to me that the controller does not like to have its 12v battery power switched on and off. This may be a problem if you use a battery shutoff frequently. This hasn’t caused any permanent issues, however I have had a couple instances of the controller not activating even after the battery has been reconnected.
Thanks again to all the incredible people on this forum, without you, I highly doubt I would have a running and driving car
Cheers, and follow me on Instagram @margosfast if you wanna check out the car!
