Something I've wondered about which is a little bit related to this is
running the water pump off a small electric motor rather than a belt.

The advantage, in my mind, is that you could have a decent rate of flow
even when the vanagon is at idle, to cut down on coolant system stress
when your stuck in traffic in the summer heat.

I'm not sure what the impact would be on gas mileage.

-Wes

Scott Daniel - Shazam wrote:
> Go for it.
> Document your fuel mileage really carefully first, then do the changes, then
> check again and let us know what improvement you get.
>
> It is standard on many modern Honda's and I imagine many other modern cars
> that the alternator only charges when it needs to, as controlled by the
> engine's ECU>
>
> I'll bet this fuel saving tip isn't on that list :
> In any car with an automatic trans, the instant it's where I want it I shut
> off the engine, 'then' I put the shifter in Park.  Stopping, and first
> putting it in Park, which makes it rev up.......then shutting it off just
> wastes fuel.
>
> On a manual, if just sliding straight into a parking spot, I shut it off at
> least 30 feet before I get there and coast in.
> scott
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Ken Lewis
> Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 6:31 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Was: Electric Vanagon? Now really useful tips..
>
> Here is a site with some gas saving tips:
> http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthread.php?t=44
>
> Section 4; item #8 caught my eye. ;"Take off the alternator belt".
>    Instead of something that drastic I was thinkng of adding a circuit loop
> to disable/enable the alternator on my daily driver . Some sites claim 5 to
> 10% fuel savings.
> Spit-balling:
> The alternator would only be loaded during:
> 1> braking
> 2>battery voltage below 11(?) volts
> 3>button on shifter activation for downshifting
> 4>?
>
> Otherwise the ignition system would run on the spare battery . Solar panels
> could charge it during the day between commutes. All parts I have laying
> around the garage. Hmmmm....
>
> Ken Lewis
> http://neksiwel.20m.com/
>
>