Kill Switches

Did the automatic kill switches work o.k. for the fuelers?

 

Didn't seem to work so well for Haddock in his FC. That thing was ready to burn to the ground and the chutes never came out.

 

they were also hurting the napa team, They just dont shut the cars down the right way, Ron said something to the affect of asking NHRA if they could turn them off if the driver was not in any trouble and able to shut the car off themselves.

 

I'm assuming it has to do with too much fuel in the cylinders and the motor still turning with no spark. It seems that a time relay would fix this problem. I sort of figure they'll eventually move to electrode pads, if the driver loses pulse/heartrate, the box would activate. Laugh now.....don't act like they haven't done sillier things

Brandon Booher
NHRA TAD #44

 

kill switch

My question is why did NHRA not require some testing be done before they instituted these devices and as it looks caused several thousand dollars worth of damage. I am sure their not picking up the tab to replace parts. Every industry I know does some form of testing before making a universe decision that affects individuals. This is just sound business. But again we are talking about NHRA and it seems that sound business decisions are not high on their list.

 

Jim head has had the system on his car for over a year and never had any problems to speak of.

 

hummm and where were the radio RF transmitters on the track that shut off the car????

 

NHRA TECH BULLETIN

GLENDORA, Calif. (Feb. 18, 2010) – NHRA’s technical department made two announcements today effective at this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, Ariz.

ELECTRIMOTION SHUTOFF RECEIVER

NHRA has temporarily suspended mandatory use of the Electrimotion Shutoff Receiver while NHRA works with the manufacturer to meet driver requests.

Top Fuel and Funny Car teams, after the just concluded Pomona event, raised certain concerns about the automatic shutoff process, including potential wear on certain engine components, and a desire among some drivers to keep their traditional routine in place at the end of the track and manually shut down the car when they were fully capable of doing so.

As a result, NHRA and Electrimotion are currently working to develop an override to the Shutoff Receiver when both parachute handles have been enabled. When both chutes have been pulled, the driver will be able to shut down according to his or her normal procedures rather than having the automatic device shut off the vehicle. The override kit is expected to be available prior to the Gainesville, Fla. event which begins March 11.

The automatic shutoff procedure was implemented as a safety measure to stop a vehicle in the event of driver inability to do so. NHRA still encourages the use of the automatic shutoff even during this time period when its use is not mandatory. Therefore, NHRA will install Electrimotion Shutoff Transmitters to accommodate those teams wishing to continue to use the shutoff receivers.

The Electrimotion Safety Shutoff Controllers on Top Fuel and Funny Car vehicles, activated in the case of burst panel rupture, fire bottle activation or activation by the driver, will remain mandatory.

 

I don't see how good those readings would do as there have been plenty of times a driver has had a pulse and been in some form incapacitated.

 

I thought that I heard they they was messing up blowers with the auto kill switches.

 

I think that what Ron Capps was saying was, the system shut the mag down and fuel off at the same time. Most drivers shut the fuel off, let it burn the fuel left in the system, then kill the mag. If you kill the mag with fuel still running through a smoken hot engine, lots of bad things can happen. I though I heard that it blew the burst panels after the shut down system did its thing. That can hurt the blower.