Bühler Motor to Provide Auxiliary Water Pumps for Chevrolet Volt and Some GM Hybrid Vehicles
20 October 2008
Bühler Motor, Inc., has finalized contracts with General Motors to provide custom 12W and 50W auxiliary water pumps for the Chevrolet Volt Extended-Range Electric Vehicle and some GM hybrid vehicles.
Bühler says that the two companies have been working together in a technology partnership since mid-2007 to engineer the customized water pump technology necessary to circulate coolant through the Volt’s subsystems.
Bühler Motor, Inc., and its parent, Bühler Motor GmbH, have been providing automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers with customized mechatronic drive technology since 1969. A partial past and present client list includes Audi, BMW, Continental, GM, Hella, Johnson Controls, Lear, Magna, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens and Volkswagen.
One pump for the battery pack, another pump for the control electronics/motor?.. or is the ICE water pump now electric?.. Most likely the ICE still uses a belt to drive the water pump.. but it could easily be converted to electric.
Posted by: Herm | 20 October 2008 at 06:05 PM
Belt driven cooling water pumps should be ripped out of every automobile except for actual antique cars. Two separate pumps should be installed: One for the engine cooling and one for the heater. The engine cooling pump could and should have a built in temperature control which also eliminates the thermostat. Belt driven fans should also be removed and replaced with electric ones. All pumps and fans should be brushless. The current pumps and fans waste a lot of energy. Eventually there should not be a single belt or gear attached to the crankshaft. The Model T Ford had a flywheel alternator, so can a present car have a flywheel alternator starter. Electrical operation of the AC system would be more reliable and efficient and less mechanically complex and would allow a lifetime leak free system. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 20 October 2008 at 06:25 PM
Do any modern vehicles still come with mechanically driven fans?
Any Hybrid vehicle or vehicle with an electrical system greater than the standard 14V should come with electrical pumps...you would have trouble finding excess electrical capacity on 14V systems.
Posted by: | 23 October 2008 at 11:14 AM