Quick! Run out to your driveway, weave between all the Anadols and Citroëns and classic Camaros and DAFs and Hanomags and LaForzas until you get to the M’s, then go past the Morgans and Morrises and Matras until you find where you parked your Maseratis. From there, find a Quattroporte. Now, pull off the soiled tarp, open the door, get in, and look at the dash. You should see a button on the dash, labeled in a strangely alarming combination of all caps and strange abbreviations.
EMERG PUMP. What does that actually do?
I feel like this is a valid question; that button sure feels important, and if we make some very reasonable assumptions about what that means, it’s probably an EMERGENCY PUMP. But what kind of pump? And why is it reserved for emergencies?
Cars are full of pumps – fuel, oil, windshield washer fluid, and in the case of something amphibious like an Amphicar, even bilge pumps – but what would be the context for a pump that is only to be activated in emergencies, and even then via a button on the dash, instead of any sort of automatic failsafe system?
So what the hell is this? Don’t worry, I’m not cruel, I’m going to tell you. It’s for a fuel pump. A second fuel pump.
Now, I know some cars have an in-tank pump and another fuel pump closer to the engine and these act together, but that’s not what this is. This is a secondary, parallel, backup fuel pump, to be used in case the first fuel pump, you know, soils the bed.
Here’s someone in a Maserati forum describing it:
“The Quattroporte came with 2 fuel pumps. They are mounted side by side under the car, attached to the cross member frame. When one failed, you could push the “Emer Pump” button and it would activate the secondary fuel pump.
Some days I would run my car with the “Emer Pump” button pushed, just to keep it in working order, so it wouldn’t seize up.”
… and here’s another person asking an expert about the fuel pumps:
“Ernie in the USA writes:
“Enrico, Maybe you or your readers can save me some time. 1980 Quattroporte III runs great as long as the Fuel Pump switch (pompa elettrica di emergenza) is on. When it is switched off the car soon “runs out of fuel”. Where is the normal fuel pump located?
Mille Grazia, Ernie.”
Reply from Andrea:
Re: Quattroporte III
“Regarding the Quattroporte III fuel pumps:
There are two fuel pumps mounted in the transmission tunnel area of the car (so accessible from underneath the car). They are Bendix pumps that cross reference to a Facet Red Top, which is still available. There is no problem running on the emergency pump though as it is not like a reserve tank – just another pump. – Andrea.”
I tried to find a picture of this strange dual pump setup, and I couldn’t, but I did find a nice cutaway that shows something else nice and weird about the fuel tank of a Quattroporte (this is from a Quattroporte 2, not 3, but still):
Why the hell is the external filler on one side of the car, and the fuel tank opening on the other? Look at that long pipe they had to run all the way across the width of the car! Why, Maserati, why?
Anyway, back to these twin pumps. I can’t think of another car that had a backup fuel pump, in place and ready to go, on demand, in case the first one failed. I mean, this was a car that cost the equivalent of like $200 grand when it came out!
On one hand, you could look at this as a mark of luxury and quality, providing a backup fuel pump so you don’t get stranded. On the other hand, the greasier one, you could be realistic about the reliability of a Maserati and realize that perhaps this is just a somewhat desperate attempt to make the car a bit less unreliable, because deep down those engineers know that fuel pump is going to fail and leave you stranded somewhere.
So, instead of going through all the hassle and tedium of trying to figure out why, they can just include a whole second pump! Problem solved!
Is this a positive or a negative? I’m honestly not sure. Yeah, it seems kind of like a half-assed band-aid to a problem, but it also seems like a pretty decent solution to that problem? I mean, at least if you’re good about replacing the pumps when they (seemingly inevitably) fail. Which I suspect I would be bad about doing.
Are there any other cars anyone can think of that have driver-selectable backup systems? I know there are aircraft that have such things, but mass-market cars? Should we count something like Citroën 2CVs always came with a crank to start the car if the starter failed? Like this:
Maybe that sort of counts. But if anyone can think of another example of this, I’d love to know!
I mean, if I had some kind of a mission-critical job or was a cannonball runner, I’d totally have a second pump wired up too. On an OBDI car like mine with a fairly simple fuel injection system, the two main things that’ll leave me stranded are a dead fuel pump or a dead crank position sensor. Everything else can be ignored or worked around with minimal effort.
Cannonballers often had second tanks anyway for the extended range between stops. I’d be curious how a hybrid or REX EV would perform in one. My 2014 Camry Hybrid has an easy 500 mile range on a tank.
That wrong cutaway illustration really bothers me, and makes me question JT & Ed.s’ (lack of) attention to detail; FFS… it’s so obviously not the same car! C’mon gang, do better.
The cutaway is a 2nd gen Quattroporte, while the backup pump refers to a 3rd. Ahead of the cutaway, he said it was “a” Quattroporte, not “the same” Quattroporte. So still technically accurate.
Sorry, I should have labeled it better; I was aware it was a QP2 instead of 3, but I was distracted by that fuel filler pipe!
In case the engine fire starts to extinguish, you hit that switch to return it to its proper state of inferno.
Must be a Lucas Electrics system…you don’t even have to add your own replacement smoke!
Fires are bright. The Prince of Darkness has nothing to do with this.
Reportedly Peugeot model names have a 0 in the middle (e.g. 404, 608, 505, etc) because the 0 was an opening to crank start the engine. I don’t know how long that was true, if ever.
My second car was a $200 shitbox ’92 745 Turbo. Its right tail lamp socket never cooperated fully, in the tradition of old Volvo taillights, and I wasn’t about to put money into it that I didn’t have to. Both rear fog lamp sockets worked, though, so that car had extra-bright, switchable taillights – not as safe as it was from the factory, since the brake lights were no longer brighter than the taillights, but it passed inspection twice and no one ever came close to rear-ending it in the year and a half I owned it.
1980 Maserati Quattroporte Inteior | coconv | Flickr
Notice how the ad realistically shows the interior empty while the owner gets a post-lunch ride from the club back to the office in his secretary’s Ford Maverick.
Can we spare a moment to acknowledge the beauty of the Italian language? To us, it’s just a “Maserati four door” but to them, it’s a Maserati Quattroporte. And you can’t forget the Fiat Barchetta, or “little boat” to us. And the Ferrari Testarossa? Red Head.Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole? four valves.
Actually, this is a Hell of an idea, and I intend to ad a “secondary” fuel pump to all of the British Sports cars I own that use Lucas fuel pumps. Thanks, Jason!!!
I plumbed a facet style pump inline with my Lucas pump and can flip a switch to toggle between them.
As long as the switch isn’t also Lucas. Because otherwise you’ll need a backup switch for your switch.
And a backup switch for your backup switch.
The pursuit of reliability will be endless.
Also, I feel hurt because my name is Lucas as well, but it is what it is.
A container of Magic Smoke really helps with Lucas wired car. Google it.
I’ve never had a British car that used a Lucas fuel pump. They were always S.U. units.
Oh, that’s nothing. Jaguars used to come with an entire extra gas tank.
Used to know somebody whose family had one and they put high test gas in one tank and regular in the other. They’d use the high test driving up into the mountains the regular driving around at altitude and driving back downhill.
The XJ saloons through Series III had this. Tanks were only around 11 gallons, and was done purely for packaging.
Following their train of logic, Maserati’s ultimate luxury would have been … a second Maserati labeled EMERG CAR.
COTD right there
might as well count every motorcycle with a kickstart on this list.
Unless of course they have no starter! I have a Yamaha and a Triumph that are kick only, and a Ducati which is starter only, no kick. Strangely, only the two scooters have both.
I had a 1957 BSA gold star, and one time I forgot to set the ignition timing to start it, and it kicked back, but luckily, instead of breaking my leg, it broke the kickstart off.
Then I had to push start it, which was pretty exciting because once it got running, you had to run faster than the motorcycle in order to let off the throttle or grab the clutch.
The original Honda Gold Wing had a kick start lever hidden under the false gas tank that could be used if your starter died or battery was too low to crank it over. I tried it once just to see if it worked.
Oh, Citroën had crank backup well past the 2CV. It was a staple feature up to the GS, if I am not mistaken. And they should bring it back!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5XmT8a5wTo
I had (have) a Mustang SVO with a switch that promises more power if you have the good premium fuel in it. Every dolt with the 84-85 model left that switch on premium all the time while running 87 octane from 7-11. Motors go boom!
The 85.5-86 models ditched that switch and added an octane/knock sensor that could tell if you were using shit fuel. Like, they had 30 more horsepower over the previous years because of a sensor that could detect knock.
Those sensors are notorious for being overly sensitive. Especially as the cars age. Alas, the joys of early EFI.
Probably not worth mentioning, because of course they did, but Lada and Moskvitsh had a crank start option until the 80’s or so. Or at least there was a hole for the crank.
Also my Skoda has dual fuel setup. Driver selectable even – you just run out of CNG/CBG first, then it switches to dino juice.
The Triumph TR2, 3, and 4 all had a backup crank as well.
Also the Peugeot 403 and 404.
As did the MGA.
You might want to look again and edit:
Your line drawing is of a QP2 – which I believe used a Citroen SM fuel tank which filled from the Starboard side.
It was probably “traditional” for Masers of that time to have fuel fillers on the port side – yet we’re in a transitional period due the Citroen ownership, and they wanted as many French components used as possible: The Bora and Merak had fillers on the starboard side.
Your dual fuel button reference is to a QP3 – which had the fuel filler and the tank opening on the starboard side of the car:
http://www.maserati-indy.co.uk/alfieri65b.htm
Why dual/backup fuel pumps on a Maserati?
Because racing.
https://aftermarket.tiautomotive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TI-Automotive-DUAL-FUEL-PUMPS-WHEN-YOU-NEED-RELIABLE-PERFORMANCE.pdf
My 1960 3500 GT had a dual ignition system for that very reason.
Kinda sorta reminds me of the OBS Ford F series with the dual tank setup. Of course, the prior operator always left BOTH tanks empty.
Those were pretty neat, my friend has one as a beater truck and I drove it a fair bit a few years back. She always kept about 1/4 of a tank in each, it was remarkable how quickly that seemed to drop. Put maybe 1,000 miles on it, she told me later that all the spark plug wires hadn’t been connected to the right cylinders. For years. It did seem down on power…
The maintenance supervisors truck I was assigned was a ’93 F250 flatbed, 300 I6 auto. It drank fuel at a prodigious rate.
Yup. My ’92 F350 Longbed Dually Crewcab gets 11MPG, empty, loaded, trailer, camper. It don’t care, it just drinks fast.
Filling it involved going the guard house for the key, driving to the gas pump and filling the tanks, returning the key and recording the gallons pumped in the logbook. PITA.
A rental yard I worked had two F350 duallies with 6.9 IDI diesels an dual tanks. Fortunately they were good about filling tanks and while the Diesels were slow they got good mileage, unlike the Econoline 350, which drank gas
That’s cool, it’s like when you buy a dress shirt and they give you some extra buttons.
But this only applies to Italian dress shirts with buttons that frequently snap for no good reason.
A Rex EV could be considered an emergency power backup, but man, look at them thar ample sidewalls! I’ll betcha they shrug off pot hole strikes that would wreck a fleet with modern tires.
A lot of cars in the 80s with flip headlights had knobs or levers under the hood that could be employed in case of automation failure.
See I thought you were going to say Firebirds had a setup that automatically stuck one in the raised position in that situation…
The Gen 3 Firebirds had a thing you could spin on each headlight until it eventually was cranked into place.
Of course, this didn’t mean the lights wouldn’t go down properly. So sometimes you’d have to crank them up every time you left a place near or past dusk only to have them properly motor down when you arrived at your next stop and turned off the headlights.
I don’t mean to kick a dead general, but quality was not great. Luckily they sold in high numbers and were common in any junk yard.
Why stop with the fuel pump? There should be a full array of buttons, or better yet toggle switches, for auxiliary alternators, AC compressors, window washers, distributors, and of course tail lights.
I would absolutely buy a car that had a toggle-switched series of things that had to be activated in sequence before it would start.
Didn’t modern Spykers have a separate ignition and fuel pump switch to start? And the key was in the glove box for some bizarre reason?
All is know is that when I was a kid, I noticed in the intro that KITT had a dash light for “ignitors” and the mystery of it was completely tantalizing.
My Mustang has its trunk release in the glove box; it’s a big, unlabeled yellow button that’s always good for screwing around with passengers.
I remember that button from my older Fords.
My mom’s car in the 80s had buttons on the ceiling. All they did was turn on the dome light and the left and right map lights, but I always felt like Michael Knight punching in some new destination in KITT every time I reach up there and pressed them.
My HMV Freeway has a separate position on the ignition switch for the electric fuel pump. If the switch is used “normally” by turning the key all the way clockwise to engage the starter then releasing it, it will fall back into a position that will let the engine run until the carburetor is out of fuel. In fact, everything except the fuel pump will work just fine. In order to engage the pump so that the engine will run longer than just a few seconds, the switch must be turned back manually to a position that’s between “stop” and “run.” This is how Freeways were set up from the factory. I suppose this acts as an anti-theft measure, so don’t tell anyone.
That used to be a common feature on race cars, and I think light airplanes still do. I’m not on speaking terms with any plane owners these days on account of politics.
On a carbureted car with an electric fuel pump a switch makes a great anti theft device. The car will run until the float bowls empty, just enough to maybe block traffic and the thieves have no idea why it stopped running after they succeeded in starting it.
light airplane owner can confirm – primary engine-driven pump, aux electric pump (mine’s a Facet)
Or maybe a button that autodrives a second car out to where you’re stranded?
This was the compromise; the original idea was to sell you three cars, as two would always be in the shop…
Re the 1982 ad:
”The commanding thrust of its…grille”? Madison Avenue certainly had a way with words.
“Do you like the commanding thrust of my…”
Now there’s a pickup line that’s just begging to be used.
That’s what she said…
Oddly enough, most cars used to come equipped with a backup tire system called a spare. I guess today’s superior road surfaces and tire compounds have made this unnecessary on contemporary cars as tires never seem to fail anymore.
When you need it, you need it. Period. Modern low profile tires are great but very sensitive to sidewall damage.
Road debris still causes flats, I once had a piece of ceramic tile make hole too large to seal and had to find a store with a plug kit, because I hadn’t replaced the doughnut in my Saturn after the second one failed. It was bizarre because I got tread separation while it was sitting in the trunk, twice.
But the real question is, what is that strange circular thing under the red filler in the trunk? Could it be another emergency backup part?
Does it count that all manual transmission cars come with a backup system to start the car if the battery fails?
I’m not sure that fully counts, since none of my manual transmission vehicles came equipped with a few random drunkards to help get the thing rolling down the street, I usually have to get lucky and happen upon them. Sort of like the whole “batteries not included” thing.
When I was driving cars that needed to be started this way, drunkards were in almost endless supply.
That’s why I always bring my own random drunks.