Many EV conversions have to deal with
Power Steering decision. If you decided to keep PS and looking how to drive PS
pump, consider this all-in-one solution brought to you by
Toyota engineers.
Toyota MR2 has EHPS ( Electric Hydraulic Power Steering ) in which
pump is driven by its own electric motor instead of pulley hanging off the main engine like most ICE cars do. First generation of MR2 had separate fluid tank, motor/pump assembly and controller, some EVers took motor/pump and wired it directly to 12V or via various switching circuits designed to keep the
pump off while driving straight or at high speed to save power.
However, 3rd generation of MR2 also called Spyder has a single
pump assembly combining motor,
pump, fluid tank and controller, making it very attractive option for EV community.
To the best of my knowledge you are looking for 2000-2005 ( maybe some other years, I'm not sure ) EHPS
pump from
Toyota MR2 Spyder, call your local junk yards or check this one online
http://car-part.com . The
pump looks like this:
DSC_2071.jpg
To wire it use schematics below. If you don't have proper harnesses you can either solder directly or create your own connectors for each pin. I personally created connectors and then filled harnesses with caulk to keep wires in place. It can be removed later if needed.
PS_Pump_1.jpg PS_Pump_2.jpg
Although 50 Amp relay is stated, I couldn't find one so I used typical 40 Amp automotive relay, my testing shows that it doesn't actually reach 50 Amp current anyway.
You can wire VSS signal from your car to make the
pump turn itself off at higher speeds, but I couldn't manage that because my Miata has unusual VSS signal. Even without VSS, the
pump runs idle at 4 Amps until you actually turn the steering wheel, so the power wasted is very minimal.
You'd have to find a way to connect PS Pressure line from the
pump to your car's rack and return line from the rack back to the
pump. Return line is easy, just use 3/8 hose and clamps. As for pressure line, if you are lucky you can fit one from other
Toyota models, if not, you can make custom one from separately purchased fittings and the pressure hose, I have seen those on Ebay and online shops like this one
http://www.summitracing.com/
Hope this helps, feel free to update this Wiki with more details, my main goal was to publish schematics and wiring, I am not very good with hydraulics, maybe someone can add details on making custom pressure hose.