Engine Governor

[AustHaflinger]

My Haffie does not have a governor. Reading up on the issue I see that it strangles the engine at the carby at between 4700 and 5200 rpm. In the limited driving I have done on my engine I cannot really see the need for it as even when stopped and revving the engine with no load it only goes to around 5000 rpm on my tacho. Of the vehicles I have owned the only other one that was governed is my current Landrover FC 101 V8 (is in the distributor rotor arm and cuts the HT) and I have removed it without an issue - overall gearing of the 101 is lower than the Haffie and I have never had an issue with overreving.

So in the Haffie what are the issues that may occur if the governor is removed - while my 101 will never get to redline in top gear even going downhill I am not sure with the Haffie - will it pull the required 4700-5200 RPM in top gear going downhill. I have an electronic ignition system that has a number of inbuilt engine maps but I am not sure if it also acts like a governor - hence the mechanical one was removed - I need to research this issue a bit more. http://www.123ignition.com.au/index.php ... e-fiat-500

On a related issue - what limits the speed of the Mk2 Haffie to around 75kph - 80kph? Does the engine just not have the power to go faster or does the governor cut power.

Cheers

Garry

Thanks

Garry

[Julian B]

I will admit to having disconnected the governor on my Haflingers; I reckon that they were more relevant to preventing abuse by conscripted National Service people in Austria & Switzerland than by the average owner-driver 50 years later! Whilst I don't have a rev counter it is all too obvious if you are revving to high by just listening to it !

[AustHaflinger]

Thats what my thought was as well - in the 101 it was certainly there to stop Squaddies over revving the engine but the engine never gets to the revs required to activate the governor anyway.

I contacted the seller of the electronic ignition I have on my haffie and he knows my vehicle and the then owner who put it on. Is the only Haffie with that ignition system and it took a lot of research to get the map right - it does not have an electronic cutout.

Cheers

Garry

[Julian B]

Thats what my thought was as well - in the 101 it was certainly there to stop Squaddies over revving the engine but the engine never gets to the revs required to activate the governor anyway.

It was certainly possible to activate the governor on my father's Halfinger when I was 14

[heinkeljb]

The user manual make comment on the governor as being there to prevent Over Revving and it will do so on the flat and going up hill when the engine is pushing the vehicle, BUT won't help going down hill when the vehicle is pushing the engine!

So if you believe you can keep the revs below the maximum (i.e. red line - what ever that is for these engines), then you have no need for the governor and it is just another item to go wrong / use some of the precious horses that live in the Haflinger.

John

(Until I have actually driven mine for a while and suffered from the restrictions of the governor, I shall leave it on - but if it gets in the way - it will come off!)

[Julian B]

(Until I have actually driven mine for a while and suffered from the restrictions of the governor, I shall leave it on - but if it gets in the way - it will come off!)

John,

That is a good point; until you have heard / felt what the engine sounds like when the governor kicks in I would agree that leaving it connected is a Good Thing.

[SAM]

Hi Gents

I think the governor is more there for PTO use to prevent it getting flogged for hours on end.

Sam

[AustHaflinger]

So if you believe you can keep the revs below the maximum (i.e. red line - what ever that is for these engines), then you have no need for the governor and it is just another item to go wrong / use some of the precious horses that live in the Haflinger.

John

(Until I have actually driven mine for a while and suffered from the restrictions of the governor, I shall leave it on - but if it gets in the way - it will come off!)

John - is it the governor that limits top speed, I assume those little horses just run out of puff. I also assume the governor is really to stop the engine overrevving when in the lower gears and you get all excited going up a steep hill or playing in deep mud and are giving it heaps.

Cheers

Garry

[HaffyHunter]

Hi Guys,
Here's a bit of info regarding the Hafi governor. The Series 1 engines are governed to 4500 RPM. The Series 2 engines are governed to 4800 RPM. Hafi's with a PTO have an additional governor setting lever and different diameter governor drive pulley to limit the revs even further when the PTO is engaged.
When properly tuned, a Series 2 engine with No.5 camshaft and Zenith carb will quite happily rev well beyond the governor's 4800 PM limit and I've seen them reach MUCH higher when not governed. However the valve train on a stock configuration motor will not withstand over-revving for very long at all. Firstly, the valves will float and damage the spring keepers and rocker arms. Secondly, the cam followers are prone to breaking at extended RPM. Note that excess wear of the cam gears and cam bearings will occur. Also premature detonation in the combustion cycle occurs as the distributor advance can not cope with the higher RPM which results in piston and cylinder lining damage. There are further problems with the Series 1 and early Series 2 engines when over revved as the piston's connecting rods are softer metal and big end failures will result.
I own two late Series 2 Hafi engines that had been operated by previous owners who removed the governors because they were a "nuisance" and they knew the engine was willing to create more power. As a result both engines are heavily mangled on the inside and will need extensive work to bring back from the dead as a result. Another member of this forum, Sandy MacMillan, also has seen his fair share of over revved Hafi engines that display similar fates.
By the way, over revving for short intervals while descending grades is not as damaging as the engine is not under full power load.
So my advice to you is to use and maintain the governor if you have one. If you don't have a governor get one or install a good tachometer and keep a very close eye on the dial.
Cheers,
Steve

[AustHaflinger]

Thanks Steve - great information. For my part I certainly didn't realise that the valve gear etc was so delicate.

Cheers

Garry

[Bigdougal]

I have decided to not refit the Governer to the Haf but rather fit a tacho. Can anyone recommend a particular tachometer and the recommended process for installation. Not having a traditional alternator I am too sure the best route.

Also, I am about to fit a fuel gauge so any advice on fitting and type again gratefully received. Was intending to use the wire previously attached to the fuel signal.

Cheers

[Julian B]

Doug - have a look at the 4th post on p2 of this thread. I remain very happy with the second one I fitted. (The first one was no good IIRC).

http://www.thehaflinger.com/viewtopic.p ... acho#p1842

[heinkeljb]

Having now driven Lurch all over the place with the governor in place and working, I have noticed that it kicks in even when travelling in top gear, does depend on road conditions obviously, but you can feel it strangling the engine. It's a good reminder to change gear in the lower gears as well!

I took the governor pulley wheel off one time when I changed the Dynastart belts. After that I had an oil leak from the oil seal behind it. So the next time I took it off to replace the oil seal, I took the opportunity to follow the instructions in the repair manual and "tweak" the weights to increase the MPH by 2 Mile an hour. I was carefully to make sure I turned the screws on both weight "exactly" the same amount so they remain in balance.

I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but using my GPS speedo, I moved my cruising speed to the higher side of 40 MPH on average compared to the lower side before the alteration to the governor.

Doug, as long as you have the correct "gubbins" in the fuel tank using the wire that was for the fuel light should not be a problem. It goes from the correct place to the correct place, (tank to dashboard).

John

[Yakov]

I found both a fuel gauge, fuel sender and a tacho on a burnt out fiberglass car lying around the farm I work at. They were both VDO brand, like the Haffy gauges, and the tank sender unit corresponded exactly to the float-type sender in the Haffy parts manual, even fits perfectly into the Haffy tank.

The tacho I found had a switch on the back for how many strokes the engine makes (Takt in German), and two contact poles for battery (6V and 12V). So ignoring the 6V pole, I attached 12V to the battery from the dashboard fuses, the "-" pole to a ground, and the "1" pole to the ignition coil which goes to the distributor. Seems to work for me.

I don't know anything about types of tacho's and gauges, but my experiece leads me to suggest looking at VDO brand ones.