Background:
Car is a 4 cyl 914 Porsche track only. The Spartan is the only digital device in the car and is solely used for an AFR gauge. Car has no ECU, TPS or other monitoring devices. It is carbureted.
The instructions call for wiring the Spartan to a power source that’s only hot with engine running. Suggested is the fuel pump relay. My car has a dash switch for the fuel pump, but no relay. I switch on the pump before starting and it runs continuously. When I shut down the engine I turn off the fuel pump switch as well as the ignition switch. When using the master power switch it shuts down everything at the same time. I do have plans to install a safety relay that only runs the fuel pump when it senses oil pressure, but that too will need an override switch to fill the carb bowls before starting, so the circuit will be briefly hot before starting the engine.
My question is how critical is this? Is it okay for the Spartan to be powered up for a few seconds before the engine is started?
Thanks.