Moar Wires...
Warning: LONG POST. You may want to go grab a drink or lunch if you're actually planning on reading all my rambling nonsense.
Wiring Wiring Wiring.... Now I remember why I put this off for so long. Soldering upside-down sucks.
The relay / new fusepanel / power distribution block area in the glovebox is getting a mite bit crowded, but I think I've wrapped up everything that needs to go there. I've added 14 additional circuits and 5 switched relays to the car (not counting the MS Relay Board, which would make it 7) with 1 left over spare switched output and 3 left over constant power outputs, in case I think of something additional to add in the future. So far I've managed to add everything in without having to tap into the factory harness at all, making this a stand-alone mod. Diagnosing any issues in the future will be easier, since I won't have to go digging around in the original loom.
I've added circuits for the following:
- Driving Lights
- Thermostatic-controlled radiator fan
- Stereo
- Aux gauge pod
- Radar detector
- Megasquirt
- Ford EDIS-4
- Alarm system
- Power door locks
- Power trunk release
- Fuel pump
- Low-fuel warning light
Enough chatter, onto the pictures.
This is my "Relayboard_V1" which was meant to go next to the relayboard:
Pretty, right? I really should have checked to see if it fit before i drilled and tapped all those holes, and also wired the damn things up. It looked great in there, but it blocked the big data plug on the MS relay board, so out it went.
V2 looked like this:
Which is almost better, in a way, because it let me add an additional relay just in case I think of something else to add in the future. This mounts to one of the bolts on the MS relay board, and to the support tab for the defroster vent on the other side (hence the cutout for the hose-clamp) The three relays control the switched power fuseblock, the trunk lock actuator, and the radiator fan. The foglight relay is located elsewhere.
Looking at stuff like this reminds me of why I buy a lot of aluminum parts from people that know what they hell they're doing. My fabrication skills are somewhat lacking (this bar doesn't sit straight and it drives me nuts) so I'm glad I'm the only one who will see this thing on a consistent basis.
Here is what it looks like in place:
12v+ constant block on the right, 12v+ switched on the left. I mounted my innovate wideband o2 inside the car because things are getting too crowded in the engine bay, and I didn't really have any good place to mount it. This also lets me unplug it rather easily if I ever need to. You can see my relay plate hanging there, I think this is when I was wiring the o2 sensor.
Here's everything bundled up:
The split-loom harness at the bottom is the Megasquirt cable from the relay board to the ECU. I ran the o2 lines next to this and they will both be accessible from the center console. The red button and LED on the relay strip are for programming the innovate o2. Also, while it may look like the innovate brain is held in by duct tape, I assure you its actually heat-formed ABS plastic. That actually turned out really well, but my camera sucks and its hard to take shots in there.
A shot of where I mounted my EDIS-4 module. I used the original mount, which lined up with the factory holes here fairly well.
And a shot of the EDIS coil packs. Again, this is the Ford Escort mounting bracket, which just happened to fit really well.
Another project of mine is to try to make the harness easy to work on if need be. I decided the intake manifold would be best made as modular as possible, so all the connections will terminate in 3 plugs so the manifold can be removed with all the sensors intact.
4 Injectors, IAT sensor, IAC valve, 2 coolant sensors (one for the VDO aux gauge,) and TPS sensor. I ordered some GM Weatherpak connectors from Summit, so hopefully I can wrap this up next weekend.
Random shot of my coolant neck, crammed with sensors. They take standard bosch pigtails, which made wiring much cleaner. My IAC valve takes the same connector (I took it from an early 90's Audi)
While I'm talking about the IAC, this is something I either didn't notice or couldn't find when I was building my system. The Bosch IAC valves are PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) valves and will therefore need an additional circuit added to the MS board. They also need a resistor wired into the circuit, as shown here:
Go here for more info:
http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/pcbv3-valve-control-tip120-39modkit39-p-134.html
Needless to say, its much easier to do this when you first build your board instead of going back and adding it in later. This was my mistake from not doing enough research, but hopefully I can prevent someone else from making the same error. In my case, i was still able to modify the board and everything is functioning like it should, but it was frustrating to do things the way I did.
Wiring Wiring Wiring.... Now I remember why I put this off for so long. Soldering upside-down sucks.
The relay / new fusepanel / power distribution block area in the glovebox is getting a mite bit crowded, but I think I've wrapped up everything that needs to go there. I've added 14 additional circuits and 5 switched relays to the car (not counting the MS Relay Board, which would make it 7) with 1 left over spare switched output and 3 left over constant power outputs, in case I think of something additional to add in the future. So far I've managed to add everything in without having to tap into the factory harness at all, making this a stand-alone mod. Diagnosing any issues in the future will be easier, since I won't have to go digging around in the original loom.
I've added circuits for the following:
- Driving Lights
- Thermostatic-controlled radiator fan
- Stereo
- Aux gauge pod
- Radar detector
- Megasquirt
- Ford EDIS-4
- Alarm system
- Power door locks
- Power trunk release
- Fuel pump
- Low-fuel warning light
Enough chatter, onto the pictures.
This is my "Relayboard_V1" which was meant to go next to the relayboard:
Pretty, right? I really should have checked to see if it fit before i drilled and tapped all those holes, and also wired the damn things up. It looked great in there, but it blocked the big data plug on the MS relay board, so out it went.
V2 looked like this:
Which is almost better, in a way, because it let me add an additional relay just in case I think of something else to add in the future. This mounts to one of the bolts on the MS relay board, and to the support tab for the defroster vent on the other side (hence the cutout for the hose-clamp) The three relays control the switched power fuseblock, the trunk lock actuator, and the radiator fan. The foglight relay is located elsewhere.
Looking at stuff like this reminds me of why I buy a lot of aluminum parts from people that know what they hell they're doing. My fabrication skills are somewhat lacking (this bar doesn't sit straight and it drives me nuts) so I'm glad I'm the only one who will see this thing on a consistent basis.
Here is what it looks like in place:
12v+ constant block on the right, 12v+ switched on the left. I mounted my innovate wideband o2 inside the car because things are getting too crowded in the engine bay, and I didn't really have any good place to mount it. This also lets me unplug it rather easily if I ever need to. You can see my relay plate hanging there, I think this is when I was wiring the o2 sensor.
Here's everything bundled up:
The split-loom harness at the bottom is the Megasquirt cable from the relay board to the ECU. I ran the o2 lines next to this and they will both be accessible from the center console. The red button and LED on the relay strip are for programming the innovate o2. Also, while it may look like the innovate brain is held in by duct tape, I assure you its actually heat-formed ABS plastic. That actually turned out really well, but my camera sucks and its hard to take shots in there.
A shot of where I mounted my EDIS-4 module. I used the original mount, which lined up with the factory holes here fairly well.
And a shot of the EDIS coil packs. Again, this is the Ford Escort mounting bracket, which just happened to fit really well.
Another project of mine is to try to make the harness easy to work on if need be. I decided the intake manifold would be best made as modular as possible, so all the connections will terminate in 3 plugs so the manifold can be removed with all the sensors intact.
4 Injectors, IAT sensor, IAC valve, 2 coolant sensors (one for the VDO aux gauge,) and TPS sensor. I ordered some GM Weatherpak connectors from Summit, so hopefully I can wrap this up next weekend.
Random shot of my coolant neck, crammed with sensors. They take standard bosch pigtails, which made wiring much cleaner. My IAC valve takes the same connector (I took it from an early 90's Audi)
While I'm talking about the IAC, this is something I either didn't notice or couldn't find when I was building my system. The Bosch IAC valves are PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) valves and will therefore need an additional circuit added to the MS board. They also need a resistor wired into the circuit, as shown here:
Go here for more info:
http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/pcbv3-valve-control-tip120-39modkit39-p-134.html
Needless to say, its much easier to do this when you first build your board instead of going back and adding it in later. This was my mistake from not doing enough research, but hopefully I can prevent someone else from making the same error. In my case, i was still able to modify the board and everything is functioning like it should, but it was frustrating to do things the way I did.
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