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Old 04-14-04, 02:00 AM
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the ULTIMATE fully electric AUX/VDI solution!

LUMBAR PUMPS!!!!!!!

***this is being wrote primarily for s5 n/a’s, but I will explain how to adapt it to s4s at the bottom.***

WHAT is it: the simplest fully electric aux. port & vdi activation rig possible.

WHY: this allows you to remove your stock air pump, rats nest, emissions, etc. and still retain OEM-like function of your aux/vdi without having to put something back in just as complicated as all that junk you were trying to get rid of. Trust me, this is SOOO simple and it works EXACTLY like stock. you would never know the difference unless you popped the hood. It is also much easier to trouble shoot than the stock system.

I’m going to explain how it works, then give a write up of how to make it work, and then some variations on the idea, so bear with me.

Take a look at the picture now, ‘cus I’m going to explain the parts.

1. inline fuse holder: this is essential to keep from popping the main EFI relay fuse, also keeps the installation clean and reliable.

2. Lumbar pumps: these are the pneumatic pumps for the lumbar cushions found in certain ford automobiles. They were designed to inflate the balloon your fat grandma presses her flub against in that cushy crown vic. Here is what’s so great about these things: they are small, light, cheap (I got 3 on ebay for $15 shipped), and most importantly 12V. the real bonus is the internal bleed-off valve which vents the pressure in the hose and allows the actuator to close right when the pump is turned off AND keep the actuator open without blowing up/overheating the pump (this is how it can act like OEM!!). I don’t know the exact specs on flow and pressure, but they open the actuators quickly and consistently. They are easy to mount (have a mounting strap with a bolt-hole pressed over them), and are already heat shielded for the rigors of being under-hood in your rx-7.

3. 12v single-pole/single-throw relays (one hidden under the pump): these allow you to use the CPU’s signal that normally opens the solenoids to turn on the pumps. This is how you keep the stock 3800/5300rpm turn on points with out using a separate rpm switch(s).

4. vac hose: pretty obvious here. You will have to do a little re-routing of the houses, but it will make things much simpler, especially if you have already done emissions removal and/or are running pre-mix.

Ok. So in a nutshell: the cpu turns the pumps on through the relays at the stock rpm points. The pumps pump and open the actuators and hold them open as long as the cpu sends signal. When the cpu stops sending the signals, the pumps turn off, the pressure bleeds out, the actuators close, and everything resets for the next blast to 8k. VIOLA!

Now how to make it work.

Where to stick it all: as you can see I mounted my pumps (with the relays right above/below) where the cruise control and charcoal canister used to be. this is not the ONLY place that will work, however I found this to be the best location for my application because it provided 4 bolt holes, a low-profile location, and good means of wire/tube routing. There are lots of 10mm bolt holes all over your engine bay. Take your pick depending on what’s left in there (if needed sandwich the pumps/relays between the sheet metal and the other items). Or you can make a custom mounting bracket, or just zip-tie them to whatever is convenient. The main goal is that you get them stuck solid somewhere in a good place for running the wires and hoses.

The wiring: im going to break this down into 2 parts. The “turn on circuit” is the one that uses the cpu’s signal to turn on the pumps, and the “power circuit” is the one that actauly runs the pumps. These two intersect at the relay and you will need one of each for each pump and thing you want to turn on (aux ports and/or vdi).

Im no electrical engineer, so if someone can decipher what I’m saying and wants to draw up a diagram, FEEL FREE.

Turn on circuit: look at the Haynes manual. Find the solenoid for either the aux ports or vdi. Take the electrical connector on the solenoid and cut it off. Cut back the black wire and put some electrical tape on it to prevent a short (trust me). Take the colored wire, and splice a connection to one of the “switch” spades on the relay. Splice another wire from the other “switch” spade (directly across form the first one) and connect that to the fuse holder we are going wire up make in the “power circuit.” You will need to do this separately for both the vdi and aux ports. don’t freak out about this being backwards and frying your cpu. Mazda used switched grounds instead of switched hots, which makes it a lot harder for schmucks like us to fry the cpu. It really in reverse this is also why you cant run the pumps directly THROUGH the cpu. But anyways……

Power circuit: depending on where you mounted everything, find the nearest 12V source that comes off the main relay (DO NOT go directly from the battery. This is ghetto, and there is no need to do so). Said 12v source can be found by either looking at a wire diagram (who does that??) or using a multi-meter/test light find a wire that has power ONLY when the key is turned on. Basically, go poking around in the unused harness clips until you find a 12v wire that isnt used for something else important. There are several, but I don’t feel like chronicling them here. Ok, now connect your in-line fuse holder to this 12v source. Stick a 5-amp fuse in the fuse holder (trial and error to find that one). Now this is where it gets tricky. To/From the fuse holder you will be running 4 wires, 2 at each relay. One at each relay is the wire from the “turn on” circuit coming off the “switch” side of the relay mentioned earlier. The other wire goes to the “power” side of the relay (basically a terminal caddy-corner to those used for the “turn on circuit”, check the diagram on the relay to make sure). Now run a wire from the last remaining terminal on the relay to the (+) terminal on the pump (I cant remember which one it is, just check with the battery to make sure the pump is blowing, not sucking air). Run a wire from the negative on the pump to whatever ground is convenient (wrapping it around the mounting bolt always works nicely).
That’s it. Repeat for the other relay/pump/actuator set.

Hoses: this is real easy. For the aux ports, run a hose from the pump to a “T” connector and then from each side of the “T” to both of the aux port actuators. For the vdi, just go strait from the pump to the actuator. If you are going for style points, you can use the left over hard-line from removing the charcoal canister like I did. It runs along the firewall from the passenger fender to right behind the left side of the engine. Works great.

Variations: this **can** be done with only one pump using a solenoid and “T” connections to open the vdi, but a single pump opens them slower and possibly not at all if they are dirty. For an s4 with free-flow exhaust this is a great solution to wiring open the aux ports. You will need a rpm switch to take the place of the wires coming off the cpu in the “turn on circuit,” but you will only need one relay and one pump and the wiring willl be all the same except for the rpm switch. S5 guys can also do this with rpm switches if the so desire to have on or both open ad different rpms. This probably the best means for those running s4 hybrids with the s5 upper intake.

As always, im not responsible if you blow up your car doing this, but it shouldn’t happen if you follow the directions

Any suggestions and/or improvements are welcome.

Thanks for reading

-andy

Last edited by andrew lohaus; 04-14-04 at 02:13 AM.
Old 04-14-04, 02:05 AM
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Looks like it would be simple on S5's... but don't know how it would work with a S4.

One question:

I have the same pump on my mom's minivan... when you press the switch to release pressure.. it kinda takes a while. How quickly does this close the ports? How quickly before it gets enough pressure to open them?
Old 04-14-04, 02:09 AM
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it works almost instantaniously. no slower than a stock system in perfect working order. it doesnt fling them open, just nice and quick.
Old 04-14-04, 03:22 AM
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A couple of points:

You mean the ECU, not CPU.

Your wiring's a bit of a mess, and I wouldn't leave it exposed to the exhaust's direct heat like it is now. Wrapping it all up in tape and moving it further away will protect it.

As a far simpler way of getting power, when you cut the plug off the 6PI and VDI solenoid wires, don't tape up the other wire, use it for as your 12V feed. It comes direct from the main relay. Simply use 2-core speaker wire to extend the wires over to the relay and connect as required.

Otherwise it's an interesting and clever solution. Well done.

And before anyone asks, S4's will need an rpm switch to activate the relay, as there's no ECU signal. Other than that it'll work the same.
Old 04-14-04, 12:12 PM
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err i thought it was the cpu. isnt the ecu the Emissions Control Unit?

well i i havent had any issues with the wires melting and they arent as close to the exhaust as the picture may lead you to believe.

as for the wiring, there ar lots of variations that can be made depending on your particular install. i wanted to have everything come through the fuse so i did it this way. indeed, the 12v wires on the solenoid connectors would work fine since they come off the main relay also, but they arent very close to the mounting location and i wanted to keep the # of wires snaking back and forth over the engine to a minimum.

the point im trying to get acrost is that with 2 of these pumps, 2 relays, and a little enginuity, you can make a cheap and ellegant solution to to this age-old n/a problem.

as a side note. ive been running this setup for about 2 months now and i havent had any problems except i blew the 5 amp fuse once. if you find you keep blowing the fuse, check your wirring, then if neccisssary go to a 7.5 amp fuse.

TRY IT PEOPLE. IT WORKS PERFECTLY!!!!!

Last edited by andrew lohaus; 04-14-04 at 12:20 PM.
Old 04-14-04, 08:34 PM
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Dont use speaker wire to send any kind of power or amprage thru. Ive seen too many people do that and the wire burn up.
Old 04-14-04, 08:45 PM
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obviously they weren't using the proper gauge speaker wire for the load, then...wire is wire, whether it's single strand, multi-strand, or coat hanger...it's the matter of having a large enough cross-sectional area of the wire (i.e. gauge) to carry a given load...
Old 04-14-04, 09:35 PM
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i used 20-gauge solid copper. it works fine. i dont see any reason why 18 or 16 gauge speaker wire wouldnt work fine (as long as it is properly sheilded) and it might even be cleaner since it usauly come in stranded pairs. i wish i would have used some for the 2 grounds to the cpu instead of twisting my own solid wire together.
Old 04-14-04, 10:13 PM
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Originally posted by andrew lohaus
i used 20-gauge solid copper. it works fine. i dont see any reason why 18 or 16 gauge speaker wire wouldnt work fine (as long as it is properly sheilded) and it might even be cleaner since it usauly come in stranded pairs. i wish i would have used some for the 2 grounds to the cpu instead of twisting my own solid wire together.
Solid copper wire has a tendency to fall apart in automotive or other high vibration applications. You may wish to re-think its use.

Use only stranded copper wire for automotive and high vibration applications.
Old 04-15-04, 04:19 AM
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Originally posted by andrew lohaus
err i thought it was the cpu. isnt the ecu the Emissions Control Unit?
The CPU (central processing unit) controls various functions like warning lights and beepers, hazard lights, horn, etc. The ECU (emissions control unit, or more accurately engine control unit) is the EFI computer.
Old 04-15-04, 09:56 AM
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andrew lohaus:

What is the part # on these pumps?

- Dana
Old 04-15-04, 10:21 AM
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rpm switch

Where can I get the rpm switch that everyone keeps talking about?
Old 04-15-04, 04:21 PM
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Originally posted by NZConvertible
And before anyone asks, S4's will need an rpm switch to activate the relay, as there's no ECU signal. Other than that it'll work the same.
Doesn't the ECU give a signal to the ACV to open air pump dump through the air silencer pipe at 3800 rpm? Why not use this as your 3800 rpm trigger?
Old 04-15-04, 04:35 PM
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yeah, my dad pointed out to me that solid wire isnt the best, but not until after i had finished everything. so far its held up ok, but ill probobly re-do everything with 16 gauge stranded at some point.

as for the fuse, mine blew for the second time last night. however, this was only after i had been on the aux-ports for like 2 mins nonstop, with the vdi on some of that time.
i think a 7.5 amp fuse will be more appropriate, or possibly using seperate fuses for the different components. if you do this it wouldnt bee a bad idea to keep a few spare fuses in the glove box just in case

ill post up the part # when i get a chance. i see them pretty regularly on ebay, so thats a good place to look.
Old 04-15-04, 04:43 PM
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Re: rpm switch

Originally posted by Hollywood56
Where can I get the rpm switch that everyone keeps talking about?
summit sells them. http://www.summitracing.com
Old 04-15-04, 05:07 PM
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may I be the first to say sticky/archive?
Old 05-01-04, 11:47 AM
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Great write up Andrew!

I can see the engineering education at work already.



Old 05-01-04, 12:54 PM
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Sweet, I think I have found a way to keep the VDI working when I put my S5 manifold on my S4, Awsome work Andrew, archive material.
Old 05-01-04, 02:23 PM
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Took me about 2 weeks to tweak my settup, it a modified silverrotor plan. Instead of using RPM switches, I'm using the VDI and AuxPort solenoid switches. I've wired in a set of LEDs that tell me that the system is working aswell.




Old 05-01-04, 02:26 PM
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Oh... the S5's switching for the VDI and aux ports, for those interested are

Auxport: switch above 3800, *only* under warm engine...
VDI: anything above 5800(ish), although it activates cold, it doesn't do much considering there is no pressure because the aux port isn't open.

When the engine is warm, the Auxport solenoid opens the circuit, turns on the pump and opens the aux ports. When the VDI then comes online, the VDI actuator opens up

EDIT: advantage... meh, save a few bucks

Cost: Air pump, $15.00, aquarium distro valve: $3.00, vac tubing: $3.00, LEDs+wire(cat5, 28ga): $4.00, relay: $.99.
Total cost ~$26.00

Last edited by Kenteth; 05-01-04 at 02:28 PM.
Old 05-01-04, 04:09 PM
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http://www.racingrotary.com/nt/portmod.htm

I will be using a different air pump then what is on the web page. I thought of this last year. I have everything. just need to get the pump I want.

Justin
Old 05-01-04, 04:17 PM
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the wiring diagram i put on that page is wired to the battery. But my new setup is a SPST 12 v relay hooked up to the switch ignition source found in a spare connector (used for switching the relay on and off...not to power the pump) I used a wire straigh from the batery to the relay which would power the pump its self. Since I dont want any AMP draw from a small wire that comes from the ECU. could burn out a par tof the ECU.

Justin
Old 05-02-04, 01:01 AM
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Originally posted by ViperDude152
the wiring diagram i put on that page is wired to the battery. But my new setup is a SPST 12 v relay hooked up to the switch ignition source found in a spare connector (used for switching the relay on and off...not to power the pump) I used a wire straigh from the batery to the relay which would power the pump its self. Since I dont want any AMP draw from a small wire that comes from the ECU. could burn out a par tof the ECU.

Justin
What? Why does the relay need to be switched on/off differently than the pump? The most I could see this preventing is relay chatter-- your plan may save an extra 4 weeks out of the 10 year relay expected lifetime...

IIRC most SPST's run switchig at a very low amperage. Unless you're tieing into the ECU 5v+ you shouldn't have a problems, unless you start to short stuff out...

That said... you complicated it.

Run a wire directly from the batter to the relay with an inline fuse. Now run your switching line off your RPM switch. Problem solved, and you're not going to blow anything other than the inline fuse.


And.... [runs outside....]
Old 05-02-04, 01:26 AM
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12v Relay NO:30A/NC:20A, 12VDC
HSIN DA P/N Cn030 1961-1c-12DM
(yeah I'm bored)
12V Switching lead draw: .13amps@12v




After ~10seconds, draw drops




---------
THEREFORE
And yes, that was a 14.8v battery charger... correctives below...

Last edited by Kenteth; 05-02-04 at 01:35 AM.
Old 05-02-04, 06:51 AM
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as a note for RPM switch people....if you have an MSD ignition box, the MSD RPM switch can take its rpm signal straight from the side of the MSD box. you just need the correct RPM pellet plugged into the side of your switch.


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