6-port checker.
 

I'm getting frustrated at the number of guys trying to figure out if their 6-ports are working.. well, i figured out an EASY way to check it while you are actually driving the car.

this is what you do.... get yourself (1) a spool of wire, (2) a blue, 2600 MCD, 3.7volt (nominal) LED, (3) 430 Ohms worth of 1/4 watt resistors (I used 1 330w and 1 100w in series) (4) some sheetmetal, and (5) a contact switch.

First, figure out where you want to put your LED.. in my old N/A, I mounted it in the bottom of my a-pillar pod, but this was a permanent installation and i had to run the ground wire through the firewall. But if you don't want it there permanently, you could just tape it to the bottom of the windshield on the outside of the car so that you can see it and then remove it later.

you solder the two resistors in series to make one 430 watt resistor, then, you solder that mess onto the LONGER of the two LED legs, then solder the positive wire onto the end of the resistors and either use heat shrink tube or electrical tape to cover up the whole works. if you are mounting it INSIDE the car permanently, you'll only need a couple of feet of positive wire to get to the fuse box, otherwise, make sure you have enough to run to the battery.

NOW.. the bracket and switch.. I used the type of switch that you would use for a NOS full wide open switch, one that is activated by the actuator touching it at max extension (i had an s5), then i fenagled the bracket to hold the switch at the right position so that the actuator arm touched the switch when the actuator arm opend. for an s4 you could use a switch that closes when pressure is released when the actuator pulls AWAY from the switch. I took one of the mounting nuts off the actuator and drilled a hole in the bracket and put it on over the stud, position the bracket in the right spot and put the nut back on.

the ground wire is then run from the LED to one side of the switch, then from the other side of the switch to a grouding point inside the engine bay I used a bolt over by the pressure sensor.


Now, if you got the switch position correctly, when the actuator opens, the switch will close and complete the circuit and the LED will light up.

Its a real efficient way to check exactly when the actuators are opening while you are driving!!!

If you want to use different LED's (but i would make sure they are the superbright variety), you''ll have to figure out your own resistor value by subtracting the LED voltage from the supply voltage (12) and then dividing by the current of the LED (usually 0.02 Amps).

If you got any questions, PM me, I don't have the car anymore, but I can make up some schematics and get different switch part numbers from Jameco or mouser. I also have a couple of LIM's laying around, I could probably make a working model of the switch to take pictures with.

To see when they are working, I tee'd a cheap boost gauge into the hose to the actuators.
The hose ran inside so I could see it while driving.

To see if they are working, I applied 5 PSI to the gauge line while the ignition was off.

It was a S5 NA that I set up with an electric air pump.

BTW - "YearsOfDecay" that S5 FCD works great!

Thanks man...

I priced all this stuff, Jameco has a switch for either car for around $2.50 and the LED's for around $3, so the whole setup should cost you less than 10 bucks. The Jameco switches are cool cause they have mounting holes in their cases..

http://www.jameco.com/cgi-bin/ncomme...s=503;523;717;

this switch will work for either s4 or s5 because it can be "normally closed" (s4) or "Normally Open" (s5)