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Not sure if you want 12V only when headlights are on, or just any exterior lights. If you're tapping into the stereo harness, use the TNS wire and not the Illumination wire. The TNS wire is 12v with side markers or headlights on and 0v with these off, I'm using it to dim my LED Defi gauges without any flickering.
Not sure if you want 12V only when headlights are on, or just any exterior lights. If you're tapping into the stereo harness, use the TNS wire and not the Illumination wire. The TNS wire is 12v with side markers or headlights on and 0v with these off, I'm using it to dim my LED Defi gauges without any flickering.
I have the prosport gauges and they will go from white to orange when a signal from the headlights are switched on. So they are not being dimed, they are changing color - I also wanted to stay away from any stereo related wires for any remote possible interference from aftermarket add-ons. Im going to be adding a ton of electrical crap and that was another reason for the second battery..lol
I would like to try the Banzai recommendation - "I use the red w/ black stripe wire on the green connector on the fuse box. This is not connected to the dimmer switch but has voltage when the lights switch is on."
I Can also easily tap it there with one of those fuse plug inserts.
Not sure if you want 12V only when headlights are on, or just any exterior lights. If you're tapping into the stereo harness, use the TNS wire and not the Illumination wire. The TNS wire is 12v with side markers or headlights on and 0v with these off, I'm using it to dim my LED Defi gauges without any flickering.
Diablone your right, the red / blk wire on the green connector Banzai is talking about is the TNS wire. I have to go pull the green connectors off the foot rest fuse block so I can verify the wire shows 12v when I turn on the headlights. My 12/95 build car looks a little bit different then some of the schematics I have found on here. I ran into a few problems and I am looking into a few things to verify they work before my next update.
(Dale helped me out in another thread https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...dvice-1146084/ )
Updates will be all info I used to fix the problem and a needed update of my dual battery schematic.
Also I messed up and did some stuff with CCA wire like the main 1/0 run from the engine bay to the battery.
Apparently I bought a ton of stuff from an audio place going out of business and I didn't know the significance between CCA and OFC.
So now I have to get some OFC wire and redo some things.From the search engine.
Two standard types of wire for car audio are CCA (Copper-Clad Aluminum) and OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper). ... It's less expensive than a wire that's made up entirely of copper such as OFC. It's also lighter than pure copper wire. CCA does a better job of conducting electricity than a wire made entirely out of aluminum.
There’s a big difference between copper-clad aluminum (CCA) and oxygen-free copper (OFC) wiring. First of all, aluminum conducts 61% of the electricity that copper conducts, meaning that you’ll need a thicker aluminum wire and it will produce more heat. This equates to less efficiency and can possibly be unsafe. Copper wiring on the other hand produces less heat and reduces the overall strain on your car’s system.
Another benefit of OFC wiring includes less oxidation. Oxidation reduces current-carrying efficiency of the wire. The only benefit of CCA wire is the lower price. Unfortunately, because of all of the limitations of CCA wire, the savings can seriously compromise the quality of your system.
Ok, right now I'm trying to decide where to tap the system for the acc to feed my acc block that will pull power from the second battery via a relay.
I've decided to use a spare turbo timer harness so I can cut into it without damaging my factory ignition switch harness. this harness also has a pigtail with an extension for easy access.
I have 2 options
1. plug into the B/Y wire (IG1 / IG2 / ACC = ON) on this 12v is the sun roof, pwr windows and front wipers. I like this option because it seems to be a better spot to pull 12v for my acc source since all the other things will not be used constantly while Im driving so the acc block will have more stability. Its not like im going to be like a xmas tesla show with the wipers, windows and sun roof dancing to music.
2. plug into the L wire (ACC) on this 12v is the cigar, pwr mirror, theft, cpu, antenna, radio, a/c and heat. I like this option because the gauges come on and then when the fuel pump is triggered on in the next key selection I can watch the fuel pump prime. But when I'm just chillin in ACC I dont really need the gauges.
and heres some pics that im working with and where I got them.
Also earlier I mentioned some wires do not exactly match - here is a pic of the JB-03 connector on my car. I can barely make out some red but Im sure after I take it off Ill have my answer.
Last edited by rotaryextreme; 03-09-21 at 05:55 PM.
Oh boy this is gonna be a fun one.
Day 68 was actually 2 weekends worth of work due to replacing wires and troubleshooting things.
Well - everything works now and the car is officially ready for the engine install.
Without further ado -
Part 1 - Electrical parts
Part 2 - Adding bat fuse box
Part 3 - Routing front main cable
Part 4 - Routing rear main cable
Part 5 - Bat grounds
Part 6 - Test fit the fuse boxes
Part 7 - Broken stuff
Part 8 - Electrical panel outside of car
Part 9 - Electrical panel installed in car
Part 10 - 12v Acc hook up
Part 11 - TNS Relay tap
Part 1 - Electrical parts
Since summer last year I have been collecting all the electrical stuff to make my dual battery set-up. I really thought I did a good job on my choices but something came up when I was investigating as to why my wire has silicon shielding. It was then that I did the research and discovered the difference between Copper Coated Aluminum (CCA) wire and Oxygen Free Copper (OFC).
You will have to run a larger gauge for CCA then you would have to for OFC but its only like 1 or 2 sizes larger. The other big problem is CCA is like 60% efficient compared to the equivalent sized of OFC wire and CCA also generates more heat as well. In a nutshell CCA is ok to power small simple gauges like the ones we install in our cars, LED lighting and for your average normal speakers in your car. You would want OFC for anything high power that would be battery extension cables, fuse boxes, fuel pumps, pwr/gnd to amps, bass speakers, standard lighting (non-LED) and any high speed CPU related data transfer.
So with that being said - ALL the wire on the table is CCA and now I have to get OFC to replace CCA wire that I already used in this build. Luckily the following were OFC, the 8-way switched fuse box pwr /gnd, the relays I used for the fuel pump and to trigger the ACC fuse box and the inverter cable I used to connect the VSR to the batteries and the battery gnds.
Unfortunately the main 1/0 cable I ran from the engine bay to the rear battery was CCA and I had to replace that as well as the pwr/gnd to the fuse box feeding the fuel pump. Overall not that bad considering I discovered this after all the work was already done.
The LED fuse boxes light up when a fuse blows, relays with fuses and without, a ton of connections for the smaller wires, battery terminals, crimpers, VSR, 100amp fuse boxes, 8-way switched fuse box, volt gauge and 2awg for the VSR to battery. The second picture of the table with the wires is the replacement 1/0 battery extension cable, red heat shrink and the replacement LEAD battery terminals.
Part 2 - Adding batt fuse box
Why are my fuse covered with green corrosion !!! Im pretty sure it happened when I had all that white powder show up everywhere on all the aluminum under the hood but I never checked the fuses - because there was no need to. Yes I tested them all and they test fine.
I added the batt fuse box so I could get batt pwr through the relays to the inside of the car. The batt pwr follows the 2 side by side wires and is bolted down into the fuse box on the strut tower. I plugged in the connectors and covered the wires in the wire loom up to where the wires spider out to the engine. I used a clamp to secure the harness next to the fuse box to keep it from flopping around. I took out the nasty battery clamp since it wasn't needed anymore. Lastly I put my new batt fuse box label on from bubbletech.
Part 3 - Routing front main cable
What a pain in the *** !! Have you guys ever tried to bend 1/0 OFC to the contour of anything???
The CCA wire was so flexible but this OFC crap, good lord. Home Depot only had black but no problem because I knew where to get red shrink tubing...lol
I crimped the ends with the same style of copper crimps used before and then put the shrink tubing on both ends. I read somewhere on the internet that due to the loss of CCA, CCA is designed to match the OFC gauge requirements. If you ask for 12 awg wire, the CCA will be naturally larger than the OFC and it appears the companies making this stuff have done the math for you. Now it makes perfect since why my 1/0 CCA was larger than my 1/0 OFC. Both were 10ft but wow the CCA was so much lighter.
Earlier during the batt fuse box install I was thinking about making a holder for it so it would not be flopping around and just by chance I came across the JP3 batt fuse box holder while I was cruising around on the RX7 club. It is really high quality and comes with many attachments for multiple configuration. I was able to mount the batt fuse box and re adjusted where the harness goes through the clamp.
The 1/0 OFC cable is so thick I had to route it through the fender into the engine bay first. I connected it to the batt fuse box and then formed it up so I could clamp it to the bolt that secures the strut tower relay fuse box. Then I routed it back securing it to an 8mm bolt hole as it curves past the brake lines to go out the fender hole. I formed the cable so it would not be resting or rubbing on anything. The red cap on the JP3 slides over the nut to stay in place. I added another nut on top to give it more grip. The JP3 batt fuse block holder is awesome and I even got some cool stickers and a cut out rotor with it.!!!!
Part 4 - Routing rear main cable
I pulled out the firewall plug so you can see the design, it is held in by a plastic ring. I ended up cutting an X in the center to allow cables to pass through. I also wanted to show the crimps and the deformed crimp the ebay crimper makes. The crimp shown is on the CCA cable but it still makes the same crimp on the OFC. The crimp will hold as long as you use the right setting. I re-did the cable but the shrink tubing that came with the copper terminals was from GP on ebay and in small letters it said "MERICA" ... lol.
Routing the rear main cable was a pain. I had to grab the other end and bend it down like a dolphin tail and slowly feed it through the firewall a couple inches at a time. Then I would have to go inside the car and bend it up as it cleared the junction box near the foot rest. I had to repeat this process about 10 times until I got the cable fully routed.
I pulled the batt side of the cable through the hole in the carpet where the seatbelt secures to the floor and then I routed it around the base of the roll cage angling it through a notch in the LRB support panel to get it to the Main Batt. I pulled up the carpet on the side and pushed the cable down to the floor. I pushed the cable down in the front near the junction box and installed the foot rest to keep it there while I pulled and formed the back of the cable. I was tightening one of the china positive terminals and it broke - because it was a cast POS. I drilled out a negative terminal and filed it to a taper in the meantime. Since that was last week with the CCA cable I had already ordered my replacement LEAD terminals. I got them just in time to install the new 1/0 OFC cable so I replaced the china made cast military style positive terminals on both batteries with the LEAD military ones I found on Ebay.
Part 5 - Bat grounds
I made some batt gnds out of the OFC inverter cable I bought for the VSR. I sanded down the paint, put in some 6mm rivnuts, checked the gnds with my fluke meter and all was good. There were so many ground lugs from all the different components so I decided to make my own ground bar for my quick release. Now when I disconnect the negative I have just the ground bar instead of a million flying gnd lugs. I got the copper from the local metal supply store. The 6 ft red and black 2 awg OFC inverter cable was from Harbor Frieght. Red for the VSR and black for the batt gnds.
Part 6 - Test fit the fuse boxes
Now that all the pwr / gnd has been ran for the Main batt its time to work on the time travel electrical panel. I tried a few configurations before I figured out the best way to mount the boxes. The biggest hurdle was the VSR. The post for the main battery was on the aux batt side and visa versa. I fixed it by making a U-Turn to the opposite sides.
At this time I noticed that I will need some special hardware to mount the VSR and the 6 way fuse boxes. The VSR Cover has just 2 holes while the base has the 4 holes. I had to use some short M5 SHCS for the 2 opposite corners to hold the base down and then 2 longer M5 SHCS to hold the relay down in the other corners through the base and into the rivnuts. The 6 way fuse box required M4 SHCS. The 100amp fuses, 8-way switched fuse box, 12v acc relay, 12v gauge bracket and all clamps used M6 flanged hex.
I pulled the panel out of the car and started marking through the holes on where to drill. I was unable to get the pen into the 6 way fuse box holes but I'll show you my trick. Eyeball the center of the hole and make a mark on both sides of the corner, do this for all corners. Lift up the unit and now draw lines between them and where they intersect will be where your hole needs to be. Make your dots and place the unit back down to verify you can see your dots.
I measured the rivnuts for the right drill bit. M6 = 23/64, M5 = 5/16 (loose but ok), M4 = 15/64.
I drilled all the holes and inserted the rivnuts. The M4 aluminum rivnut is so fragile you have to make sure you set your stop on the rivnut tool so you don't over tighten and strip the threads. I did get the Ebay rivnut tool and I love it, it even came with steel and aluminum M3/M4/M5/M6 and M/8 rivnuts!
Part 7 - Broken stuff
This one is kind of like intermission during a 4 hour play ...lol
Completely unrelated to this thread but - when I was installing my windshield wiper cowl I forgot one of the covers. I just had to pop 2 screws and move the weather stripping and it slid right in.
Another mention for the crappy cast military style positive terminal that broke, replaced with some nice military LEAD ones.
Blue loctite - did you guys know that it dissolves certain kinds of plastics? I installed my switch to disable the batt volt gauge and I used loctite. The next day I was looking at my set-up and the switch was not there, the loctite ate away the plastic. Bought another switch and installed with NO loctite.
Part 8 - Electrical panel outside of car
The fun begins. I had 2 VSR's, one from BATTEK and the other from All Star Truck Parts. I chose to use the one from All Star Truck Parts because the ground wire was come out of the circuit board away from the pos terminal post whereas the BATTEK ground wire was right next to it and it looked like it would be touching the copper crimp if I were to use it. I cut the 2 awg inverter cable to length and then attached the pos leads that would go to the dual voltage gauge. I realized I do not need the 150 amp fuse blocks I ordered from GP on ebay and went with the 100 amp fuse blocks that came with the BATTEK kit.
I hooked up the relay to pull from the AUX batt to send power to the 12v ACC 6 way fuse block. The other 6 way fuse block pull power straight from the Main batt and the fuel pump is connected to that one. The 8 - way switched fuse block is connected to the AUX batt with its acc line going to the 12v acc 6-way fuse block.
For the dual volt meter I had an aluminum L-bracket that I shaped into a V. I used a hole saw to cut the hole for the gauge. The gauge connections were hitting the base panel so I cut some thick walled 1.5 aluminum pipe to push the gauge forward to clear the contacts. The bracket is secured with one 6mm going into a rivnut.
After all the wires were routed and the clamps in place, I marked where I need to cut the covers to clear the cables. Im pretty happy with how everything has turned out so far. All those years fabricating parts has really paid off big for this build.
Part 9 - Electrical panel installed in car
I installed the electrical panel into the car and it was pretty much plug and play. I realized my voltage gauge was going to be on all the time so I decided to add a switch. The first switch melted away when I used some loctite. The second switch is still holding fine - without loctite..lol. It is a simple on/off switch with one gnd lead going to the gauge and the other gnd lead splitting going to both batteries. Yes it works with one batt ground but I just wanted 2 leads for whatever I might run into in the future.
After figuring out the TNS and ACC source and all the new wire routing I had to update my dual battery schematic, we are on version 3 now. I hope all goes well with the prosport gauge install.
Part 10 - 12v Acc hook up
After realizing that I can't get 12v acc power to my relay from the fuel pump relay mod without the CPU or the engine harness in the car I had to look elsewhere. I was browsing another thread and while talking to Dale in that thread I resorting to using acc power for a signal. I noticed that my 95 FD has a different colored wire in the X-03 then the other picture I saw and posted in my thread. Looking into the connector the other car has a B/R wire where I have a B/L wire. Mine matches the 94 schematic so I'm guessing he had a 93. So now I have my 12v acc source on the L (blue) wire per the schematic, so now what's the easiest way to tap into it.
This is one of my favorites. I love it when something can be repurposed for something else. The HKS turbo timer harness solved my 12v acc dilemma perfectly. Apparently the HKS TT harness ZT2 taps into the acc line on the IGN switch conn. X-03. The TT harness pigtail actually taps into the 12v batt, 12v on and the 12v acc. The only thing you need to do is cut the green jumper wire on the TT harness that goes from 12v batt to 12v on. I'm sure there is something in the turbo timer electronics that needs this but for my application I do not.
I installed the TT harness and verified with the fluke meter I got 12v acc on the pigtail with the key in acc position. I have 12v batt, but still not 12v on when the key is turned to on but that's ok for now. I made a small harness with a wire going from the HKS TT pigtail feeding the 12v acc fuse block and then 2 more wires that go from the 12v acc fuse block back up to power the gauges with 12v acc for gauge power and 12v acc for gauge daytime light.
Part 11 - TNS Relay tap
Ahhh - The infamous where to tap to dim or change the color of your gauges when you turn on your parking lights. I checked at the R/B wire at the junction box conn. JB-03 and I only got 10.5v. I went to the front of the car and checked voltage at the actual R/B wire coming out of the relay and when the parking switch is on I got 11.2V. I decided to tap at the TNS relay. I peel back the old tape and cut the R/B wire and put a crimp on it and I measure to check my crimp and I get 12.2 volts. I guess all the lights and circuits are pulling down the voltage. I spliced in 15ft of 14 awg OFC wire and measured 11.2v at the end of the wire. Now I have a signal right at the relay - cool.
I taped the harness back up with electrical tap, then TESA tape and put a zip tie around it so it won't unravel on me. I put the bottom cover back on, bolted it in place and ran the wire along the harness following the batt relocation cable. I put all the panels back together in the car and now everything is working like it's supposed to and I have the wires waiting for the gauges.
This was a big accomplishment for me and I needed the power sorted out and verified prior to putting the engine back in. Thank you for everyone who has helped me, given me advice and for those who are following me.
Part 1 - Electrical parts
Last edited by rotaryextreme; 03-14-21 at 07:03 PM.
I also got the LHD spyder crystal head lights from vivid racing. I wanted the sonars from japan but they were for the RHD application.
I also got some bi-xenon lights that have the same feature as the stock bulbs where the front is covered with a cap and the exposed section has that plate on the inside covering half the light for the low beam. I have been using this brand on my mazda5 for over 2 years with no issues. Although my van has projectors, I like the reliability for the brand.
Innovited AC 55w HID Kit H4 9003 5000K Hi-Lo Bi-Xenon
Last edited by rotaryextreme; 03-26-21 at 06:28 PM.
I should really be calling these updates and not days. This update took a full 2 weekends to finish. I apologize ahead of time if some stuff looks out of sequence as I was trying to remember to write what I did 2 weeks ago. I am personally relieved and excited because now the car is ready for the engine install which fittingly will be on Day 70 … woo hoo. So, without further ado lets get this party started.
Part 1 – Radio Removal
Part 2 – Dash 4 Gauge Pod Install
Part 3 – Roll Cage 3 Gauge Pod Install
Part 4 – Glove Box Electronics (Greddy BC/ FC Datalogit)
Part 5 – IC test fit
Part 6 – IRP IGN-1A
Part 7 – Final Wiring
Part 8 – Gauge lights
Part 1 – Radio Removal
This is for the non-bose 2-piece stereo. When doing a search on removing the radio, the top 2 concerns were how to release the clips holding in the radio and how hard it is to pull it out. There are 4 small plastic trim pieces hiding the holes were the U’s release pins go, they pop off with a very small flathead. I ended up bending 4 U’s out of 3/32 steel welding rod. You could also use a wire coat hanger. These will push the clips in. The top and bottom units are separate from each other and you really need just 2 U’s. The 3/32 welding wire work perfect and keeps the clips in without any problems. The clips have a small ramp that the wires ride on and push it down and then the wires lock it down in place when the wires slide behind a tab. I was able to jam three tips of my fingers into the bottom cassette opening and had enough grip to pull it out. Remove the connector from behind the deck and you can pull it out a little more to get to the antenna connection. I saw 2 antennas going to one location and I did not want to mess with it at this time, so I unscrewed the bracket and then demated the connector. Next, I put my hand behind the top unit and pulled it out with ease. There are no connectors on the top unit except for one cable which plugs into the bottom unit that should already be unplugged. I removed my radio so that I could route everything for the gauges and other electronics. Here is a simple step by step process.
3. Shove your fingertips into the cassette and pull out bottom radio.
4. Disconnect all plugs and dual antenna.
5. Push U wires into top unit.
6. Reach behind top unit and pull it out.
I have no idea of what double din gps unit I will put in there, but I know I want to play dvd/cds for my 80’s/90’s collection of disc. Of course, I can link to my phone via Bluetooth but sometimes you just want to use the 2 separately. I want my MTV !!!!!! I did some searching and saw a lot of good recommendations, but they were outdated. I do want a double din with buttons and NOT something that is only touch screen, touch screen and buttons are cool. I will replace the front door speakers with components, reuse the rear speaker brackets and make some type of sealed enclosure and mount them onto the rear LRB panels and I will use an 8” powered bazooka tube in the back. So, the parts are double din gps, front component speakers, rear speakers with no built-in tweeters (no 2 way or 3 way), amp for speakers and powered bazooka tube. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Part 2 – Dash 4 Gauge Pod Install
The 4 gauge pod can be found on Prosports site. One pod is the end link and the rest just bolt together. It looks like it can be configured from a 2 gauge pod to as many as you need. Mine did come with a broken tab and it was one of the ones you need to stick your clip on. They also use set screws to hold the gauges in place and I was missing one. I remember looking at the plastic bubble wrap seeing the broken tab in there amongst a bunch of broken plastic pieces so I scoured though and found the missing set screw – hooray! I briefly considered calling prosport about the broken tab but after 3 seconds I decided to do what I hate most which is to modify a stock part of the car. I figured it would not be to difficult to find another speaker cover so I modified mine to work with the gauge pod. Test fitting the prosport pod with the baseplate attachment was fun. The pod bolts together for many configurations so there are tabs that need to be cut so the gauge pod will sit flush. I unscrewed the gauge pod mounting plate, matched it up to the speaker cover and drilled the holes. Luckily The holes were uniform and not offset making it easy to line up. I had to find some longer screws to accommodate for the thickness of the screen on the stock speaker cover. The stock speaker cover sits down past the dash just a tad so I need to find a way to push the speaker clips down while still staying flush with the gauge pod against the dash. I ended up cutting a silicon hose and using it as a busing – and it worked perfectly. The gauge pod sits super duper nice and almost looks factory from outside the window. It’s really a nice piece – that’s what she said.
Next was to install the 4 gauges. For the 4 gauge pod I kept all the liquids together. From left to right they are fuel pres, oil pres, oil temp and water temp. I tried my best to line the gauge hoods and gauges up the best that I could. All the set screws looked like they were tapped at the bottom point of the curve. All the gauge hoods have a slight discoloration and a thin line on the bottom of the smaller tapered section. I tried my best to align the gauge needle to that line on the smaller section of the gauge hood to the set screw on the gauge pod – and it came out pretty darn good. With all the gauges in place I connected the colored wires together into one tail. I had a left-over fog light harness I used for the red/whit/yellow wires and I found a 25 ft trailer connector 4 wire extension harness at Walmart for my black ground and green signal wires for the sensors. It was perfect since it was OFC copper and the wire gauge was not too big. I harnessed everything up, routed the wires threw a small hole on the side of the cavity where the dash speaker goes and came out near a vent on the left side. I briefly hooked up the ground, 12v acc pwr, 12v acc white light and 11v tns wire for amber light when the lights are on. I turned the key to acc and I heard the ACC relay click on to feed the 6-way acc fuse block from the second battery and verified everything worked. The gauges do a sweep and then since there are no sensors hooked up they stay maxed out. I love the gauge hoods/visors, they match the factory dash cover over the instrument cluster. I was so happy and impressed it work right the first time – that’s what she said.
Part 3 – Roll Cage 3 Gauge Pod Install
I went to test fit the roll cage pod and the clamp was too big by a hair. I went to my trusty foam with the fiberglass mesh to tighten it up. I place the foam on both insides and put the clamp in place. It grabs just enough thread to hold together with enough friction so you can position it where you want. Once in place it fully tightens down and is secure. I started with the bottom pod and placed it high enough so my hand would not hit it while turning the wheel or reaching for the left side switch arm on the steering column. You have to put the pod on a little tight to set the right height, then you move the pod a little to tighten the 4 screws holding the clamp to the roll cage. Then you can position the pod to where you want it. I test fit all 3 pods by sitting in the driver seat and angling them to face me. The only downside is that they are kind of in my face since they are not back further on the A-pillar. You have to be careful getting in and out of the car so you don’t bang your head on them. They look great and are high quality.
Now comes the fun part which is hooking up these gauges since there are more connections then the standard 5 wire harness. For the 3 gauges in order of bottom to top I have Boost(psi), EGT(F) and then AFR. I imagine the AFR will get annoying since it’s the closest to my face, but that’s great for tuning or on the track. For the boost I have the electric gauge that has a pressure sensor that needs to be wired up. I made a small extension harness so I would not damage the small wires coming off of the sensor. It is on the T-fitting that will feed the Greddy boost controller and then that will be fed from the engine through the firewall. For inside the car I am using the clear tubing supplied in the Greddy boost controller kit and I’m using black silicon to feed it from the engine into the cabin and onto the T-fitting. For the boost silicon hose, I ran it through the firewall and made a fiberglass grommet to protect it from the metal. I put a few wraps around it and then built up a back section so the grommet could not be pulled through, I fished it from the inside and on the other side of the firewall I wrapped a bigger section again to keep it in place.
I was wondering how in the heck am I going to get the EGT probe and AFR sensor to the exhaust pipe so I did a search and came across a very simple solution, run it through the stick shift rubber bracket – omg.
I looked at the bracket and found out the rubber boost just slips over the bracket, so I bolted it in place and ran the sensors to my best guess where they were going to be. I used a few clamps to hold everything in place (hoping they wont melt too much). The EGT prob barely reaches the connection to the gauge pod and the connector for the AFR O2 senser can be placed in a location where it can be unplugged so it does not heat up while Im working on electrical things when the car is not running. I also added more DEI heatshield to the frame rail where the exhaust will be. At this point I have all 7 gauges with their wires going to the drivers side so now I need to install the rest of the electronics in the glovebox so it can be routed over to the driver side for final hook up.
Part 4 – Glove Box Electronics (Greddy BC/ FC Datalogit)
I got the Banzai Racing PFC holder that screws to the dash behind the glove box front panel. It’s nice and feels very secure. I needed this installed so I could measure how much excess PFC cable needed to be coiled up once the glove box job was done.
Damn – why is our glove box so small !!!!! So I wanted to put the Greddy Boost control and the FC datalogit in the glove box, but little did I know how much of a pain in the *** this was going to be. I put the FC datalogt and the Greddy BC in the glove box so I could drill the holes for the wires to come out the back. I measured from the glove box to the driver kick panel and made and extension for the Greddy BC power harness, the extension for the UEGO connection to the FC datalogit and the length of the tubing needed. I wrapped all the wires in a wire loom and fiberglass taped the tubing to it and then secured it at the back of the glove box. I also installed a clamp to hold the FC datalogit USB to computer cable on the right side of the glove box. On the inside of the glove box I left enough length for the Greddy BC harness and tubing to flex without being pinched.
To get the glove box out on a 95 FD you need to pull the arm on the right towards you and then there are 2 screws on the bottom bracket. I took apart the glove box so I could drill holes for the mounting screws to secure the FC datalogit and the Greedy BC swing arm – a whaaatt?? – a tiger shark! (jaws scene – google it). I have been watching a lot of Battle Bots lately and so that is probably what influenced me to do this..lol. You can see in one of the pics I re-purposed a polished vm duct to make the swing arm but when I went to install the glove box, the Greddy BC was hitting the bracket that the glove box rest on in the down position. Crap, I need to find a way to get the Greedy BC deeper into the box – that’s what she said.
I remembered this toy I had when I was smaller, this toy had a stick you would hold and at the top was a rachet type thingamabob that would click away as you moved the stick in a stirring motion. It was like a new years party toy. So I found a small tube and tapped it for a shoulder bolt, I took the rubber off the clamp and pinched the clamp into an oval shape and shaved the looped section down on one side to fit on the shoulder bolt – walah, now I have a pivot point for the Greddy BC to rotate up and down. At the other end I used a small clamp to hold the tube with a bolt and nylon lock nut. The clamp applies a lot of pressure, so I don’t have to tighten the nut down all the way giving my pivot point for the arm to swing in and out. I cut a small aluminum base plate so that when the Greddy BC folds down it will rest on the edge of the glove box instead of falling down. I installed the glove box to test fit it and it cleared the bracket, now I can finish up the routing of the wires and tubing for the FC datalogit and Greddy BC.
The last thing I needed to route to the glove box was the Greddy BC solenoid cable. For this cable I decided to go through the right-side fender into the firewall. The solenoid needs to be in a place where it wont be exposed to too much heat but still be close to the wastegates for the turbos so I routed the cable to make sure I had enough length to put the solenoid on the front right frame rail. I ended up making a small bracket to hold the solenoid in the correct orientation per the instructions. I pulled the grommet out of the firewall, poked a hole through it and fed the wire through and then I place the grommet back onto the firewall. I pulled the cable over the factory harness to keep it up high and hooked it up to the Greddy BC pigtail. I also installed a clamp to hold the solenoid cable. Since I already made the harness, I was able to fish it straight across to the driver side going behind the metal bracket in the radio cavity.
Part 5 – IC test fit
The things we do to get the perfect angle for a picture. I will be using my Rotary Extreme twin track vm kit for my set-up and I needed to test fit the core to make sure it cleared the Greddy BC solenoid. I held it by hand and all was good – but – I also wanted to take pics to document and show you guys. How will I support the core for the pics???? Bungie cords !!! Seriously yes, I used bungie cords to hang the IC from the pop up tent frame. Everything clears and looks good. For jumpstarting the car, testing the alternator and battery tending I already have the positive terminal in the front of the car but I also needed a negative point. I chose an unused nut insert in the front of the left side frame rail, cleaned the paint off the threads and install a negative terminal from one of my mini battery kits. Lastly I wanted to share a rechargeable headlamp I have been using to work in the dark. I got it from Walmart and for the price it’s a damn good piece. It charges in 4 hours and last about 20 hours on the low light setting which is still plenty of light. The brand is Swisstech and it was under $40 bucks.
Part 6 – IRP IGN-1A
I finally got my IRP IGN-1A kit in and I must say it’s a masterpiece. Excellent build quality and proper stress relief on the small wires going into the connectors. The harness ends have labels and the only one that I called IRP for clarification was one that said GND. The one that says GND is meant for your NEG battery terminal or GND if you relocated your battery, but its meant for your NEG battery terminal.
The way I routed the harness was to first mate the ignitor connector and then I stretched it out to see how far the coil connectors would reach. Where I already had one clamp holding the pos cable in place I added another clamp to hold the IGN-1A harness and I also cleaned the paint off the threaded nut insert so I could put the IGN-1A Chassis GND there. I bent the metal tab on the IGN-1A relay 90 degrees and placed the IGN-1A relay and the IGN-1A power fuse on the bolt that holds down the back or the front harness fuse block. I connected IGN-1A power to the battery fuse block attached to my JP3 battery relocation post.
With the IGN-1A harness secured in place I have plenty of length to get the R1 and R2 GNDs to the rotors. I will also modify the IGN-1A coil bracket to hold the coils near the frame rail under the Greddy TB elbow. I ended up routing the IGN-1A GND connection through the fender into the cabin with the other wires and routed a wire from NEG terminal on battery 1 up to the driver side kick panel then I bolted them together and zip tied wire loom around it to isolate it from chassis gnd. I decided to do a better tuck of the white TNS wire so I fed it through the plastic holders for the stock harness and then put wire loom on it where it exits. I routed the wire loom behind the fuse boxes, through the IGN-1A clamp and into the fender area. I secured all the wires on the right side with a big clamp as the go into the cabin. Now that all the wiring from the engine bay is done I put the cruise control unit back on and closed up both fender liners.
Part 7 – Final Wiring
There were so many wires building up in the drive side footwell it was getting harder to work. I felt like Indian Jones running through the spiderwebs in the temple of doom. From the glove box I finished routing the Greddy BC power and the UEGO AFR feed for the datalogit to the driver side kick panel and the tubing to the steering column area. I wired up the boost and EGT wires and made an extension to go down the roll cage, under the carpet and then back up to behind the kick panel. Next was to figure out how to secure the UEGO controller. I was amazed at how much space was above and behind the driver side left kick panel. I hooked up all the connectors for the AFR on the UEGO box, zip tied it for stress relief and placed it in a small cavity by the fuse box. Next I coiled all the extra length of the UEGO cables and zip tied it behind the hood latch release. Final connections in the driver side kick panel were Bat 2 12v acc red wire to Greddy BC and all gauges except for the red wire for the UEGO controller which went straight to Bat 1 pwr. Bat 2 12v acc white to all gauges. Bat 1 TNS wire to orange wire for all gauges for amber lights. All gauges and Greddy BC to gnd. Neg Bat 1 to neg bat on IGN-1A harness. Last was to secure the vacuum / boost lines, I LOOSELY (preventing any pinching) zip tied them to the steering column this way I have easy access to the inline filters and the T-fitting. Also included is the final version of my vacuum drawing and the prosport gauge and dual bat schematic that is now completed and verified.
Part 8 – Gauge lights
I am so happy with the finished product. You know how we have everything planned out but then something comes up and throws a wrench in our project. I really believe the time spent planning and drawing up a schematic made it possible for me to pull this off and now I can share it with whoever wants a template to create their own flavor. I love the gauge visors and I feel it matches the interior better. The roll cage pods sit nicely in front of the A-pilar and you have the same view as if you had the A-pilar triple pod piece. The white light is not overbearing, and the orange light is a little brighter than the interior. If the brightness of the gauges drive me nuts maybe I can a little tint or something. The deployable Greddy BC looks cool when lit up and its within reach to adjust it when needed. Anyways I’m really happy with the prosport gauges and my deployable Greddy BC. Thank you everyone for all of your inputs!
Pics Part 1 – Radio Removal
Last edited by rotaryextreme; 04-15-21 at 10:46 PM.
02-16-21, 04:56 PM
