Oh joy....engine wiring harness fun begins, starting to wire up the LINK fuel inject Options

[Mueller]

sorry for the Andy-esque photo (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

Started to read the install manual for the Link fuel injection/ignition controller last night as well as the wiring for the Mallory CDI which will be used as well (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wacko.gif)

Man, wiring is never fun, the hardest part I think will be laying everything out and figuring out how to run the wires so that it looks like a clean install....I'm still not sure if I'll be shrink tubing the entire harness or use the wire harness specific cloth-type tape.

[McMark]

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/clap.gif) BTW, I hate you camera phone. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/tongue.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/lol2.gif) J/K

[Mueller]

My wife does not like the camera phone either...we took the 911 up to Sonoma this weekend and I just "had" to take a few pictures of the car with my "phone"....she just shaked her head and said "whatever" , hahahaha


oh yea, the wiring mess on top is the Link harness, the big bundle below is for the Megasquirt, I'll be using a combo of both...I am also going to use the megasquirt relay board which has 3 relays (main power, fuel pump and fast idle)..it also has 4 fuses as well and can be mounted in the engine compartment.

I have to contact Mallory to find out what signal/voltage the box wants for triggering the coil, I'm pretty sure it's 12vdc sq.

[Aaron Cox]

you are a glutton for punishment mike,

and thats a good thing (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)
look forward to seeing it all done (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

[Mueller]

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ May 2 2005, 10:16 AM)

you are a glutton for punishment mike, and thats a good thing (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) look forward to seeing it all done (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

yea I must like pain and confussion (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

with projects like this, I'm really glad I am not color blind !!!!

the megasquirt wiring is really nice, each wire is labeled with it's function/location about every 5 inches or so.....

[Aaron Cox]

QUOTE (Mueller @ May 2 2005, 10:23 AM)

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ May 2 2005, 10:16 AM) you are a glutton for punishment mike, and thats a good thing  :D look forward to seeing it all done  :trophy: yea I must like pain and confussion (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif) with projects like this, I'm really glad I am not color blind !!!! the megasquirt wiring is really nice, each wire is labeled with it's function/location about every 5 inches or so.....

and you are integrating the CDI into the Link system?

[Mueller]

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ May 2 2005, 10:24 AM)

and you are integrating the CDI into the Link system?

yep...for the ignition, it'll go something like this:

dizzy>Link>CDI>coil

the dizzy will be locked, the mechanical advance disabled, when optics inside the dizzy see the light, it'll send a signal to the Link, the Link will calculate how many µS before it sends the signal to fire to the CDI, the CDI sends the signal to the coil to fire it.

[Aaron Cox]

which dizzy?

the link enables you to make your own advance curve electronically correct?

BTW- why not go crank trigger (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

[Mueller]

the Mallory distributor will be used...I could use a stock one if I wanted to, but the Mallory is brand new and I like the larger diameter cap and rotor.....

yes, the Link will give me electronic adjustable advance and retard....

I spoke to a few people about the crankfire, it appears to be overrated for the most part (one source was a MoTec dealer/installer), depending on the manufacture, the crank trigger wheels are not as accuate as one would think and the teeth apperantly vary a few degrees. It came down to that for the extra cost/hassle of converting it to crankfire, the benifit was not worth it at all for me.

[Aaron Cox]

how do you disable the mech advance on the unilite?

is there a sensor that looks for vaccum and changes the advance accordingly?


as always mike,
rock on (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/aktion035.gif)

[lapuwali]

To lay everything out, mount all of the components first in their final positions. Lay the harness out wire by wire, so you can get each to exactly the length required. Use zip ties to temporarily bundle wiring to keep it neat.

Don't use heat shrink on the whole harness. Use the corrogated plastic split tubing. This stuff is specifically made for this, and you can easily get back in later without unravelling a zillion miles of tape, or cutting into the heatshrink and hoping you don't cut into wire insulation. Use heat shrink over connectors where the wires feed in, both as a waterproofing and strain relief. Sometimes you have to put layers of heat shrink on to get a good seal. A big piece that will fit over a connector usually won't shrink down to the wire bundle, so use a smaller piece over the shrunk bigger piece, and repeat as necessary.

After you get the whole harness done and operating properly, re-zip-tie as necessary so "branches" collapse into natural "trunks". Wrap the trunks in the split tubing.

Use good connectors. If you're crimping (my preference in a high vibration environment), buy a good crimp tool, one of the $40-50 jobs that properly "fold" the crimp connector around and into the wire. If you use the hardware store insulated connectors with the crimp tool that just crushes the insulation and the crimp, you're going to end up with something that will be flaky to start with, and will give endless trouble. If you REALLY want to be anal, use a small bit of heat shrink around each wire and the crimp connectors. Don't use spade or bullet connectors if you can avoid it. Use only-goes-together-one-way multi-pin connectors with crimp-on pins where possible.

[Mueller]

James,

all of my connectors are brand new and have the seals that the wire passes thru....I also bought some new rubber boots for a few of the connectors for extra protection, not sure if they will work with the new Bosch FI style connectors or not, I'll know for sure when I get them this week. I'll also be using brand new GM Weatherpack connectors for some of the other components.

As for the crimping tools, I have a nice selection of the proper AMP/Tyco hand crimpers that crimp terminals correctly.

[lapuwali]

QUOTE (Mueller @ May 2 2005, 10:08 AM)

James, all of my connectors are brand new and have the seals that the wire passes thru....I also bought some new rubber boots for a few of the connectors for extra protection, not sure if they will work with the new Bosch FI style connectors or not, I'll know for sure when I get them this week. I'll also be using brand new GM Weatherpack connectors for some of the other components. As for the crimping tools, I have a nice selection of the proper AMP/Tyco hand crimpers that crimp terminals correctly.

Sounds perfect. I've seen way too many crap jobs done here, and the suffering afterwards.

Have you tried hooking up the Link to the handheld controller, yet? Can it use PC software, too?

[Mueller]

QUOTE (Sammy @ May 2 2005, 11:24 AM)

What ever you do, don't let the magic smoke out! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

trust me, that is a huge concern of mine.....never been a huge fan of electronics just for that fear of "let'n the smoke out"....

[JeffBowlsby]

Now you know I couldn't leave this one alone...sorry to disagree James but my experience is that...

The split tube casing really does not belong in an engine bay, as a permanent solution. Not only do it and its funky intersection pieces look cheesy, it really has very limited performance. It is not very heat resistant and does not seal out dirt and liquid contaminants. The casing is there to configure and protect the wiring. The boots or connectors preotefct the terminations and connections. Corrugated split tube is made for interior, protected uses not subject to open engine bay-type environments. It is accessible so wires can be reconfigured easily, but this should only be considered for temporary use. The sharp edges of the tubing can be a paint too.

You really want to shrink tube this harness permanently for a couple simple reasons:

The shrink tube adds insulation value (somewhere around about 200F protection) to protect the wiring from heat damage. As a casing it also effectively seals the internal wiring and connectors from contamination from oil and water, that will negatively affect the wire terminal connections.

[lapuwali]

QUOTE (bowlsby @ May 2 2005, 11:52 AM)

The split tube casing really does not belong in an engine bay, as a permanent solution. Not only do it and its funky intersection pieces look cheesy, it really has very limited performance. It is not very heat resistant and does not seal out dirt and liquid contaminants. The casing is there to configure and protect the wiring. The boots or connectors preotefct the terminations and connections. Corrugated split tube is made for interior, protected uses not subject to open engine bay-type environments. It is accessible so wires can be reconfigured easily, but this should only be considered for temporary use. The sharp edges of the tubing can be a paint too. You really want to shrink tube this harness permanently for a couple simple reasons: The shrink tube adds insulation value (somewhere around about 200F protection) to protect the wiring from heat damage. As a casing it also effectively seals the internal wiring and connectors from contamination from oil and water, that will negatively affect the wire terminal connections.

A goodly number of OEMs disagree with your experience regarding the split harness tubes, as a glance into the engine bays in quite a few recently manufactured cars will attest. Perhaps there's higher performance split tubing in use now than whatever you're familiar with. Some of this stuff is now rated for temps over 250dC. There's one outfit that sells some reflective stuff that they claim will survive one inch away from a 500dC heat source, like an exhaust pipe.

I believe I indicated above that the ENDS of the wiring at the connectors should be heat-shrinked, so we agree there. I just don't like the idea of heat-shrinking the whole thing for serviceability reasons. I don't deny it will protect it, and perhaps will do a better job than the split tubing will. The tubing is mostly there to prevent chafing and to keep wires bundled and tidy. Since our engine bays are open, the sun can cause the insulation colors and labelling to fade over time without UV protection, which the tubing will also provide.

[TimT]

I also think split tube looks cheesy and cheap.. even if it is OEM. I use braided material, and heat shrink tubing. The braided material comes in a number of different sizes, and can accomodate as few as 1 to over 50 conductors..

With this braided sleeve you can branch out conductors where ever needed, Use some heat shrink at the branches and terminations.

[TimT]

nutter butter peanut butter cookie

[TimT]

burp

[Mueller]

Hey Tim....what the heck is that connector attached to the wiring harness???