Build thread

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:14

I got the oil injector today and pulled another vacuum on the system tonight and started charging with R152a. I followed the instructions in this thread https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation- ... nt-964688/, starting with post #45. I didn't have the same results as him, not pulling enough vacuum and the pressures he was saying you should see while charging. But I followed the instructions nonetheless. I was seeing pressures of 20psi and it would drop to maybe 15psi. I filled the first can right side up with it tapped at the bottom, so liquid would go in, like he said. About half way through the first can, the low side line frosted and the temps coming out of the center vent were about 30F. I raised the temp selection to the highest temp while still being in the blue section on the dial and over the next few minutes the temp raised to around 40F.

The second can I tapped at the bottom but this time I held it upside down so gasses would go in. Everything was fine, although I was still only seeing about 20psi. Then all of a sudden the pressure shot up, the compressor turned off (I assumed from high pressure cutout) and idle RPM raised. I disconnected the yellow line from the manifold and bled off pressure until the compressor kicked on again. When that happened, it dropped RPM quickly until it stalled. I tried starting the car again and it only clicked. It drained the battery, and it might have killed it completely. Even with a battery charger on it I couldn't start the car. I'm doing a trickle charge on it now and it looks like it's slowly coming back. With the car off, low side pressure is around 70psi. I bled off the low side a bit more, but it still goes right back up to 70 when I close the valve again. High side always hovered around 100psi and never got to 150psi like he said.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:14

I hooked up the gauges again last night to check the pressures while using AC because my buddy Travis told me it shouldn't be seeing any more than 25psi on the low side. I bled off a little pressure but it was pretty good already. I let the car run for a while to see if I had any issues with the compressor locking up again, but even running it for a while probably won't tell me that yet. The temp coming out of the vents while sitting still was just over 40F. I drove the car tonight and going 40mph up Academy with the fan speed on the highest setting and the temp all the way down, it got down to 32F, I could see my breath haha. I turned the temp up a bit so it wouldn't freeze. Granted, it was only around 70-75F at that time, but still, should be good. I'm eager to test it on a hotter day to see how it handles. These pics are from when the AC was going. I wanted to watch idle RPM while I was in front of the car so I could watch the AC gauges too. And the low side line frosted again when I first started the AC.
Image20190808_202029 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20190808_202038 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20190808_202136 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I got a linkage for the passenger door handle and modified it and the one on the driver's side. The spring is so strong that it draws the linkage too far and puts too much pressure to get over the fulcrum point (I'm not sure if any of these terms are correct lol). So following the advice of another owner, I drilled and tapped a hole so I could put in an allen head screw to stop the linkage from folding too far. The only problem is now the handle is a little floppy when it's closed, but it's a very short and easy pull to open the door now. These pics are of two different sides, but hopefully it still makes sense. The one with the screw already in it is from the passenger side and the other, folded too far, is the driver's side.
Image20190808_210501 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20190808_213233 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This video explains the door handle fix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAUdQt1Bvmc

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:14

Well so far the AC system has been working great. I've seen temps as low as the low 20s coming out of the vents just today, which is OK for about 20 minutes or so, but it will freeze up your system and you'll get no cold air at all for a while haha. Those temps were while I was moving, btw. When sitting still I usually get about 40F from the vent, but once I start moving it'll get down to the low 30s and even below that, especially going down I-25. Because of this, I think the condenser is spaced out a little far from the radiator, but it's only about 3/4" and I wouldn't want to get any closer than that anyway. And I still get a good amount of cool air for the radiator too, which was my main concern. I think it also helps that the condenser sits back about and inch and a half from the leading edge of the radiator fins, instead of sitting all the way down and blocking fresh air from the radiator completely.

After the system thawed again, I kept the temp knob in the middle white section and the fan speed on about two and that was plenty cool, probably around the mid 40s. Although that's with ambient temps in the mid 70s. I used AC to and from the track yesterday and sometimes between runs, and it was about 90 out there and it felt good in the car. I had taken the thermometer out of the vents though so I'm not sure what the temp was exactly.

Bottom line, so far I'm very happy with this setup and especially this refrigerant.

After talking to Zico yesterday about fuel vapor smell, I think I'm going to look into aftermarket charcoal canisters or seeing if I can get the stock one modified to where it can be opened and the charcoal changed out, that way I don't have to figure out a mounting solution for a new canister.

I got an email back from Corsa Technic, they found the connectors I need for the RX-8 fans so those will be on order soon. Other than that, there are little projects here and there I'll tackle next, and eventually the paint and body work, but that's about it for now. I'm super happy with the car right now.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sun Sep 01, 2019 9:14

Since it was warmer today than it has been (around the mid 90s) and we were on a fun drive, it was the perfect time to really try the AC. It still froze up even though the temp coming out of the vents was in the mid 30s, I guess it was still too cold at the evaporator. But most of the day it was fine. I did discover that the blower still needs to be addressed because I've never been happy with the force of the air, even on the highest fan speed setting. I was planning on wiring in the power inverter, but I think I'd rather look into a different squirrel cage if I can find one that's more efficient and fits. I imagine that will be a pretty big task.

I do need to get the tune squared away though. The car will die quite often as soon as I left off the gas and disengage the clutch while I'm using the AC. When that happens I usually just use the clutch/tranny to restart the car, but at one point today that didn't work. I guess the ECU had just cut all fuel while the AC was on that time. I tried to restart the car with the tranny about 5 times and never had fuel pressure to keep it running. As soon as I turned off the AC and used the key to try to restart it, it fired up and ran fine after that. I even used AC after that too. It scared the shit out of me at the moment though lol.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Mon Sep 16, 2019 9:14

I've tried a couple times to recreate the freezing issue with the AC but it won't happen again, which is good of course, but it's also frustrating because I wanted to see exactly what was going on. Oh well, as long as it's working.

I verified that the water injection pump isn't even priming, so I'm guessing it's not getting power at all. I guess it could be getting power and just not working, but it's a brand new pump so that's not likely. I also thought maybe it isn't the right kind of pump, since Snow Performance systems use the pump to meter the water injected instead of using a solenoid to meter it and have the pump on constantly.

I got the RX-8 fans a while back, not sure if I posted about that, but I'm still waiting for the connectors from Corsa. I also discovered a buddy in StL is parting a 2010 RX-8 and had the fans still so I snagged those for $50 shipped and he included the connector pigtails. Now I just need to find the right connectors for the harness end, the ones I got were incorrect.

I'll either be switching back to a 94 rear sway bar or disconnecting the 93 bar I'm using. I'm getting a good bit of oversteer through corners, but it could also be due to my shitty driving and/or my old tires. I was planning on getting RE71Rs but Kevin Cypher picked up Federal's new 100 rated tires for his FC and those things are sticky and about half the price of the Bridgestones. So I'll probably be trying those next season. https://philstireservice.com/shop/federal-fz-201m/

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:14

I haven't touched the car in a while. I've been working on the house. Zico helped me run some speaker wiring through the ceiling in the living room, and some of it ran just under some HVAC ducting and I wasn't crazy about the thought of closing up the ceiling and the heat wearing on the wiring over time, so I took what I learned from the car and wrapped some heat shielding around the wires. I can't help it, I just have to overbuild lol.
Image2019-10-24_09-56-29 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:14

I started working on making a mount for the ECU. Quickly I remembered why I never did it before lol. The new mount from IRP for the Haltech Elite inspired me to make a mount for mine, and once I realized my ECU isn't much different in size and shape from the stock ECU, I figured it wouldn't be too bad.
Image20200326_195355 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I'm tempted to get IRP's mount and try to make it work for me. Theirs is a little different since it comes outward near the top instead of how mine comes out at the bottom, but theirs is more like the stock bracket. I'm surprised it fits behind the kick panel with the ECU installed, but Ihor says it does. I would probably mount my ECU on the back side of the mount if I could. I really like how professional his mount looks though, and I'm not crazy about how flimsy my mount is, but I'm not sure I could make it work with thicker metal. And now that I think about it, I have another idea in mind lol.
https://www.irperformance.com/product/i ... e-bracket/

I wish Chris would have mounted it the other way around, but it's too late now and it doesn't really matter anyway since it's behind the kick panel.

I love having a bending brake, although I could only do one of the bends on it because of the width between the bends, so I had to rig something on the vise, although that ended up working out OK.
Image20200328_203229 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200328_203236 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200328_203253 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This is after some extra cutting, but I ended up having to trim it down even more due to cables needing to run through where the bracket is.
Image20200328_210815 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200328_210827 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

It won't be in there exactly like this. The bottom will bolt in behind the grounding bar, and I'm thinking about making it in two pieces to make it easier to install and remove. Although I don't plan on having to remove it very often once it's installed, I like having things as easy as possible.
Image20200328_212946 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

A closer pic of the bottom. Again, it will slide in behind the bar.
Image20200328_212952 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I'm trying to decide if I want to notch out the stock metal, or elongate the holes so the ECU can slide to the left some so it doesn't touch.
Image20200328_212956 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This is where it bolts in at the top.
Image20200328_213009 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sat Apr 04, 2020 9:14

I completely changed the type of bracket once it became clear that this one wouldn't work, and there was no reason to HAVE to make it mount like a stock bracket. I realized it would be much easier to just use a straight piece of aluminum and drill some holes to mount it. I put some riv-nuts into the stock metal to mount the bracket, and then drilled and tapped holes in the bracket to mount the ECU. It's still a super tight fit and I ran into some issues getting it to fit once the harness is connected, but I think it'll work now. It's somewhat of a pain to mount the ECU, but it's in there pretty good.
Image20200331_231449 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I had to space the ECU out from the bracket due to the bolts I used to mount the bracket, and I added a couple rubber pads so it would dampen vibrations (hopefully) along with keeping the ECU off the bolt heads. You can also see all kinds of extra harness/wiring in this pic that was a pain to try to get out of the way of the ECU.
Image20200404_171413 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This pic shows how close the ECU is to the HVAC blower motor. And at first I tried to use studs which theoretically would make it MUCH easier to install. The only problem is with the motor being that close, it's tough to get the ECU onto the rear stud, and once it's on there it was stuck and I had to pry and move things to get the bolts to remove the mounting bracket. So, yeah, studs are a no go.
Image20200403_181536 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

It looks like there is plenty of space without the harness connected, but it really does take up all that room.
Image20200403_181524 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I'm a little concerned about the harness rubbing on the white plastic track and wearing the insulation off some wires, but the ECU has been resting on those same wires this whole time, so hopefully it'll be OK. I haven't connected or disconnected the harness with the ECU installed and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to, and that really sucks, but at least it's mounted now.
Image20200404_175703 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This is the finished product. I really wish that blue and black harness going across the top could be tucked behind the ECU, but there's not enough room to go over it. I tried to tuck it behind the mounting arm for the blower assembly but the harness is too thick. Maybe I'll do that if I ever take the dash out again and can remove the blower box.
Image20200404_175555 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I started talking to Chris again today trying to figure out my water injection issue still. Last time I talked to him a few months ago he told me to check on the wiring to make sure it's right, so I figured while I was in there I might as well do that too. I think the wiring is right, at least for the most part (he made all the harnesses so I'd hope so lol, but I did put the wires into the connectors of the harness he previously made), but I'm going to try to draw out a wiring diagram tomorrow and figure all this out.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed Apr 08, 2020 9:14

I forgot to update this the next night. Chris got the water injection working again WOOHOO!! I took it for a drive on Monday and tried out different maps for injection. I had 100% at about 6000 and above and around 20psi and above, and had it ease up to that point. I noticed it seemed quite slow compared to injecting nothing. I backed it off to about 72% and it felt a lot better. I might take it down to 50% even.

I did notice my AC isn't working again, I assume it's just leaking. So I guess I'll tackle that again. It's finally coming together. Now if I could just get the body work and paint done, I'd feel like it's almost finished. Not that that is even a thing lol.

I think the ECU might be rattling against the mount for the blower motor, I noticed a sound I'd never heard before. But that should be easy enough to fix. And I did verify the harness can be disconnected with the ECU still installed, but the bolts do have to be backed off a bit to make it easier.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:14

I had a REALLY not great night last night haha. I jumped the connector for the pressure cutout switch to see if the AC had leaked and it kicked on the compressor, so that told me I need to charge the system again and look for leaks. Well, it would have, had the compressor not stayed on after I removed the jumper. RUH ROH! I checked the wiring and it didn't look like I messed it up, so now I'm not sure what's going on. I tried a few different things with no success. I have a couple other things I'll try, but after that I'm stumped. I have had mice in the engine bay recently, and I thought I poisoned them successfully the other day, but I saw more poop again. Making me very angry. I really hope they didn't chew any wires, but it was working fine right before I jumped the connector.

I also tried fixing the rattling issue by the ECU. I trimmed the plastic that looked like it might have touched the ECU, and I also noticed that the ground cable had been pressed between the ECU and metal, so I loosened the bracket to reroute the cable. Unfortunately while I was loosening the bracket, one of the screws was crossthreaded or something and started spinning the rivnut. So that took a lot of work to remove. And it warped the hole so I couldn't put another one in. Ugh. I was able to route the cable a much better way though.
Image20200413_231219 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200413_235216 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200413_235121 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200413_235030 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:14

OK this is a really weird problem. When I put the jumper wire back in, the compressor will go off as long as the AC switch is off. So basically, with the cutout connector jumped, it operates as normal. But if I take that jumper out, the compressor kicks on again. With no jumper, the compressor stays on whether the AC is turned on or off. The cutout switch should be normally open, I would think. Actually, with everything plugged in as it should be, the compressor is on all the time, so I guess the cutout is normally open and working properly still. I just can't figure out why it's working when theoretically there isn't a complete circuit, and once you complete the circuit, it turns off. That makes no sense to me.

Then as I was troubleshooting the car shut off. Water temperature was 209*F, which must mean my fans weren't kicking on (the oil cooler fans had), and the battery was too dead to restart the car. I had noticed just a bit prior to shutdown that I was only getting 11.4v, but I figured it might just be something wrong with the USB port that was showing it. So now I'm wondering if the alternator is going bad.

I also have coolant seeping out of one of the allen screws I used to plug the filler neck, and I've learned that coolant will eat away powder coating lol.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:14

I did some more troubleshooting today. I tested the AC relay and it's opening and closing with power. I did notice that the relay is activating right away when the car turns on, and clicks every time I jump the pressure connector, but all that makes sense. The only problem is it shouldn't be activating until I turn on the AC. But it makes sense that the relay is activating and turning on the compressor, aside from the fact that the circuit between there and the compressor is broken lol. SO CONFUSING.

I did some continuity checks and I'm even more confused now lol. According to the wiring diagram, power goes through the AC relay (once it's closed) to the pressure switch (G-04), then through X-12 (one of the two gray connectors near the diagnostic box) and to the magnetic clutch. I checked between X-12 and the connector that goes to the compressor harness, and it had continuity. I checked from the relay to the pressure switch connector and had continuity the first time, and none when I checked a few minutes later. I checked between the pressure switch connector and X-12 and had no continuity there either. But obviously it has continuity once the car is running or the compressor wouldn't be kicking on.

A couple years ago before my AC was working I was checking things that Chris told me to try and I had to ground one of the wires coming out of the ECU and it would turn on the compressor, so I'm wondering if maybe I grounded that wire somehow when I made the mount for the ECU and it's automatically engaging the compressor clutch. I'm also wondering if mice chewed on the starter harness. I just can't figure out how power is getting through the open pressure switch connector, that makes me think it has to be past that in the starter harness. However, if that was the case, jumping the pressure switch connector wouldn't make it operate properly again, I wouldn't think.

I called Matt Schultz and he's going to look into it too.

I verified the fans are coming on, so I'm not sure why the temp was so high when it shut down last night. And I thought the alternator was going bad because battery power started at 11.8v and dropped continually after starting (I checked voltage from three different sources lol), but upon further inspection I found one of the wires to the alternator connector had broken. I doubt this is related to the AC problem, but that would be really awesome if it was LOL. Luckily Corsa Technic has the connector I need and I ordered it. Almost $8 shipped, totally worth it. I've been talking to Chris about building me a starter harness now that he has free time again due to the lockdown. Not sure how much that will be, but I might end up needing it earlier rather than later.
Image20200415_184848 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200415_184857 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200415_184904 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200415_222357 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:14

I pulled the secondary fuel rail Saturday and dropped it off with Ethan Gorra so he can design a larger diameter secondary rail for me, and it'll have a built in fuel pulsation damper, a 1/8NPT port for the pressure sensor, and Y off like the CJ Motorsports fuel rails. I'm going to try to use the R35 GTR FPD like the CJM rails too because I heard it's good, but we may end up using a universal one with a threaded end instead. I just want one that works well.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:14

The alternator shop said it's still good for now, but they're not sure how long it'll last because the windings look worn. Oh well, I'll address that when the time comes. I got the connector for the alternator yesterday and fixed that. Charging back to normal, strong like bull! I love Corsa Technic!
Image20200421_182852 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200422_174022 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200422_174027 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200422_174056 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

While I had the UIM off, I noticed some goo from where the boost gauge sensor is installed, so I tightened that down in the hopes maybe there was a leak there and that's why my vacuum reads low. Pipe dreams LOL.
Image20200421_184443 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I did a bit more troubleshooting on the AC situation tonight. I tested it first the way it was, hoping (but not holding my breath) that it was related to the broken alternator wire. I turned the car on and the compressor didn't turn on, YAY! I turned on the AC and it didn't come on, so it's not working at all now. Hmmmm. Oh, the AC relay wasn't in. I put that in, compressor kicks on immediately. FUUUUUUU! Anyway...

The relay is clicking as soon as power is applied, so I checked it out and it is getting a ground as soon as the car is running, and the ECU is what supplies that ground. With the key off, the ground wire of the AC relay is reading continuity to ground, but there is about 139 ohms(?) of resistance, and with the key on it gets about 230 ohms of resistance. But when I check terminal 1L at the ECU connector, it doesn't show that it's grounding at all with the key either off or turned to accessory. I haven't tried it with the car on yet because it's getting late and I don't wanna be a dick to the neighbors.

Either way, I still can't see how any of that matters because there shouldn't be any way for the compressor to get power since the circuit is open at the pressure switch connector. Unless the wires are burned together somewhere in the bundle and it's completing the circuit that way, in addition to the AC relay getting ground right away.

I did find another potential issue too. And I'm wondering if maybe this AC issue happened for a reason so I would find this before it becomes a problem. One of the big wires going to one of the ECU connectors looks like it's about to break. I had fixed this wire before but didn't foresee the heat shrink causing this problem. Ah well, so I got on Corsa Technic and looked up 22 way connectors and it was the very first one. Did I mention I LOVE CORSA TECHNIC?!
Image20200422_221141 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200422_221135 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:14

I just tried something Chris Ludwig suggested to see if the ECU was at fault. I pulled the 1L terminal from the connector so the ECU couldn't provide ground and started the car (on my ECU it's terminal 2A but it goes straight to 1L on the stock connector). It didn't ground, so it's coming from the ECU. At first I thought it grounded but I just realized I was an idiot and checked continuity at the wrong place, across the same wire instead of from the terminal to chassis ground lol.


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