Build thread

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed Mar 29, 2023 9:14

This brake line is kicking my ass! I bought a new die set from Eastwood for the brake line flare tool in the hopes that was the issue. Apparently not. I'm at wit's end. I made three more lines tonight and they all leak. I even made one that was just a straight shot because I thought maybe the complicated bends were causing the issue. No luck. I did flare those less than I had been and the lower fitting didn't leak anymore, but the upper fitting is. I'm really getting fed up and I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to put the old setup back in, but I might have to. What kills me is I didn't really need to take it out.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:14

I got all the splices on the engine harness crimped, soldered, and covered with heat shrink. Now I just need to add heat shrink to the whole harness, add the labels, and terminate.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the brake lines.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:14

I've been doing a lot of work on the engine harness, it's almost finished.
Image20230411_230253 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I got the new front harness today, so once I move some wires and remove some others, and swap a couple connectors, I'll put that in.

I put the connector on for the check engine light. It's awesome when you discover that you can use a smaller connector that uses the same terminals instead of having to change that, and you can always go back if it doesn't work.
Image20230409_221011 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I cancelled the drivers I ordered through USRT since they were backordered, and I realized I didn't need a driver for the pump. USRT gets their parts from SIRHC, so I contacted them and they said they had what I needed in stock, so I ordered from there instead and got them a few days later. I mounted them in place of the bluetooth module. Hopefully all this works haha.
Image20230411_200836 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This is how I'm wiring the water injection. The relay has a diode to protect against spikes as well, so this way should protect the ECU. Once the pump wire triggers the relay at a predetermined point, it will power the pump to prime the system, and the solenoid will be powered as well, but won't pulse until the solenoid wire tells the driver. I'll also have the pump power on when the car starts to prime the system. So i think this will work.
ImageWI wiring by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I haven't tried making any more brake lines yet. I think I'm going to remake the little section that goes to the driver's front corner because it angles the tee fitting down too much and that might be what's making it so difficult to get a line that doesn't leak.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:14

I have the wiring harness almost all the way finished. I need to add the injector connectors, there are a couple other connectors that I keep breaking the terminals so I have some of those on the way, the turbo speed sensor connector was broken before I even put it on so that replacement is on the way, and I have to add the ignition coil connectors after I heat shrink the wires, which are the only ones that still need heat shrink. Unfortunately, there is still one wire coming from the speed sensor on the transmission that I'm not sure where to run it. I think it needs sensor ground, which sucks because almost the whole harness is wrapped now.

I was looking over the front harness that I got last week and it looks good overall, but the fuse box hinges for the lid are broken. Ugh. I just swapped that last winter and it was a huge PITA. I really don't want to do it again. I decided to hold off until I know for sure the harness will be good, so I started going through and comparing it too the outgoing harness, making sure all the connectors are the same and all the wires going to the connectors are the same. Well, a few connectors in, and I found some differences. Nothing is ever easy lol. So I'm taking notes and pictures, and depending on how much is different, I'll either swap over a few wires, or figure something else out. Maybe I don't even need those wires. I still need to make a few modifications to the harness before I put it in anyway.

And I still need to finish some brake lines that don't leak, but I haven't even tried again.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:14

I finished the wiring harness aside from the one speedo wire still, and I have to add the connectors for the relay box once the dash is back in. The coil connectors were the worst, because they were the only ones that assembled reverse of the others, so you have to run the wires through first, then crimp the terminals and pull the wires back through, which is annoying at best.
Image20230422_215803 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This makes it impossible to add heat shrink once you put the connectors on. Ugh. I needed to add a piece to seal up this junction, and I made it through the whole harness without a mistake like this until the very end. I ended up wrapping electrical tape around it. Oh well.
Image20230422_215820 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I made these two sub-harnesses for oil pressure and fuel pressure. Then I realized that the fuel pressure sensor is 5v and I'm running 12v to it. Nothing is ever easy. So I might have to remake the fuel sub-harness and tap into the 5v and sensor ground wires for the coolant pressure sensor to supply the fuel pressure sensor. I bought a 12v sensor on Amazon but we'll see if it's actually 1/8NPT and 12v.
Image20230421_210937 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I started comparing the old front harness to the new one, and within the first few connectors I found two with different wires. So I need to set up a couple tables end to end and finish comparing and change the wiring.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sun Apr 30, 2023 9:14

I bought a 12v fuel pressure sensor on Amazon because that's pretty much the only place I could find one. And the only proof I have that it's 12v is that it's burned into the metal along with '100psi', and that's what the description said. I'm thinking maybe I should just change the engine harness to supply 5v and sensor ground to the fuel pressure sensor and use the AEM sensor. I'm just leery about using a cheap Chinese sensor (I paid about $25 shipped for it!) that had no reviews. Although probably all the sensors are Chinese made.
Image20230428_191947 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I finished comparing the old front harness and the new one, and it looks like the only difference is that one connector, and those wires all have to do with the ABS system, which I don't have anymore. At least I hope that's what they're for, because I really don't want to pull it again haha. That's what it looks like according to the wiring diagram. Actually, I did find another connector that my old harness doesn't have. It's a single spade connector right next to the fan relays. Uh oh! Although one of the NY guys has a 95 and he said he doesn't think there's anything plugged into it. I sure hope not. it's blue with a green stripe.
Image2023-05-01_12-17-33 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

After comparing the two harnesses, I moved the AC switch wire again and I thought about removing the wiring that I removed from the old one (MAP sensor, ignitor, etc), but I decided against it just in case I ever wanted to add some stock things back. I doubt I'll want to, but I NEVER want to pull this harness again. I also made the modifications to the relay box, which included a new mod I didn't have on the old one. And I changed the box again because one of the tabs for the lid was broken. I could have used it as it was, but I want it to be perfect. The only problem with this is removing the five of the terminals for the bigger fuses is practically impossible. I lucked out last winter, but this time was different. I don't know what I did that worked last time, but nothing worked this time, and as much as it killed me to cut and splice wires, I didn't want to mess up the new box or the old one and I don't really have the time to mess with this. I got some of those splices from Xavier that have the solder inside and heat shrink outside. They worked pretty well, I think so anyway haha, I haven't tried starting the car yet.
Image20230429_202137 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

Back to the mods. I changed the fuel pump wiring mod over, and I also discovered the screwed up harness that I bought originally this winter had a good relay box in it, so I decided to use that one. Turns out it's a JDM relay box, or at least I assume it is, because it has five of the smaller fuses instead of just three, and Jason Kaiser's JDM FD has the same. While I was swapping the box over, I noticed the power cable going to all five fuses and realized I could keep that to use for other things.
Image20230429_114038 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

The only problem was that is a needless amount of extra cable that would take up extra space in the harness for no reason. So I modified the one that was in the old box, which you can see here. Takes up much less space and is all contained within the relay box. I removed the insulation from a small section of the wire, cut off one of the old ends, and crimped and soldered it on, then covered with heat shrink. What really killed me was I had a strip of four of the terminals left still all on the same block, so if I had thought ahead I would have just clipped the wire and ran it to all four of those. Oh well, I still got it done this way.
Image20230429_203250 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I decided to use the two extra fuses for the oil cooler fans and temp switch that turns on the fans, so it will get rid of these extra red wires. Cleaned it up quite a bit. Along with this I ran new wiring to the oil cooler fans and hid it better.
Image
20230429_114339 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I got the harness ran to the front of the car and the driver's side and connected almost everywhere aside from the relay box in the front where the wire is not quite long enough for where I have the relay box mounted, so the harness is pulled down for now. I'm waiting to run the passenger side of the harness until I find out what that connector is for. I started mounting the clutch pedal but I need to finish making brake lines that don't leak and I've been moving the clutch master out of the way.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed May 03, 2023 9:14

I heard from three people that the connector on the harness doesn't plug into anything, so I finished installing the front harness. I had to unwrap the harness and lengthen the wiring for the relay in the front as much as possible because it's contacting the core support.

I ran into an issue with the engine harness too. For the terminals in the ECU connector, one of the terminals I needed to use was a different size, a bit larger than the others, so it required a different connector. Luckily I had a plug and socket that would work, salvaged from a subharness I made a year or two ago for the engine overheat light. Since I'll be running the check engine light function to the check engine light instead of the exhaust overheat light, I won't need this harness anymore. I need to run the other wire from the speedo sensor to a sensor ground, then I can install the engine harness too. I decided to just stick with the 12v pressure sensor at least at first, and make sure I have a charged fire extinguisher just in case lol.

I'm torn on whether I want to install the dash before I finish the brake lines. It's easier to remove the brake booster again if the dash isn't in the car, but it's not impossible, and I'd like to get the car mostly put back together and started and maybe do some tuning already. I did try to remake a small brake line tonight with no success, so I might just end up putting all the old stuff back in.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed May 10, 2023 9:14

I think the brake line is good to go now. It hasn't leaked or seeped any the last two days. I ended up buying another tool from Amazon that had great reviews, but ultimately didn't help. I bought another coil of line just in case too. I also tried using the old style flare tool, which was awful. I finally figured out that I should flare one end first, that way if it didn't work I could just cut off that little bit and do another one until it did work. And this way I wouldn't waste time bending the line and wouldn't waste a whole foot of line until I had at least one good flare, and I'd only need to get one more good flare after that instead of having to get two good flares. This method ended up helping, along with changing the way I flared the end. I tried backing the line off a tiny bit since it was crimping on both sides during the first operation of the flare, and I also flared it much slower. I did have to do it a couple times even with the new method, and the line did seep a little still overnight at first, but I cranked down on that fitting again and it's been good for two days now. I'm still not getting a stiff pedal though after pumping several times. I was thinking maybe I didn't bench bleed well enough, or maybe I have a leak still that I just can't see, but it seems like they're all good. Xavier is going to help me bleed the brakes and clutch.

I'm changing the way some of the wires in the engine harness are routed, being that some of them aren't going where they should be going, ideally. I think they'd probably still work, but I want to get it right the first time. I decided to run one of the wires directly to the ignition switch because that's what Chris told me to do. I soldered the end of it onto the terminal, I just hope it's the right wire because there really isn't the space for it that I thought there would be.

I cut a little metal out of the core support to make extra room for the wiring to the front relay box. I also bought a plastic stapler too, that heats up "staples" to repair cracks, for the rear hatch plastic.

I've started buttoning up the engine bay as much as possible. Once the engine harness is done (I'm waiting on a few connectors now), I'll install that and the ECU, then the HVAC boxes and dash, and try to start the car. Although I'll probably need to do a little tuning first.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed May 17, 2023 9:14

I've gotten the engine harness finished and installed, I got the HVAC boxes all installed (it was kinda tough getting the blower box installed over the ECU for some reason), I repaired any of the interior plastics that needed it and got all the hatch plastics installed (although I forgot the panel foam, ugh), and I tried to finish up the engine bay but I realized I don't have the fuel pressure sensor harness anymore. I've torn through the garage and can't find it anywhere, so I ordered more connectors and I have enough wire and heat shrink. I've also discovered that my brand new battery from last winter is completely dead, zero volts. I ordered a lithium charger from Amazon that will be here tomorrow.

It's always something.

I still need to bleed the brakes too but I'm a little concerned because the pedal doesn't get stiff after several pumps. Maybe that's due to the fronts not being bled yet, or maybe it's due to not bench bleeding it enough or maybe it's bad (really hoping it's not that one lol).

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sat May 20, 2023 9:14

I finished bleeding the brakes today, which was a chore. I had an issue with not being able to bleed the rear brakes and the pedal was stiff not even halfway down. I believe it was due to not topping off the master cylinder and running out of fluid when I was bleeding the clutch, possibly in conjunction with not having the proportioning valve not turned all the way out. Once I did that, I was able to bleed the brakes again.

I got the dash back in and mostly connected but not bolted in. I'm waiting to make sure everything works with the new harness. I have the engine bay mostly assembled as well but I'm waiting to finish some things until I do a check for fuel leaks. And I got the connectors from Corsa today and built a new fuel pressure harness.

So at this point I need to finish installing the dash, stereo, gauge cluster hood, seats, intercooler and piping, and then secure some of the wiring from the front harness within the wheel wells and put the fenders, front bumper, and front wheels back on. Oh and bleed the coolant.

I sent Joe the IO report, calibration data for sensors, and fuel map. I need a good map before I can do the stuff I need to do.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue May 23, 2023 9:14

I got a map from Joe on Sunday and installed it on the ECU, I connected the large connector on the combo switch, and I turned the key forward. Boy howdy, do I have some issues lol.

The left blinker and wipers were going crazy, but that was because I had only the large connector connected, so once I connected the other three, those issues were fixed.

I still have some issues with the ECU wiring though. I was going to do a fuel pressure test to check for leaks but the ECU isn't telling the pumps to turn on. I'm not getting any power to CAN devices, so my thermocouple sensors (EGT and air temp) aren't reading. My ECU turns on as soon as I connect the battery, and that's not supposed to turn on until I turn the key to accessory. My fuel and oil pressure gauges are reading max numbers, but that can probably be fixed by playing with the gauge settings. My gauges don't have backlighting but I think that's due to some wires not being connected. I have several wires that I've installed over the years and haven't labeled, and now after having been disconnected for about eight months, I don't remember where they all go.

Last night I changed some of the wiring on the relay box and I believe that will solve the issues with the ECU staying on and possibly the other issues of the fuel pump turning on and things like that, but we'll see. It doesn't make sense that the CAN devices weren't getting power because the ECU relay had constant power and constant ground, so that's why the ECU is coming on right away, and that 87 wire triggers the ACC relay which feeds power to the CAN devices. So maybe there is no power coming to the other side of the relay. IDK.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri May 26, 2023 9:14

My last relay box rewire failed lol. Joe told me what I needed to do and it seems to be working. The ECU only comes on when turning the key to on, but I haven't checked CAN yet to see if those devices are being powered. And my fuel wiring in the stock harness must be messed up because the pump still isn't getting power, and comparing continuity checks with the old harness is a mess, the new one has all kinds of issues it seems. I ran the fuel pump output directly to the relay in the rear and at first it didn't work because I already had the relay grounded and the ECU was providing ground, so I swapped those and it worked. I also somewhat checked for fuel leaks and had to tighten one fitting, but overall it seems good. Hopefully I can start it this weekend sometime and have no more issues.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue May 30, 2023 9:14

I ran the permanent wiring for the fuel pump relay in the rear and put a switch on the wiring so I can provide power to the pump for priming the system. I added five gallons of fresh fuel to the tank. I still wasn't getting power to the CAN devices, turns out the fuse in the relay box was blown. I tried to start the car with no luck.

The fuel pressure and oil pressure sensors aren't communicating with the ECU. I checked the wiring and it turns out I had the ground and signal wires mixed up. But it still wouldn't work after I changed them. I talked to Haltech today and they said the ECU won't work with 12v sensors, even if they're only getting signal. So I'm going to get a sensor from Brad hopefully tomorrow night and rewire my harness. My only concern is whether they'll work with the gauges.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sat Jun 03, 2023 9:14

I installed the AEM pressure sensors and rewired the harness. I discovered the newer fuel pressure subharness I made was also wired incorrectly, with the power and ground wires swapped.

I tried starting the car with no luck still. Joe noticed the ECU was shutting off during cranking. Apparently I tapped into the wrong ignition switch wire. I swapped it with the one going to the water injection relay, so now the water injection relay is powered by the ignition switch and the ECU is powered by the wire coming from the EGI relay, which is powered by the ignition switch haha.

When I reconnected the battery, the fuel pump primed. It's not supposed to do that until the key is turned on. When I turned the key on, the pump primed the system two consecutive times. It's not supposed to do that either haha.

The car started! WOOHOO! It ran pretty well for a while. Then the idle RPM started climbing. I was bleeding the coolant system at the same time and when the RPM started climbing to about 2000-2500, the coolant got close to the top of the Lisle funnel, then dropped. So I decided to shut the car down for a bit. I turned the key off, and the car stayed on. UH OH! So I disconnected the battery. Still no love. Joe shut off the injectors and the car died.

I was thinking maybe it had something to do with the ECU power wire being connected to the wrong ignition switch wire, but it's not even connected to the ECU anymore. I'm wondering if maybe it's backfeeding through the water injection relay, but it shouldn't be possible. I'll disconnect the wire from the ignition switch and see what happens, but I'm not holding my breath. I need to figure out which one would be correct though. I tapped into the black/yellow wire, which also feeds into the back of JB-04 and powers the spade connector on the front, which I figured would be OK since it powers all the extra things I've added. I checked for power on all the wires during cranking and didn't have power on any of them, but three of them had power in more key positions than the other three, and that B/Y was one of them.

I need to note I don't have the dash completely installed yet. All the connectors behind the dash are connected, but I don't have it bolted down all the way and the gauge cluster and combo switch aren't installed. I'm not sure those would make a difference, but it's worth noting.

Another change I recently made was replacing the front harness with one from a 95 Touring (mine is a 94 Touring). I've noticed differences before even with another 94 Touring harness, but I compared this one to my original harness and the only difference was a couple ABS wires and I'm not using that anymore. I had issues with the fuel system getting power also. I had DPO 5 going to 1K and 1T (to the speed relay and the diagnostic box/fuel pump relay), but the wires that should have been getting grounded were getting 10v for some reason. So I changed that wire to ground a relay for the pump and that worked. Chris Ludwig had it wired to 1K and 1T before and it worked, so I'm not sure what's going on.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sun Jun 04, 2023 9:14

I changed the A13 ECU power wire from the B/Y to the B/W wire on the ignition switch, and swapped the two wires back to where they were, with the ignition switch powering the ECU and the EGI relay wire powering the water injection again, and it worked! Car starts, and turns off too. However, the idle still climbs after a few minutes. I'll let Joe handle that one haha. I was waiting to fully install the dash and everything until I tested everything the front harness powers, but Joe wasn't available to tune some more today so I could finish bleeding the coolant and test the harness functions, and it's been so long and I'm feeling a little more comfortable that everything will be ironed out.


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