Build thread

[Brigdh]

I'm not sure I follow.

So each EGT sensor has two wires and I put a k-type connector each one. I had that plugged into my gauges, via a little box for each gauge with a k-type connector on one end of the box and the wire going to the gauge on the other end of the box. The TC-4 has several hookups for EGT sensors, and you don't use a k-type connector, they just wire into the TC-4 connector like on a datalogit. If I was just logging I wouldn't have anything to worry about, I would just wire them into the TC-4 and then that plugs into the ECU.

The FJO box has two k-type connectors, one for each sensor. But they only have one wire for each output. My problem is ideally I need four wires for each sensor going in, one to the gauge and one to the TC-4. So not only do I not have 8 total for output, I step down to 2.

Hmm. Something sounds odd. I wonder if there is a conversion somewhere in there. I'll try to do a bit of research to see what you need.

[speedjunkie]

Thanks! I haven't looked a whole lot yet, I'm still dealing with a bunch of other stuff. But I should get on this because I'd like to wire it in while the whole dash is still out. I did email FJO and Innovate but FJO was the only one that got back to me, and they gave me everything I need from their end. Now I need Innovate to get back to me.

I picked up some needles and a magnifying glass tonight. Yep, back to trying to fix my original fan speed indicator. I tried to remove the coloring on the back of the numbers and I took off too much, started taking off some of the black. I tried to fill in the missing spots with a toothpick but it was still too big to be accurate, so I got the needles and magnifying glass today and got to work tonight. It's pretty well finished I believe. I have to scrape off some overshots here and there but I think it looks pretty good overall. To do all this, I split the kitchen table a little, taped the indicator strip over the gap with whichever damaged number over the gap, held an LED light between my knees pointed up, and then painted using the needle and model paint. I hope it'll hold up lol.

I went to Centennial Electronics and picked up some connectors that actually fit perfectly in between the back of the SPA gauges and the harnesses, so I'm going to make extension harnesses with those, that way I don't have to cut anything and I can put these harnesses between the original harness and the gauge.

I don't think I mentioned it but Saturday I went looking for a circuit board ribbon to use as an extension so I can keep my stock speedo circuit board and therefore keep cruise control. I finally found a strip at OEM Parts that has 16 tracks (mine is 15), but Al is going to strip it down and solder it for me. But first I want to see if I can get my mileage off the old cluster after swapping the circuit ribbons between the cluster that was in the car and the spare I had. Hopefully that's what it was.

[iani1.1]

What setup are you referring to? This is pretty much my line of thinking, because after all this I'm going to lose my house because the car is so expensive, so if I don't want to leave the car it kinda works out. LOL

just the gauges. i can stare at those all day LOL.

[speedjunkie]

lol yeah I love the gauges. And I got an email notification from UPS saying they'll come in tomorrow.

I shampooed the carpet last night and I'm hoping to install it tonight and install all the HVAC boxes if I get the stuff from Malloy Mazda today. I'd like to wire in a few more things before putting the dash back in but we'll see if that happens. I'm still trying to decide if I want to cover the interior in suede, and if so, what type depending on what will hold up.

[iani1.1]

at one of the meets here someone had covered his dash with stretched micro fiber. feels better than suede and alot easier to maintain compared to suede

[speedjunkie]

Is that anything like faux suede? Because from what I hear, only Alcantara stands up to the sun and doesn't fade.

I did quite a bit of work tonight for only working a couple hours.

-pulled the carpet out


-pulled the stock radio antenna cable out (well, it's actually bunched up behind the panels in the back of the car, waiting for me to pull those panels to remove it lol)
-put the antenna cable I'm using where the stock one was



-tapped the holes for the seat rail mounts and used a die on the bolts since I had an issue with one of them being dinged up in the past
-clamped the new power wire for the battery to the tranny tunnel


-vacuumed under the sound deadening material and foam, and washed the tops of those pieces (under the feet). When the carpet company installed the carpet they sprayed those parts with adhesive so it's still all sticky.

And within the last couple days, I finished the HVAC panel


Drilled a hole in the tranny tunnel near the front passenger side of it and ran the EGT sensor wires through the hole (I had them through the shifter hole but I might need more length on the wires to hook them to the TC-4 by the ECU.


I had the AC dryer hanger modified by the welder, to extend the mounting arm and make it all level too, turned out pretty much perfect. I didn't want to cut into the diverter plate to fit the dryer, so this way it sits just past the plate.



And I noticed that the ebrake handle got pretty jacked up when we took out the dash, so I'm going to see about getting it recovered.


And my gauges will be here again tomorrow. So I guess I have some fiberglassing to do this weekend. Ugh I'm really not looking forward to doing the gauges.

[Shadowden]

Is there a rubber grommet protecting the wire going through the new hole in the tranny tunnel?

I know this is a silly question, but when do you think you will be up and running again?
As far as material, I was under the impression that alacantara was a name brand faux suede/microfiber when I shopped around.

Any quality interior shop can steer you the right direction.

[iani1.1]

Is that anything like faux suede? Because from what I hear, only Alcantara stands up to the sun and doesn't fade.

Almost like alcantara but a lot easier to clean and doesn't stain as easy. As far as fading I don't see any problems, I mean it is Texas after all lol. He used this stuff called sensuede or something like that

[speedjunkie]

Is there a rubber grommet protecting the wire going through the new hole in the tranny tunnel?

I know this is a silly question, but when do you think you will be up and running again?
As far as material, I was under the impression that alacantara was a name brand faux suede/microfiber when I shopped around.

Any quality interior shop can steer you the right direction.

Which hole are you talking about? The one with the EGT sensor wires? I didn't use a grommet because there is a heavy duty stainless steel braid around the wires, so it's not really needed.

I should be back up and running within the next couple weeks. I have pretty much everything I need now to get the car back on the road. I'm going to buy a new e-brake handle and possibly matching shift knob, like the piano black pair from Voodoo. I also need the rear bins still before I can hard mount the battery, but I don't NEED them to drive the car. I have the gauges back, so now I just need to install the HVAC boxes, finish installing the carpet (which I started last night), install the dash and install the gauges (which will actually take a while since they need to be fiberglassed into the cluster, and if anyone has experience and wants to help I'd appreciate it lol). I still have to reconnect the heater core to the engine cooling circuit, but that shouldn't be too bad other than losing some coolant. And once I have money again I'll buy a condenser for the AC system and finish installing all that in the engine bay. But again, those things won't keep me from driving the car. I just want to get the interior back in so I can drive it again.

Alcantara, as far as I know, is legit suede that's durable and luxurious, but also very expensive. I could be wrong about it being actual suede though. It is the nicest out there though apparently.

Almost like alcantara but a lot easier to clean and doesn't stain as easy. As far as fading I don't see any problems, I mean it is Texas after all lol. He used this stuff called sensuede or something like that

I'll have to check into it. But I think I might just forget about doing any covering on the interior. I'd like to, but I need to figure out what kind of scheme I want first. After looking at all black suede interior, I think it might be too much and I was thinking about doing a bit of two-tone like the Scoot 4-rotor. That way it's a little broken up. But I need to find a secondary color I like enough.

Is that sensuede stuff a protective coating of some sort?



I didn't do much with the car last night, just started installing the carpet and then went to Lani's for the rest of the night. Yesterday though, I did make the harnesses for my SPA gauges going into the cluster, so I can remove it easily. Oh and like I said, I got the gauges back. The fuel level gauge is good, but the Speedo is still a bit off. Now it's even side to side, but top to bottom it's off a bit now lol. So basically the hash marks at the top are completely visible with a little space between the hash mark and the top of the gauge, and on both sides part of the hash mark is covered. Oh well, I'm just running with it now, I'm tired of fighting it lol.

[speedjunkie]

Got the new carpet in. I think it looks great!



And I also put the HVAC stuff back in.


I also pulled the ignition/starter harness so I can get the AC compressor connectors out of the heat wrap. I found one of the connectors so far, but I'm afraid the other connector isn't on the harness or it's a separate harness or something, it's been so long I don't remember lol.

I also pulled the dash out of the basement where I had it sitting on boxes and noticed the dash has a crease in it now. ARGH!!!! I really hope it comes out, but so far it's not doing much. I don't want to install the dash until the crease comes out.

I started wiring in the new gauge wiring this morning while the dash is still out, much easier with it out of the car.

[iani1.1]

Is that sensuede stuff a protective coating of some sort?

kind of. works just like scotch guard but still really soft. i was gonna snap a pic of it tonight at the meet but i decided to stay home since they said its started to rain. maybe tomorrow at cars and coffee.

[speedjunkie]

OK cool. Don't be in a rush to do it thought. Zico and I put the dash back in today, so I'm gonna wait with covering the interior, if I do it at all.



As you can see from the pic, I took the airbag out anyway and I removed the cover. I'm going to either find a glovebox that will fit (and the stock one actually might fit pretty well) or I'm going to fiberglass one in, and then use the cover as the lid and use something to make it latch, like magnets or something like on cabinet doors. I'm pretty excited about this actually lol. I used a heat gun on the dash to get the crease out, and it came out most of the way, I'm hoping it will smooth out the rest of the way soon.

These are the harnesses I made the other day for the SPA gauges. You can see them in the first pic, hanging on the drivers side. They are way too long and the heat shrink wasn't the right kind because they're too firm and don't bend.


I was able to find these connectors at Centennial Electronics. They fit the SPA connectors perfectly.


I also did some research on the ignition harness and discovered that both the AC wires are on that harness, but I don't think they're on mine. Fantastic. Now I have to buy a new one, or used from someone and make sure it has the AC wiring. I'm also trying to figure out if I have to run the fuel gauge wires all the way back to the sending unit or if I can wire it to the gauge wiring. I installed all the gauges tonight to see if they light up correctly, etc. I got nothing. Then I remembered the ignition harness is removed LOL.

[speedjunkie]

I took the day off today to work on the car and I've gotten a few things done.

I ran the wiring for the fuel gauge to the rear of the car.

I drilled a hole in the opening where the airbag used to be and mounted my reset button for the EGT gauge in there, and ran my EGT wiring in the same area, so now it's all hidden. I still plan on making it an extra glovebox.

I ran the tuning wire for the Adaptronic.

I reinstalled the ignition/battery harness for now, until I get one with the AC connectors.

I hooked up the stock gauge cluster to get the mileage on the car (184,489)(turns out my original circuit ribbon on the back was bad so I swapped them out with the spare I have and got the mileage).

I hooked up the new gauges and turned the lights on to see how they look. I think I may have gone too light on the color, so I'm going to hook them back up tonight when it's dark and see for sure. If they're too light, I'm going to send them back to get them made darker and also have them put my mileage in the odometer so it's accurate.

Now I think I'll start modifying the gauge cluster to hold the new gauges.

Oh I also discovered that I can't both log and watch EGTs with my current setup, so I guess I'll just watch them for now and modify it later. A guy on 7club is using a PLX gauge to show his boost, dual EGTs and wideband and mounted it on the steering column. If I did that I could log and watch, and it would clean up my car even more. Would be AWESOME.

And I plan on getting new ebrake handle and shift knob made of aluminum for Miatas and see if I can get rotors or some kind of rotor design machined into them, then get them anodized black. I love original stuff like that.

[FDEEZ]

Great work! Can't wait to see your finished cluster.

When finished, will your turn signals still light up on the dash?

[iani1.1]

Yea... Totally forgot cause of this beautiful piece of machinery