Build thread

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:14

I forgot to mention I talked to Jason the other day and I think I was looking at the wrong wiring diagram for the AC system. They changed it from 93 to 94, and Jason has a 94 (as do I) and he said if the ECU is providing ground, the relay will engage the compressor clutch regardless of whether the pressure switch is plugged in or jumped. So if that's the case, that solves the issue of why power is getting to the clutch. Now the only issue is why the ECU is providing ground right away.

I just talked to Jason again and he explained his issue of floating voltage from the blower motor. I checked and I have that issue also, so I guess I'll be doing what he's planning and running the ground wire from the blower switch bypassing the blower and going straight to ground.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sun May 03, 2020 9:14

Chris told me to switch the output to a different terminal in the connector so I moved it from A2 to A4, and I changed it on the tune also and the compressor doesn't come on anymore at all, even with the pressure switch connector jumped. But Chris sent me a map with the changes so I'm going to load that one tomorrow to make sure it's right. I have the system on vacuum right now and I'm going to charge it tomorrow also.

Andy and I did some tuning yesterday. I thought it was just going to be the water injection map and the dead spot I had before, but it turned out to be smoothing out a lot of the fuel map too. It runs GREAT. I had some bonehead mistakes though.

When I left home for Andy's, the car ran like shit. I thought it was adjustments I made to the water injection map, so I stopped and made some more adjustments. No change. I got to Andy's and we started driving around and he said it was something with the MAP sensor because the tracer on the fuel map was only moving around in one line. I had removed the UIM a couple weeks ago but I never disconnected the MAP sensor. Ah, I did disconnect the vacuum line for the MAP sensor though, and I realized then that I never reconnected it. Ran SO much better after that lol.

Then later after he had made some adjustments, we were driving around and we were watching the AFR, battery voltage, EGTs, intake temps and a few other things on the iPad mini. I was looking at it when I started driving around again and I noticed the AFR was right in the sweet spot on light cruising, in the 13s. JUST WHAT I LIKE! I mentioned that to him and he seemed confused. As I drove around more I realized the AFR wasn't really changing. Wow, this thing is dialed in! Andy said "that's the battery voltage you're looking at" LOL. Damn. In my defense, battery voltage and AFR are right next to each other lol.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue May 05, 2020 9:14

Busy day. Chris remoted in and looked into my issue today. He said the issue seems to be within the ECU, but it's actually acting normally. I asked if there was an issue with the wiring in the AC system that I caused and he said no. The only problem is we don't understand why it wasn't doing it before.

These are with the key on to accessory, but not with the car on. The first pic is with the pressure switch connector jumped, and the second pic is with the jumper removed. With the jumper, it sees 5v and keeps the switch off, but without the jumper the voltage drops and provides a ground.
Image20200505_161640 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200505_161657 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I charged the system and did it incorrectly lol. I had high side open while charging, and I didn't bleed the hose first. But it still charged, and the AC is working properly with a good charge, as expected. I am wondering though if the switch will shut off the compressor if it gets overcharged. Last time I charged it until the compressor shut off and then bled off some until it turned back on. But with the system being all jacked up I'm afraid it won't work. Also, I had less than a can and a half to fill it with and I ended up disconnecting them before they were empty, so I'm sure it's not full anyway. I did add about another 1.5oz of oil just in case. Here is the screen with the AC charged and the car on. Obviously the first two are with it off, then on, but I don't remember the circumstances of the third pic lol.

Here is the screen with the AC charged and the car on. Obviously the first two are with it off, then on, but I don't remember the circumstances of the third pic lol.
Image20200505_174847 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200505_174243 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200505_173553 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I used UV glasses and light to check for leaks and didn't see anything. I'm looking for a sniffer but I don't really want to buy one and I'm not sure if the parts stores rent them. Autozone only had the light and glasses in a big kit along with the pack off the shelf I already bought.

Chris said he's going to look into it more to see if there is a way around this issue, and we can talk to Syvecs about it if he can't get it and see if they can add another option. He suggested I change the wire over to a terminal with a 5v pullup, but it didn't work. However, I moved the output wire instead of the input wire lol, but he said it wouldn't have worked anyway.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri May 08, 2020 9:14

Well, I guess I screwed the pooch on this one. My gauges haven't read anything close to accurate when trying to add more refrigerant or just checking the system with the car running. Now I think I overcharged the system trying to get them to read correctly, because the compressor won't shut down now at all, no matter what I do. I even jumped the connector and it was still running. So since it's acting like it did before (for the most part) when the system was empty, I'm guessing it's again outside the range of the switch. When I removed the high side fitting, darkened (burned I guess) ester oil came out, due to me charging it with the high side open too. DOH! For now I just bypassed the compressor, I'm tired of messing with it.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue May 12, 2020 9:14

I replaced the old ECU connectors tonight, splicing in new wire for the one that was breaking and one more. I decided to try to do it outside the car, pulling that end of the harness out, and I was able to get it done but not the way I thought. I couldn't find the connector going to the dash, so I just pulled the parts I needed out through the side of the chassis.
Image20200512_180448 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

As I was pulling it out, the wire broke. Good thing I decided to tackle this now. I'm not sure I'm reading the wiring diagram right, but the one that broke doesn't look like it's important lol. Oh well, it's good just in case.
Image20200512_180455 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This is the other wire I changed, because it was too long and the heat shrink was very stiff and went all the way into the terminal, and that's what caused the other wire to wear prematurely and break.
Image20200512_182643 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

Just some random pics of the process.
Image20200512_182945 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200512_192613 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200512_194316 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

Next projects on the list are to fix a coolant seep from the filler neck, replace the radiator hoses, put a coolant temp sensor in the stock location to compare the temps to where I have it located now (behind the thermostat), swap to the RX-8 radiator fans, put the Racing Beat front sway bar back in so I can see if it cures my oversteer issue, and sort out the AC problem if possible. I at least plan to empty the system and try to clean all the oil out of the high side, then go from there. The wiring issue I'm not sure about and I'm kinda giving up, as long as Chris or Syvecs can figure something out to make it work normally.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri May 15, 2020 9:14

I removed some AC lines last night and started cleaning the oil out of the system. I filled the evaporator with brake cleaner, and today I blew it out and put brake cleaner in a few more times. At times it was pouring out, so I just threw some towels down in there. I guess I should have removed them and sprayed the area with water. Damn.
Image20200515_225055 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I also noticed that one of the titanium nuts for the strut bar is missing. I forgot to tighten down this side when I installed it a couple weeks ago. DOH! So I put a regular nut on there for now and got ahold of Garage Alpha (Matt Gold) and he's sending me one in an envelope. WOOHOO!
Image20200515_225110 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed May 20, 2020 9:14

Well, I guess my AC compressor is going out. I charged the system again tonight and I'm not sure if I overcharged it or what, but it wasn't pushing out cold air anymore and the clutch on the compressor looked like it was vibrating and spinning slowly. So I'm in the market for one, or I might buy one new for about $350-400. Ugh.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri May 22, 2020 9:14

I swapped my original rear sway bar back in today after Andy removed it from his car and I gave him his 93 bar back. I think the 93 bar is 17mm roughly and the 94 is 16mm, but Andy said it is about half as stiff. Racing Beat's website says the 94 bar is 14mm, but I measured mine today and it's definitely 16mm. Their site does say the 95 bar is 16mm though. I kinda want to set up some cones in a parking lot and do some testing.

I found an AC compressor online for $150, but it didn't sound realistic so I contacted the company. They responded saying they didn't have any in stock because they don't have any cores to rebuild. I told them I have three and they said if they're locked up they're basically scrap. Well, there goes the first two compressors lol. But I believe I caught this one in time. It still spins, but I'm not sure if it's as free as it should be. Then they responded saying they might actually have one in stock. They said if I sent in one for a rebuild it would be between $100 and $150. If not, Pep Boys has some for $260, but I haven't checked to make sure they have any in stock. It does look like the 87-88 Toyota Tercel used the same exact compressor, but I'd have to compare them in person to make sure. And on the same website it's actually more expensive than the one for the FD.

I still have a rattle somewhere on the passenger side either in the dash or by the ECU and I can't find it, it's driving me crazy. It only happens going uphill and at a certain RPM range. I'm about to pull the seat out and have someone else drive while I lay on the floor looking for it haha.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sun May 24, 2020 9:14

So far the car feels good with the original rear swaybar on, but I haven't actually pushed it that hard either.

I was messing with the passenger window switch yesterday, cleaning the contacts to see if it would speed up the window any, and I broke the tabs holding it in, so I guess I'll be getting a new one. Yay.

I also finally put the AOOga horn on that I got at HF haha. Got some good laughs. That was the only goal lol.

I pulled off the fans today and started the swap to RX-8 fans. Got the fan motors and blades put into the original frame, then realized I bought the wrong gauge wire to build the extension harnesses. Son of a... So I guess I'll finish this fan install sometime this next week hopefully. And once I get the coolant temp sensors from England I'll put one in the stock location and fix my coolant seeping issues and replace the radiator hoses all at once.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Wed May 27, 2020 9:14

I didn't post pics of the fans last time, but I guess they don't look all that much different than the FD fans. They're black instead of white, and one has more blades. The motors pull less amps, the blades are more efficient at cooling, and they're quieter (not that that really matters to me).
Image20200524_160700 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200524_160715 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

Also I decided to change the connectors on the front harness to match the RX-8 fan motor connectors. They're much smaller and they're sealed, unlike the FD connectors which are the blade type and they're unsealed and huge. To be honest though, if I could have found the original connectors new, I probably would have stuck with them. I doubt I'll ever go back to the FD fans, but if I do, I can just make another harness with the proper connectors. The only problem is Corsa-Technic doesn't yet carry the ones I need, Sumitomo 6188-0558, so I ordered some on eBay and Amazon, but they're all coming from China and have delivery dates that are at least a couple weeks out. I'm really not trying to have the car down that long, but Corsa said it would take them six weeks realistically to get them. They sourced the other side for me late last year (https://www.corsa-technic.com/item.php? ... ory_id=127) and it took them at least a couple months before I had them in hand. Wasn't a big deal back then because I wasn't in a hurry. They're going to start sourcing this side now too and maybe I'll pick up some of those eventually, especially if the Chinese ones are crap. I absolutely love Corsa-Technic though. They're a small company and they really go out of their way to help. Now my only concern is if these connectors can handle amperage. The pins are much smaller than in the original connectors, and the wires look to be 12ga. I'm still going to use 12ga to build the extension harnesses, so it concerns me a little, but I'm hoping it won't be a problem since these fans pull less amps. One more thing with the fans, I'm looking for little retaining clips to hold the fan motor connectors to the fan frame. Not absolutely necessary, but it's a nice touch I think, makes it look stock. I went to The Clip House during lunch today, but of course they're closed right now.

I broke my passenger window switch Saturday and I ordered one from University Mazda in Albuquerque because they have the best prices I've found, but they cancelled my order because they said their software labeled it as a fraudulent charge. Okie dokie. So I ordered it through Ray Crowe instead.

I'm contemplating replacing my water pump since it's been in the car since 09, and because I'm about to do some other cooling system mods and fixes, but it's almost $300 for a replacement pump from Mazmart. And if I do that I'll probably change my thermostat too. Can't be too careful.

I ordered the last R12 compressor from TechChoice Parts today. $150, can't beat that! I'm going to send back my current one to get rebuilt too, hopefully they can. While I'm doing this I'm seriously thinking about pulling the condenser and flushing it with brake cleaner and replacing the dessicant bag after that, and cleaning out all the lines and evaporator again, just to make sure this doesn't happen again. And I want to pressure test the condenser since I dropped the corner of the IC on it last time I was trying to reinstall the IC. UGH. Although it did hold a vacuum really well last time, so that's probably not necessary.

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Re: Build thread

Postby RX-7 Chris » Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:14

Looks like you've been busy.
1984 RX-7 GSL-SE [size=84]My restomod project[/SIZE]


1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL flat black w/ white interior, 2 dr fastback, 390 thunderbird, C6 auto, 2500 rpm high stall converter, shift kit, AC, Holley 750 cfm

[size=100]RIP 1983 RX-7[/SIZE]

My Car Blog

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Jun 04, 2020 9:14

Oh I sure have been lol.

I've done a lot over the last three days. I finally got that titanium nut for the strut bar so I put that on, and I realized the nuts on the opposite side weren't that tight either. OOPS. I got the new window switch from Ray Crowe today, after being delayed about three days by the riots I assume, then I had to rewire it a bit because I tested it out first and the window wouldn't roll back up lol. They had one wire in the wrong spot. Never thought I'd have to fix a brand new part lol.
Image20200604_175907 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I finished the fan harnesses and tested them out on the fans first before installing everything. I turned on the AC switch and both fans kicked on. After starting the car tonight, it hunted for idle for about 30 seconds to a minute, then settled around 2k even though it was idling at 1k just before this project. These fans pull less amps so I'm wondering if that's throwing off the map somehow. That's the only thing I can think of. I had a hard time soldering the old fan wiring with the new wires. The old wires were corroded and the solder didn't want to pull in, even with flux on them. So I looked up a way to get rid of the corrosion. Two different mixtures, one acidic (vinegar and salt) and the other to deactivate the acid (water and baking soda). It really helped clean up the corrosion, but the solder still looked like crap lol. I took that pic of the solder after I tried to add more to the opposite side and it heated up and started coming apart. It looks better than this now, but not by much. And in the other pic you can see the difference between the corroded wires and after I cleaned them. Not a huge difference, but it looked better in person lol. I was trying to find retaining clips for the fan motor connectors but I couldn't find any quick enough so I just figured out how to use zipties to hold them.
Image20200603_212812 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200603_120349 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20200603_150621 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I got the two new temp sensors from England finally so I put one in the stock location for coolant so I can test that out, and I swapped out the one for oil because it was pretty worn. At first I thought they weren't reading right, but then it started settling down and matching what the app was showing. I also fixed the coolant seeping issue and replaced the radiator hoses. I thought about replacing the thermostat and water pump too (the pump has been on the car since 2009), but I figured they're still working and I have failsafes in the ECU to prevent anything catastrophic. For the oil temp sensor, I had to remove the filter pedestal so I could install the sensor because it was getting damaged already by trying to install it while mounted to the engine. When I put it back in, I'm not sure if I crossthreaded one of the bolts or what but it was TOUGH to tighten down. And at the same time I didn't care too much because it was really a pain getting that thing back in, and I figured if it was really crossthreaded it would have stopped turning right away. This pic shows the coolant temp sensor in the stock location (had to get a 1/8BSP to 1/8NPT adapter), and all the way to the right of the pic you can see the worn oil temp sensor.
Image20200603_212856 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I pulled out all the AC stuff for now since I'm still cleaning it out and it's taking a while. But I'm definitely going to need it soon. I got the new/rebuilt compressor in the mail just a couple days after I ordered it. As soon as I feel the evaporator and condenser are cleaned out well enough and all the brake cleaner is out, I'm putting everything back in and charging it. Way too hot these days.

I started making new radiator mounts for the rear of it but I kept breaking the aluminum as I was bending it. Oh well. I was trying to get the car back on the road as quick as possible for the fun drive this Saturday and that wasn't something I had to do.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:14

Well, I'm an idiot. LOL

I forgot I had disconnected the brake booster hose to do the work on the oil filter pedestal. I was messing with the MAP sensor and the open hole sucked my finger into it, otherwise I would have never noticed it LOL. All is well again.

I'm even more impressed with the Syvecs now. When I had the Power FC, I would have a hunting idle all the time, but this ECU took that huge vacuum leak and shrugged it off after the initial hunting haha.

The temp sensors are a little different than the ones that came with the gauges, but they told me they were the ones I needed to buy. I've noticed that the coolant temps are pretty close to what the app reads, but the oil temp is about 15 degrees different. The oil temp sensor is in the exact same location it was before, but it's reading way hotter now. I'm not too happy about that because that sensor is a real PITA to get to.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sat Jun 06, 2020 9:14

I stand corrected. Something isn't quite right with the temp sensors. The water temp gauge is reading much lower than the app, and the oil temp gauge is reading much higher than the app. I've seen differences of about 15 degrees while driving. Really strange that they're so much different and in opposite directions.
Image2020-06-06_02-07-21 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I'm wondering if there is some kind of adjustment I need to do on the gauges. I don't even know for sure which temps to believe, although the oil temp is reading much higher than it used to, and I do have one of the sensors that Chris bridged off of to go to the gauge but also the ECU, so that one SHOULD be reading the same. I have to make adjustments in the app to show Fahrenheit instead of Celsius, so it's a little off usually but only a few degrees.

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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:14

I contacted SPA about the gauge issue and they sent it to the UK office but they haven't heard back yet. I changed the settings in the gauge on what type of sensors I'm using, but it didn't make a difference. So that will be an ongoing thing for the moment anyway.

I bought a AC flush kit on Amazon, basically just an aluminum bottle that I filled with brake cleaner and pressurized with the air compressor. It worked much better than just spraying brake cleaner into the evaporator and condenser and blowing it out. A lot more oil came out and the cleaner coming out was pretty clear by the time I was finished. I did have some issues getting it going and throughout the process though. Not anything wrong with the product, just trying to get it all to work and make the least mess possible with my evaporator. Well, that blew up in my face, literally lol. I guess the pressure really only wants to go one way, from high side to low side. Because if you go low side to high side the pressure just builds up and pushes back against the pressure gun. There is a little bit that comes out the high side, but it works way better the other way. So I hooked a big hose up to the low side and sprayed it through from the high side, and put the big hose into a bottle. The bottle neck was tight around the hose, so eventually that blew off and sprayed the whole garage with brake cleaner and oil. Ugh. Both of those times it sprayed me in the face, and it started burning immediately, but luckily I was wearing glasses and pretty much had my eyes closed both times. Spraying the condenser out was much easier.

I noticed that my water level for the injection hasn't been dropping, so I troubleshot that tonight too. I got power up to the relay, and it looks like the ECU is providing the trigger for the relay but power isn't going through. The way the relay is wired is kinda weird. The wire from the ECU to trigger power is actually going to one of the sides where either ground or power would be. Then the other side is grounded, and the power from the battery is going where the trigger would usually be. I pulled the relay out and tested it with battery power the way it's wired in the car and it didn't work. I tested it across where it would normally be wired and it clicked. I put the relay back in and changed the map so the pump would come on even at idle and nothing happened. I checked to make sure the relay was getting ground and 12v from the battery and it was, and when the map was set up so the pump would always be on, it showed the ECU was giving it 13v, but the relay wasn't closing to provide power to the pump. I changed the map so that it would only turn the pump on in the cell where it was idling, and then I checked for power from the ECU and it was getting 7v and the relay was clicking continuously and very fast, and the pump pushed water out at about half pressure. Makes sense since it was only 7v, but I'm not sure why the voltage was low. Here's the good part of this, I think that relay clicking like that is the source of the rattling noise I developed recently but hadn't yet found. And it would only rattle like that at certain times in the power band. I might drive the car around without the relay and see if that's what it was. I'm hoping that fixes both issues at once. I bought two more relays on Amazon and of course I lost the original one. DOH. Actually now that I think about it, the relay might be wired normally lol. Anyway, because it was only getting 7v I wondered if the ECU was having an issue supplying power, but I'm gonna try the relay first anyway.

I broke the mounting tab on the big fuse box in the engine bay too. Ugh. I think I have an extra one but I'm sure it's gonna be a PITA to swap and I'm not sure that one is in the greatest shape either. I wonder if anyone is 3D printing those yet.


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