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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: June 2, 2017, 7:26 am 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Good one! :D

Speaking of loose screws, bolts, nuts, wires.......
I am embarrassed to mention this but….Two weeks ago, I drove the car into work and midday my daughter called and asked if I would like to join her for lunch while her car was being worked on at a tire store. So I picked her up, and we went to lunch. Upon returning to the tire store she invited me to come in and pay for the work performed. Being the awesome dad that I am, I turned off the car and came inside. When I went back out to the car and turned the key, nothing happened, no turnover, no click, nothing. The only thing I could think of was that the bump I had hit coming into the tire shop’s driveway entrance had loosened up an electrical connection. Unfortunately to get at where I thought the loose connection might be (e.g., under the hood at the ignition switch), would take about an hour to access, fix, and button up.

The guys at the tire shop were helpful and tried to give me a push start. No luck, the beast just wouldn’t start. I wound up getting a tow back to my garage so I could diagnose and repair out of the hot sun (believe it or not it was 93° on this particular day….we haven’t seen that since).

Anyway, after dwelling on it, I decided to look at the simple, easy access, possibilities first, before diving under the hood. I looked at my cutoff switch, which actually was in the off position, which I apparently had inadvertently hit while in my panic and attempting to start the car back at the tire place, but that wasn’t the answer. I then went to the starter/solenoid and sure enough there was a loose wire. The two barrels on the blade connector on the ignition switch wire were loose and wouldn’t adequately hold onto the blade on the starter solenoid. Wish I had spotted this back at the tire shop. I could have save myself a $100 tow and some embarrassment. :oops:


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: July 12, 2017, 9:57 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Hi folks,

Just a quick update. The car is running well, so I decided to attend a small local car show (~500 cars) this past weekend. Since I got a GoPro for XMAS and some attachment accessories for Father's Day I decided to try my hand at making some videos. I made two: one of just my traveling to the show in the TR-82 and the other of the show itself. You or may not find them interesting.

The first one is a bit too long, but if you folks can help ID and resolve the "slight" grinding sound my car makes upon cornering I'd really appreciate it. Am having trouble finding the source.

Road Trip https://youtu.be/ue2g4ymyOCM

Car Show https://youtu.be/a0nGG0bRD5I


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: July 17, 2017, 10:50 am 
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Joined: August 12, 2012, 6:38 pm
Posts: 1937
Location: worcester county, Massachsetts
man, that is one kewl car. ;-)

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The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: July 17, 2017, 6:49 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Thanks Rob. I did open it up a bit on the way home from the show. I was happy with the way it pushed me back into the seat. I need to get this thing dyno'd and reweighed to get some real details.


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: August 23, 2017, 8:02 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Hi folks,
I decided I would add a MSD ignition box to the vehicle to:
enhance throttle response
improve fuel efficiency
reduce unburned fuel
etc....
All the things the MSD folks use to promote their ignition products. I went with a lower end model (MSD digital 6A) since I don't need a rev limiter (no burnouts for this vehicle). I installed the ignition box behind the passenger seat on the floor. When the seat is pushed back it covers the box (outta sight). The install took about 4 hours mostly due to wire routing.

The beast fired right up, with no issues. I have to admit however, I am not sure I saw any improvements yet. I did, however, see some potential issues.
The tach no longer works, which I expected , and apparently, I'll have to buy the MSD Tach Adapter ($65) to make the original KOSO Tach work. :ack:
I probably will need to redo the timing a bit.
I also noticed the turn signals weren't working quite right. Could there be a draw from the ignition box interfering with these? They went from a solid to intermittent blinking. Will try to diagnose tomorrow. Please let me know if you have had any experiences like this with your MSD.

Wondering whether the change was worth it......


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: August 24, 2017, 6:19 am 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
So apparently Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) with other electronics is a known problem with the MSD ignition system, and the magnetic pickup harness from the distributor to the box should be routed away from other wires. This may be the source of my signal light issue. MSD even makes a shielded mag pick up cable (an additional $32) to combat this problem. It would have been nice if MSD had mentioned this issue in their instructions before I spent hours securing them adjacent to all my other wires.

My plan is to reroute the magnetic pick wires away from all other wires. Should that not do the trick, I will either purchase the shielded MSD harness or a heat shielded wire loom. I understand there are some heat shield looms that will also solve EMI problem (and protect the wires near the hot exhaust parts).


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: August 29, 2017, 7:13 am 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
The ignition magnetic pick up wires have been rerouted and a MSD Tach Adapter has been installed (again under the passenger seat). With any luck this resolve my EMI and lack of tach signal, respectively. Unfortunately, I didn't have time last night to fire the beast up to see if I was successful.


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: August 30, 2017, 8:54 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Rerouting of the magnetic pick up wires (away from other wires) between the MSD and the distributor seems to have resolved my EMI issues.

Similarly, the MSD Tach Adaptor (8920) has resolved the Tach signal issue.

Life is good again! :D


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: September 4, 2017, 10:26 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Took the beast on a 2 hr fun run today. Everything was working great. No drama. Took some quick shots (below) and a walkaround https://youtu.be/1l9R6bVs84g.

Next up for enhancement is the exhaust system. Unlike most hot rodders, I plan to quiet it down.......


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: September 24, 2017, 11:44 am 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Hey folks,
I need your assistance with the interpretation of some alternator testing that I have performed. Wonder if I have a couple of things going on.

Symptoms: alternator belt squeaks at first startup. Voltage gage seems to be running low when driving (10-12).

Testing performed: Voltmeter Result | Voltage Gage Showing

Battery check when car is off: 12.97 | 0.00
Battery check @ idle: 13.99 | 12.9
Battery check @ 2000rpm: 14.10 | 12.9
Battery check with all electrical accessories on: 12.36 | 10.0
Voltage Drop test (- to battery; + to alternator case) all access on: ~0.040 | ---
Positive voltage Drop test (+ to battery; - to alt. "+" bolt) " " : -0.75 to -0.96 | ---

Any thought on this?

Thanks.


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: September 27, 2017, 1:20 am 
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Joined: April 12, 2010, 5:40 pm
Posts: 2081
Location: san francisco bay area
badermatic wrote:
Voltage Drop test (- to battery; + to alternator case) all access on: ~0.040 | ---
Positive voltage Drop test (+ to battery; - to alt. "+" bolt) " " : -0.75 to -0.96 | ---


Battery positive to alternator positive terminal and you're losing almost a volt? Even giving up a bit for meter sensitivity that sounds like a lot of voltage drop to me.
Here's a calculator, it's not perfect but it'll get you tell you what you should expect. http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html?material=copper&wiresize=5.211&voltage=12.9&phase=dc&noofconductor=1&distance=20&distanceunit=feet&amperes=14&x=68&y=21

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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: September 27, 2017, 7:55 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Thanks for the response Jack. This calculator is pretty cool. Two questions: Distance would be from battery to alternator? And Amps - would that be the total of all accessories (e.g., lights and fans) or the max of just one of these?

I thought this drop was a bit much as well. I heard that I should be shooting for a 0.2 - 0.3 drop at most. What could cause such a drop? Does this indicate the need for a new alternator?


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: September 29, 2017, 10:10 am 
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Joined: March 30, 2011, 7:18 am
Posts: 1615
Location: central Arkansas
badermatic wrote:
So apparently Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) with other electronics is a known problem with the MSD ignition system,


Hm. If you're using an O2 sensor for feedback, note that O2 voltage is low, and many cars use braided shielding on the sensor wire to keep from picking up stray EMI.


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: September 29, 2017, 9:47 pm 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
Ahhhh... good thinking, but I believe I actually had a voltage issue before installing the MSD. I had noticed some symptoms earlier (low voltage on the dash gage and some squealing fan belt issue upon first start-up). BTW - I don't yet have an O2 sensor, but someday when I install an EFI I'll need one......


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 Post subject: Re: TR-82 Exo
PostPosted: April 30, 2018, 7:28 am 
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Joined: October 24, 2011, 9:11 pm
Posts: 336
Location: Upstate NY
So I spent the winter thinking about redoing the exhaust to quiet it down and get better access to my spark plugs. I had actually purchased some inexpensive hugger headers and some u and 90° bends to test out. Unfortunately, I didn’t account for a frame cross member. No success. I am going to have to give in and hand the car over to an expert to craft some custom headers.

Regardless, the car still runs and is doing better than ever. Had a coolant tube mishap following the 1st run of the season. And of course it was located in a largely inaccessible spot. Made a mess of my garage. After repairing the offending breach, however, the car has since performed flawlessly.

So I took the beast to a car show this weekend. She performed admirably on the trip with no further drama. While in the lot, she turned a couple of heads. It really was a gorgeous day. We were due. Here in the northeast, these days have been rare. Spring is finally here!!!


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