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PostPosted: April 12, 2020, 10:09 am 
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Always Moore!
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Nothing wrong with spray cans on racecars! Looks good from here.

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PostPosted: April 15, 2020, 8:15 am 
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Trochu wrote:
Red and Green in there, nice!


Sorry to disappoint, that green will be change also to red or black, just didn't get the chance to do it yet.

Fred


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PostPosted: April 15, 2020, 8:17 am 
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a.moore wrote:
Nothing wrong with spray cans on racecars! Looks good from here.


That's right Andrew, it does the job and it's an easy fix for Road Rash. Once I get the compressor in I'll redo it with one of those cheap auto paint gun from Harbor Freight... Gotta keep it Locost.

Fred


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PostPosted: April 15, 2020, 7:25 pm 
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Jawfish wrote:
Trochu wrote:
Red and Green in there, nice!


Sorry to disappoint, that green will be change also to red or black, just didn't get the chance to do it yet.

Fred


It just brought back fond memories of banter I'd had with J.D. He was in the green camp and I was in the camp red.

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PostPosted: April 17, 2020, 7:27 am 
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Trochu wrote:

It just brought back fond memories of banter I'd had with J.D. He was in the green camp and I was in the camp red.


I was sad to hear of JD's passing. We will miss him here. Maybe I will keep a little bit of the green.


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PostPosted: April 17, 2020, 9:55 am 
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On a positive note, just got an update that all my missing electrical supplies are going to be in today... Not sure if it's a good thing or not :lol: I've been dreading this stage of the build. Wiring a car from scratch is entirelly new to me, granted this would be a simple process as there are very few items, but it will be an adventure. First step, will be making a wiring diagram that I can easelly understand and trace back in case of issues.


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PostPosted: April 17, 2020, 10:43 am 
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Diagram good!

Look for some of the threads about wire markers; there are labelers that will make weatherproof labels for the ends of wires, clear shrink tubing over paper or mylar labels, etc.

You have a limited number of colors to work with, though stripping one or more junkyard wiring harnesses isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, particularly for the engine wiring if you're going EFI. Going with one color and just labeling the wires will work; I've done it several times. Of course I'm color blind, so all harnesses look like that to me...

Do one circuit at a time. Use a wrap of masking tape, string, or those fancy Velcro tie wraps every foot or so to keep the wires bundled neatly together as you work.

Test each circuit and make sure it works before moving to the next. A test light or a meter is enough. You can put some alligator clips on a trailer light for something you can see at the other end of the car.

I like to make the engine harness separate from the main harness, as much as practical. It's not necessary, but it's very convenient if you change engines or injection bits.

Every connector is a potential trouble spot. But tying all the engine and transmission wiring together at one connector (except battery cables) makes R&R much easier, particularly if there are transmission wires under the car.

OEMs have various O-ring or corrugated seal connectors, the bits of which are available from dealers at steep prices. Delco/Packard bits are no cheaper, but you can buy pins, bodies, and bits online at reasonable prices, and NAPA and others carry individual bits if you need something on a track day. But the connector tools are still expensive.

I hate troubleshooting electrical problems, so I try to avoid as many as possible ahead of time...

If you need a power disconnect, you need to provide for it from the beginning. Specifically, the alternator and battery need to be together on one side. If you just switch the battery and field coil out, like many switches are made to do, it dumps a bunch of current across the diodes in the alternator and will eventually kill them.

Note you can use an arrow shaft or cable to operate the disconnect switch with many sanctioning bodies; it may simplify wiring on some setups.

For a track car, a dedicated charging plug somewhere is a good idea. Just plug the trickle charger in when it's in the garage instead of wrestling with the hood or whatever to get to the battery.

If you're running an engine management system with a diagnostic port, put the plug where it's easy to get to, not buried under the dash somewhere.

If you're planning on doing track days, some near the beginning or end of the season can be very cold. I retained the defroster in my RX7, which allowed me some extra track sessions because I had one of the few cars where the driver could actually see the race track at start time... for a 7, a couple of cigarette lighter "accessory outlets" for an electric vest and gloves might not be out of line if you're gridding on a below-freezing morning.

Don't skimp on battery cable size, use proper terminated pre-made cables or Belden cast-copper collet connectors, and run a separate, full-size ground cable from a starter bolt (where the engine electricals should come to a common point) to the battery. I know I harp on this, but a lot of mystery problems turn out to be ground problems, and a "Did Not Start" is a sucky day at the track. If you wind up running battery able all over the place to accomodate the kill switch, bump it up another size. Yes, it costs more money and it's dead weight to haul around. Did I mention DNSes suck? Not that it ever happened to me, of course. Ahem.

If you run an electric fan and it's not controlled by the ECM, Lakewood makes a fan controller for $25-ish. Or you can use a switch on the dashboard. I recommend you put a big trailer light on the dash that comes on when the fan is on. (extra points for fan on, key off). Otherwise an electric fan pulls enough current to kill a car battery in a remarkably short time. I'm not going to talk about how I know this.

if it's primarily a racing car, a big oil pressure idiot light is useful. A 1/4 NPT 15 PSI GM switch is about $10 at NAPA. Use a trailer light on the dash. The light responds much faster than a gauge, and doesn't need to wait until next time you scan the gauges.

I also recommend a 5 PSI Buick V6 oil pressure switch plumbed into the cooling system somewhere; a reducer in one of the unused heater fitting holes would be a good spot. If you blow a hose and you're traveling fast, the coolant plume goes under the car and you don't see a thing. And the temp gauge will go up, which you might not notice... and then it'll go back down, sometimes all the way to "cold", because there's no longer any coolant around it. I'm not going to talk about how I know this, either. The pressure gauge will tell you when there's no coolant pressure, which means there's trouble no matter that the lying temp gauge says.


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PostPosted: April 18, 2020, 7:49 am 
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Location: 4AGE in S.E. Michigan
TRX
That is an excellent write-up!!!

I would add that you spend time and make an actual wiring schematic. I copied a repair manual, and blow up the ECU, fuse boxes, etc. on a copy machine then pasted them on a 20 x 30" sheet. Then draw in the connecting wires. Try to use as many of the OEM wires, i.e. color codes. This will make trouble shooting much easier. Having a schematic will make wiring go much quicker, Vs trying to trace wires and ID them when you have been away from the build for a couple weeks.
Add a couple spare heavy gage wires to both the front and rear looms.
Add an rad fan over-ride switch
Add a anti-thief switch to kill ignition or fuel pump.
I would also suggest that you have two ground wires from the battery, one to the chassis and a 2nd to the motor.
DO NOT USE riv-nuts for grounding connections, tap or screw directly into the frame for the connections.
If using several plain colored wires W/O a trace ID, any industrial electrical shop will have stick on wire ID numbers or letters, which works a lot better then masking tape. {add letters/numbers to schematic}
Last, cover the wiring loom, after verification of all the circuits.
Davew


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PostPosted: April 21, 2020, 6:55 pm 
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Thanks TRX and Dave,

AS this is a dedicated Solo 2 car, it won't run for long and as the season only start in june here, I'm not planning on heating, yes some September events can be cold, but I'll be mostly doing pylon duty or off duty...

I had already have thought about the trickle charger solution for this car. I got a set of AllStar 50Amps quick disconnect.
Attachment:
ALL76320__84184.1524675700 (1).jpg


My gauge cluster is already equip with nice big warning lights for Oil Pressure, Oil Temperature and Water Pressure, all sensors are already included just need to put them in. Yes I will need to cover all of these in the log these coming weeks.
Attachment:
44414.jpg


the Switch panel is quite simple,
Attachment:
lng-44881_w.jpg

1 switch for ignition, 1 push button for the starter and 2 other switches, 1 will be used for the fuel pump the other for the Fan, so no worries about draining the battery.
I will not have an ECU for now as the engine is set-up for carburators, I will not be recycling an existing harness, but building it from scratch. I have about 7 colors or wire available to me.

There is a master cut-off switch as it's required for mod cars. It's a one equiped with a didode to protect the alternators.

my electrical needs are very basic, I have no driving lights, no heating, no radios, no wipers, no turn signals...

What I do have are the following to wire is

Fuel Pump
Ignitions- Megajolt jr
LC-1 Wideband Controller turn on by the ignition switch
SSI-4 PLUS: 4 Channel Sensor Interface turn on by the ignition switch
Starter
Fan
Gauge panel
Switch Panel

The Alternator will also need to be wired

Not a too much complex system, but still one that needs to be built. Another new skill to learn, and in the end this is what this car is about learning new skills.

Thanks
Fred


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PostPosted: April 24, 2020, 2:43 pm 
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Location: central Arkansas
See? You've covered a bunch of potential problem areas already. And who says procrastination doesn't get you anywhere?!

There are two kinds of wiring diagram: the logical or electrical type, and the installed type. There are are probably specific electronic-terminology words for them, but I don't know them.

The logical type, each circuit is arranged in its electrical format, with the components arranged to take the shortest traces on the schematic. Which means the actual parts might not be within six feet of each other on the car, while they might be almost touching on the schematic. I recommend laying the drawing out with the parts in more or less their positions on the car.

The other choice is whether you lay out all the wiring first and then wire the car to match, or wire the car first and make the drawing to match. Most people use some combination of the two. The main thing is to not get ahead of things and keep the drawings updated as you go, because five years from now when you're running late to the grid and something doesn't work, that's not the time to find out your schematic and car don't quite match...

The last thing is, you don't have to make one giant poster-O-wires. You can put each circuit on its own 8-1/2x11 or 8-1/2x14 page. And if you stay with those sizes you can make copies, and keep a clean one for your build book and scungy copies for out in the shop.


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PostPosted: January 31, 2021, 2:19 pm 
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Wow, Almost a year without update... Well I didn't finish the car... It's been a crazy year... I decided not to compete last summer, and with that decision finishing the car became not as pressing... got distracted with some other projects.

Electricity.. This is a funny one. I love crimping and making new connections or circuits.

Wiring my Megajolt is something I keep putting off. I hate having to soldier old wire to new. but it need to get done and it will be next weeks project.

I did change the brake set-up at the front to not have any issues of running the 13 inch wheels.
I got some 10 inch disc for Micro Sprint cars, they had a 6X5.25 bolt circle. My rotor adapters had a 6X5.5 bolt circle. I just redrilled them and bolted them to the aluminium hubs. I made a test bracket out of 1\8 steel to testfit everything. Once satisfied I started making one out of 1/4 steel. It bolts to the existing braket. on the picture I hadn't welded the tabs yet. I'm going to finish by drilling the holes once I get my brake pads...

Attachment:
caliper and disc.jpg


Attachment:
wheel with calipers.jpg


Attachment:
caliper from behind.jpg


Attachment:
Bracket without tab.jpg


I'll try to post more pictures on a regular basis.
Cheers
Fred


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PostPosted: January 7, 2024, 2:57 pm 
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WOW, it's been several years now that I have not posted, never finish the car, I did try to sell it, the motivation was never there to really finished it. Glad it did not sell, when they annonce they would be holding the Canadian Autoslalom Championship, somehow the juices in me wanted to compete with the car. If I was going to compete, I wanted to have a proper DMOD, the 4AGE had to go out, I pick up a 2011 Duratec HE with only 50K miles... and a 5 speed from a 2007 MX-5.
Attachment:
duratec.jpg


So out came the 4AGE, but since I would need to cut out a couple of tubes I figured might as well cut a lot and set back the engine up to the firewall. this is where I'm at right now. I'm giving up to June 12th to finish the car and be ready to do a few local events and then the CAC in August 2024.

Attachment:
1.jpg


Attachment:
2.jpg


Attachment:
3.jpg


Attachment:
5.jpg


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PostPosted: January 13, 2024, 7:31 pm 
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More cutting done this morning. Now we start adding back some tubes to the chassis. Then it will be transmission and engine brackets.

Attachment:
419796040_10227938529863310_4361971581092311813_n.jpg


Attachment:
419766771_10227938530463325_385547800892885783_n.jpg


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for comparison we can see the set back difference between the 4age and the duratec
Attachment:
4age.jpg


Attachment:
duratec set.jpg


Cheers
Fred


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