Mounting the MS in a 1.6L (passenger footwell)
 

Hey, I'm back again with more questions :giggle:

I have a 1991 NA where the ECU is mounted in the passenger footwell. I've been testing / tuning with the car partially disassembled so mounting the MS hasn't really been a concern up til now, as I'm trying to get it all put together before I go get the car inspected.

So -- my issue is that the parallel harness i have is kinda short and i can't really find a GOOD way to mount the ECU.. Even if i'm able to get the MS in there next to the stock ecu in a flat way, will it fit under the panel? will it rattle in there?

Tips appreciated as always!

-Tomaj

Not sure if this helps as mine is standalone, but I did this:

Attachment 207157

just *barely fits with room to hook up serial cable

Mine is piggyback onto the stock ECU with double sided tape, its taped on the upper half of the ECU. It will fit underneath without touching the factory metal shield.

Ah, the joys of a parallel install.

http://www.boostedmiata.com/MS/harness/direct_db37.jpg

I want to do an anti-vibration mount for mine. I have a pinched wire somewhere too, if the passenger put pressure on the floor, the car bogs and backfires. :(

As awesome as you car is, this makes me want to hit you...but it happens to us all.

Wednesday my MS kept resetting, and I assumed either my grounds or power wire connection were dying, since I SUCK at soldering. It would only do it while accelerating, and the worst in first. It eventually got so bad I couldn't keep up with traffic.

I pushed the car behind a business, checked ground, re-did power where I spliced in LC-1 with a butt connector...no dice.

Looked around in desperation, and saw my unplugged TPS connector dangling down by the alternator...I think DUMBSHIT was the word that first flew out of my mouth. Let's just say there is more than one zip tie there now.

With ABS it was creatively stuffed under the aluminum cover, without ABS, it sits just next to the stock ecu.

That would be the last time you ever hit anyone. I mow down ------s like you daily like I'm mowing the lawn.

Its a new problem from the last time I worked on it...now I have to wait to send it off to DIY it justify working on it again. How many threads have I made about "how do I fix this and that?" Not bad for a car which just recieved so much custom work.

If I weren't in the gym right fucking now finishing up ripping on my biceps I would jump through this iPhone and fuck your face up. I'm going to finish my workout though, because the last guy that made me miss a set was identified using dental records.


You're right, you have very few problems for how "out there" your setup is.



OP: I only posted my location because I love being able to connect the serial cable from the driver's seat for tuning. I carry my laptop everywhere for school, and I've got it set up now so that I just zip open laptop case, open laptop, open glovebox and connect cables while computer comes out of hibernation, and am datalogging in under a minute.

It takes some cutting on the back of the glovebox, but you will see the angle and such is the only way to get the controller and the harness/MAP line in without breaking any visible plastic. There is just enough room over the mounting bar for the glove box for these to move, and just enough room to stuff them to left of HVAC blower behind glove box.

I should have done a write-up on it but I didn't have a decent camera. It will become evident where to drill the holes as you put the controller in there. I also used nylon washers to cut vibration.

Oh yeah, you will need to cut a 1/4" triangle piece out of the dash lip to the left of the glovebox latch to clear corner of MS casing. This one ugly part is covered by the box lid when closed.

The one in the '92 I got was mounted to the dash on the passenger side. I plan on relocating it eventually to the trans tunnel when I pull the dash again.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...f/DSC_1877.jpg

Love the wheel cover.

"Ribbed for his pleasure!"

Oh! I didn't even see it...blended right in with the camo and all.

I like how you have the grippy part of the wheel cover on top, at 12-o'clock so you can drive like a ------, urban-douchebag, virgin poseur. Pimp that shit, badass motherfucker. I bet you listen to Puffy in that shit too. The hell with the price, the money ain't a thang.

Man i'm still trying to figure out my mounting solution as well. I like to be able to see when my warmup light goes off but i'm pretty sure if I start paying attention to where it turns off with the gauge, i'll be fine.

Right now I have mine floating around on the floor board temporarily. One plus side to this is that I can unplug the MS and take it with me when I get a funny feeling about where i'm parking.

Most likely I will end up mounting mine Joe style.

Under the glove box.

Attachment 207156
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Exactly how I did mine:

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2218/sany0623.jpg

i kinda like the glovebox idea for easy access -- does anyone sell DB37 extension cables, and is there any downside to using one?

-Tomaj

I think if they exist you could use one without any problems. Just make sure it is a straight through cable and not a crossover (if they make db37 crossovers)

Here's one:

Cables To Go - 6ft DB37 M/F Extension Cable

Odds are you won't find one in any local shop, not a lot of demand for that item :jerkit:

-Tomaj

Careful of store-bought DB37 cables. As they're intended for computer use, they tend to be made of really thin wire- like 28-30ga. This is completely inadequate for high-current circuits like the injector drivers. If you gotta have an extension, build your own.

In dash. I was going to mount it in the glove box but I did not want the wires moving around causing problems when I open it. Under dash might get kicked or hit by passengers.

http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/30...500x500Q85.jpg

That's pretty clean psuedo!

I thought about hiding it back there on tranny tunnel, and it never crossed my mind to go flush like that.

Please don't copy this method without giving me credit:

http://www.boost-instruments.com/mia...003_edited.jpg


Believe it or not the only problem I've had so far is accidentally shorting two pins on the header on the MS2 daughterboard when I covered it with the carpet. The car ran fine unless I loaded megatune, then it immediately died. That caused some head-scratching.

Mine is sitting on top of the sound deadening right beside the stock ECU under the aluminum cover. Routed the serial cable under the carpet and it comes out of a hole under the passenger seat.

Mines mounted in the passenger footwell on the tranny tunnel. This is the only pic I have of it.
Attachment 207151

yeah just for fun i tried to mount it 'stacked' as shown in one of the pcitures but there's no way that's going to fit for me :(

I have a wiring / electrical question.. i made a 'quick disconnect' for my wbo2 out of a 1/8" stereo headphone extension cable, 8ft long.

Once i wired all that up, i had to adjust my lambdasensors file so that the gauge and megatune would agree again.. prior to that, it was 100% accurate.. Today a friend came over and re-soldered a couple of joints in case i screwed something up, but that didn't make it go back to normal.

Would the length of the wire affect the base voltage? Would i be asking for the same kind of issues on all the other inputs if i extend hte length of the DB37 harness?

Is that stereo headphone extension just really shitty wire or something??

lol

Fixed my short yesterday, but not the fans. :(

This is just the analog output line between the WBO2 box and the MS, right? IOW, the WBO2 sensor itself is not riding this line? Is power for the WBO2 also passing through this cable?

For the analog signal, it shouldn't make a difference. The current passing through the analog output is laughably small, and assuming you tied the shield to ground, I wouldn't expect it to be picking up any noise.

Now if you're trying to pass power through the cable, or you're using it as the primary ground, then I can see some issues. Those headphone cables are typically made from astoundingly thin wire, and you'd see some voltage drop across it if you're trying to pass any meaningful amount of current.

so what you're saying is i shouldn't have used that wire to run the power :noob:

That's the one thing i didn't do, is test the voltage once it's all hooked up..

Also, i think that this issue is affecting MLV too right?? Because megatune uses the lambdasensors file to get the formula to convert volts to afr, but megatune has an actual table, so if i changeed the lambdasensors, the table remains unaffected and therefore my MLV AFRs are all going to be off... i guess i'm goign to go disconnect the extension when i get home tonight.

Thanks for the label :jerkit:

You know I never take anything you say seriously right? :hustler: I actually can't stand r&b or rap, live on agricultural land, and I can't stand those w/ the gangster lean while "driving". The wheel cover was just something I threw on there for the fun of it, but w/e I'm going to keep it on there now in spite of your e-thug status because you know me so well without even meeting me in person. What a reputation you've applied to yourself :laugh:

i need a break. ill go snap a picture of mine.

this is where i connect my laptop:

http://boostedmiata.com/MS/mounting/DSC01190.jpg


this is the panel under which the MS sits:

http://boostedmiata.com/MS/mounting/DSC01191.jpg


this is the money shot:

http://boostedmiata.com/MS/mounting/DSC01194.jpg



this is a red mt.net decal:
http://boostedmiata.com/MS/mounting/DSC01195.jpg

Now that is a good idea! :bigtu:

Yes it is, definitely like.
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Dammit, now I just got an idea with what to do with some lexan I have laying around... except I'm at work until 6 :facepalm:

i like that usb port.. but i dont want to get rid of my power windows :)

You could always move it to underneath the radio where the cubby hole would be w/ a flat piece of lexan :cool:

or anywhere there's a flat surface with a void behind it to mount the usb port...


If you notice my USB cable, I did have to perform surgery on it to make it male/male, I'm gay like that.

lmao!!!

Damn, I should have read these threads first.. Ended up drilling into the floor to mount mine next to the stock ECU. I wonder if I should use some sort of compound to inhibit rust. Fuck.

I just read the first post and though "it would probably be a lot easier to run stand-alone and leave decoy shit under the hood to pass inspection in California.

POR is good, several coats...or just move to Texas.