MSM COPS project build thread
 

A while ago I posted for advice on putting COPS in an '01+. The thread is here: https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t32827/.

Today I dragged my increasingly fat ass to the proverbial Ambition Store, where I finally got a round tuit. :laugh:

Started around noon today and intentionally worked very slow and carefully, vs. my normal approach of rushing and doing sloppy work .......

I removed the strut bar, original two coils, spark plug wires, etc., and test-fit the four new coils (from an Infiniti, as explained in the previous thread.)

Went to hardware store in another car; bought some sheet metal for the mounting device and assorted machine screws, nuts, etc. .... got home and made a cardboard mock-up of the mounting device.

Hence the first miracle of the project: my measurements tend to be off by a little, and this time my drilling was also off by a little in the opposite direction, resulting in a friggin' perfect hole location! It's amazing!!

Here's the first picture from the driver's side (pardon the quality, it's from my BlackBerry 8330):

http://snarc.net/cops-right.jpg

The mounting device is not transparent; what you see on top is just a reflection.

The four bolts (M6, 1.00 pitch, 2") use the existing four holes from the stock coils. I did not expect that to align; figured I'd have to rig up new mounting locations .... that was miracle two. ;)

You can see that the stock coil locations are offset to the driver's side. I was concerned about this, but it all went together firmly, so I think it'll be okay.

Here's the view from the passenger's side:

http://snarc.net/cops-left.jpg

The coils were all facing the same direction for the first test-fit, but I had to turn some of them to get the connectors to fit. I might be able to realign them all if I Dremel off the Infiniti mounting tabs. That's a project for another day. For now I'm just glad it all fits together. Meanwhile I put some double-faced tape under the mounting device to serve as a cushion.

Next up was the wiring. It's all quite ugly, and some other time I will attempt to make it look nice. I used weatherpacks for the main connector after cutting off the stock connectors. I have a second set of weatherpacks that I'll use for reconnecting the stock system (yet another project for some other time.)

Including a couple of breaks, I wasn't done until 9pm. I did the work in my parent's garage rather than my driveway at home. Problem is, only old people live here, and they'd freak out if I start testing things (engine on) after dark. Car is loud thanks to TurboTim Absurdflow. :)

So the bottom line is I can't test all this work until tomorrow morning. The suspense is killing me!! I'll triple-check the wiring, fire 'er up, and if all goes well then I'll try expanding the spark plug gap (currently a minuscule .020) and hopes it no longer misfires/resets under high boost at something more reasonable like .030.

It's official: if you held a soldering skills contest between me and a retarded baboon, the smart money's on the baboon!

Today's results were the opposite of yesterday's: a comedy of errors.

First I couldn't get my laptop to connect to MS. Turned out the engine fuse blew because I wired power and ground in the wrong order for the COPS.

Still couldn't get the car to start, so I took apart all the wiring and started over. Again, no luck. It cranked and cranked but wouldn't start.

I decided to deal with COPS some other day and go back to stock wasted spark for now (it was getting late). So I re-attached the stock coils and wires .... same result .... lots of cranking, no engine start.

Paul tried to help me over the phone. We were convinced the problem was a flooded engine. Tried clearing it, tried cleaning the plugs, then tried all-new plugs .... nothing worked.

I checked with another MSM owner to verify my wiring. Turns out I had the 1/4 coil attached to the 2/3 connector, and the 2/3 coil attached to the 1/4 connector.

So why didn't I notice this sooner? Because it wasn't my fault!!! Reality on this car is the OPPOSITE of what Braineack posted here: https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t12704/ .... car finally started after several hours of frustration, multiple desperate calls to Paul, and more than a few dollars spent on parts that I didn't need.

On the other hand, I could SWEAR that Brain's diagram was correct .... it shows the brown wire with yellow stripe going to 1/4 and the lighter shaded brown wire going to 2/3 .... I'm 99.999 certain that it the correct stock configuration. A third MSM owner told me that's how his is set up by the factory.

So, why the hell - or rather HOW the hell - did mine get backward ?????

I'll quadruple-check the wiring sometime when I'm refreshed, but for now it seems like a goblin in the system.

Braineack: you didn't know this, but I was cursing you in my parent's garage today when I got the car to run and decided your diagram was wrong. :) Sorry!! As with the retarded baboon reference above, the "smart money" here is that yours truly screwed up somewhere.

The GOOD news is, now that I know the correct wiring order, I'm convinced the COPS setup will work the next time I attempt it.

Soooooooo .... I finally got back to the COPS project today. Basically re-wired it from scratch. Burned the new dwell settings, opened the plug gap, and this time the car started on its first try!!!

But I didn't have a chance to drive anywhere and see if my high-boost misfires are gone, because I also (apparently) now have ANOTHER bad injector. Paul sold me one of his spares and I'm going to install that tomorrow morning.

Trend: not that I really know what I'm doing with the injector installation ...... but the way I became a computer guru is by trying stuff and seeing what happens. :)

I need to add this to my list of tings to do. GL with the injector.

Update: I screamed "Success!" too soon. :facepalm:

Had some time yesterday for a test drive. Car refused to go beyond 3000 rpm without severe bucking. So today I switched back to stock (again!) because I need reliable transportation.

I have no plans to try COPS again until next spring. Too many other priorities right now.

But I have to wonder what went wrong. I know I had them wired right, and I know the coils work, because the car fired up with authority and drove fine up to 3000 rpm.

Why didn't they work beyond that ????? Anyone have a credible theory?

I know the Infiniti coils aren't popular for our cars, but Infiniti = Toyota, and those are very popular, so I didn't expect any trouble.

infiniti is nissan you tard! although, Im very interested in this monkey v man soldering iron fight... TO THE DEATH

Doh .... you're right, I was thinking of Lexus.

Regardless, if the coils all work, and I have the correct dwell numbers from Jason, then what could've caused such a major problem as not getting beyond 3K rpm without bucking?

uhoh

lexus = toyota = scion

Toyota thinks Scion>MR2,Celica but Toyota is wrong... Get on paul's ass some more, he likes to help people.