September Update

[David Schwarz]

I like to sneak in here every now and then and post a build update for those that are watching. Here is the latest, with all of the plumbing finally complete. I'm wiring this week, and should be able to fire up the motor early next week (if all goes well - it never seems to though). Among the photos I'm including are the engine bay (getting busy in there), the CO2 system (for controlling the air shifter and wastegate), a view from the drivers seat, one of the Firefox fire nozzles (there are five in the engine bay, one in the cockpit), and last but not least - the beginning of my wiring nightmare. I hope you enjoy - the next update should be the finished product.

[root]

Simply awesome!

Ian

[David Schwarz]

Simply awesome!

Ian

Thanks Ian! This has been a much bigger project than I ever envisioned. It will be a while before I'll be ready to build another race car from scratch. But it certainly has been a learning experience :D

[BLOWNBY]

Coming along very nice. The engine bay is getting full!

[David Schwarz]

Coming along very nice. The engine bay is getting full!

You're not kidding! I think I'll have the wiring wrapped up today. Last nights milestone was to connect the batteries...and not see sparks flying everywhere. Brake lights work, fan works, and all of the engine management computers are in place and wired. Tomorrow they will receive full power and we'll learn for the first time whether or not they are functioning properly and communicating with each other (keeping my fingers crossed). Thanks for the compliments guys.

[BLOWNBY]

So how are you doing the wiring? Are you using a painless harness or what?

Next year I am going to use BS3, and plan on keeping things like the headlights/tailights, guages, blower motor, rear defogger and stereo functional,. I have contemplated redoing all the wiring and losing like 20# of wires.:D

I want to get rid of this mess!

[David Schwarz]

So how are you doing the wiring? Are you using a painless harness or what?

Next year I am going to use BS3, and plan on keeping things like the headlights/tailights, guages, blower motor, rear defogger and stereo functional,. I have contemplated redoing all the wiring and losing like 20# of wires.:D

I want to get rid of this mess!

The entire wiring system is being custom built by yours truly. I have a painless switch panel, and I gutted the stock fuse box (which I'm rerouting it to fit my needs). I'm also incorporating relays where they should have existed in the first place - like the headlights. The stock harnesses were ditched long ago; I only hung onto the essentials like the connectors for the bulbs and dimmer switch. The work can be aggrevating at times, but I'm confident it will be well worth the effort.

I'll post some wiring photos when I'm done.

[BLOWNBY]

So for stuff like the headlights for example. Did you keep the stock switches and just run them to the realy and to the headlights using the stock connectors.

That is what I was thinking.

Did you buy an aftermarket fuse box?

I was considering the 12 or 18 circuit one that painless makes.

[David Schwarz]

So for stuff like the headlights for example. Did you keep the stock switches and just run them to the realy and to the headlights using the stock connectors.

That is what I was thinking.

Did you buy an aftermarket fuse box?

I was considering the 12 or 18 circuit one that painless makes.

I was originally planning to retain (and use) the stock switches for controlling my lights, but...

after looking at the way the switches were wired versus what I could do with the Painless switch panel, I decided that the Painless route was, shall we say, less painful. For now I'll just install the switches and hang onto the harness should I someday be so perverted as to want to wire everything in using the stock control switches.

As for the fuse box, I literally stripped everything out so that I was left with a plastic shell. By this, I mean that I even removed the metal terminals (an easy task with a thin bladed screw driver). I then left enough wire to splice to my own wire of choice. In most cases I've been able to match wire gauges in and out, but I've had to make a couple of odd size splices just due to what's available in the stock box. As I eluded to earlier, I want a safer wiring scheme, so in all cases I'm using a heavier gauge wire than what was originally there. I should say that in this case I felt it was worthwhile using the stock box since I already had it, and there's a nice spot in the stock dash to reinstall it.

For the record, I should say that I'm no electrician! But I've tried to do my homework so that I'm using the correct gauge wire based on current draw, and the distance the wire will travel. In some cases this makes for some pretty beefy wires (like 12g from my little Centripuppy water pump that travels about 8 feet to the fuse box). This pump draws 8A under load, which is surprising given that my remote pump from Aerospace only draws 2A. Note: in most cases, the manufacturer can supply you with current draw information. If not, a cheap ammeter gauge from the local auto store will do the job (and be careful - many of the hand held multimeters will only handle 10A - hence the ammeter gauge).

Hopefully this helps. If I can finish the rough wiring today, I'll try to post some more photos. It's amazing how much longer these jobs take relative to expectations going into the job :teeth:

[BLOWNBY]

Thanks for the info!