First L6 sequencer install?

[Dan_Austin]

I've been collecting parts for this for over a year.

I will be pulling my tired NA 2.8 and dropping in

a freshly rebuilt 83 L28ET starting next weekend.

 

I am not going overboard, or at least not by

HybridZ standards. The turbo is a T3/T4 hybrid

57 trim/63 A/R, DSM 440CC Lo-Z, six GM D585

coils, a e-bay 27x12x3 intercooler and most of

the bits for a 3" exhaust.

 

The last weeks have had me finishing the

engine bay wiring harnesses and the under-dash

harness. Today I had my first chance to plug

the ECU into the dash harness and turn the key

on. At first I was at a loss, nothing happened, then

I noticed the serial plug was not fully seated.

 

OK, now TS finds the ECU, but I did not get the

priming pulse. Second oops. The fuel pump

relay did not have 12V on pin 86. A few minutes

later I had that fixed an now the ECU turns on and

properly engages the fuel pump.

 

 

The ECU harness is setup with the idea that it will mount

in the factory location, with the relays mounted where the

stock fuel pump/injector relay mounts and use a single

connector to interface with the body harness. A nice

extra is that I expect the new fuse block to fit in the old

panel window for the factory ECU label.

 

I still need to install the weatherpack connectors on the

engine side of the ECU harness, which will be best handled

after the new engine is in and the ECU in place.

Each connector is labeled, numbered, and documented

with an Excel spreadsheet for which wire (color&label) goes

to each specific pin on each connector. 26 pins need to be

terminated, but that should be fairly simple if I stick to the plan.

 

I have to say that seeing Tuner Studio dispalying live readings

for the first time is a huge rush...

[Dan_Austin]

Having a plan is close to paying off. The old engine came out and then new

one went in on Sunday. I found I had the wrong thermostat cover, so I

started on the wiring. The weatherpack connectors made my life easier the

couple of times I put a wire in rond place. No need to chop off an end and

try again, just release it and put it in the right place.

 

The sequencer came with 3' harnesses, which I thought might be short,

but proved to be perfect for the sensors and injectors. I did need to splice

six inch splice for the distributer and injectors. This is with the ecu in the

factory location, with the fuses visible and accessable from the ecu

inspection window, and finally the relays mounted in the stock location

as well.

 

I spent Monday installing the radiator and e-fan, intercooler and piping, and

trying to find a thermostat cover locally. The local yards said they did not

have one, but I went on a yard crawl today and found several after just

a few minutes. So now the wiring is complete, the air tract is complete,

all fluids are where they belong and staying there. I still need to find the tach

lead on the passenger side, but that is the last non-tuning task.

 

 

I barely got a pop ut of it today. I am on the latest B&G code, so I am still

figuring out he DIY CAS wheel settings. I had the distributor 180 out, and

a battery that needed a recharge. While waiting on that I reviewed all settings

and found a huge error in injection timing angle that likely prevented

injection events.

 

With a bit of luck I'll be celebrating extra hard tomorrow.

[Dan_Austin]

It's Alive!

 

Turns out the distibutor was OK and now is 180 out, but it makes wiring

a bit easier, so it stays were it is. I ended up opening the distributor

up to count the slots, and guessed where in the pickup the optical

sensor was, which suggested I needed a trigger offset of 150.

 

With the distributor set for maximum mechanical advance I got a

stumble, so I took another 10 degrees out of the trigger offset and it fired

right up.

 

I need to finish the exhaust and wire in the dash tach, but at least now

I feel more confident that I'll have a way to get to work on Monday.

[24OZ]

Awesome! You must be feeling good, not long now.

[Dan_Austin]

It took longer than expected to get access to a friends welder, but I finally had

a chance weld up my 3" mandrel bent exhaust on Saturday. My friend was not

happy with his welds on my test scraps, so he gave me a couple of tips and

had me try. Turns out I have a knack for it and ended up welding up my entire

exhaust systems as my first welding project.

 

Once the exhaust was in, I could install the wideband and start tuning. I missed

the third place in TunerrStudio that required wideband setup, but a quick Google

search identified the fix and I now have the tune started, I took is out for a couple

trips around the block.

 

On the second loop I noticed copious whtie/grey smoke out the exhaust and almost

paniced, but then I remembered noticing an excess of protective oil coating the

mandrel bends. By the third loop of the 1/10th mile loop the smoke was gone

and the VE Live Analyze was doing it's thing. I went over to show the result to

my friend who had helped me with the engine swap and welding, He was surprised

I had it moving on under power so soon and appearing ready for daily use.

 

The exhaust tucks up nicely, but I do need another hanger just infront of the diff

crossmember to have a really clean install. The downpipe did need dimpling to clear the

firewall and bellhousing, but only a minor bit.

 

Build recap-

 

F54 block with fresh, but stock dished pistons

P79 Head

Shaved N42 intake with 240SX TB

DIYAutoTune 280ZX CAS wheel

ebay intercooler and piping 2.5"

3" mandrel bent exhaust with 3" Magneflow cat

450cc DSM blue top injectors

Pallnet rail

Aeromotive A1000-6 (pita to find fittings for)

ebay 57/63 turbo with v-band integrated wastegate (8lbs)

82 NA 5 speed

Fidanza flywheel, Spec XD pressure plate and HD organic plate

OBX diff with 3.90 gears (needed to make tired old NA motor feel happy)

 

Oh, and a B&G sequencer allowing for full sequential spark and fuel.

 

It has been one heck of a week, or for that matter the last 13 months

while I prepared for the actual swap.

 

 

[Leon]

Heck of a job, Dan! Hope to see you out and about in your now-turbo Z!

[Dan_Austin]

I now have about a full month living with the install. No major

changes have been required. I added a GM EGR solenoid

for a Fidle valve, and while it works it is a tad too small and

only bumps the idle by about 75 RPM cold. I've identified

a replacement with the same wiring connector but larger

flow capacity, and need to get off my duff to go get one.

 

The tuning has been 90% completed on the daily slog to

and from work using VEAL, with tweaks made to handle

oddball areas, such as engine braking causing very low map

at the middle of the RPM scale.

 

Today I decided to datalog the drive in as opposed to using

VEAL to fine tune the map. I found that my cruise map is

close to spot on with idle and those engine braking zones

needing a bit of love. The attached zip is the MSQ and 24

minute datalog. EGO correction was minimal, basically only

during engine braking, which I was please to see. The only

other major discovery, which I knew, but is 100% confirmed is

my alternator is not up to running the ECU and e-fans, at least

not at idle. It also does not seem to be doing particularly well

at cruise.

 

 

This weekend is the 500 mile post break-in oil and filter

change, with a lash check and 'nothing working loose' check.

 

Feedback or critiques on the MSQ or log appreciated.

My tune is doing almost exactly what I ask of it, but that I am

asking it to do what is appropriate. I had a minor setback this

week with the car stalling when coming to a stop, and found the

cause to be the timing was about 3 degrees to far advanced at idle.

 

280z-sequencer.zip