Noob Looking For Serious Help (Attempting to Turbo)

[Ozzie831]

Im not sure if this would be the best place to put this topic but here goes.

 

First off I'd like to say thanks for giving this post a look and for any advice you can give. Im not sure what got me into attempting to turbo my car with no experience but i did ha ha. Ive been working on this for almost a year now but i cant seem to finish getting it started. Ive posted a few things on this site and have gotten great feed back so i decided to lump my questions into this post.

 

Me: Name is Austin 23yo. No real car or electronic background. (thus this car could be royally boned)

 

The car:

1977 280z.

Turbonetics T3/T4 .63AR 50trim

Eternal Waste-gate

MSD6al with MSD Blaster 2 coil

Megasquirt 1 V2.2 plus a DIYautotune generic wiring harness

Home made fuel rail

Turbo Dizzy (with shaft)

3" Inter-cooler piping

Godspeed inter-cooler

I believe i have a Mitsubishi eclips BOV ( Im pretty sure but i cant remember) 

Champion radiator

Fuel Pressure Regulator

240sx TB with TPS

LC-1 Innovate Wide-band

TruBoost Controller

Home made stainless steel exhaust 

 

I think thats all of it.

 

The issues:

1: I have read posts about getting your tach to work with MS. I believe I was supposed to get a tach adapter (which i did from summit racing) and connect the Grey wire from the MSD6AL to the blue wire off of the original ballast resistor. (I believe that is what I read or Im on crack). But there is kind of an issue with that; I have 2 blue wires that went around to the ballast resistor and I have no idea which is the right one (assuming that this is the proper way of connecting this). ive looked up wiring diagrams and 1 goes to the ballast resistor and 1 goes to a "BCDD Cut Solenoid". Im not sure which one is which. All i can tell is one is thinner than the other.

 

2. Tuner Studio not reading the RPM. (could be due to the fact of issue #1). Not entirely sure how Tuner Studio reads it but it's red on the program.

 

3. Im not getting any spark from my dizzy to the spark plugs. I was told I needed resistor inside the MS between these 2 pins (cant remember them off the top of my head) but i got that done after the suggestion. New cap and rotor. Problem is still occurring (Im not sure if that is due to me not having a tune)

 

4. Not being able to find a tune for my version of MS. (I definitely don't have the knowledge to make my own. I just want to attempt to start it.)

 

5. Tuner Studio saying that it goes offline during cranking. Ive read that if you ground the MS grounds to the battery then this may occur. (I had it grounded to the battery but i just changed it. Have yet to test if it still does it)

 

5.5. Ive also noticed that my LC-1 and TruBoost gauges also shut off on cranking. (could be the whole grounded to the battery idea)

 

Im not quite sure if those are my only issues but I cant cant think of any others.

 

I believe that Ive wired everything correctly other than putting the grounds on the battery.

 

Here are a few photos of the engine:

 

Here is a photo of the MS fuse box that i made. I know it looks a little Jerry rigged but everything seems to be getting power.

 

I am more than happy to answer any questions that you may have and i will attempt to answer them to the best of my ability. I have no issues with taking additional photos if there is something specific that needs to be looked at. Thanks again for taking a look. I know its a little lengthy but I tried to put as much info i could before i forgot all the issues ha ha. I appreciate all comment and suggestions.

[Tony D]

I started my turbo and ran around for weeks just fine on 8x8 tables for a hot 383 Chevy V8...which is how the original Group Buy Chips were programmed...off Bowling or Grippo's SBC...

Load a map manually from screen shots if nothing else. It's a starting point, nothing more.

 

Quit rushing it, get it all working right on jack stands before you drive it or you WILL be sorry!

[Metro]

Fix #5 and you might fix #2, the rest are kind of irrelevant until you get that fixed.

 

MS might be resetting when you're trying to start it or it's something as simple as you wired it up so that the main relay shuts off when you turn the key. Either way, no RPM in tunerstudio means MS is just a $200 paperweight. You need to figure out why there's no RPM. Don't confuse your dash tach with megasquirt's RPM, they're different things.

 

Focus on getting the RPM signal to appear in tunerstudio. Then once it's running, you can try and figure out why your dash tach isn't working. I would start with the wiring for the optical distributor.

 

#4 it's very unlikely you'll find a tune you can just load into MS that will work out of the box. I would download Cygnus' tune, look at the fuel, afr, and spark maps, and either type them in by hand to your project or use the export/import tables feature. There's also a sticky by moby with screencaps of all my Msns-extra settings with stock injectors. At the very least you can start with that and it will get your car idling.

[Ozzie831]

So I had some wires mixed up/not even connected but the problems still remain. So I'm gonna start with the wiring and then after that's all straightened out then I'll worry about the next steps.

Ill go down the list per pin just in case I'm an idiot and cant read diagrams. (will take pictures if needed)

 

pin 1: Black wire going to the black wire on the dizzy (this is the black wire inside the shielded wire)

 

pin 2: Technically not sure where that goes.(this is the random loose wire inside the shielded wire???)

 

pin 3-6: Not used

 

pin 7: Going to the black wires on the TPS, Air temp sensor, Coolant temp sensor and the Wide-band

 

pin 8-14: Not used.

 

pin 15-19: Black ground wires grounded to the firewall

 

pin 20: Orange wire connected to the air temp sensor

 

pin 21: Yellow wire connected to the coolant temp sensor

 

pin 22: Light blue wire connected to the white wire on the TPS

 

pin 23: Pink wire connected to the Wide-band

 

pin 24: White wire connected to the white wire on the dizzy (this is the white wire inside the shielded wire)

 

pin 25: Not used

 

pin 26: Grey wire going to the TPS red wire and the dizzy red wire

 

pin 27: Not used

 

pin 28: Red wire going to my Jerry rigged fuse box with the 3 amp fuse (photo of fuse box in the original post)

 

pin 29: Not used

 

pin 30: Light green wire is connected to the white wire on the MSD 6AL (I was told by Matt at DIYautotune that this is what i was supposed to do)

 

pin 31: Not used

 

pin 32 and 33: Blue wires that are connected together then connected to my first second and third injectors (have red power wires going from the 3 injectors to a 10 amp fuse on the fuse box)

 

pin 34 and 35: Green wires that are connected together then are connected to forth fifth and sixth injectors (have red power wires going from the 3 injectors to a 10 amp fuse on the fuse box)

 

pin 36: Brown wire going to the negative side on the coil (read on the "how to hook up your MS to your turbo dizzy) diagram)

 

Pin 37: Purple wire going to the fuel pump relay

 

Sorry for listing all these but I just want to make sure they are all going to the right location.

 

Also Metro, I found the MS post. I've seen it before and have been looking for it but I just couldn't seem to find it again ha ha. But I attempted to make a tune with all the tables and settings so hopefully it turns out OK. I'm still not getting any RPM signal thus me looking through all the wiring. Tuner Studio is still going offline so that is still an issue as well.

 

Thanks again for any advice

[SleeperZ]

If your MS goes away while cranking, you probably have your grounding wrong.  To minimize the voltage drop while cranking, I connected my power grounds to the end of the negative battery cable where it bolts to the starter.

 

You can't just hook your distributor in the tach input like a hall sensor or VR.  Check the DIY site, they have a schematic for wiring the optical distributor.  

http://www.diyautotune.com/tech_articles/using_diyautotune_nissan_trigger_discs.htm  Pin 24 will need a 1K pullup resistor to 12V to operate.

 

Make sure to use shielded wire and connect the shield on one end only, at the MS connector ground (pin 2).

 

You haven't said what TPS you are using.

 

Don't hook up pin 26 to the distributor.  The dizzy needs 12V to the red wire (pin 28), the 1k pullup to the white wire and the black wire to ground.

 

I can't help with MSD, I am driving my coil directly with a high current driver.  I though MS 1 only does fuel, not ignition.

 

Everything else looks good.

Edited September 23, 2013 by SleeperZ

[NewZed]

Your biggest problem might be that you're not using a meter to confirm whether things are right or not.  Looks like you're just connecting wire colors and looking at the TunerStudio screen, hoping things work.

 

In the long run, you'll be way ahead if you get a decent multimeter and learn what it's for, and how to use it.  A few continuity/resistance and voltage measurements and you might not even need this thread.

[Ozzie831]

Thanks for the reply's. 

Sleeper: Thanks for the info and the link. The only reason i hooked pin 26 to the dizzy is because the diagram the MS came with said to. But id rather take your word than my skills at reading wiring diagrams. I have a 240sx TB with TPS. I didnt know there was a specific TPS per 240sx TB so I'm gonna have to look it up.

 

Also i was a little confused on this comment "The dizzy needs 12V to the red wire (pin 28)"; does that mean I run pin 28 straight to the 12v on the dizzy or do i have it split from the dizzy to the 3amp fuse on the fuse box?

 

I was told by Skirkland that i needed a 1k pull up jumped across pins 24 and 28.

 

Also I had another question about all the wires that the ballast resistor had on it. Such as the Black/White, White/Black, Blue/Black, Blue wire ETC. Im not 100% where those get hooked up to, if they are even used at all. that is another big part I am confused on.

 

NewZed: Thanks for posting on another one of my posts haha. Ya I got to the point to where i was just plugging wires together because nothing seemed to work (bad idea I know). I know not having a meter kinda sucks but again i have no idea how to read one. The skills i poses are quite few and far in between haha.

 

Thanks again everyone, all your knowledge is greatly appreciated

[SleeperZ]

Definitely check the wiring for the TPS.  The 240SX will work, I did not realize you retained that TPS with the throttle body.  You will benefit greatly if you can use a multimeter to measure the TPS.  With the TPS connector off, make sure the throttle shaft is partly open, then measure resistance from each pin to the rest.  The pins that give the largest resistance measurement will be your +5 and ground pins, and I would think you have a black wire from the original connector to verify which is which.  The remaining pin is the TPS input to the Megasquirt, from the wiring diagram I believe the blue is the TPS input and the grey is the 5V.  Once you have power to it, you can measure the voltage on the TPS input and see if it increases from low to high as you increase throttle.

 

The instruction for the 1K pullup is correct.

 

I am not at all sure about how you are going to implement the ignition.  Megasquirt 1 controls fuel only, as far as I know.  You need a spark output that will control the advance and I don't see anything in your parts list that will do that.  Either go to MS2 which has spark advance control and will use the turbo distributor, or go back to a NA distributor and shaft, and use the ignition module and factory coil and ballast resistor.  There are a number of other options, but I have always used the ECU and turbo distributor and do not know anything about MSD boxes and NA distributors.

[Metro]

I am not at all sure about how you are going to implement the ignition.  Megasquirt 1 controls fuel only, as far as I know.  You need a spark output that will control the advance and I don't see anything in your parts list that will do that.  Either go to MS2 which has spark advance control and will use the turbo distributor, or go back to a NA distributor and shaft, and use the ignition module and factory coil and ballast resistor.  There are a number of other options, but I have always used the ECU and turbo distributor and do not know anything about MSD boxes and NA distributors.

 

The Bowling & Grippo MS1 code is fuel only, he will need to use the MSnS-extra code to control spark, if he hasn't already reflashed it.

 

The v2.2 board is missing a lot of the features of the v3 board. Fortunately, he has an MSD box to go along with the v2.2 board. The mods to get a MSD box working with a v2.2 board are surprisingly simple. http://www.msextra.com/doc/ms1extra/MS_Extra_Ignition_Hardware_Manual.htm#msdout22

[Ozzie831]

Hey Metro thanks for the link. I do have the MSnS-extra code on there. I didnt know the other settings that needed to be changed as well so I went in and changed what I needed to.

 

Ive been talking to Matt at DIYautotune about some of my other issues but 1 email a day makes it a little slow going. 

I appreciate all the help so far

[Ozzie831]

Well I think I have all the wired hooked up correctly now. I figured out that I wasn't getting the RPM signal due to my battery being dead and i was jumping it from another car; so it wasn't getting the volts it needed. Now I'm not quite sure where to go from here.

[SleeperZ]

Charge your battery, remove the distributor, turn on the MS and turn the distributor.  That will verify if your rpm signal is getting through.

[Ozzie831]

Haha sorry i didnt phrase it very well. I bought a new battery because the original was completely toast. I put in the new battery and made a new log that showed that i was getting the signal. Before the new battery nothing was there.