November 2009
Sunday 29th November 2009
The Duratec oil adapter plate arrived on Friday, from BR & D Engineering in West Sussex. I just need to get two O-rings to fit in the groves on the back, and two 1/2BSP to -10 adapters, and I can fit the adapter to the block, and make the oil lines up. A very big thankyou to Karl at www.kustomkarl.com for turning my conceptual (fag packet) drawings in to 3D Solidworks drawings for me, and to BR & D Engineering for turning the plate out. The adaptor plate routes both the oil lines down towards the ground, and allows the use of 1/2BSP fittings. It cures the clearance problem that I have between the front of the block and the cross member on the Fiesta.
Thursday 26th November 2009
Sourced 9 switches from RSWWW, and a switch guard from Maplins. The switches are IP67 rated, and have 6.3mm push-on terminals. I've also sourced some carbon panel, 1.8mm thick, from Ledon Racing Services, and I've fitted the first panel to the top of box. The switches hold the panel in place.
News of the Duratec oil adapter plate. It should be with me by the weekend. And I've assembled the 11 position traction control switch, and its all wired up ready to be fitted to the dashboard, which I still haven't started on yet.
Friday 20th November 2009
I've finished off the cockpit loom bulkhead connector this evening. It has 46 pins, which should all match the positions of the pins in the engine bay loom if I've done it right. I've used smaller backshells than before, which you then use adhesive heatshrink to hold the Nomex sleeving in place with.
Tuesday 17th November 2009
A lot to report. The Custom Carbon Varely Red Top battery box arrived last week, and is installed in the car. (photos to follow). I've also located the exact same plastic black box that I used for the Zetec control box, from www.cpc.co.uk, so I can build it up for the Duratec control box and fit it in the same spot in the cockpit. It'll house the relays, fuses, and main switches for the electrics on the car. The box is made by Multicomp and is the MB6 box (part no EN81783). Only £5 but CPC add a £6 handling charge, and their website said 'next day delivery', which was a slight exageration.
I've pretty much finished the loom inside the car. I've run wires from the ECU to the dashboard, for launch control (push button), traction control (switch), traction map wet/dry (switch), and wires for the traction control aggressiveness %, 5V feed, Sensor Gnd, 12V feed, ECU ground, tacho feed, and gear shift light feed. One of the analogue inputs on the DTA S80 expects a voltage from 0V to 5V, to control the % of traction control in effect. I've decided to use a rotary switch, with 12 positions, that will supply the ECU from 0 to 5V in 500mV steps. I'll post a circuit diagram to show how to wire it in. The switch will allow me to select 0%-10%-20%-30% etc up to 100%, just by quickly turning the switch to the relevant position. The alternative is to use a potentiometer, but thats not as repeatable as using a switch.
I've stripped the old loom down, and taken the ITT Neptune connectors off, so I can re-use them. And I've found some better backshells for them, from RSWWW, that allow heatshrink to be used to seal them to the loom, rather than the cumbersome looking standard backshells I used previously.
DTA has released new firmware for the S80, which now provides a pit lane speed limiter. Presumably by pressing the launch button whilst the car is moving to restrict engine rpms to a set speed.
Finally, the Duratec oil adapter plate may be ready this week. I've chased up the company that is making it for me and it could be ready by Friday.
Tuesday 10th November 2009
Started on the cockpit loom yesterday. I've cut all the lengths of wires that run from the bulkhead connector to the ECU, and I'm positioning the cables that run from the bulkhead to the power/control box, and to the dashboard. I need to get some more 32/020 cable ordered from VWP so I'll place an order today. I've refitted the battery isolater switch, in its plastic housing, back in its original location. I was toying with changing to a solid state one, but for the cost, they're just not worth it. I also wanted to incorporate the isolator in to the black box for all my relays and fuses, but that makes the box permanent, and I still like the peace of mind of being able to remove the black box for security.
Thursday 5th November 2009
I've a load of stuff for sale on Ebay at the moment, listed for 7 days. Grab a bargain! Check out the Parts For Sale page (on the left) for the link to the listings.
The Duratec oil adapter plate is now being machined, and I should get it in a week or two's time. A company in West Sussex is doing the work for me. They gave me the best price.
Monday 2nd November 2009
Finished routing the cables around the engine bay, and I've tie wrapped the battery cable inside the car, routing it round to where the battery isolator switch will sit. I'm thinking about the design of the dashboard this week, and the wiring required to interconnect the Data logger, Dashboard, ECU, Control Box, fuses, relays, warning lamps, instruments etc. Its a bit of a nightmare, but the longer I spend thinking about what to do, the better the end result. I've also sent off the 3D CAD drawings to a local CNC firm, and I'm waiting for their response, on getting the oil adapter plate machined. Its November, and I need to get the engine running, and I cant do that without the wiring, oil lines, and radiator plumbing being completed first.
