Project Midnight Sun, a saved project

I got back at it today, started clean on the cam and crank wiring, reloaded firmware, and crossed my fingers. It fired!! Briefly. And badly. I am pretty sure that 84* BTDC is not right for Tooth #1 angle but, I don't know the right setting yet. It did better on batch and wasted spark, of course, and was able to mimic an idle. When I switched to full sequential it still fired but would barely catch and died pretty quickly. If it hadn't died I was going to shut it down, I never left it going for more than a moderate 3 count since it was plainly obvious that something is very not right. I am 100% sure of the injector and coil wiring, I made a diagram when I wired those and was very neurotic about matching the 1-8 of the MS to the 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 firing order.

Edit: The hardware manual has some discontinuities and I made an assumption when I did the wiring that might be wrong. They're supposed to be matched A thru H with the firing order but the wires are labeled 1-8. I assumed this was a quirk and proceed to equate the wire labeled Inj 1 with Inj A and so forth. I think this was wrong. As the tech support people love to volunteer when no one asks, this is why they make plug and play harnesses for when you decide to not be on a budget. Silly me

I straightened out the mismatch on the connector, reloaded the firmware again, and it cranked up much better on batch/wasted. My cam sensor was out (I think any hint of a voltage spike takes out my cam sensor output) but it fired up and idled. It took a long time to crank, potentially from a tired battery, but it caught strongly. I need to tune the idle, it was idling at 1560rpm, 3.4% throttle, and a freshly calibrated TPS. I did learn that the throttle body shrieks under those conditions, almost to a painful degree. It's also running exceptionally rich during idle, the cabin was increasingly smelling like raw gasoline even with one door propped open and a strong breeze blowing. The next step is to get it idled into the driveway for better integration of the MS harness and hopefully some caliper replacements and seat brackets.

Sounds like damn good progress. You must feel relieved.

Outstanding news.  We had a customer car one time that would only run in batch fire.  They had ordered the wrong harness and someone else tried to repin it for the LS2 and got something backwards because it would act like it had dead cylinders in sequential.  They didn't want to pay us to fix it so we just tuned it in batch fire and sent it down the road.

In reply to Error404 :

Two bits of free advice for what they are worth.

Charge your battery before going any further. Low voltage does all kinds is strange stuff.

Secondly, and I know it says this in the megamanual in something like 4 places, but don't bother working on your idle until the car is fully warmed up and out of fuel enrichment mode. Once you get it to idle well when warm then you can fiddle with the cold start settings to fine tune it later.

Congrats on making it run for more than a few seconds, I betcha felt on top of the world. 

trumant : It is very relieving to finally see it running and idling, even if it is a bit of a public nuisance right now. This is definitely not an early morning/late night project or my neighbors will have unkind words for me. 

Patientzero : That's just funny. I think batch fire should only be necessary until I get the battery charged after work, I didn't want to leave it charging unattended in the heat of the day, and then maybe reload the firmware again to be safe. 

1SlowVW : I will definitely be proceeding with a charged battery, the tiny lithium cell in the car does not have a lot of extra juice and I ran through most of it during yesterdays testing without letting the engine run long enough to really charge it. Tuning after it has warmed up makes sense, the only reason I'd be tempted to try and do something about the warmup period is because of the really loud shrieking from the throttle body but there's a right way to do it for a reason. I'm going to listen to some videos on idle tuning while I'm at work so I have a few steps in mind for the first tuning session. And yes, it felt great to finally see it all come together the way it did. 

Next steps are a basic tune of the idle and then chugging into the garage to redo the wiring. I might look at knocking out a dash re-wire at the same time, wherein I'll strip out just about everything that doesn't come off the steering column. The basic plan is to buy a new dash from a guy in Vero that injection molds them, put a mount in the gauge section for my phone (temp solution), and run USB power to it. Then I plan on getting rid of the existing lighting switches in favor of toggles on the dash. That should enable me to clean up the dash considerably, particularly the rats nest of wiring behind it. That's also a great time to get a go pedal solidly installed, since I'll never have better access. The Gold Box might be moved out of the passenger kick panel and into the dash, as well. Lofty plans, yes, but in distinct phases with distinct goals. It won't be quick or simple but, when it's done, the car will look and feel a lot less ramshackle. 

New dash shell : https://www.featherlitecomposites.com/mustang/fox-body-dash-shell

Woohoo!!!!

Edit: After my experience with the cheapo TPS that came with the throttle body, and going out for a quality replacement, I am going to replace the IAC valve before I wire it in. I am also looking at potentially adding a pair of widebands from 14point7 (https://www.14point7.com/products/spartan-lambda-controller-2), although those are a lower priority right now than the new dash. 

I find this deserving of its own entry in this build. Side mirrors. Mine suck, they don't adjust remotely or stay adjusted when done manually. I've been getting by quite fine with a rear view and head checking habits but I want to get them right. The only mirrors that anyone seems to make for these are power mirrors and I would like to keep things simpler than adding those, and cheaper than $200 on mirrors. I would like to preserve, if possible, the stock housing look and the universal chromed to the max mirrors don't really fit that bill. The mount points don't align well, either. 

My next thought was rebuilding my existing mirrors with purely manual components rather than the remote manual setup. IMO it's the best of both worlds and will help when I get to the aesthetic portion of the build. Can anyone weigh in on the viability of this idea? Has anyone done something like this and can point me towards the components I'll need or the hang-ups I might encounter?

Basically, the remote adjustment assembly seems to be what holds the mirror in position and I want to change that so that the mirror is push the glass to adjust. 

Most Valuable Tool (MVT) award goes to:

This guy here came in clutch over the past week, working out in the sun, the rain, and the heat to keep the gears of progress grinding forward. Completely responsible for maintaining a battery only slightly larger than my new computer.

These 2 are a dynamic duo, fast friends during this stage of the process. 

I think I will attempt to bring down the fast idle before getting into the garage but I don't plan on doing any other tuning until the next stage. I'm waiting to hear back on whether I can get a cash discount in the new dashboard, hopefully I can get that installed during this stage and hook up some basic switches for lights and such. If they come in different colors, should I stick with black? Maybe wrap it with something cool before installing?

I want my dash wrapped in suede.  I think it would be awesome.  Might not work as well on a fox dash though.

Patientzero said:

I want my dash wrapped in suede.  I think it would be awesome.  Might not work as well on a fox dash though.

The current dash has seen many better days but the one-piece unit looks ripe for some excitement. I have been half pondering a tan marpat wrap but I'd probably go with a nice matte color. 

Why not flock your dash?

In reply to Error404 :

Because I'm not an interior guy, lol.

Not a bad idea though.  I did a couple small parts for a console at the last shop I worked in.

For those who can decipher my chicken scratch, I think this is a realistic punch list between what I want and what needs to happen to achieve reliability and functionality. The plan is get a little racey and do toggle switches on the dash for everything not on the turn signal stalk. Accordingly, I think my new dash shell plan might get pushed back a while to accommodate a more fiscally responsible plan of attack. Also, I haven't heard back from FeatherLite and the other companies I found that make shells are considerably pricier. 

Add IAC wires?  Is this part of your idle problem?

In reply to Patientzero :

It definitely isn't helping but, from what I heard, it should run alright without it. Even so, I may as well get that up and running and I don't plan on doing any unnecessary tuning until IAC is set up

It's been way too long since I've done an update so here goes. 

It was a hot weekend but mostly dry so I was able to put in the hours in the driveway to do the re-wire of the megasquirt. I scaled back my ambition, to a level i would be able to accomplish, but still got a lot of good work done. Everything is untangled and is, mostly, neatly bundled. I used a lot more conduit, so everything isn't covered in endless rolls of tape, and I managed to cut out about 2 dozen feet of wiring. Troubleshooting should be much easier and quicker, now. I also left all of the megasquirt wires at full length, to accommodate a possible relocation in the indefinite future. 

Idle air control was installed and the engine cranks a little better and idles without the shrieking whistle that it had before. I still need to tune the idle a bit but it sounds pretty good as is. Smells like raw gas but it hasn't run for more than a couple minutes since the swap so that will get learned out. The remaining electrical is to get the fuel pump relay working with MS, MS is pulling high and should pull low (or vice versa) so it's hot wired for testing, and getting the fan working. The fan is Derale aftermarket and is well documented so that should be straightforward I expect to find that I probably cut power to it at some point during the wiring process. I'd like to get MS in charge of that but it has a provision to always run and that might be the way I go, for simplicity. 

Next on the short list is the install if the new go pedal and go cable followed by autotuning and brake rebuilding/bleeding. I have a surprise on the way that, hopefully, will be in before our tentative day at The FIRM at the end of the month. 

On the mid-term list I want to meet with a fabricator for some improved seat mounts, get the dash electrical improved to allow phone charging, and get some wideband O2 sensors installed for improved WOT tuning. Aesthetically, I have my eye on some door panels and I'm going to start getting the front bumper pinned up properly and cleaned up prior to looking at aero options. 

All in all, I am really excited and things feel like they're really moving forward and that I'm really going to be back on track in a few weeks. It's been a slog and I know it's not over but it feels really good to crank the car and have her move under her own power. I'm contemplating a roof wrap, just because. Is that a thing?

Great to hear you made progress on it.  Are you doing all your own tuning?

In reply to Patientzero :

Initially, yes. A compadre of mine has a lot of experience tuning his turbo Miata, I'll lean on him a bit. Mainly, tho, I'll be relying on the ole Youtubez for idle tuning info and then the TunerStudio autotune function for the driving around portion. The autotune is supposed to be very nice, should definitely help go from the generic LS tune to something suiting my car. As I mentioned, WOT and high RPM tuning will be stoich for the short term until I figure out how to either tune better with the narrowbands or install some widebands. Realistically, I expect to get a lot of datapoints from the track day and I'll evaluate my self-tuning plan after that. 

Now that I have IAC installed, albeit not yet dialed in, can I fully close the pre-load screw on the throttle body? Is there a rule of thumb for how much to leave that open or a procedure to settle on the amount? If I leave it open, is that a new 0 when calibrating TPS or is fully closed 0%?

You can not tune with a narrowband.  It doesn't work that way.  All you can do is look at fuel trims but that is not ideal.  The ECU will go to open loop during WOT so you're power enrichment needs to be close because the ecu is not going to make corrections there.  You absolutely need a wideband before you start making changes or you are just wasting your time and will possibly damage your motor.  An AEM Uego is cheap and I've tuned many cars with one.  Does the Megasquirt not have a wideband?

For the throttle.  At warm idle you want the to adjust the throttle blade so that the IAC is 3-5% then recalibrate your TPS.  That will now be 0% on the TPS.

In reply to Patientzero :

I've heard it both ways regarding narrowbands. My understanding is that I can tune the low end because that is generally at or near stoich while the upper end is where the widebands really come into play. (Or any other time I want to step outside of stoich) Fear not amigo, widebands are in the plan they're just going to have to wait a bit and I don't plan on "completing" my tuning process without widebands and I do understand that the tuning I will do soon is of limited effectivity. I have my eye in some 14Point7 Spartan 2 controllers with LSU 4.9 sensors, the pair is $250 and just not in the disposable budget right now given that I'm also replacing a 47yr old garage door that failed. I do appreciate the concern and input, my intent is to make minor smoothing changes in the acceptable range of the narrowbands and generally become more familiar while making the car generally driveable. 

That makes sense on the IAC-front except what do you mean by the IAC is 3-5%? I haven't delved into idle tuning (thunderstorm) but my understanding is that the IAC varies across a range that may be 25-60/open-closed. Close the blade until the IAC is only slightly open and then zero my TPS? 

For the sake of content, I opened a Summit package so here is something for the old timers and MegaSquirt folks. 

Error404 said:

That makes sense on the IAC-front except what do you mean by the IAC is 3-5%? I haven't delved into idle tuning (thunderstorm) but my understanding is that the IAC varies across a range that may be 25-60/open-closed. Close the blade until the IAC is only slightly open and then zero my TPS? 

Yes, the percent of the IAC being open(0% is completely closed, 100% is completely open).  When the engine is cold it is less efficient.  Warm idle is when it would need the least amount of air to maintain RPM because it is operating more efficiently.  If you just close the throttle blade completely the IAC will have to supply all the air to keep the engine running so it will open up.  You want to adjust the throttle blade so that the IAC is only open around 3-5%.  The means the throttle is supplying all the air to keep the engine running, not the IAC.  This allows the IAC more flexibility to supply more air for cold start and when coming back down to idle.  It's almost like setting the electric choke on a carburetor.

In reply to Patientzero :

That makes sense. I've learned that, when it comes to new things, I should double check when I think I get it. To do otherwise has, historically, lead to problems. I appreciate the explanation. 

This a No Content update, you have been warned. 

I ordered O2 sensors from 14point7, with their Spartan2 controller. Why now when I said they weren't in the budget? I moved some things around, figuring it's the same amount if money in the long run so, if I can, I may as well get the car running right sooner rather than later. Plus ramen is cheap. 

I have a small surprise coming in next week, the install should be quick and I've been asked to take good pictures, for once, so I should have some nice content next weekend. 

The goal this weekend, after clearing the driveway tomorrow for a new garage door install, is to get a functional go pedal in the Mustang. I'm not much of a fabricator and it's a real PITA spot to spend time working but it has to get done so I'll make it happen. (If I could drive the car, I'd pay a fabricator) To summarize, the car came with an electronic pedal that MS does not support and no cable pedal. I purchased a Lokar pedal and I have to make an adapter of some sort that will also give me the right spacing and alignment. When that's done I need to make a pedal stop, for obvious reasons, and run the throttle cable. My drivers side firewall is pretty crowded so very little of that is going to be any fun but it will be rewarding, or so I keep telling myself. 

After that I'm rebuilding and bleeding brakes and then, with new O2s, driving to let the AutoTune auto tune. Also, mounting the Gold box somewhere solid and pumping RTV into the holes I've drilled in my floorboard.

I'm hoping to have progress worth showing off this weekend, for my loyal viewers. 

And on the 7th day there was content and the people rejoiced... Or something like that.

Today was yard work; I've been working a lot on getting my backyard sorted out after several years of (pre-me) neglect. Today was good as I used my finally running right, free when I rescued it from the curb, lawn mower with new carb and sharper blade to mulch up all the dried vines I yanked off the fence and tree. They've been in a pile for longer than I want to talk about because I didn't have a good way to get rid of them. Problem solved. Plus the regular stuff on the front and some trimmer-edging but that's not what you're here for now, is it?

Yesterday was Mustang day. I had less fabrication work to do than I was afraid of, practically none in fact, thanks to some previously rendered assistance the last time I had an official Mustang day to try and make a track day that was canceled. Obviously, I would not have made it considering that the car is still not drivable. Very, very close though. I had to do some filing, and went a little overboard, but my pedal is mounted and I think it's pretty solid. The mount is the same one that held on the last pedal and that held up to a few track days just fine. Long term, I intend to find an original Mustang pedal since I think that that will provide me the best results and a solid mount. I'm also open to ideas but I figure a junkyard pedal shouldn't be too bad on the wallet, especially compared to the aftermarket pedals I have seen.

Ignore the wire mess, it's usually tucked away better. And you can't see the worst of it. Cutting this back and simplifying my wiring (Round 2) is a future project, quite possibly for the winter or whenever I feel like taking the dash out again.

I do still need to add a pedal stop, snapping the cable would be embarassing. I'm open to ideas, all I'm picturing so far is bolting something to the floorboard. That something may or may not be a section of 2x4. lol But seriously, it may be.

I also put in the throttle cable bracket, it lines up perfectly despite not exactly being made with this intake in mind. It's solidly mounted and made of 2 very solid chunks of aluminum so it's not going anywhere. The only problem I have with it is that, since it wasn't made for this intake, it does conflict slightly with the MAP sensor. Before I'm done I think I might just take it off and remove some material (Yay! weight savings) to take the pressure off of the delicate plastic.

Ignore the wiring, I'm leaving the connections visible so as not to jinx myself by wrapping them up prematurely. Also ignore the seat belt bolt stuck in heater hose on the end of the vacuum tube, that's a temporary measure that doesn't leave the driveway.

I did connect the throttle cable to the pedal but I held off on hooking up the other end until I decide what sleeve to use. I have the nice Lokar one that came with the cable but I want to leave that uncut for the final install. I also have a cheaper AutoZone braided steel piece that I'm probably not going to use because it was paired with a shorter cable than the Lokar and isn't long enough to cover the full length. Short story shorter, I'm gonna use the Lokar sleeve but I was at a good stopping point and wanted to end the day on a positive. Once that is done I have to figure out how to get a rear view mirror to stick, tune the idle enough to not be embarassing, and bleed/rebuild the brakes. Smaller items include wiring the fan controls into the MS and, preferably, doing the same for the fuel pump. Wideband O2s should be in this week, those will be a nice treat and probably the last thing over $20 that I buy for the car for a couple months. I also have a surprise on the way, I'll def have pictures for that since it's gonna be so neat. There's a lot more to do on the car before I'll be content but that's the "Get It Track Ready Punch List" (GITRPL) because I really want to get back on track. Safely, mind you.

Lastly. I'm hoping to get most of the tidying up done after work this week so I can get some better pictures. On track picks would be best, don't you agree? I wonder if I could scheme up a way to get in the same shot as the VetteKart...

In reply to Error404 :

Have someone hold the pedal to the floor and Set the throttle cable with the throttle body held open. No pedal stop needed. 

Hot day in Central Florida. A good day to stare at relays and try to make sense of how they're wired. Or something like that. 

Fan control is wired up, the Derale fan wants both low and high powered simultaneously if I want to run only high speed. So pins 85 of the both relays are crimped to the MS "Fan" wire. This should result in my being able to set fan thresholds in TunerStudio to turn on the fan at high speed. Theoretically. I don't have a PWM controller, so that's now on the list.

I tried to hook up the fuel pump control wire the same way but that relay is a mess. It's wired backwards and daisy chained with "Ignition Relay" and "AC" relay. I opted not to make any changes there until I can be certain of the outcome. 

I have not yet made the final connections on the throttle cable, no real reason why. 

Before I mess with any tuning related stuff, even idle, I want to get the car in the air and get these puppies wired in. These are for you, Patientzero lol 

Edit: So, I'm back to where I was this morning. When I reconnected the battery my fuel pump and fans came on. With the key out. Long story short, and skipping the rant, I don't understand why he wired the relays bass ackwards but they're a hot (pun intended) mess of live wires and jumper wires. My information on relay wiring is coming straight from the MS manual, maybe GM computers call for opposite wiring? Another possibility is that MS fan control is intended for a PWM controller and I was at fault for hooking it up the way I did. I'm pretty frustrated and bummed right now.