Wasted spark

Ignition in my car will be of wasted spark system. This means that both cylinders compressing and exhausting get a spark. In the cylinder compressing, the spark will detonate the mixture - in the cylinder exhausting, the spark has no effect (wasted!). Cylinders 1&4 and cylinders 2&3 are grouped and have separate coils. The picture shows the double coil and HT-leads with the according labels. Principle circuit diagram explains how ignition is triggered according to crank position. If you want to know more, this compendium is quite complete.

The coil has quite some weight and has to be secured with a bespoke bracket. I chose one of the front chassis rails as I want to route the HT(high tension)-cables from underneath the intake manifold.

Cheers.

Sensors

A whole afternoon spent to locate all the sensors and connect some of them. Here we go:

Water t° sensors for Emerald (ECU) and Stack (dashboard), air t° sensor for ECU.

Oil t° and oil pressure sensors (old and new) for the Stack dials.

Crank position sensor and throttle position sensor (TPS), both for the ECU.

 

To avoid some of the cables coliding with the belt and drive pulley, I routed them through a small protective piece of aluminium tube. At the same time, this allows to have all the cabling on the same side of the engine.

Cheers.

Lucas ACR Alternator

A good connection of the alternator is essential. Contacts and terminals should be ok, cable cross-section big enough. The Lucas ACR alternator has a black 3pin cap. Mine has lost it's cover since long, the brown cable got stiff over the years and I wanted to improve the whole charging circuit. The diagram shows the original cabling with two 2.5sq/mm to connect to the battery and starter. I opted for a 6.0sq/mm section which gives a little more cross-section and only one cable to install. I soldered it to the brown cables very near to the connector.

The case is ground and connects the negative to the battery and starter via the chassis. The positive spades are 9.5mm (ref. T407) for the charge current and 6.3mm (ref. T406) for the warning light on the dashboard. Click the terminals' pic to get to a complete guide of all the automotive terminals and connectors.

Cheers.

Sensor harness

After identifying what goes where, I split the ignition/injection-harness into two parts: one going to the engine bay connecting to all the different sensors and one going to the fuse-box.

Silly enough, some of the mods already have to be modified. Velcro straps are not allowed to hold a battery. The bracket has to hold back the battery during a crash, so this is one for a Varley red top battery of the same size. Brake fluid reservoirs have to be transparent, alternatively there must be a level indicator. I have to find a way to adapt the cap on the right reservoir to the kind of cover shown on the left one.

Winter can come now with this little fella at my side (3300W).

Cheers.

Connections

The goal is to hide electrics as much as possible. Front and rear looms are in, the ignition/injection loom has to be done. Some devices are already connected and can be checked (horn, fan), others have to wait (pump, lights). Small additional looms will connect the lights and flashers.

This opening will be hidden by the fuse/relay-box and connect to the different looms. The Emerald-loom stays separate.

Cheers.

Today, around noon ...

Impressive! Thanks a lot. A little bit more than a year has passed since start. The car is not finished yet, but should be for spring 2013 (fingers crossed).
Cheers.

What goes where?

Some more cabling done today, labels are important to know what goes where. Nice short battery ground to an upper chassis rail, especially where high currents flow, it's important to keep cables big and short.
Cheers.

Battery strap

Don't want to loose it, so here's my plan ... only following the minimalist road with this simple velcro strap.
Cheers.

Battery tray

A small battery only needs a minimalist tray. This one is made out of 25/25 aluminium profile, four corners bent and riveted to the panel. The inside is covered with fleece to prevent the battery from scuffing.

The battery then will be fixed with a velcro ribbon.

Cheers.