Camera's 818C

[mcamera]

you have the boyd tank correct? You have to flip the float so it will read correctly. Also, I have a set of 06 WRX front seats that I probably will not be using.

I did flip the float and it read 90 ohms at empty before I installed it. I don't think I have the correct wires hooked up. Today I took it out and held the float up with no change on the gauge. I did get a low fuel light to pop on though! Thank you for the seat offer but I've already picked out a pair of racing seats 🙂

[AZPete]

I believe it's illegal to sell used seat belts, which is logical, so don't expect them in your pallet. I bought new ones at seatbelts.com

[mcamera]

I spent a long weekend in Utah which was beautiful, so I'm just getting back to wiring. I fixed my fuel gauge issue. The wires were backwards on the fuel level sensor and the gauge took a good 5 minutes to fall all the way to empty. Without the battery hooked up, my resistance readings were inconsistent at the sensor and confusing me. It would jump from 0 to 120 and more often than not it would get stuck around 50. I couldn't figure out if I had bad connections or grounds but it doesn't seem to be an issue after I connected the battery. I also eliminated the SRS (airbag) light on my dash by jumping a power wire to complete the circuit. I still can't figure out why the gauges won't light up but I feel like I'm close.

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I bought a Torque Solutions short shifter which seems to be a great buy. The shifter looks normal now and the stick is no longer facing away from the driver at a strange angle (due to flipping the shifter around 180 degrees for rear facing shifter cables). It reduces the height by 2.5".

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[mcamera]

I'm trying to get the lights for the gauges to work, including the backlight for the outside temp screen. You can see in my picture that only the odometer backlight works. Yesterday the outside temp backlight came on while I was eliminating the ABS light. So it has power, nothing is burned out, and it must be grounded. Thinking I just had a bad ground I checked it using my multimeter and it shows a closed loop from the connector pin to the chassis ground bolt. The outside temp backlight has come on 1 out of 10 times I've turned the key on and the display always reads the outside temp. Any ideas on what else to check?

IMG_0868.jpg Out Temp Backlight.jpg

[aquillen]

In the process of working on about 5 different combo meters, for my build and fixing for some other guys, I was amazed at how many of the bulbs were burned out. Make sure they are good lamps... Lookking at an 08 schematic however, (don't have 07 here) I'm guessing you have newer LED based backlight unit, computer controlled. Not easy to guess what would be wrong without in hands or previous experience others may have here.

[mcamera]

I found the problem area for the the gauge lights but I still can't figure it out. Am I going about this the wrong way or not activating the relay correctly?

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[mcamera]

I fixed the outside temp backlight... by smacking the gauges. No joke. It flickered to life along with a flashing cruise control light. Net zero gain lol.

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[RPGs818SNA]

For your gauge lights, you’re on the right trail and just need to go a little farther. On slide 3, you have power on both sides of the relay coil, so it isn’t activating. Now follow the BW wire labeled POWER in green to section 24 Clearance Light and Illumination Light System to find out why it isn’t grounded. That wire goes into the Lighting Switch and when turned on connects to the Black wire that should be grounded. Be sure it is. Hope that works for you. Good luck.

[FFRWRX]

This won't help you at all (sorry) but I am in the same position. I have my wiring pretty much done and all the external lights work, but I never checked the gauge lights until now. Someone else asked me if mine were working after deleting the body control module; I didn't know until I just checked now and they aren't working. So there is something simple (hopefully) going on that we are missing.

Oh, I found this:

"Backlighting goes through the integrated unit. A simple workaround is to wire up an on/off switch that grounds the Orange/White wire to turn the lights on full brightness. More complicated is to create a simple pulse width dimmer that's controlled by the dimmer knob. It should only be about ten bucks worth of electronics parts."

I tried grounding what I think is the correct wire from this description but it didn't do anything.

Rick

[RPGs818SNA]

You’re right, Rick. My suggestion only gets power to the lights through the relay. Their ground goes through the Body Integrated Module, so you need both. I’d suggest checking the hazard switch light which uses the same power and ground as the gauge lights. There should be power on White Red and ground on Orange White. If you have power, you can try grounding the Orange White wire and see if the Hazard Switch light comes on. If so, the gauge lights should come on too. If that works, I’ll suggest some parts for a work around for the missing Body Integrated Module.

[mcamera]

We're getting there! I don't have the lighting switch so I just grounded the wire to check that the gauges work. Which it looks like the coolant/fuel bulbs might be burnt out. Now to see if I can wire the gauges to the stalk with the headlights like it's supposed to be.

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[FFRWRX]

There should be power on White Red and ground on Orange White.

Sorry for the small high-jacking of your build thread. I don't have power on the white/red wire so I'll have to hunt down what I did there. I suppose I could just put power on that wire, but I'd rather go through the schematics and see where it should be coming from and what I eliminated that cut the power.

Rick

[Scott Meyer]

Michael,
Liam found a place to get all new LED indicator lights and replaced them all with a nice blue color, but I think there were other options for color.

Let me know if you want a link...

[mcamera]

Michael,
Liam found a place to get all new LED indicator lights and replaced them all with a nice blue color, but I think there were other options for color.

Let me know if you want a link...

Yes please Scott! Thanks.

[roadrashrob]

Me too Scott! :-)

[Jetfuel]

Yeah Scott ...share the goods...:-)

Jet

[Scott Meyer]

Here’s the link to the blue ones Liam got:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-T5-74-2...8AAOxyY9VRQYzq

[mcamera]

Things are coming to a crawl. The amount of work getting done for the amount of time in the garage is not good right now. I bled my brakes and clutch a couple days ago and had several leaks on the brake line. 3 out of 4 were from joints where I cut and double flared the end myself. I've spent several hours trying to reflare those connections with no luck. I don't think the cheap flaring tool from Autozone is very good. Those leaks also ruined my paint in a couple areas. Has anybody else had trouble with the cheap flaring tools? I'm about to spend $60 on a better Eastwood flaring tool.

Still can't figure out why my blinkers/head light switch don't work. Does the B71 connector (shown in pic) normally connect to the dash mounted dimmer in the WRX? Mine is currently not connected to anything so the blinker stalk does nothing. If I add a jumper from pin 1 to pin 2, the LH blinker works on the dash. If I add a jumper from pin 2 to pin 3 I get nothing. Is everybody manually wiring this in or am I missing a connector? Thanks for any help.

IMG_0874.jpg Turn Signal Switch.jpg

[RPGs818SNA]

B71, a semitransparent white connector, connects just under the turn signal stalk. That may help.

[mcamera]

B71, a semitransparent white connector, connects just under the turn signal stalk. That may help.

These are the only 5 connectors I have on my steering column. None of them match the headlight/blinker B71 connector.

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[FFRWRX]

It isn't on a lead, it is up under the column near the steering wheel.

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[mcamera]

I found it along with 2 other connectors that didn't have a home. Thank you guys so much. This is one of the downsides of buying a donor pallet, I didn't remove these connectors from the WRX so I didn't know they were hiding under the steering column cover!

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[Scott Meyer]

Get a better double flaring tool! But I also had leaks everywhere but just kept going back and retightening the joints/connectors. After vacuum bleeding last weekend we’ve not had any more leaks, thankfully.

[STiPWRD]

Get the Eastwood double flare tool and it will save you a ton of headaches.

[Hobby Racer]

Get the Eastwood double flare tool and it will save you a ton of headaches.

I agree, one of the best tools I've purchased.

[mcamera]

Thanks for everybody chiming in. I'll buy the Eastwood double flare tool this week.

I'm working on relocating the coolant bottle. It interferes with the frame at the stock location. I need to get some longer coolant hoses to push it out a few inches.
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As I get closer to my first start, I'm trying to close up the engine. I capped the brake booster port on the intake manifold and I need to close the air pump system. For now I'm just looping the 2 ports together to close the system. Once I get everything working I plan to delete more items.
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[sgarrett]

You don't need to move the coolant tank. Just make a couple of brackets and 'tip' it forward. This is what they did on the FFR one in their showroom too.

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[Scott Meyer]

Craig also sells a machined bracket that does this relocation:

http://zerodecibelmotorsports.com/pr...elocation-kit/

[mcamera]

sgarrett
You don't need to move the coolant tank. Just make a couple of brackets and 'tip' it forward. This is what they did on the FFR one in their showroom too.

Attachment 143873

I'll take another look but I didn't see an easy way to make this happen. I have a large bundle of wires underneath the bottle that keep me from lowering it in the stock location. My plastic bottle might mount a little differently too.

Scott Meyer
Craig also sells a machined bracket that does this relocation:

http://zerodecibelmotorsports.com/pr...elocation-kit/

I ordered this (along with other parts) at the end of December but last week Craig said he still didn't have them. He shipped out the other items last week.

[idf]

You don't need to move the coolant tank. Just make a couple of brackets and 'tip' it forward. This is what they did on the FFR one in their showroom too.

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I used some aluminum angles to move it out.cooland tank.jpg

[Kurk818]

I used some aluminum angles to move it out.cooland tank.jpg

Make sure to support the tank from the side/bottom as mine ended up breaking off when only supported from those two points as shown in your photos.

[mcamera]

Kurk I'm glad you said something. I've been wondering about that. I designed plastic degas bottles for Ford/GM/FCA for several years and one of the hardest tests to pass was the shaker table. The bottle would be bolted to a table at all of its factory mounts, filled up, and shaken at a certain frequency for hundreds of hours. The mounts often broke on early designs and would need to be made thicker or have ribs added for extra strength. I was surprised when I saw everybody mounting their 818 bottles to 2 out of 3 mounts and leaving it to hang there. I felt like it was a problem waiting to happen but I haven't seen anybody mention any failures. I'll make sure to add support for the bottom mount. I'm using flanged bolts and washers to distribute stress also.

[sgarrett]

I DEFINITELY did not use only two mounts. By tipping it forward I still used the bottom mount in exactly the same location. I agree that only two mounts could be a problem.

[idf]

Kurk I'm glad you said something. I've been wondering about that. I designed plastic degas bottles for Ford/GM/FCA for several years and one of the hardest tests to pass was the shaker table. The bottle would be bolted to a table at all of its factory mounts, filled up, and shaken at a certain frequency for hundreds of hours. The mounts often broke on early designs and would need to be made thicker or have ribs added for extra strength. I was surprised when I saw everybody mounting their 818 bottles to 2 out of 3 mounts and leaving it to hang there. I felt like it was a problem waiting to happen but I haven't seen anybody mention any failures. I'll make sure to add support for the bottom mount. I'm using flanged bolts and washers to distribute stress also.

Mine has been on the road for 5 years with no issues.

[mcamera]

I ordered new tires to fix the fitment issue on my front wheels. Except the Monro Muffler that Tire Rack recommended I send my tires to, couldn't install 35 series tires on their machine and failed to contact me within the last week. I found out when I got there this morning. I had to take 2 trips to move everything to a Belle Tire. And then 2 trips to get everything back to my condo since I'm returning the other tires. I emailed Tire Rack about their recommended installer and they gave me a $25 refund for my hassle and their customer support gave me a $50 voucher / updated that Monro's profile to reflect the tire size issue for future customers. Great customer service as always.

The fronts are much improved. The rim doesn't stick out nearly as much with the wider 215's.

Old 205's
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New 215's
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[mcamera]

I've been out of town for the last week so not much has happened on the car. Before I left, I spent a night cleaning up the garage. I disassembled the large plywood paint booth I had behind the car so I have more space for when I add the radiator/nose piece and the car gets longer. I also got my 1st set of tires returned to TireRack, made a smaller paint booth, and painted the front nose supports so they could cure while I was gone.

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Last night I tried some new blue gauge lights which didn't quite hit the mark for me. Worth a shot for $6, but I've already ordered another set. I'm trying another brand in white for higher contrast.

Pitch black. This is the brightest the gauges will ever be. They still look dim and the numbers are not as clear as the OEM bulbs. Poor contrast.
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Dark with a light on in the back of the garage. Closer to real world driving with other cars' lights / street lights around you. I don't like how the the red gauge markings don't show up with the blue lights (redline on the tach, empty fuel gauge mark, high coolant temp mark). The lighting is also uneven. You can see how the FULL mark on the fuel gauge is brighter than EMPTY because the bulb is closer. Same with COLD being brighter than HOT on the temp gauge.
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Stock lights. Clear and even lighting. High contrast is easy to read.
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[aquillen]

The red rays of light have to exist from the light source or you won't get much red just because the plastic is red, etc., etc. Hence must either use white lamps mostly or carefully placed lamps of correct color behind the colored "parts"...

[Jetfuel]

Remove the non existing lights when normal (batt,check engine,oil and brake ) and see how it looks
Also give your eyes about 3-4 minutes to adjust to darkness before calling it too dim.
Jet

[mcamera]

I like the new white LED's much better. They have 3 LED's per bulb (1 on top, 1 on front, 1 on back) to put out more light in all directions. The blue LED's had 1 LED on the end like a flashlight which made 1 spot bright but did a poor job filling the surrounding area with light. You can see it best on the fuel/coolant gauges where 1 end is much brighter than the other. The white LED's make the needles and redline stand out again which I want aesthetically. Although it's now more of a pink-line haha. I actually prefer the brightness at half power with these. The 2nd pic I turned down the exposure on my camera so there's less glare. In real life I don't have any glare, everything is clear and sharp.

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stock, cheap blue LED, higher quality white LED

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$11 on Amazon. I might try their ice blue lights for fun. I'm hoping those are white enough to retain the red gauge features but add a blue backlight.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

[mcamera]

I got my Eastwood brake flaring tool (https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-on...16-tubing.html) and fixed my 3 bad leaks. This tool is well worth the money and would have saved me hours + some paint that got eaten away in my front bay. Brakes are bled and leak free. My clutch pedal wouldn't push in all the way and wasn't moving the slave cylinder, so I had a friend pump the pedal for me instead of vacuum bleeding the system. The clutch pedal now moves well and the slave fully extends .

I added the front nose/radiator and finished the cooling system. Just need to cap the vent and overflow nipples on the radiator before I fill it. I did the VCP mod on the engine coolant pipe so that's where my venting will happen. I haven't found any good caps for the coolant nipples so I'm just going to clamp a bolt into a short rubber hose as a plug. I feel like I'm getting close to my first start!

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