Baja Bug Wiring (Complete Build Up)

rickosuave1987 · Post by **rickosuave1987** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:05 pm

I have a feeling that people are going to think your car is a low flying aircraft with those things

Are you putting one on each side? Or all 4 corners?

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:24 pm

That's funny... that is what I thought whenever I saw them on a car. They looked similar to an airplane's double blink markers... I am placing two of them, one on each side of the luggage rack.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 7:06 pm

The side strobe lights are 4 LEDs that have 18 flash patterns to choose from. I will be running the Dual (All) setting. These lights are self-contained units, they do not require any additional hardware. Also, they have a synch wire that allows them to "bink" together. I purchased them from below and they also have a short video of all the flash patterns.

I called Kartek and they had a similar unit for over $125.00 a piece in blue for the Rhino's racing SCORE. However, these lights were around $59.00 a piece and are weather resistant.

http://www.whackerusa.com/

page with video...

http://www.whackerusa.com/trafficcleaner.html

Post by **david58** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:48 am

Psychedelic.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:50 pm

Had a chance to get back to the wiring... Wired up the toggle switches, dash lights and starting on the off-road lights. Still need to wire the fuel sender in the tank to finish out the gauges. So far, everything has been going to plan.

Estimated Time Into Wiring: 100+ hours so far...

Also had a chance to let the engine get up to temperature. The fans automatically came on at 210 degrees and shut off at about 190-195 degrees. When testing the fan "over-ride" the temp went to 180-190 degrees in a very short period... This will definately give a piece of mind out in the desert.

rickosuave1987 · Post by **rickosuave1987** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:09 pm

DesertGuy wrote:Estimated Time Into Wiring: 100+ hours so far...

Wow. I wish I could say i had 100 hours to wire my car

Looks like things are coming together nicely and quickly.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:17 pm

Rick, Yeah either I am a really slow worker or it just takes a whole lotta time to wire up a car...

LET THERE BE LIGHT... Hopefully, I will be able to see the road

Was able to wrap up the lights and all of the toggle switches. Next phase will be the brake lights, turn signals, and hazards. After that is complete then all that will be left is the GPS, race radio, intercom and SAT radio.

With all of these things on, it sure lights up a room. I had the lights out in the garage for this pic and the one above. You can see the difference in between them.

Lights: 4 Hella 4000 Compacts on the front bumper, 2 Hella 4000 Pencil Beams in the center of the top rack, and 2 Hella 4000 Euro Beams on the sides of the top rack.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:24 pm

Went to hook-up the connection between the fuel sender and the gauge and.... no bueno! I am not getting any reading on the gauge. The gauge and the sender are both 0-90ohm rated so they should be compatible. I spoke with the tech department and they said the ground and sending wire can be hooked to either terminal... both ways, nothing. I have continuity in the loop when all is hooked up and connected.

Which leaves me with either the gauge or the sending unit. After speaking yet again, with the tech dept. they said the "magnet on the slide float can go bad"... making no reading. (I had the sending unit laying around for about 8-10 years)

They are sending out a new sending unit and floats.

When the new sending unit arrives, what test(s) can I perform on it to make sure that is not the problem? If doing a test with an Ohm meter, how is that done? Finally, could there be anything else I am overlooking?

Thanks for any insight for the ignorant...

takotruckin · Post by **takotruckin** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:45 pm

swing the sending unit, from full to empty, while you have an ohmmeter hooked to it. it should read 0 ohms empty, and 90 full, or all the way up.

does your gauge stay at empty when the sending unit is not hooked up? i think it should go full.

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:19 am

Any clue how much your OR lights are pulling -- or do you have dual alternators etc?

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:18 am

Timmy

With all the lights on, the draw is about 50amps. I have a 105 amp alternator. I will try this out first, if it proves problematic you can switch these lights over to HID with a simplekit.

Tako

Thanks I will give that a go... Is that right about the gauge should peg full when the sender is not hooked up? If that's so... it may be the gauge itself

This was taken without the sender being attached and you can see it registers less than Empty...

Post by **david58** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:50 am

DesertGuy wrote: Is that right about the gauge should peg full when the sender is not hooked up? If that's so... it may be the gauge itself

It should read empty when not hooked up.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:54 am

Thanks for the info David... I have been thinking about this and am wondering the following. In the enclosed instructions...

http://www.egauges.com/pdf/AutoMeter/665h.pdf

It has a ground wire from the gauge sender terminal to the sender terminal on the tanks sending unit. Shouldn't there also be a ground from that terminal to the chassis ground? Could it really be that simple? I am thinking the sending unit is isolated in the tank by a plastic ring... so could the circuit just not be completing itself...

I am away from the car or I would give this a try... thinking a good place to start is make a jumper from the tanks ground terminal to the chassis and see happens.

Post by **david58** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:33 am

DesertGuy wrote:Thanks for the info David... I have been thinking about this and am wondering the following. In the enclosed instructions...

http://www.egauges.com/pdf/AutoMeter/665h.pdf

It has a ground wire from the gauge sender terminal to the sender terminal on the tanks sending unit. Shouldn't there also be a ground from that terminal to the chassis ground? Could it really be that simple? I am thinking the sending unit is isolated in the tank by a plastic ring... so could the circuit just not be completing itself...

I am away from the car or I would give this a try... thinking a good place to start is make a jumper from the tanks ground terminal to the chassis and see happens.

This is worth reading.
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/fg_05.htm

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:15 pm

Yeah David that was the directions that came with the gauge. I "assumed" after reading the instructions, the unit was internally grounded by completing the circuit between the gauge and sending unit. After thinking about it, I wondered if that was right. No where in the instructions does it mention having a chassis ground. It only mentions a ground to the sending unit on the tank.

However, I wondered how can the circuit be complete without the chassis ground... if the gauge is not internally grounded. When I had a chance and got to the car I made a jumper between the ground terminal lug on the tanks sending unit and to the chassis.... and the gauge worked.

So... even though the instructions DO NOT show a chassis ground, it still needs one; without it the gauge will not work. Now I have an extra tank sending unit as a back-up....