Heads Up

[Bilulan]

I rec'vd mine tonight. Looks pretty awesome and the tinted square is less obstructive than I imagined.

I've spent the last hour researching the speed and tach sensor wires for anyone that plans on DIY. I think I've found them in a convenient spot under the dash. (would require minimal dash pieces to be removed.)

I started a new thread in the DIY just to get some confirmation from other users that might be more 'in the know' on the electrical system.

here's the link...

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33480

Bill

 

[Zanardi 0]

Bill, where is the pics?

 

[Bilulan]

Bill, where is the pics?

I haven't actually installed it yet. I just took it out of the box and read through the install/owners manual. Then I went on my internet hunt for the proper wiring.

Taking a look at the tinted square (just in the packaging) it doesn't appear as dark as it looks in the pictures that were previously posted. That was my biggest concern before I bought.

 

[donwon]

I haven't actually installed it yet. I just took it out of the box and read through the install/owners manual. Then I went on my internet hunt for the proper wiring.

Taking a look at the tinted square (just in the packaging) it doesn't appear as dark as it looks in the pictures that were previously posted. That was my biggest concern before I bought.

Its really not bad at all. I dont even notice it. You can tell its there when looking at your car from the outside, but otherwise, just a tiny bit darker than the rest of the winshield.

 

[donwon]

Pic of the dimmer.

here

 

[awsomr1]

Wiring

Hi All,

Does any one has the wiring schematic for the 04 model NSX, I need it to install this unit.

Thanks

 

[Bilulan]

I haven't started to construct the mounting piece yet, but I did mess with the wiring. I found the green tach wire with no problem. I had problems finding A21 - a yellow/red in the plug going into the guage cluster, so I decided to tap in from the cruise control. I thought I found a good yellow/red speed sensor wire on the cruise control plug, but I don't seem to be getting any MPH.

The screen just shows the RPM's both by a bar and by a numerical read out as they go up and down.

Hey Don, what is your speed pulse setting? SP 5 i think in the setup on the DEFI unit.

(options are 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, and FAEE for pulses out of the range)
It states this setting must be performed going over 40 mph.

Any suggestions?

 

[donwon]

I dont know the speed pulse setting off the top my head, but ill check for you when I get home. The "FAEE" setting is a free setting. It will automatically determine your speed pulse, but like you said, you have to be going over 40MPH in FREE mode for it to determine your pulse. (probably a good idea to have passenger set it, if you do it this way) Also, I think the default setting is with the special display on which means that when no speed is read, it will show tach in bar and number. It switches to speed and tach when it senses a speed reading.

Have you tried with cruise control on to see if you get a speed reading? I guess once you set the pulse, and still no speed reading, most likely the wiring is culprit.

 

[Bilulan]

I'm just heading out to work. I was thinking the same thing. I didnt try the cruise control 'On' to see if I get a reading.

If it doesn't work then Im going to verify the connections.

Incidentally, the wiring plugs in my 98 are not set up in the same orientation as the shop manuals. It has thrown in some major confusion. I will document the location of the 'Green' Tach wire for anyone with newer cars.

My search could not find any specific post stating there was a difference in wiring. Some people had asked but never had responses of validation.

 

[jadkar]

This is a repost....but I don't think the other thread is getting many hits because of the title

Ok....I started fabricating my enclosure and I should be done with it tomorrow, I just have to buy some leather or vinyl and spray adhesive.

I shaped it down from a big block of styrofoam I think it looks pretty good. Once I'm done covering it with material if I don't like it I'll try something else. Check out the pictures below.

I have a question for you guys. Where are you going to mount the control unit?? I wanted to keep it somewhere that would allow me access to the buttons, however I don't want it visble. The NSX is real tight and I haven't loacated any place to stuff it. At first I was hoping for the ashtray (would be awesome) but it doesn't fit. Any ideas?

One other HUGE concern. I really really don't want to put a hole in my dash. How are you guys getting the wires into the cluster area??

 

[Shutokor]

very nice

 

[Bilulan]

That's pretty much the idea I was thinking of doing too. (I hadn't thought about foam though.) That's an awesome idea. It looks good.

I've got my tach working, but still no speed. I got some foam from work today and I'm going to make something similar.

I have been driving around with my display wire draped around and up on top of the dash (not through it yet) I have noticed that if it is mounted closer to a straight on shot, it seems like there is no 'DOUBLING' effect. Don's mount is kinda angled into the curved part of the glass so I see the doubling problem there too. I'm trying to get used to it to see if I prefer it more centered or off to the side.

ANYONE know what color the SPEED SENSOR WIRE is on a 97+ in the A plug? (there are like 27 wires in that plug.)

 

[Bilulan]

I finished my install today. I really wanted to take some digital pics of the opened up guage area, but I left my digital camera at the office. Here are some key things that I did as part of the install.....

First I found a fuse linked w/ ignition on power only and I wired both power wires to it. (The unit memorizes the hard settings so there is no need to keep all time power going to it)

In the OBDII cars, the wiring is a little different than the 91 shop manual. If you remove the two large plugs that go into the bottom of the guage cluster, you find the tach and speed wires. The tach wire is on the left side plug (closest to the dash light dimmer switch) It is green. Splice into that wire. The plug closet to the ignition key has the speed sensor wire. It is solid ORANGE (whatta pain to find this out. Much thanks to user dnicholson and his newer model shop manual pdf's )

After much debate I mounted mine in the same area/angle as donwon's. It ultimately looked the brightest there.

I tested it out and decided to not use the auto dimmer. I manually set it on the brightest setting.

I DID NOT use the tinted reflection rectangle and I could see it fine (no noticable doubling.) After fiddling with it I found 2 things that helped eliminate the doubling. 1) Put it on the brightest setting and 2) aim the unit at the window not at its brightest angle. The doubling is probably still there, but just not real visible. During Maximum sunlight, it is not as bright on the window as you see in the pictures with the tinted rectangle, however I have no problems seeing it. (the tinted rectangle isnt any big deal but it would bother me.)

Donwon confirmed that the pulse setting is 4. After I had the right speed sensor wire, it was easy to figure that one out. On the wrong settings, the speed still reads in mph but is off by like 10 to 30 mph.

As far as passing the wires through the dash, I decided to go through the area between the dash and the top part of the guage cluster (steering wheel hump.) I could not find any factory opening to push the wires through. If you look from the inside of the guage cluster area, you can see the leather pulled around tightly and stapled on the underside of this area. I knew that If I went straight down into that seam that I would not separate the leather. I took a SUPER SHARP pointed cutlery knife and pushed it down into the area where the dash and steering wheel hump leather meet. I pushed down into it along that joint making a slit 1 to 1.25 inches long. I then took a clean screw driver and opened up the slit area. It was still very tight. It was tough to push that plug through. be carefuly not to damage the plug.

Ultimately, the unit could be removed and you would never realize the dash was separated in that area.

I made a small holder out of packing foam (it was flexible) I went to the local fabric shop and purchased black vinyl (approx $4 for 1/2 yard) I have tons left. I wrapped a thin piece around the outer parts of the holder and sowed it on the bottom and around the inside edges. Came out nice. Looks similar to an extension of the dash. I could probably make it even better, but the wife's blood pressure was almost boiling at this point.....I adhered it to the dash and the inside of my custom holder with the supplied mounting tape.

Pictures are worth all these words and more. I will post some pictures tomorrow night.....

 

[Bilulan]

One other thing regarding the customer holders and mounting locations. I found that the side of projection unit with the 2 lights (the top of the read outs) needs to be mounted lower than the other side.

If you haven't powered your unit up yet Jadkar, I would test it.

I thought about mounting it in the same area as your pictures have it, but I found that the unit needed to be mounted so much lower on the 2 light side...thus, the other side was sticking up and not very flush. My holder may not have been elevated in the same fashion as your though.

The spot on the dash where donwon has his is already on somewhat of a downward slop and thus allowed me to get a flusher mount and maintain brightness.

just an fyi...

 

[jadkar]

Wow!! What a great post. To tell you the truth I really really need to see your photos. I covered my enclosure with vinyl and it came out OK, but I wasn't satisfied. I then made a new one and tried to mold fiberglass to it. That didn't work either because I couldn't get the fiberglass to stick to the foam long enough to cure. I finally made another foam enclosure and covered that one with Bondo. I let it dry over night and started to grind and sand it down. This is the best so far, but I can already tell I'm not going to be happy.

I have to admit I was rushing, I had a full weekend, NSX event on Saturday and SEMA auto show on Sunday. Plus, I have a track event that I'm leaving for tomorrow. I won't be back until Friday, and I was trying to get everything installed by this past Saturday (obviously didn't happen) Real disappointment because having the heads up on the track would have been insane!!

Anyway, I decided today to stop the installation until I get back and have more time to devote. I think the way you did it was correct. First power the unit up see how it looks on the window, pick a location and work from there. I was trying to build the enclosure and then wire it. I may have had the whole thing made and then find out it didn't look right. So I'll just call it quits for now.

Please post your pictures though, I can't wait to see them. Thanks again for your post, it was very informative.

-John

 

[pixelhaus]

mph

anyone figure out how to switch from kph to mph?
i scanned the manual and didn't see anything.

thanks

 

[Bilulan]

hold down the 3rd button over from the left until it enters set up mode (setup/dim) button. The very first setting is for mph/kph.
You can toggle this setting by pressing the dim/setup button one time then using either of the 2 buttons to the left to toggle up or down between mph / kph.

Once you have the setting toggled in mph, press the dim/setup button again to back out to the other menu of options.

To save the setting changes, simply hold down the dim/setup button for a few seconds until it goes back to showing you the rpm bar and speed in mph.

The last 36 hours has been busy for me. I'm off tomorrow morning. Pics to follow, I promise.

 

[Bilulan]

couple of my install pics

Here are some pics. I pushed up the side of my custom holder on one pic (red arrow) just a little bit in the corner. You may be able to make out the wire. This is where I passed it through the dash. When I took my pictures real close up on the glass and not at the angle for which I view the read outs, I noticed a little bit of doubling. This is why I backed out and took the pictures from where my head is routinely positioned during driving. I couldn't get a good shot from the outside through the winshield. Too much glare off the window showing either the trees or myself/the camera. I will try to find a time when the sun isn't out so much.

 

[Bilulan]

closer shot.... The doubling that is captured in the shot is very dim, in person, and not noticed from the farther back driving position because normal daylight fades it out completely.

If you notice, my angle is a little bit forward (not at the brightest) making the stationary 'x1000 rpm' indicator somewhat unreadable. If you angle the unit back farther so that this x1000 is viewable, I found it becomes brighter and the doubling is pronounced at night.

Sorry about the focus. My camera seems to auto focus on that wall.

 

[donwon]

Nice Job, Im glad you got it all worked out I gotta say the unit is very impressive in terms of quality, function, and display. It simply looks great!

 

[Bilulan]

Its funny, I usually hit the rev limiter atleast 3 or 4 times a week, but since I put this in, I have yet to take it there and trigger the shift alert light.

Maybe today...

 

[pixelhaus]

got mine in

had mine installed yesterday. thanks for helping on the kph to mph switch.

now i have to fix the speed issue. it's about 50mph off.

i had a local stereo shop do the install. it's a bit more to the left corner than the other posts. looks a bit messy just sitting out without any casing. might have to manufacture something. they also ran the wire over the top of the backside of the dash. i'll post pics later.


as far as the speedo being off, do you think they spliced incorrectly into the speed sensor?

 

[donwon]

Could be your speed pulse setting or #cylinder setting is off or not programmed. This would be likely if:

the speed gets a reading that is consistent with your actual speed only off my the amount you stated.

 

[Bilulan]

I played with my speed pulse after I had the right speed wire. If its set over 4, it made the speed slower than I was actually going. Maybe your's is set on 2. It might be automatically on 2 out of the box.

To check/change....Hold down dim/setup for a few seconds. then toggle with the arrows to SP-S setting (one away from the MPH/KPH setting) Then hit the setup/dim button one time. Toggle with the arrows until it says SP-4. Hit the setup/dim button again to exit this setting. Hold down the setup/dim button for a few seconds to exit out of setup mode entirely. Whaaaa La! Its now adjusted to SP-4. I have after market 17/18 wheels with 40/35 series tires. My digital readout is 3 to 4 mph faster than my guage needle shows. Not sure if it matters.

 

[pixelhaus]

thanks for the responses.

i checked the cylinders and that was set correctly. i also verified the pulse setting and it seemed like it was on 4. anyway, i made sure everything was set properly and will test again today.

i'll post results.