Build thread

[$crillaTor]

How much again for the knobs? I dig the rotor one, bottom middle.

[speedjunkie]

This set is $90 each but none are available for sale. I think he'll do another batch at some point so I'll take orders when that time comes.

[speedjunkie]

I took to the car to my buddy's shop today. He pulled a vacuum on the system and said it's actually really strong, sealed up really well. So we started charging it. I only had two cans of oil charge so we put those in first, then topped off with a can of refrigerant. Slight problem though...the compressor clutch won't engage because it's not being told to. He put power to it and the clutch engaged and I started getting cold air, but it's not getting power normally. I'm not sure if that's because of the harness, or the high pressure cutout switch. We jumped the low pressure cut out switch so it's not that. It's always something...

I also got the shift knobs today. They look awesome.

[Shadowden]

So now you have a fully charged AC system with no way to get cold air out of it. Any chance its as simple as a connection to the dash controls?

[speedjunkie]

Yep, pretty much haha. The worst situation I can be in since I'm changing the oil pan this winter and pretty much need to pull the engine for that, which would be easier if the radiator and condenser weren't in the way. Not to mention if it's the high pressure switch causing the problem I'll lose refrigerant while I'm swapping it. I've thought about trying to make some quick disconnect lines to go into the condenser.

I doubt that, but it's possible. I just don't think it's likely because everything for the dash works. The fan blows air, the AC light is on...and the whole system works when power is applied to the compressor itself. I wondered if maybe the ECU isn't telling the compressor to kick on, but it's controlling everything else just fine.

[Shadowden]

I'm not an electrical guy at all, and never look at the wiring diagrams in my maintenance books, but I would be surprised if the ECU had any control of the AC system.

Hope it is something simple and you figure it out quickly. Though the cooler weather is reducing the need, at last a little bit.

[speedjunkie]

It actually does have something to do with it, because the Power FC required extra steps to enable AC operation, and the Life Racing ECUs don't have AC, power steering, etc until Syvecs adds those creature comforts back in. Now, how much control it has is questionable, probably not much.

I had thought about just waiting until next summer to charge the AC since I have to pull the engine to do the oil pan and since we're getting to the cooler months now, but I figured I'd at least see if it worked.

[speedjunkie]

I dug into the AC system a little today. I jumped the connector that goes to the high pressure switch since it's normally closed and nothing changed, which indicates it's not getting power. I get power to the AC fuse and Cigar fuse which are indicated with the red circles, but nothing to the high pressure switch circled in blue. I tested the relay and it tests good.


I emailed Chris and he asked if the green circled part was getting ground during AC operation, and not when it's turned off. Since the relay tested good I'll be verifying what Chris asked tomorrow. If it's not getting ground I would assume it's a bad wire, and if not I have no idea because it should be working haha.


I guess I'll dig into the gauges tomorrow too and see what the problem is. Ugh.

[speedjunkie]

Chris emailed me last night and said the ECU is set to give a ground to the AC relay at 900RPM and above, so I tried revving the car and it didn't work. I also set the ECU to give that ground at 0RPM to test it, and that didn't work either. While the car was running with the AC on I tested the terminals that go to the AC relay. The two coil terminals had power, as well as the normally open terminal. The com terminal had nothing. I'm not sure if that's what those terminals were supposed to have haha. Chris told me to check for ground at two terminals on the ECU end of the harness, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that without breaking through the insulation and possibly messing up the wires. Depending on where I get ground on those, the issue could be the blower motor speed switch, the AC switch, or the thermoswitch inside the heater box, or it could be the ECU. I really hope it's none of those LOL.

Now for the good news. The gauges are fixed and I'm thinking the water injection is too. The issue was a poor connection to the power wire to the stock gauges, specifically the way I spliced it. It wasn't getting connection in two places actually, because I tapped off the stock wire, and also off the wire I tapped. First I fixed the second tap and started putting the dash back together, then tested again and the gauges weren't working again. That's when I noticed the first tap wasn't good either, so I wired them into the terminal board that powers all the other extra things I've added, down by the clutch pedal. I'm excited to have those things fixed at least. Now onto the AC and starting issues.

[speedjunkie]

I pulled the steering column down today to troubleshoot the starting issue. I pulled the ignition switch off and tested it with a screwdriver and it worked fine, didn't click once. I looked at the lock cylinder to see if it was worn or something and it looked OK. Then I realized that the wiring I fixed yesterday may have been causing the clicking issue too. I can't explain why it would, but both issues were intermittent, and now I can't get it to click even once. It cranks right up every time. It doesn't crank slow either. If it's truly fixed, I'll be SOOOO happy.

While I was looking into the starting issue I decided to get under the car and see why I hear a clunking noise occasionally. It seems like it only happens after I've been driving a while and while sitting still, although I couldn't hear it while driving anyway so I'm really not sure about that. I thought maybe it was the diff or tranny making noise, if I'd forgotten to add oil, but they both have oil. While looking under the car I discovered that the nut that tightens down the rear sway bar on the driver's side was backed off so far it was about to fall off completely. I also noticed that the brake line on the same side is leaking at the caliper. I tried to tighten it down but it was already cranked down all the way. It looks like the line itself is bad, so I emailed SakeBombGarage about it, hopefully they send me a replacement.

I then started looking into the AC issue. I put a piece of safety wire through the back of the connectors into the wires that Chris told me to test, A2 and C29. He told me there should be ground on both of them. Both of them had strange readings though, and I just realized I forgot to turn the AC on so I'll have to test it again tomorrow haha. But if I get the same readings the problem will be behind the dash somewhere. Ugh.

[Shadowden]

Sounds like mostly good news. Have you dealt with sakebomb very much? They seem to have nice parts, but I've never dealt with them.

[speedjunkie]

Yeah it's definitely mostly good.

I've bought a few things from them. I'm friends with one of the guys that used to work there and as a whole they seem to be pretty flexible with stuff like this. They make/carry really quality stuff but their prices can be ridiculous sometimes. And I haven't always liked their attitude either, at times they've been very unprofessional.

Several years ago they were testing the waters on making an aluminum map pocket lid and Chip Ursu started making them and sold them for much cheaper. Someone at SBG started publicly defaming Chip, saying their parts would be much higher quality, his wouldn't fit right, etc, but never actually mentioned who they were talking about. But there was only one other place making them so it was obvious who they were talking about lol. People, including myself, started buying Chip's lids and dropped out of SBGs interest thread. They even threw in comments about this is why nice parts aren't made and sold for the FD, because RX-7 owners are cheap and will buy subpar parts. And Chip? He never said one bad word about them or customers, and that displayed much more professionalism as far as I was concerned. I just couldn't see why I should pay so much more money for something that does nothing other than sit over a pocket. SBG ended up not making the lids and Chip made a short run. I used that lid for several years until my friend Benny that owns BubbleTech made them out of much stronger plastic that looks exactly like stock.

Some SBG parts are priced as good as other places, usually things like the Ohlins coilovers I got or other similar parts that they just distribute. It's usually the stuff they make from scratch that have high prices, and it's the stuff that they have to have made, like the map pocket lids or the passenger door pull. The things like oil cooler kits or brake kits are still pricy but pretty on par with what you'll pay elsewhere. When I bought the Ohlins they had just had a sale and I missed it. I asked them if they would be having another sale and they said they had no plans of another sale for a while, so I went ahead and bought the last set they had. Not but a few months later they had another sale. Kinda pissed me off lol.

I bought their aluminium inside door pull for the passenger door only because it was on clearance. I bought the Endless brake pads and the brake lines and clutch line from them, I have their fire extinguisher mount for the passenger seat... I've been a good customer lol.

All that being said, I've never had a problem with getting my parts from them, worrying if I'm going to get ripped off, waiting excessively long for the parts, etc. They've been legit as far as that goes. They're not a fly-by-night operation by any means.

[Shadowden]

I looked at the oil cooler kit for the S2000, which is why I asked. Prices seemed high compared to other possibilities.
http://www.sakebombgarage.com/sbg-compe ... tem-s2000/

$645 for the off the shelf kit: simple brackets, rubber hoses and thermostatic plate (180 deg for track cars). Their price would be $700.00 for the way I would want it. Compare to the prices below.

Individual pricing from Racers PArts Wholesale (rounded)
Setrab core:210
4 AN fittings: 75
10' Braided -10 hose: 70
Thermostatic Oil Plate: 130
Bracket for mounting:25
Total $510

[RX-7 Chris]

Are you going to be making it to this month's First Saturday's Car Show?

[speedjunkie]

I looked at the oil cooler kit for the S2000, which seemed high in price compared to other possibilities.

Yeah you can definitely make a kit for cheaper, and probably find it cheaper elsewhere.

Are you going to be making it to this month's First Saturday's Car Show?

I plan to. There isn't anything right now that would hold me back. All the stuff I'm working on is just for fun lol.

SBG got back to me, they said they'd ship me a new line for $6 to pay for shipping.