boost gauge

[RevLimitLaunch]

anyone with a mechanical boost gauge. what vac hose did you tap into?? im looking to do this asap. i could do it from a vac line off the intake mani that goes to the bov but i'd like to see if anyone else found a better place yet. thanks for any help in advance. greatly appreciated.

[Rican219]

Also Curious

[buit9110]

i tapped the vac line comming from the stock bov.

[RevLimitLaunch]

thats what i was going to do, but i figured there would be a better way. i don't like to tap into the bov line this way it has its own direct vac source. when i had my 93 talon, a thread on a dsm forum discussed how that tapping into the bov vac line can lag your bov from opening, which obviously isn't good.

[RevLimitLaunch]

bump

[RevLimitLaunch]

bump, where did you route your boost gauge line thru on the firewall?

[vert]

bump, where did you route your boost gauge line thru on the firewall?
I just ran a long thin screwdriver through the rubber grommet on the firewall to put a small hole in it. I then ran a 2" long plastic sleeve 1/4" wide through the grommet. Once that was done, I fed the line through it.

[RevLimitLaunch]

not a bad idea. what line did you tap into? bov?

[vert]

not a bad idea. what line did you tap into? bov?
Yes I did, but tap into the line as close to the motor you can get.

[RevLimitLaunch]

yeah i know that. now i just gotta wait for the prosport (first)

where did you tap your wires into?

[vert]

yeah i know that. now i just gotta wait for the prosport (first)

where did you tap your wires into?
I tapped into both of the cig. 15amps fuses.

[mrmister]

Do you happen to have a picture of where you hooked into for electric.

Thanks.

[clos56l]

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik

[vert]

Do you happen to have a picture of where you hooked into for electric.

Thanks.
sure I will take one at halftime

[vert]

Do you happen to have a picture of where you hooked into for electric.

Thanks.
I used two fuse splitters in the cig locations.

[vert]

I am using the VEI gauge so I do not use the dim feature. I ran the power 12v wire to one and ran the wire for lights to the other cig fuse.

[mrmister]

Where'd you buy those fuse splitters from?

[Kansei]

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik

(ughdance)

[vert]

Where'd you buy those fuse splitters from?
I picked them up from autozone, around 5 bucks each.

[mrmister]

Does the lighter stay on during the time when you start the car?

[desperado-c]

Does the lighter stay on during the time when you start the car?

No, but word from the other forum is that the seat heater does. I'm trying to find a line for my Defi BR that doesn't switch off when you start the car, but I've got a Sport. It's not a big deal, but it seems silly to watch the gauge go through it's little routine twice every time. Another reason I should have sprung for the GT!

[Kansei]

^^ yeah I have that same issue with my car.. I have them wired to switch on with ACC, but am looking for another line that won't have the problem of shutting off when the engine cranks. Maybe instead of using ACC I should be using something on the ignition wired to "ON"? things like the fuel pump and such turn on with "on" so I wouldn't think they would shut off when cranking.

[mrmister]

So, would it be better to wire one to the lighter and wire the other one to the seat heater? Would that solve the problem of it turning on twice when the engine cranks?

Also, where did you connect the ground if there is one? I'm guessing there is.

[mrmister]

Anyone?

[RevLimitLaunch]

i have a prosport boost gauge. it has a (red) power wire, (black) negative, and (orange) wire for the amber/red bulb background color display. i figure i can run the red and orange wire to the same source (if wrong correct me) and it has to be a source thats always on with the key in on position (i usually hook up to my lights on other cars but this gauge is tinted, if you didnt already know, so you cant really see without lighting). what can i tap my wires into?? and pics would prob help out a heck of a lot. thanks for any help in advance.

[Kansei]

^^ on the prosport gauges, if you want it to match your red interior lights, don't hook up the orange wire.. that'll make it orange. It's red if you don't hook up the orange or white wires. But yes, you could run the red and orange to the same source if you wanted it to be orange.

[RevLimitLaunch]

oh really? well ill be damned. haha thanks. so all ill have to do then is just hook up red and black. awesome. so what could i run it to so thats its always on when the key's in the 'on' position?

[Kansei]

yeah just red, black, and.. I think green, whichever is the one that goes to the boost sensor (if you got the electric model)

where to tap it off of? hmm well mine is off my radio harness (in my protege), so it comes on in the ACC position, not just the ON position.. eventually I'll fix that.. it's annoying because they shut off when the engine cranks

[mrmister]

The electric model also needs a power and a ground for the sensor. Where did you connect the power to for this? Did you route it inside the cabin, or connect it somewhere in the engine bay?

[RevLimitLaunch]

is there any wire convenient i can tap into? i.e. like right under the dash or something, i'd rather not have to take my center console and dash apart. and any other places people tapped into for it post up, i like options lol.

its only mechanical, not electrical.

[mrmister]

Is there any way to check if the gauge is actually working because I tried to plug it in every way I could think of and it still doesn't seem to work. I wanted to try and figure out if it's faulty or not.

[Kansei]

where in NY are you? :P I could plug it into my known working prosport harness and see if it works.. NY is so very vague though hehe

[mrmister]

Rochester, remember, I think we talked about this. I go to RIT. If there is any chance you could try that for me, that would be great. Thanks a lot for the offer.

[Kansei]

oh ok.. so your MS6 is probably the one I've seen on campus. Yeah I remember talking to someone from RIT on here just wasn't sure if it was you.

Is your gauge the electric or mechanical one? mine is the electric, so if your's is too then yeah I can just plug it into my harness and see if it works.

[mrmister]

Yeah, I got the electric gauge. It may just be a stupid mistake I made, but I can't seem to get it to work. If the gauge is faulty and if I can figure that out, it would make life so much easier.

[Kansei]

cool. I can meet up whenever.. well I might be going to Toronto with my roommates tomorrow but if not, yeah..

I'm just hangin out at my house right now. I actually just got my boost gauge hooked back up tonight, I've been without it for a week.

[mrmister]

I am actually back home until tomorrow. But, if we can do it sometime next week that would be great.

[Kansei]

cool yeah that works.

[mrmister]

Just PMed you.

[RevLimitLaunch]

bump...so im gonna wire my gauge straight to the dash gauge cluster...and clue where ill be tapping, lol pictures would be awesome too if you can provide them, im lookin to get the gauge in today in the afternoon. so any help asap would be great. thanks!

[Kansei]

give me your MS6 and I can find a place :P

mrmister can probably tell you where he did the wiring from, but his gauge isn't working so maybe that's not such a good idea :P

I'll let you know after we determine if his gauge is faulty or if it's the wiring.

[RevLimitLaunch]

sounds good. thanks, and try to get pics, im more of a see it and do it, hate reading directions lol.
(rtfm) (gun)

[mrmister]

I used the fuse splitters for the wiring, but I might actually just tap into a wire going to the dash to make it more permanent and out of the way. I'll let you know once I figure it out.

[RevLimitLaunch]

yeah please do, i wanna do it asap lol. this should influence you to do it right now (boobs2)

[mrmister]

Just got the gauge installed with much thanks to Kansei. He was a big help. I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow for you.

I will tell you though that I used one fuse splitter and wired the red from the sensor, and the red and orange from the gauge to it. The fuse splitter was in the position for the seat heaters. Then I wired the ground from both the sensor and the gauge to a ground above the fuse box on the left hand side. The color match is almost perfect.

Thanks again Chris.

[freekwonder]

kickass glad you got it hooked up. sorry I was never able to find out where I wired mine. can't get my car in the garage right now and its below 20 degrees and had lots of snow on the ground

[mrmister]

What kind of vacuum and boost levels are you getting during normal driving? What are you getting at a stand still, and also under normal driving conditions, without flooring it?

[freekwonder]

I'll have to watch it good on my way home. but at a stand still I'm about 21-22 vacuum, and at full boost I'm around 15.5 psi. As for normal driving with out flooring it. I try to be easy on the gas so I'm usually only going up to 5-8 psi.

[RevLimitLaunch]

where is the ecu located in this car??? and what pin/wire is the power wire for the ecu? im prob just gonna tap right into that unless someone can get something up on tapping into the gauge cluster.

[mrmister]

I just checked it again this morning, and it seems like it almost never goes into boost and just stays in vacuum the majority of the time. During normal driving it stays at around zero and goes even lower when I'm at a steady speed. If I give it a little extra gas I can get it up to about 5 PSI. If I floor it, it hits about 15 PSI. Does this seem right?

[Kansei]

Yeah that seems right. Boost is directly proportional to engine load, so you gotta go full throttle to get full boost.

If you're barely ever boosting it you must be getting great gas mileage.. I don't wanna know how my gas mileage is now that I turboed.. I just can't stay out of boost, it's so fun haha

[freekwonder]

ya that seems normal. if I take it real easy I don't get in boost at all. Like Kansei said the boost is proportional to engine load.

[mrmister]

I just made a quick draw up of the wiring for the electric gauge to help anyone out who needs it. It's pretty simple. The fuse splitter is in the position of the seat heater fuse and runs to the red from the sensor, and the red and the orange from the gauge. The black goes to the ground which is pretty easily visible with a flashlight just above the fuse box and forwards a little bit. The grey wire in the picture is the white wire from the sensor which connects to the gauges green wire.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/mrmister/boost%20gauge%20wiring.JPG

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[protegeric]

SEAT HEATER?! u guys got seat heaters? i didnt know that... damn, make me feel bad...


I just made a quick draw up of the wiring for the electric gauge to help anyone out who needs it. It's pretty simple. The fuse splitter is in the position of the seat heater fuse and runs to the red from the sensor, and the red and the orange from the gauge. The black goes to the ground which is pretty easily visible with a flashlight just above the fuse box and forwards a little bit. The grey wire in the picture is the white wire from the sensor which connects to the gauges green wire.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/mrmister/boost%20gauge%20wiring.JPG

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Kansei]

SEAT HEATER?! u guys got seat heaters? i didnt know that... damn, make me feel bad...

indeed they do. .. I still haven't probed around with my multimeter to see where I could grab power from that doesn't shut off when the engine cranks..

[mrmister]

Sorry to hear that. They're definitely nice to have during the winter up here in Rochester.

[RevLimitLaunch]

ugh...i dont have a seat heater, didnt need the extra options of the gt lol.

[Kansei]

ugh...i dont have a seat heater, didnt need the extra options of the gt lol.

I wouldn't be surprised if the wiring to the fusebox is there still.. if you have a multimeter measure across the prongs in the empty fuseholder.

you know what's a lot better than seat heaters? not needing them because you don't sit on dead cows all day (glare). I've never sat on my cloth/pseudosuede seats and felt cold.. they're always just right. leather does look nice though

[RevLimitLaunch]

ill have to see about that tomorrow afternoon...and yes fully agreed with cloth verse leather...always hated leather errgggh

[RevLimitLaunch]

so it was brought up something that is easilly accessible. the obd2 port under the dash. if i hooked the gauges up to the power wire for the port would that make it so that they are always on when key is in 'on' position pretty much or will it 100% ALWAYS be on? just throwiing it out there. i want this to be nice quick and easy install lol.

[Gandalf]

Quick side question here guys. I thought it was always a bad idea to use a mechanical gauge in the cabin, is that wrong? Perhaps it's only certain gauges (oil pressure, fuel pressure) that are dangerous to use mechanical in the cabin. Just thinking out loud.

[Kansei]

Quick side question here guys. I thought it was always a bad idea to use a mechanical gauge in the cabin, is that wrong? Perhaps it's only certain gauges (oil pressure, fuel pressure) that are dangerous to use mechanical in the cabin. Just thinking out loud.

yeah.. if the line blows off your boost gauge, you'll just have a small vacuum leak in the car.. not any hot oil or fuel spraying all over your face :)

[RevLimitLaunch]

so i was talking to a buddy of mine and he was saying something about adding a fuse to my fuse block under the dash to use with the boost gauge? anyone know what he was talking bout by any chance? he couldn't talk much to me and i hate electrical system work lol.

[mrmister]

You can pick up a fuse splitter or an Add-A-Circuit from Autozone for about $7. You just put two fuses into it, one for the original circuit and one for the new one, and plug it into the original fuse socket.

[RevLimitLaunch]

so...you have 2 fuses sitting in one fuse holder...which obviously doesnt affect the original accessory the original fuse was for...im guessing there are wires coming off of this 'add a circuit' whre you tap in the power for the gauge then? jeez that seems too simple lol. never heard of those at all, like i said i hate electrical work...(peep)

correct me if im wrong with the statement i just made...

[mrmister]

It basically creates two circuits from one. One fuse is for the original circuit and the other creates the new circuit. A wire comes out of the fuse splitter for you to connect your new electrical device, whatever it may be. They are extremely simple to use.

Hope that clears it up.

[RevLimitLaunch]

yes thank you very very much it does alot!!! but unfortunatley i still dont have seat heaters. is there any other fuse i can link too that will be on? im not too picky if it turns on twice because of cranking the engine. just as long as it is always on as long as key is on position.

also, what size amp fuses would be used then? leave the original im guessing but what about for the power i should say to the gauge?

thanks again for any help it is greatly appreciated you have no idea.

[mrmister]

Actually, I don't know why I didn't notice this earlier, but the seat heater does actually turn off during cranking. I must of not been paying attention earlier.

You can also use the cigarette lighter fuse too. That works just as well. I plugged a 15 amp fuse back into the original circuit and used a 10 amp fuse for the new circuit to the gauge.

[RevLimitLaunch]

i heard the cig lighter isn't gonna always be on tho which is no good in daytime cuz the tint on the gauge face....correct me if its wrong tho.

[mrmister]

From what I've heard it is. If worse comes to worse, you just switch where the fuse splitter is plugged in. It's not permanent.

[RevLimitLaunch]

hmmm true true ill have some experimenting, unless someone already knows where else i can tap too...so what size amp fuse should i use in the link then for the gauge?

[mrmister]

I used 10 amps for the gauge and whatever the original fuse was for the original circuit. Just so you know, the OEM fuses don't fit into the fuse splitter, you have to buy some or use the ones that come with the splitter.

[RevLimitLaunch]

oh ok sounds good. thanks to the 0* weather here i dont think ill be doing this tonight. hopefully i can get it tackled by end of weekend...i hate working haha. ill post up what i fuse met my requirements when im done. and if anyone else, like i said before, already knows where to tap let me know. thanks again to everyone, especially you mrmister. great help for sure. (thumb)

[mrmister]

No problem at all. Glad I could help. Let me know how it comes out.

[RevLimitLaunch]

alright so everythings perfect right now...except...i can't find a grommet on the firewall to pass the boost line thru. i've had my head under the dash for like 5 minutes with no luck....so, if anyone has a picture of where they passed theirs through or a detailed description that'd be awesome. trying to get this done asap! thanks

[freekwonder]

I cut a small hole in the grommet thats used for the main wiring harness right underneath the steering wheel.

[Gandalf]

yeah.. if the line blows off your boost gauge, you'll just have a small vacuum leak in the car.. not any hot oil or fuel spraying all over your face :)

Hmm, so now my question is why are people running mechanical gauges over electrical ones? Seems odd to add another point of failure into the equation and add a 4-6' hose running from you intake (or where ever). Wouldn't that length of hose effect boost? Or is it too minor? Sorry this is my first ever FI car and I'm learning as I go.

[RevLimitLaunch]

the hose won't affect anything at all. although it is better to tap into a different line than the vac line off the bov it is still ok to do so. mechanical gauges are cheaper than electrical ones and they are very very easy to install once you know where to tap everything in.

[RevLimitLaunch]

I cut a small hole in the grommet thats used for the main wiring harness right underneath the steering wheel.

yeah that's where i've decided to start cutting. there's like 2 layers of somewhat thick rubber, what a pita...

[freekwonder]

ya it was a bit of a pain in the ass. but just watch out for the harness and you will be ok. Espcially when your a bigger guy trying to lay down in the drivers floor board.

[Kansei]

Hmm, so now my question is why are people running mechanical gauges over electrical ones? Seems odd to add another point of failure into the equation and add a 4-6' hose running from you intake (or where ever). Wouldn't that length of hose effect boost? Or is it too minor? Sorry this is my first ever FI car and I'm learning as I go.

the hose to my boost sensor is about 4 inches long.. it's in the engine bay mounted to the firewall, with a hose just going to the intake manifold. Then I just ran the three wires from it into the cabin.

[RevLimitLaunch]

mint all done, i tapped the add a circuit into the fuse labeled "meter [acc]". it lights up when acc is on and also turns off and turns on when you turn the car on. not a big deal at all to me i could care less.

[RevLimitLaunch]

so 1st and 2nd im seeing about 11-12 psi max, 3rd, 4th are around 14-15 and 5th is usually about 15, give or take 1 sometimes. never payed attention to 6th tho....why the hell isnt it boosting consistantly???

[mrmister]

I'm pretty sure it's because the ECU limits the boost in lower gears.

[RevLimitLaunch]

that sucks, i was hoping it was only with the ms3....damn

[kalte]

Hey, was wondering if anybody with prosport electrical boost gauge had this issue before:

I connected power source to the the cig lighter harness and the amber wire to the cig lighter compartment's light for dimming lights.
(I used my multimeter to make sure there's +12V)

However, when I had those set up, and start the ignition, nothing happens. My gauge only start up when I turn on the lights (cause amber wire is connected for dimming). The gauge does its closing ceremony when I off my lights.

To get over the problem for now (it was getting dark), I plug in red+amber wire to the cig lighter source.

It starts up now, but when i turn off the car, it does not do the closing ceremnody..it just shuts off. I could not turn off the BEEP as well..tried holding the button several times after startup but to no avail.
.
I might miss something, sorry if i did some stupid mistake but do point it out if possible.

I've emailed my scenario to the vendor to see if it's a defective unit.

at the same time i"m going to re-route my source to the dimming switch and check tomorrow.

Thanks

[Snafu]

where did u guys mount your gagues?

[RevLimitLaunch]

my gauge is mounted on top of teh steering column with a prosport swivel gauge pod

[kalte]

I mounted mine in the middle air vent. I'll take pics when i figure out my wirings..