Cinco de Guino/Install day/95 Civic

[pfunk678]

I got my MPGuino in yesterday! I was hesitant to get started on it because I am electrically inept. However, I did some reading and learned about my car's ECU and was able to connect to the VSS, an injector, and ground through the ECU. I was glad not to go digging all over the car to find different wires in different places.
I have no clue how to link my album to this post, but I made an album called MPGuino install. Hopefully y'all can find it by clicking on my name or something

Tools & Parts:
MPGuino
20 gauge wire
blue clamp things?
socket, 10 mm to remove ECU
knife to strip wires
pliers to flatten exposed wire and jam it into fuse panel for power
small screwdriver to connect wires to MPGuino
iPad to look at pin schematics and MPGuino programming info
iPhone to take pictures that hopefully y'all can track down
voltmeter


I had to pull back the carpet on passenger side from the kickspace almost all the way to the back of the door to get at the ECU. I got it down with a socket, but it was an awkward reach.

Once I was looking at the pin connectors I went to FFS Technet (apparently I'm not allowed to post links) to make sense of what I was looking at. It was very helpful. That got me the VSS, an injector and a ground. I used the fuse panel (driver side) to get power. I measured some empty fuse slots with the voltmeter to find power.

My dad had these blue clamps that you run a new wire and an existing wire together. When you close the clamp it cuts into the wires and connects them. I was excited to use these since I didn't want to starting disconnecting and splicing things. That made the work fairly simple.
I mounted the Guino on my dash in a hastily constructed box covered with tie-dye duct tape (don't be jealous). I'm going to make something more permanent, but that will wait until I figure out the best way to invisibly run the wires through the dash.

The hardest part of the install was getting the ECU back in place. It had two parts folded together very compactly and the resisted going back in the way they were. I went to the guino wiki and used the 95 civic dx numbers that are posted there to program (I have a 95 civic lx, same engine) and they seem to be dead on.

Tips for a similar install:
Don't put the ECU back in place until you know the MPGuino is up and running properly. It will be a pain to remove and replace it again. Thankfully I had the foresight to avoid this, although I did have a scare because the MPGuino reset itself as I moved the wires to put the ECU back in place.

[JellyBeanDriver]

I like the duct tape!