How to Install MPGuino without Splicing (Civic VX)
 

Hello All,

I just received an MPGuino v1.3 from a forum member here and am wondering if this can be installed without splicing my Civic VX's wiring? Can I pick up some parts from the junkyard that would help in this regard or...?

On a side note, I don't know much about the specs of this MPGuino version. If the are any major pluses/minuses or flaws about this version 1.3 that I should know about, the feedback would be much appreciated. :thumbup:

-Kevin

Anybody??

The only way I can think of would be to find where the wires are plugged in, de-pin the connector there, and find a way to "piggyback" another wire or another connector onto the connection.

This is a lot easier with the power and ground wires (and illumination if any) than with the two "data" wires, VSS and injector signal. I don't actually know what the connectors for the EFI parts look like on the Hondas, so I can't say anything about them for certain.

It would certainly be much simpler to use "vampire taps" to get those two signals. But it doesn't seem like a "clean" install (I don't like those taps!) which is one reason I never installed mine.

-soD

A very tidy (but not easier) solution would be to open up the ECU, identify the relevant pins/traces, and solder on some pigtail leads that would then connect directly to the device. All the stock wiring remains intact and reliable. If you're after the easiest installation the vampires are hard to beat, but i also distrust those. I like to solder and shrink-tube all my splicing.

Check the My "Connect MPGuino to Honda VX" How To link in my siggie... no splicing or use of the dreaded vampire connectors, and still working beautifully over the past 2+ years...

NachtRidder, that is sort of what I was thinking of--but you found a much easier and more reversible way to do it! Excellent work! :)

-soD

I plan on looking into the use of the pgm test port (the other connector next to the service connector). I'll let you know if I find anything.

This is something I've been wanting to do and have asked a number of times about as well with no answer, my reason for asking is that I have 4 different VX's that I want to be able to use a single MPGuino on, I would be happy to pay someone to make me a wiring harness that I could plug in to, but so far no one has taken me up on that offer so I'm tempted to just sell my MPGuino without ever having used it.

Man four Civic VX's?...you win the Civic VX jackpot or something? :D :D I can't imagine that creating your own harness would be that hard. It would be custom but you would think custom/DIY harnesses have been done in the Honda scene before. Heck, even I would be willing give it a try if there is a way.

Also, using anderson powerpole connectors are a little better than the typical connectors approach as they help snap into place and you can lock two (or maybe more) of them together side by side.

I own one, my parents own one plus a solid parts car that might come back to life, my brother owns one and I sold my old one to a good friend who lives three blocks away and we all want to see what our gas mileage is.
So only 1 of the 4 is mine, part of the reason that I'm not willing to cut in to a car that I could sell on Ebay for $5,000 either.

Once you can tap into the four appropriate wires, you can crimp connectors onto the end for a Molex plug. (Or similar.) Run the wires from the MPGuino to the mating plug. Make four copies of that first bit, and there you are!

Just make sure the crimps are tight.

You can get Molex connectors at Radio Shack or other electronics shops. Or GM Weatherpak connectors at many auto parts places.

-soD

The cleanest way is to make a patch harness i.e. a short extension that plugs in between the two - male and female - connectors that are already on the car. That may be easier said than done.

If you want to do it at the ECU, the harness end is easy - buy the wiring harness connector and a few inches of the wiring harness cut from a wreck at the junk yard. The ECU end is more difficult.

If you can obtain an ECU inexpensively - maybe a faulty one from a repairer - you can solder the ECU connector from that onto a piece of perf board and then the wires from the section cut from the wreck onto that.

The connections to the accessory eg. MPGuino can be soldered to the perf board or spliced into the new wire sections.

Making connections elsewhere may be easier because wiring connectors are usually generic and found in a variety of makes and models in various locations around the cars.

Making a patch harness across a wiring harness connector away from the ECU means cutting a section out of the wiring, a few inches either side of connector and including the connector, from the donor car/harness. Then unplugging the connector and joining the ends of the cut wires.

That can be done by splice, solder and heat shrink or, again, on perf board.