Alternative to Racetronix Hotwire kit?
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Alternative to Racetronix Hotwire kit?
So I've had the kit on my car for 4 years and one of the pins in the relay harness has loosened up on me and left me stranded numerous times. The trigger pin for the relay from the car is what would cut out and cause the relay to close and not give the pump power. No big deal, right? Racetronix was great for the most part on getting the harness shipped to them and all, but now they are giving me the run around since I modified the harness a little for my application (LS1 swapped 97 car). I identified + labeled the problem before shipping and after they look at it they're avoiding the issue and placing blame on my modifications. They got the harness 3 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything from them (phone or their support forum) in two weeks. Last correspondence was the 30th of August. I'm just about to find another solution or bite the bullet and just get another harness and remodify it for my car since my car being down for almost a month for a $60 part is ridiculous. Is there any other solutions that would work?
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So I've had the kit on my car for 4 years and one of the pins in the relay harness has loosened up on me and left me stranded numerous times. The trigger pin for the relay from the car is what would cut out and cause the relay to close and not give the pump power. No big deal, right? Racetronix was great for the most part on getting the harness shipped to them and all, but now they are giving me the run around since I modified the harness a little for my application (LS1 swapped 97 car). I identified + labeled the problem before shipping and after they look at it they're avoiding the issue and placing blame on my modifications. They got the harness 3 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything from them (phone or their support forum) in two weeks. Last correspondence was the 30th of August. I'm just about to find another solution or bite the bullet and just get another harness and remodify it for my car since my car being down for almost a month for a $60 part is ridiculous. Is there any other solutions that would work?
Repairing the harness you returned is not an option. There is not one component which has not been removed, altered or compromised. The terminals show evidence of invasive probing. Had you mentioned these facts we would not have had you send the harness back. Our lifetime warranty covers defects but not a complete restoration due to failed customer repairs and alterations. That being said we were considering supplying a replacement harness as a courtesy however this would not solve the problems with your modified / questionable factory wiring. Supplying you with a custom repair harness is not an option since it would require advanced wiring skills.
We will inform you of our decision today via our support forum.
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Manufacturer / Distributor of Automotive Fuel Systems, Components & Electronics
Please support a Racetronix dealer near you for personalized service.
>WEB SITE<
Last edited by Racetronix; 09-19-2016 at 04:25 PM.
#7
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Mr. Gibson
Repairing the harness you returned is not an option. There is not one component which has not been removed, altered or compromised. The terminals show evidence of invasive probing. Had you mentioned these facts we would not have had you send the harness back. Our lifetime warranty covers defects but not a complete restoration due to failed customer repairs and alterations. That being said we were considering supplying a replacement harness as a courtesy however this would not solve the problems with your modified / questionable factory wiring. Supplying you with a custom repair harness is not an option since it would require advanced wiring skills.
We will inform you of our decision today via our support forum.
Repairing the harness you returned is not an option. There is not one component which has not been removed, altered or compromised. The terminals show evidence of invasive probing. Had you mentioned these facts we would not have had you send the harness back. Our lifetime warranty covers defects but not a complete restoration due to failed customer repairs and alterations. That being said we were considering supplying a replacement harness as a courtesy however this would not solve the problems with your modified / questionable factory wiring. Supplying you with a custom repair harness is not an option since it would require advanced wiring skills.
We will inform you of our decision today via our support forum.
A): shorten the main power feed from the alternator to the relay to remove unnecessary length
B): Eliminate the fuel pump connector behind the rear seat to make it a straight through connection to eliminate a point of failure.
No mods were done besides extending a harness or shortening, which would not cause the original issue.
After this ordeal is over I will probably honestly put a factory connector on my harness to keep Racetronix's product "Plug and play" so if anything happens in the future "questionable" wiring won't be a problem.
Soldering under a car with a rear still in it isn't the easiest job, but I ensured that all connections were good.
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#8
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Yes I understand that repairing it on your end will not work without extensive repining and labor which would probably exceed the cost of a new harness. I mainly sent it in to inform you that pins in the relay connector were loosening up over time. I've had to probe and prod the hell out of the thing to figure out the issue, check continuity, and sanity check it to narrow down the problem. I wouldn't have gone through the effort of removing it from my car and sending it back if there was a problem with my soldering / modifications for my car. But I ensured that there was continuity from all points (PCM and alternator) up to the relay and even ohmed the harness out to make sure there was nothing shorting due to my modifications. I could have gladly put a bench power supply and a spectrum analyzer on the harness while it the car was running and given you a log of power cutting as I moved the wire at the relay harness causing the pump to cut out, if you wanted to get into advanced electrical engineering . The wiring may seem questionable in pictures, but I ensure you that any modification that I have made will not cause the relay to close and stop power to the fuel pump. I could grab the pin that was the culprit and wiggle it, and it would travel at least half an inch in the female relay harness. Again, no big deal, manufacturing issues can happen and on race cars there are a lot of vibrations especially in the back which could cause failure. The wiring modifications I have done were only to:
A): shorten the main power feed from the alternator to the relay to remove unnecessary length
B): Eliminate the fuel pump connector behind the rear seat to make it a straight through connection to eliminate a point of failure.
No mods were done besides extending a harness or shortening, which would not cause the original issue.
After this ordeal is over I will probably honestly put a factory connector on my harness to keep Racetronix's product "Plug and play" so if anything happens in the future "questionable" wiring won't be a problem.
Soldering under a car with a rear still in it isn't the easiest job, but I ensured that all connections were good.
A): shorten the main power feed from the alternator to the relay to remove unnecessary length
B): Eliminate the fuel pump connector behind the rear seat to make it a straight through connection to eliminate a point of failure.
No mods were done besides extending a harness or shortening, which would not cause the original issue.
After this ordeal is over I will probably honestly put a factory connector on my harness to keep Racetronix's product "Plug and play" so if anything happens in the future "questionable" wiring won't be a problem.
Soldering under a car with a rear still in it isn't the easiest job, but I ensured that all connections were good.
FYI a spectrum analyzer is used to measure the amplitude at given frequency point/range. Perhaps you were thinking of an oscilloscope?
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Manufacturer / Distributor of Automotive Fuel Systems, Components & Electronics
Please support a Racetronix dealer near you for personalized service.
>WEB SITE<
Manufacturer / Distributor of Automotive Fuel Systems, Components & Electronics
Please support a Racetronix dealer near you for personalized service.
>WEB SITE<
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And yes! My morning beverage hadn't kicked in just yet but I had glanced at mine and typed it instead of oscilloscope
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__________________
Manufacturer / Distributor of Automotive Fuel Systems, Components & Electronics
Please support a Racetronix dealer near you for personalized service.
>WEB SITE<
Manufacturer / Distributor of Automotive Fuel Systems, Components & Electronics
Please support a Racetronix dealer near you for personalized service.
>WEB SITE<
#13
Yeah. Looks like Racetronix is doing you a huge favor. I ordered a new wiring harness from BP Automotive that had some issues we couldn't figure out and the guy told me to F off. Finally had to have it repaired by another vendor. Makes me want to look into Racetronix when I want to upgrade my fuel system.