I've just finished installing my LC1 and either I've messed up somewhere or it is faulty out of the box.

I have the red controler wire and brown display wire going to a switched 12v source in the fuse box. The blue controler wire goes to a dedicated ground pole under the driver kick panel. The yellow controler wire is connected to the black gauge wire.

The blue gauge wire and the white controller wire go to a common ground on my shifter. The black controller wire is connected to the diode and button and then grounded to the same place as the blue and white wires.

I've rechecked all of the wiring connections and performed the free air calibration 3 times.

When I turn the key to ignition on (car off) the gauge reads 1.0 - 0.8. After calibration this does not change. When going through the trouble shooting procedure it tells you to remove the sensor and check for about 00.0 in free air. This never occurs. Then it tells you to unplug the black connector and check for 50.0. This never occurs.

With the sensor unplugged from the controller I see around 1.0 on the gauge. In testing all of my connections I moved the ground for the white and blue wires and the gauge stayed lit with them not grounded. I seperated the diode ground and the blue/white grounds. No changes in readings and stayed lit at 1.0.

I could never get it to read 50.0 with the sensor unhooked. When the car was running after start up it was erratic from 1.0 to 6.5 on the gauge. Then it would settle on 1.0.

Any ideas?

 

best bet, go on there forum

http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/forums/

 

the brown wire is an analog output wire,
and it maybe toast now that it has been connected to 12 volts.
red = 12 volt
blue = ground
yellow/brown = analog output 0v-5v
green = analog ground
white = system ground
remove the brown from 12 volt source,
recalibrate the sensor.
program analog #2 with the LM programmer
to a flat voltage and use a voltmeter
to see if it is dead.

 

From your post, unless I am misreading, it sounds as if you are running the brown AND red wires to the switched 12v source. Further, if you are using a multimeter on the yellow wire, those values seem reasonable, as it outputs 0.1v-1v, rather than 0-5v. Yellow is the default simulated narrowband output. The end values I have ever seen on the 0-5v line are 20.9 (free air) and 7.4.

Depending on the gauge you are using, the brown (0-5v analog out) or yellow (0.1-1v analog out) controller wire should be used as the input, and the gauge ground should be grounded in a common location with the blue (heater ground) and white (system ground) wires.

The blue, white, black, and gauge ground should all be in a common location; voltage differences between the ground will cause a false signal. It's also advisable to solder all connections. I didn't think this was important when I installed mine and wound up with erratic readings. I removed all my wiring and soldered everything (rather than crimping) and have had no problems since.

Make sure your pushbutton switch isn't shorted for some reason and that the 1/8in terminator is securely inserted into the IN connection. If you insert/remove the 1/8in jacks while the unit is on, the configuration will be messed up.

If you can, get a computer nearby and use the LW2 program to watch what the sensor is doing upon key-on. If your analog wiring is incorrect, this will also show you if you are reading free air or not.

 

+1 its probably junk now if you ran 12v to the brown wire. rewire it correctly and see what happens

 

I'm a bit confused by this. I saw it posted on the Innovate board as well, but it is exactly opposite of the Dynotune install instructions. The instructions that came with the kit say to ground the controller (big blue wire) to its own seperate ground. I have it this way currently.

Since everything is still apart, I might pull it out and solder it while I have a chance. Should I give them a common chassis ground? Use the pole under the drivers side kick pannel that the controller ground currently goes to?

Thanks.

 

I ran a #12 wire to the engine for ground and soldered all the other grounds to this wire. This way you have one ground point.
If your going to ground them to the body eather use 1 lug and 1 bolt for all the grounds or use seperate bolts and lugs for each ground, but put all the grounds as close to each other as possible. puting 2 lugs on 1 bolt is a no no!

 

A ground is not truly "zero volts," as there is always some kind of potential between two objects, rather it is a location which electrons/current will naturally flow, and is used as a referenced low for the circuit. By using multiple grounds, you introduce the possibility of having a potential difference (voltage) between sets of grounds across the circuit.

If the ground point you are using for the heater is "greater" than the ground you use for the system, you wind up with current flow between the heater ground and the system ground going through the circuit. Because the referenced "zero volt" used for the analog out is not truly "zero" anymore, you wind up with skewed readings. Common grounds between the gauge and the system (white) are more important than a common ground between the heater and everything else, but you still don't want current running through the controller.

Ideally, you want to ground everything to the block or head, as above, either all on one lug, or separate lugs near each other. This will reduce the likelihood of some kind of current spike happening from the starter or something (allegedly). Some people claim that you can wind up with these spikes by using a ground under the dash; I don't know if this is true, but it didn't apply to me as I have the controller under the car anyway. I would ground it to the chassis, or block/head if possible.

For what it's worth, I hacked up an old NBO2 harness and used the grounds there for the controller, as I needed to be able to move the LC-1 between different vehicles. The grounds go to the engine/block anyway, so it just saved me some wire and still works well.

Sorry for the long post. I have seen a lot of people ask why they can't have separate and distant grounds, but no explanation why, except for "don't do it." Hope this helps.

 

Just wondering where everyone else put their controller. It has to go under the car in my case but where do you guys put it? And how did you mount it?
Sorry for the thread Hi jack.

 

Well that is all very good info. Thanks.

I guess I will pull the grounds apart and make a common ground for them. As I understand the posts, I need to have all the ground wires go to one common hoop style ground that goes over one single ground post? And if possible the single ground should be the engine block over a chassis ground (the ground poles under the kick panels and center console are chassis grounds).

I will make the changes tomorrow. Thanks

 

I set the O2 and controller on the passenger side. I zip-tied the controller to the SFC and ran the wiring above the heat shield near the front of the door to the O2 and extended wiring harness. I ran the two 1/8in plugs into the cabin through the door and left everything else underneath. I don't have mine on my car right now, but I can probably get some pictures later this week if you want; just shoot me a PM.

There is a ground lug on the driver side of the engine near the motor mount (where the stock front O2 wiring runs, just behind the alternator). This might not be reasonable for you, but I figured I'd suggest it if you needed a ground.

 

SFC????

 

Subframe connector (aftermarket, not on the vehicle stock). If that's not an option, there is a tab with a hole you could zip-tie to on the T-56 on the passenger side near the bellhousing, or you could punch a hole in the heat shield and mount the controller there.

 

Ok I should be able to find a spot on the sfc! Thanks

 

I mounted mine to the transmission. I have a trans shield/blanket so I just ziptied the box to it. Then I ran the wires up through the hole in the tunnel where my shifter cable goes. Wires came out under the console and I just ran them behind the dash.

 

so dose your lc 1 still work???