Lachstock and Four Turbo Charged Cylinders ['04 NB SE]

[ManiacLachy]

I would think there is probably a slight price difference, but I shouldn't exepect it to be too much. It's more about the right tool/components for the job, one is more suitable than the other for a given task, not better or worse. The replacement and labour for this was at no cost to me.

Note, I don't think I quite ended up with the regular Organic Clutch, I sort of got a hybrid as only the friction disc was replaced. Jason said this would put it somewhere between the Standard Heavy Duty and the Sports Organic.

[Roadrunner]

Note, I don't think I quite ended up with the regular Organic Clutch, I sort of got a hybrid as only the friction disc was replaced. Jason said this would put it somewhere between the Standard Heavy Duty and the Sports Organic.

Ah cool, that's what I didn't quite understand.
So standard heavy duty is the way to go for daily driving.

edit: I know very little about clutches so trying to get my head around it all

[speed freak]

Roadrunner, Yea the standard HD clutch kit is the way to go for a daily driver even with lots of spirited driving/track days. The HD has a much higher clamping force over a stock OEM replacement, unless your continuously launching your car hard or clutch kicking for drift or you have monstrous power etc you dont really need anything more then a HD.

Maniac, depending when you and Mark plan to go for coffee (if its on the weekend coffee days) Ill hopefully try and get up there too for another catch up with everyone and see the cars again, I miss seeing and having nice cars haha.

[ManiacLachy]

By some mirical, I actually got to do both car related tasks this weekend! I washed the car and replaced the bog solenoid!

I won't bore you with details of the wash, suffice it to say, she's now gleaming beautifully

Replacement of the solenoid was fairly straight forward. Roadrunner did a nice explaination in his thread, around page 2 or 3.

I ordered my replacement from ebay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MAC-Boost-solenoid-valve-BCS-35A-AAA-DDBA-1BA-with-flat-Bracket-/331453284040?hash=item4d2c27bec8) It's basically the same as a 3-port boost solenoid you might use with an aftermarket ECU. This one came with the barbs that I needed, and was cheaper than anything local, took longer to arrive than I thought it should though.


I removed the old unit, piped in the replacement before remembering I needed some spade connectors and a crimping tool to connect power, so a quick trip off to JayCar to get supplies and I was back in business. I spent a bit of time trying to find a good location for the solenoid to sit, but the short hoses left my options limited. I ended up just zip tying some hoses to keep it tight.


So far so good, time will tell if this solves the bog issue, but by all reports it should do the trick.

[ManiacLachy]

So far so good, time will tell if this solves the bog issue, but by all reports it should do the trick.

Famous last words. Well, not quite last words but...

I'm getting a CEL. Car is running fine and there's no bog, but I have a light glaring at me from the dash. The obvious culprit is my installation of the new solenoid, as that's the latest change. I've just ordered a little BlueTooth OBD-II adapter from ebay, but that won't arrive until next week.

In the meantime, I've checked the connections and nothing has fallen off, I've also cleared it by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to check it wasn't an itermittent fault while installing the solenoid that is now OK - it's not. My brother has an OBD-II cable that connects to an ancient laptop to check his Audi's codes, but it doesn't recognise the Mazda, it seems the software is VAG specific.

So, today I'll reconnect the old solenoid and see if that will prevent the code. Any other suggestions? Anyone local got a scanner I could borrow for an afternoon?

[speed]

Can't help with your CEL.
Your brothers vag specific cable is probably vcds from Ross tech. Will work on all vag models up to a point but not mazda
Hopefully someone else can help.te your cel.

[Lokiel]

So far so good, time will tell if this solves the bog issue, but by all reports it should do the trick.

Famous last words. Well, not quite last words but...

I'm getting a CEL. Car is running fine and there's no bog, but I have a light glaring at me from the dash. The obvious culprit is my installation of the new solenoid, as that's the latest change. I've just ordered a little BlueTooth OBD-II adapter from ebay, but that won't arrive until next week.

In the meantime, I've checked the connections and nothing has fallen off, I've also cleared it by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to check it wasn't an itermittent fault while installing the solenoid that is now OK - it's not. My brother has an OBD-II cable that connects to an ancient laptop to check his Audi's codes, but it doesn't recognise the Mazda, it seems the software is VAG specific.

So, today I'll reconnect the old solenoid and see if that will prevent the code. Any other suggestions? Anyone local got a scanner I could borrow for an afternoon?

I've got a standalone OBDII scanner that reads MX5 codes as well as a couple of bluetooth OBDII dongles - I think you work near where I live, so PM me about collecting them (I can leave them somewhere around my place for you to collect during the day if you want).

[ManiacLachy]

Thanks Lokiel, very much appreciated. I'll PM you now. I'll still get mine from eBay (already ordered) because I will likely need it again some day for one car or another, and for <$20 delivered it's an easy purchase.

[ManiacLachy]

All sorted now

I put the old solenoid back in - had some difficulty removing the vaccum hoses from the new one's barbs untill someone suggested placing them in a cup of hot water to soften the rubber, it's a great tip! Ghetto-cleared the CEL, then drove around with no issues. I picked up the OBD-II readers from Lokiel, but the CEL didn't reappear. This lead me to beleive the issue was only with the new unit, and not some coincidental issue, or another connection that was bumped loose during the install. I always thought this was most likely, but it was now confirmed.

On the weekend I bought a 9V battery to test the new solenoid. I put the spade connectors on the battery terminals, and nothing happened. So I stripped the connectors and placed the bare wires on the terminals, I got spark and the solenoid made a little click.

Ah-ha! Eureka! I am a dodgey electircian!

New spades were crimped on and tested on the terminal, spark and click were still present. Now we're getting somewhere. I put the new solenoid back in and did a couple of short test drives with no sign of the CEL. A few days later and still no CEL, I beleive the problem has been fixed! And hopefully the bog has been banished.

I never did find out what code was being thrown, but I had a good play with the OBD-II readers and the Android Torque app, that's a bit of fun and pretty cool. Definitely a useful tool to have in the toolbox. Also I learned a valuable lesson to test your new equipment and your workmanship before driving off.

Thanks again to Lokiel for the loan of the readers, very generous of him, and very appreciated.

Now that everything is working, I'd like to tidy up the install a little bit so it doesn't just look tacked on. Which it does right now hanging out the side of the bracket attached to another line with a zip tie.

[Roadrunner]

Glad you got that sorted!
I'd say the code was the fact that the "Boost Sensor" wasn't receiving engine pressure (or atmospheric pressure, whichever one) when it sent the pulse to open the solenoid.
Knowing the SE it probably ran like a dream during this

Your not alone on the dodgy electrician part I learn't real quick that SCA brand spade crimps have a habit of separating inside the crimp, loosing connection. Thankfully they where only used on the door speakers and easily traced and fixed.

[Magpie]

Hence why i'm switching to Deutsch DTM plugs to finish my wiring in the car.

[MattR]

But they are expensive and need a good quality crimping tool.

Generally overkill for most road applications. Having said that, I have a kit of connectors and crimper for when I wire my part of the S14. The engine builder/tuner will be doing all the wiring for the motor and computer, that way there is no arguments over who did what if it doesn't work as expected.

[TrackAttack]

But they are expensive and need a good quality crimping tool.

The crimping tool is cheap, (regardless of what plug you use you'll need a crimping tool) the crimps on Deutsch pins are almost idiot proof, and the plugs are soooo easy to depin/repin. I'm actually pretty sure you can get Deutsch pins that are either circular or regular crimps...

I think theres little to no reason to use anything else. You might even find the engine builder/tuner will use Deutsch as well. Most motorsport applications use Deutsch wherever possible.

I've seen MAC valves come with 1 end of a Deutsch plug already terminated and fitted, so it might not be a bad idea.

[Roadrunner]

Wow, today I learnt what a Narva Deutsch Plug is and will never use anything but this in the engine bay again!

[Magpie]

Narva Deutsch Plug are DT size plugs (12-20 AWG wire) whereas the ones normally used in motorsports are DTM (16-22 AWG wire). The M stands for mini (for what it is worth)

Crimp tools can be for a specific pin size (low cost) or cover a range of pin sizes (expensive).

Pins can be normal (cheap) or gold (expensive). Gold pins cost about $1.00 each in the #20 pin size. For cars the most popular size to use is a size #20 pin for AWG 20 wire (0.5mm+2).

#20 (AWG 20 wire) 7.5 amps (DT or DTM plug)
#16 (AWG 16 wire) 13 amps (DT of DTM plug)
#12 (AWG 12 wire) 25 amps (DT plug)
#8 (AWG 8 wire) 60 amps (DT plug)