I hate idiot lights as much as everyone else in this forum, but I'm trying to think of a stealthy and factory-appearing way to mount a warning light for the failsafe output of my AEM Wideband gauge.
This gauge is sweet. One of the nicest I've ever seen or installed. Not only does it read wideband A/F, but it also reads boost and RPM and can display 2 of those simultaneously, either on the center screen or the LED ring. It has a ton of swappable face plates depending on the gauge configuration you choose.
But the coolest thing about this gauge is that it has a programmable failsafe output that triggers when the Air Fuel Ratio goes outside a set of programmable upper and lower limits based on the AF range that is considered normal for your vehicle. It can be used to control a boost controller (to dump boost), or an ignition retard (to pull timing), or anything you can possibly think of to help you keep your engine from grenading. The sky is the limit, especially if you know how to get creative with automotive relays.
The actual output wire can be programmed as either a positive 12V signal OR a ground signal up to 1.5 amps so you can connect with most pieces of equipment without having to use additional relays. The length at which the warning output is energized can also be programmed, as well as the time threshold at which the AFR can be outside the upper and lower limits (in milliseconds) to avoid any random outliers.
Anyway, I don't have an ignition box, and my car isn't turbo'd. I've seen a few people with 03 cobras use this wire to shut down the computer, but I don't want to have the car shut off on me due to a false alarm. So, I think I want to connect the failsafe output to a warning light instead. I could get a shift light, but that would stick out like a sore thumb.
I'm thinking of either wiring the trigger to one of the existing warning light bulbs (using a diode to avoid tripping whatever is on the other side of that bulb), or getting a new bulb and socket to use in an empty idiot light space. I don't care what the idiot light icon actually says, because I'll know it when I get used to it.
When I run the dealer diagnostic test on the instrument cluster, I know there's at least 3 or 4 unused idiot lights in the cluster.
I just want a warning that looks like it could have come that way when the car was new instead of adding another gaudy piece of crap on my dash.
I've never had the cluster apart, so I'm still figuring out the best way to approach this. While I have the cluster apart, I plan on replacing any burned out bulbs with new LED's. While I'm at it, I might as well just replace every single bulb I can find with new LED's. Depending on the socket, I'll get an especially bright LED for the Air Fuel threshold warning light and put it in the socket where the "O/D OFF" indicator light usually goes for automatic equipped cars.
Or as alternatives, I was thinking of using the failsafe wire to factory TC system to trick it into thinking the tires are spinning so it will immediately pull timing (therefore cutting engine power) whenever the AF ratio is out of bounds.
Or, I could wire it into the factory door/headlight chime using either the keysense wire in the ignition harness or the door trigger wire. But on second thought, I ignore that noise so the chances of me reacting to it in an emergency are slim to none.
Good idea? Waste of time? Any better ideas? Thanks!
Homer
This gauge is sweet. One of the nicest I've ever seen or installed. Not only does it read wideband A/F, but it also reads boost and RPM and can display 2 of those simultaneously, either on the center screen or the LED ring. It has a ton of swappable face plates depending on the gauge configuration you choose.
But the coolest thing about this gauge is that it has a programmable failsafe output that triggers when the Air Fuel Ratio goes outside a set of programmable upper and lower limits based on the AF range that is considered normal for your vehicle. It can be used to control a boost controller (to dump boost), or an ignition retard (to pull timing), or anything you can possibly think of to help you keep your engine from grenading. The sky is the limit, especially if you know how to get creative with automotive relays.
The actual output wire can be programmed as either a positive 12V signal OR a ground signal up to 1.5 amps so you can connect with most pieces of equipment without having to use additional relays. The length at which the warning output is energized can also be programmed, as well as the time threshold at which the AFR can be outside the upper and lower limits (in milliseconds) to avoid any random outliers.
Anyway, I don't have an ignition box, and my car isn't turbo'd. I've seen a few people with 03 cobras use this wire to shut down the computer, but I don't want to have the car shut off on me due to a false alarm. So, I think I want to connect the failsafe output to a warning light instead. I could get a shift light, but that would stick out like a sore thumb.
I'm thinking of either wiring the trigger to one of the existing warning light bulbs (using a diode to avoid tripping whatever is on the other side of that bulb), or getting a new bulb and socket to use in an empty idiot light space. I don't care what the idiot light icon actually says, because I'll know it when I get used to it.
When I run the dealer diagnostic test on the instrument cluster, I know there's at least 3 or 4 unused idiot lights in the cluster.
I just want a warning that looks like it could have come that way when the car was new instead of adding another gaudy piece of crap on my dash.
I've never had the cluster apart, so I'm still figuring out the best way to approach this. While I have the cluster apart, I plan on replacing any burned out bulbs with new LED's. While I'm at it, I might as well just replace every single bulb I can find with new LED's. Depending on the socket, I'll get an especially bright LED for the Air Fuel threshold warning light and put it in the socket where the "O/D OFF" indicator light usually goes for automatic equipped cars.
Or as alternatives, I was thinking of using the failsafe wire to factory TC system to trick it into thinking the tires are spinning so it will immediately pull timing (therefore cutting engine power) whenever the AF ratio is out of bounds.
Or, I could wire it into the factory door/headlight chime using either the keysense wire in the ignition harness or the door trigger wire. But on second thought, I ignore that noise so the chances of me reacting to it in an emergency are slim to none.
Good idea? Waste of time? Any better ideas? Thanks!
Homer
