Back to Features Page By, EZ Rhino |
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If you missed Part I, click here
In
Goes The Motor
Wiring
Chores Time for more wiring. I was very nervous about this part. I figured that wiring a fuel injected engine in a vehicle it wasn't meant for would be a daunting task. It actually wasn't all that bad, though. Howell's fuel injection harness and fuel pump were very simple to figure out. Every wire was labeled and most wires could only be plugged in the correct way. I systematically unplugged the old factory harness from the Blazer and plugged in the new Howell harness.
Much to my suprise, while scrapping all of the old Jeep wiring harness, I found a computer mounted in the driver-side kick panel, behind the emergency brake. After a little comparison, I realized that the factory Blazer computer would fit into this same location. Very slick! I love it when it goes in 'factory' clean! However, I had one small problem: after stringing the harness to the computer in this location, I realized that it wouldn't reach! A call to Troy at Howell confirmed that I need a new harness with a longer truck length. However, to do this would require waiting 6 weeks. I think not. So out came the dikes and the soldering iron. I lengthened the trunk of the harness (35 wires!) 14 or so inches using lengths of wire from the old Blazer harness. It only took four tedious hours of cutting, splicing, soldering, and heat shrinking! It was a pain, but it all worked out fine.
The next item of business was the fuel pump. TBI systems operate properly on about 10-12 psi of pressure. Howell provided me with a fuel pump to match their system and harness. I decided to mount it on the inner frame rail out of harm's way. I fabbed a bracket out of sheet metal and used the provided clamp to snug it down. Perfect. Once the fuel injection wiring was taken care of, it was time to get the ignition wiring done. This was also simple. The Centech replacement harness was very complete. In fact, maybe a little too complete. It contained a few extra wires for all of those swapping folks out there, so it would remain compatible for any type of engine conversion. A call to Jim at Centech to answer a question or two took care of the extra wires. Finally, the moment I've been waiting for! It was about 11:30 at night, and after spending all evening in the garage, I was determined to see if this thing would run. I double checked everything. Since the engine had been sitting for such a long time in my garage, I removed the plugs and squirted a little oil in the cylinders. A turn of the key to the accessory position confirmed that my lights and other functions worked properly. The emergency brake indicator light glowed red, and due to my stupidity, the transfer case still remained in 4 low and the light on the dash said so. OK...cross my fingers, turn the key....crank crank VROOM!!! Sputter sputter die. WOW! ITS ALIVE!! I was so excited. It sounded really mean with no exhaust. Cool...so far, so good. A running project is a very good sign.
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