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Das Beast: My E30 track / street build

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    Still working on electrical harness. It really does take hours to crimp, solder, heat shrink and stab pins into each connector. All the wires are gradually becoming wiring harnesses. Just working the build plan.



    "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

    1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
    2002 E39 M5

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      Another day, another connector

      Still slogging through connectors and wiring harness.



      Connectors assemble better with the right crimp tool. Molex wants $400 for their OEM crimper. (gag) This SGT 18600 is $20 and gets the job done right.



      Note the "dimple" on the lower part of each die. This turns out to be critical for getting a proper crimp on the Molex pin. FYI, the MX150 connectors are affordable but also highly engineered. The pins need to be crimped exactly for them to stab into the shell.

      Before


      After
      "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

      1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
      2002 E39 M5

      Comment


        I borrowed one of those when I was rewiring some bits on my motorcycle and man did it make a difference. Definitely worth it. Whats next on the agenda after wiring harness is done?
        1984 Delphin 318i 2 door

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          Here's a look forward at the To Do list:

          - Wiring harness
          - Cockpit wiring conduits
          - Defogger
          - Electronics bulkhead
          - Dash and cluster
          - Engine bay conduits and wiring
          - Engine bay accessories
          - Engine and transmission
          "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

          1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
          2002 E39 M5

          Comment


            A lot of work ....subscribed.
            NASA
            BMWCCA member
            PCA member 25yrs




            1991 318IS slick top
            1997 M3 sedan
            2001 325CI DD

            “whoever turns the wheel the least, wins"

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              Originally posted by e30s50dan View Post
              A lot of work ....subscribed.
              No kidding :devil:
              "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

              1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
              2002 E39 M5

              Comment


                Lots of progress now. Multiple connectors on harnesses coming together and getting mounted into the bulkhead. Good thing we added multiple wire channels.

                "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                2002 E39 M5

                Comment


                  Note about assembling these MX150 connectors. The white face plate is a locking mechanism. You need to pull it out with needle nose pliers BEFORE trying to seat pins. It will move out about 1/4" with a "click". Once all pins are stabbed, push the face plate it and it locks them all.

                  These are nice connectors.

                  "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                  1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                  2002 E39 M5

                  Comment


                    Back to Wasted Spark

                    Time to revisit the wasted spark system. Here's my original design (from ages ago) Bad ass MSD coils waiting patiently to be mounted.



                    That architecture diagram gets turned into an electrical schematic. Here's the working draft.



                    Schematic gets implemented in a harness with connectors.



                    Harness installed in the bulkhead. Looking good. Round things are LED flasher relays.



                    Yes, we are freaking nuts. But we will finish this car. :devil:
                    "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                    1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                    2002 E39 M5

                    Comment


                      Audible Call

                      So, the wiring harness has gotten Large And In Charge. No way this giant octopus is going into two 1" x 1" wireways.



                      We're changing out the wireway for a 2" x 2". Here is Obi Wan carefully prying them out of the chassis. Lucky for us VHB tape does not adhere so well when just stuck in place. That just means it's an unholy bastard to remove. When applied to two metal surfaces and set with compression, metal will tear before the VHB. (WTF? Ask Obi Wan) Apparently they use it instead of welding to hold the wing panels on Boeing passenger airliners.

                      "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                      1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                      2002 E39 M5

                      Comment


                        Wiper motor pigtail make it there okay through FailEx?
                        1990 Brilliantrot 325iS Build Thread
                        1989 Zinnoberrot M3 Build Thread

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                          It showed up eventually. We're going to add it to the wiring harness this weekend. Thanks again.
                          "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                          1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                          2002 E39 M5

                          Comment


                            Been subscribed for a while. Very through build.

                            Coming from the GM market, I have had bad experiences with those MSD coil packs (also the yellow Accel). The regular GM coils are far more sturdy and provide more than enough voltage (stock coils will arc over two inches).

                            How do you like the crimp pliers? I have the same double jointed pair and didn't feel they crimped down enough and the wires often fail the pull test. They do work well on the cheap plastic insulated terminal ends. I tend to go back to my worn out "Made in Taiwan" crimp pliers that have been kicking around since the early 90's. I can't seem to find a pair as good, and the smallest hole is completely worn flat. :/
                            john@m20guru.com
                            Links:
                            Transaction feedback: Here, here and here. Thanks :D

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                              'Bird, can you point me to the coil packs your referring to? I'll take a look.

                              The crimper works great for MX150 pins specifically. The die folds pin ears and pushes them down in the right profile. We are using wire gauges matched to the crimper die, so we always get a clean tight crimp. Can't pull a pin off. All the pins get a solder reflow for good measure though.
                              Last edited by dvallis; 02-09-2018, 04:19 PM.
                              "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                              1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                              2002 E39 M5

                              Comment


                                The red coil packs in post #819.

                                Yes, my old crimp pliers also fold the ears over, but do a much better job, and are single jointed. I do a lot of re-pinning for c101/x20 connectors and that double jointed crimp tool wouldn't crimp tight enough for me (failed pull test). I don't flow them with solder. I feel if it was ok to use solder, OEM MFGR's would have too.

                                My old trusty crimp pliers looks similar to this...



                                Worst part is, I got the double jointed off the tool truck and probably over paid, and they have hardly been used since purchase.
                                john@m20guru.com
                                Links:
                                Transaction feedback: Here, here and here. Thanks :D

                                Comment

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