I got my MEVI wired up yesterday. Everything went very well...on the first try, the MEVI actuated just fine. However, I ran into a problem while testing. It seems that the Harlan rpm switch is shutting off after a couple of successful actuations. I'll make a couple of sweeping runs through 5000 rpm, and I'd find the car out of breath at redline. I'd check the Harlan, and it would be unresponsive (off). The only way to reset it was to restart the car.

There are a couple of things that come to mind:
1) Insufficient ground: I grounded the Harlan to the metal base piece of the shifter. Perhaps this is not sufficient to keep a good ground once the switched ground starts "dumping" to it.
2) RPM input signal is not correct: I tapped into the coil #1 signal input wire at the ECU. Although I can't imagine how this would cause the Harlan to shut off, maybe this is the culprit?
3) The Harlan unit itself is bad.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I'm going to troubleshoot it tonight, and will likely find the problem, but it would help me if anyone had some suggestions.

Thanks!

 

He was having this prob. on Saturday but I think he fixed it. I've been having problems with mine as well, but not as frequently. Mine will go for about a week before it resets and I have to reprogram everything.

 

Thanks, I'll send Dave a PM.

So your Harlan is losing all it's settings after a week? Dang, I hope I don't run into that issue. I hate to say it, but it's starting to look like these Harlans aren't exactly the most robust devices.

 

Yep, I've run into the same problem. However, my RPM switch hasn't screwed up when I'm driving it, it only screws up when I'm at idle and testing it manually. When the RPM switch screws up, it flashes constantly. Yesterday I did about 5 runs back to back and the VI opened everytime. My RPM switch is mounted in the fuse box area and hardwired to the fuse panel. The switch is tapped into coil #1 line form the ECU. I've also got the Harlan shiftlight and I've never had problems with it. My RPM hasn't reset yet, but I've only had mine up and running for a couple days.

This is really strange that you, Neal, Travis, and myself have had the exact same problems with these things. Is everyone having this problem?


Dave

 

on max's with VI stock, what is used to detect rpm and signal the actuator? is it coded into the ECU?

 

Yes, there's a signal output from the ECU that is used to switch the butterflies. Too bad the ECUs and wiring harnesses are not universal around the world...in that case, it may have been possible to simply tap into an unused connector under the hood.

 

Update:
I contacted Mr Harlan and he said my rpm switch is likely faulty. Both failure symptoms indicate the unit is seeing my settings (trigger rpm and/or engine type) as invalid value(s). He's guessing that he perhaps got in a bad batch of EEPROMs (memory chip). He's sending me a new unit as soon as he receives my old one. He was extremely responsive and easy to work with...if any of you guys have a problem, email him and you'll likely get quick feedback.

...not that I'm happy the switch is bad, but it coulda been worse...

 

Yes it is in the ECU. I spoke to JWT and they said they could program that in there, but they wanted an additional $270 to do it. That got a big n: from me.

 

they wanted $270 in addition to the normal reprogram???!!!

 

im also having problems with my VI. I went to the dyno a few days ago and i went to do some pulls and the Vi would not open on the dyno. we tested it with the car in neutral and it opened fine when it hit 5000 rpm but would not open when the car is in gear. strange thing is that after he let off the throtle at red line, it would open and then shut after it dropped below 5000. im thinkn that im not generating enough vacuum, just wonderin what everyone else thought.
Ryan

 

If that's the case, there's probably a problem with your vacuum canister/checkvalve setup. The canister should provide vacuum under ANY throttle or rpm situations...it should act as a vacuum holding tank, ready to go at any time. If you can email me a schematic of your vacuum setup, I can probably tell you where the problem lies.

 

I think what he's asking is if there's an unused wire/harness spot coming out of the ECU that already has the VI signal.

Assuming it doesn't, JWT wanted to charge you for the programming to figure out that the VI should be open, and the addition/modification of the ECU harness to provide with that extra wire.

 

Oh this is great. My RPM switch must be bad too because my reset itself while I was gone for a day. It also kept screwing up when I initially got the VI installed and I was doing low rpm (open hood) tests. On the street it never screwed up until today. So, it looks like these are the guys with problems so far:

BSwithTF
Nealoc187
Dave B
Keven97SE
dafro

Mishmosh?
Ian?
Mr. Cranman?

Don't you guys think this is really strange that we ALL are having problems? We all ordered our RPM switches at different times too. BSwithTF got his over 2 months ago. Do you think this could have anything to do with the way we wired it? I think it's very strange that we are wiring the 30-amp relay with TWO 12V sources. The setup diagram on the 30-amp package specically says one of the 12V posts we are using is a GROUND, not a 12V source.


Dave

 

I still haven't hooked up my RPM switch. I'm going to put mine to the test tonight. I'm going to try and wire it up to the TAM switch instead of the coil wire. I'll see if this works instead. If not, then I'm going to wire up my Harlan Shift light which I've never had problems with to act as the RPM switch. I don't see why that wouldn't work.

 

Just curious but when did you guys order? If the official Harlan response is a bad batch, I think the problematic ones should be spread out over maybe a month or two.

I ordered my first Harlan 3/5/02 which I converted into a shiftlight. It has never failed to work flawlessly which is easily verified simply because the thing triggers a light and buzzer. The 2nd harlan was ordered 5/16/02. So far, it seems to be working without problems. Initially, I thought it may have been faulty but I traced back problems to set it correctly to my failing to depress the program buttons for >2sec. Of course, because I have only the butt dyno to tell if it is functioning correctly, there *may* be times where it is malfunctioning and I may not be paying attention to the lack of top end power that results. xHypex will definitely know if his is not working since he has an LED go off with the VI activation. I may just stop by radio shack to get a low volume, continues tone piezo that goes off with the VI... something not too loud (unlike my shift light buzzer) but that I can definitely tell that the harlan is working. The valve opening and the relay clicks are just too quiet for me to notice unless the tunes and the A/c are both off.

So, for me, one definitely works flawlessly, the other, apparently so...

Q: is there a reproducible test to see if the thing works OK? Will setting the switch to 1k rpm and neutral throttle testing do it every time or is this problem random?

 

Dave,
not that I think it makes any difference but the Harlan and the relay are hooked up the the same 12V tap on my setup--the grounds to the solenoid and the Harlan/relay are different though. The whole point of the relay was to ground the solenoid separately from the Harlan circuit. Also, I don't get what you mean when you say "one of the 12V posts we are using is a GROUND, not a 12V." On my Radio Shack relay, whereever it said 12V in, out, or switched, there was never a ground hooked there... Please elaborate.

 

Anyone have the PDF of the RPM switch instructions off Harlans site? I can't find mine and the link on his site doesn't work.

admin@digitalfury.org

 

Are you still running your Harlan RPM on a constant 12V source (ie it's on all the time). Yes, on the Radio Shack box, it clearly states that pin 85 is a ground.

This is the way my relay is currently wired:

pin 30 = 12V (in dash fuse box)
pin 85 = Harlan white wire
pin 87 = to MAP
pin 86 = to 12V (in dash fuse box)

The Harlan is wired to the same RPM pickup as my shiftlight (never had a problem), 12V to same as shiftlight, white to pin 85, black is the same ground as the shiftlight (metal steering column support).




Dave

 

I think I have mine:
pin 30= to MAP
pin 85 = Harlan white wire
pin 87 = 12VDC
pin 86 = 12VDC

I am pretty sure I have it hooked up this way because per diagram pin 87 is "12V in" and pin 30 is labelled "12V out."
Do you agree with this? Also, my harlans/relay are hooked into the lighter so it is a switched supply.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I am not sure this makes any difference. Per the internal diagram, pins 30 and 87 are connected when the switch is activated--it's not as if directionality has any roll. Then again, I don't know how relays actually work so if the "12V in" actually powers the thing, maybe it should always see the 12VDC...

Also picked up a Radio Shack piezo tweeter for temporary verification of the Harlan VI switch. It is low power, continuous tone and also not too loud. I am even going to tape the mouth to mute it a little more. The leads are VERY small guage so you can stuff it in between the connectors for the relay. This will also make it easy to remove. I'm planning on keeping this on for the next month or until this issue is resolved. On my way back from RS, tried it out and it works pretty well.


(RS, $2.99)

 

Pin 85 is a relay ground, true. But the white wire from the Harlan is a switched ground, meaning it is grounded only when the switch is activated and open circuit the rest of the time--it never sees 12V. In terms of 12V sources, you can choose to hook up the Harlan, relay (and thus, solenoid) to the same 12V source--the key is to ground the solenoid separately from the Harlan.

 

I sent my wiring schematic to Harlan and asked him if there were any issues with the way I had wired the system. FYI my relay connections match exactly Dave's and Mishmosh's. I mentioned that I was using a 30A relay. He did not see any issue with the wiring of my system and as a result thinks the issue is with the switch itself.

So, if Harlan thinks the switch is the problem even after having viewed my schematic, I trust that he is correct.

I thought that perhaps the 30A relay might be the cause of the problem, allowing too much amperage through the rpm switch when it grounded out, eventually shutting the poor ol' boy down. I don't really know though whether the A through the switched ground is dictated by the relay, though...I thought the 30A meant that's the rating for the other two leads (the switched ones). If I have more issues with the new Harlan unit, I may simply try a relay that's rated for lower amperage. I don't even know if they make like a 0.5 A relay, though (I think that's what the switched ground on the Harlan is rated for).

 

Keven,
Can you check pin 30 and 87. Dave and I have it reversed. Just curious if it makes any difference.

I'd have to agree with you though. If Harlan thinks it's the switch, then it probably is...

 

Actually, I just looked up the specs for some generic relays. It looks like the amperage rating is for the switched poles (ie to the solenoid). The current through the input poles is determined by the coil resistance. A sample of relays showed the reistances to be high enough to yield an amperage of on the order of 0.1A or less. This is what the Harlan switched ground would see. That's not enough to fry it.

I'll see if I can find the part number for the relay I'm using and see if I can dig up some specs. Heck, maybe the coil R is low enough to yield a high enough A to freak out my Harlan. Who knows.

 

I honestly believe that there is something wrong (I don't know what) with the way we're wiring this thing up because I find it very hard to believe that we all got bad RPM switches.


Dave

 

UPDATE

Harlan contacted me today and we both agree that it's most likely not an RPM switch problem, instead it probably has something to do with the way we are wiring the VI. He said he will go over Keven's RPM switch very closely to make sure there isn't a memory switch problem or any other problems. I gave him a detailed explanation of our wiring setup and the problems we are experiencing. He thinks the 30-amp relay "might" be the problem. He said he would look closely at everything and determine the cause of our problems. He asked for our forum address because he wants to be in contact with everyone who is having a problem. Look for a post from him once he disects Keven's switch.


Dave

 

Nice, now that's customer service. Mine's been working all morning without a hitch though as well as last night.

 

How long does it usually take for him to ship it out, and it to get to your front door?

 

That all depends. SOme have reported that it arrives the following week while some have reported waits of up to 8 weeks.

I'm not sure the 30A relay has anything to do with the problem. I use one too and do not seem to have the problems that you all are experiencing. I even have one fed from the TAM and the other from a coil pack and both seem to be operating flawlessly.

 

I don't have my car so I can't go test things, but I've had 2 Harlans working for weeks now. I wired up the first one almost 2 months ago, and the second Harlan came in around a month after the first. Neither has ever lost its settings, reset itself, etc., and now I'm really glad I hooked up my LEDs I am running both Harlans off a single coil, and both units share the same 12v and ground.
-hype

 

People who ARE NOT having problems, give us your wiring setup. Tell us where you are grounding the RPM switch, where you're getting power, etc. This may help all of us determine if it is indeed a wiring issue or a RPM switch issue.


Dave

 

hi everyone,

haven't check in for a while...

I look at the rpm switch tonight and it hasn't lost it's
setting since the original install.

good luck,
rob

ps. I ordered my rpm switch when it was first posted
so mine came from an OLD batch...

 

What ended up happening with this problem finally? I am experiencing similar symptoms... how did you guys get it all fixed? I don't see a solution in this thread:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=221284

Hope someone can shed some light on this.

Thanks!

 

How are you guys contacting Harlan? I've attempted three emails to turbohawk80@yahoo.com with no response.

My switch went bad and he never got back to me. I ordered another switch on May 1st. I recently asked him for an order status but haven't gotten any responses.

 

That's how I contacted him. He must have a ton of emails. How long has it been?

 

My first attempt to contact was probably in mid April.

 

Damn!!! It sucks that you can't call but the only thing to do is to keep trying or just sned the unit back with a note attached.

 

I just e-mailed Harlan yesterday as well. I found out something interesting about the whole system. When the negative battery terminal is unplugged for about 10 sec and plugged back in, and the RPM switch is programmed, it works fine for the first 2-3 sweeps... or for about 10 min I guess... and then it does not work at all again... valves do not open and the LED does not flash at that RPM either. Even when I set the RPM again, it flashes the setting back at me but the valves still do not open and the LED stays off at that set RPM as well, during the rev-up.

grrr

 

http://www.cardomain.com/member_page...=287228&page=5
Here is how I wired mine. I prefer switching the ground to the MAP over the power.

 

I have the ground from the GM map/baro switch going to the negative terminal of the bettery and then I have the ground from the RPM switch going to the side of the strut base... you know what I mean?

Do you think that my problem is still a bad ground? When I reset the battery, it works perfectly but not for long.

 

This is a hard problem to fix sight unseen.