edit: pics scaled down for easier reading
Ok I know this is old school for most of you but I just got my mevi. also let me say I chose the mevi over the 00vi for several reasons and i was not afraid to install the 00vi, so please dont say I shoulda went 00vi. One reason was that I am also installing the mevi at the same time with the vq30de nwp spacers (hence the nwp sticker on the cover).

Ok on with my question...I basically just want those who are experienced to double check my wiring job. I researched and pretty much the whole wiring was done according to this thread by matty:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ht=wiring+mevi
Im just looking for someone to tell me if its good or if its bad and why. Any other comments are appreciated too.

Well, on with the pics.




As you can see, Im trying to keep this install as clean as possible and am hiding everything under the cover. Let me know what you think. That is also not the final position of the harlan switch but I just clipped it there for now, it will be in the general area tho.

 

Also is there a way I can test this before I install it with a 9v battery? Want to make sure before I try as I dont want to short out my switch or anything.

 

Why a 9v? Just hook it up to the battery in your car.

 

I want to see if i can test it to see if it works right now as it sits in my room. Im not gonna install this on my car until friday when my nwp spacers arive. I want to make sure I have everything connected corectly now so the install will be quick and easy.
sorry i didnt explain that well.

 

I don't mean permanently, just hook it up to the battery and test functions, then take it back inside or wherever. With a 9v you may get undesired results, with the batt in the car it should work like you want it to.

 

Ya ok, ill try it out tomorrow.

Still appreciate it tho if anyone has some feed back on my wiring and if its hooked up correctly. not that big a deal tho, if it doesnt work ill find out friday and ill go from there.

 

Shrink wrap and matches after soldering the wire would be better then electrical tape

 

should of went 00vi!! j\k

anyways +1 to pmohr hook it up to the battery and go from there. its pretty much trail and error i would assume??

little off topic but....... i probley would of gotten the mevi if one were around at the time i was looking. cause i wasent really into fabbing up my car to make it work. but i got my dek for dirt so i had no other choice.......

to be honest i was hoping to install this mevi in 99 SE Limited's car but obviously he decided to sell it

 

this is how mine is coneccted

12v to the soleniod, soleniod ground to the rpm switch
switched 12v source to the rpm switch, rpm signal wire to the ecu, ground to the car

and thats it if you want to could install a relay but thats up to you the rest is vac lines

 

@ Harlan.

I did what t6378tp did.

 

its what came with my setup...in a month or so im gonna control it off of a vafc2 that will also be used for a wideband.

 

Add a relay to the mix...this will protect the Harlan switch. That's how mine is setup. If you need the wiring diagram, let me know and I'll post it.

And FYI, the Harlan doesn't remember it's settings if you disconnect the car battery. So just remember that dipswitch "5" is for the first setting (button 1 on the Harlan), then whatever you choose for the RPM activation point (it's the last thing you do when setting it up, so you don't have to memorize it )

 

ya Wizard, can you show me the wiring for the relay included. How necessary is the relay?

Also I was under the impression that the harlan would remember the settings since you have to physically move the switches. I havent researched into what each switch represents on the harlan yet either tho.

 

FWIW, I've used the Harlan w/ a relay and w/o, no change

 

Ok. No problem. When I get home from work I'll upload it and post it.

That's what most people think around here. The row of switches control two settings: 1)how the switch is getting the RPM signal and 2) what RPM setting the user desires. I've installed 3 MEVI's now, all with different Harlan switches (2 new and 1 used), and none of them remember their settings once disconnected from the battery.

 

so if they forget the settings, how do you reset it? toggle each dip switch back and forth?

 

For 5 extra bucks, the added insurance of adding a relay and not blowing the Harlan switch is worth it IMO.....

 

The same way you set it up initially. All dipswitches down except for #5. Press button #1. Set dipswitches to desired RPM you want according to chart (for me it's 3,5,6 for 5200 rpms) and press button #2. Done.

 

i just figured out the dip switches. its just simple binary.

dip switch: 1..2..3..4..5...6....7
rpm=.........1+2+4+8+16+32+64...x100

 

ok thanks alot. I am just now reading the instructions for the switch on harlans site.

 

Tell that to my 4+ Harlans

 

i thought you first meant by no change that it didnt blow either way...hmmm...

 

also Wizard, when you hook it up to a relay, wont that turn the switch off everytime the car is off, requiring it to be reset everytime?...i guess ill see in the wiring diagram when you post it.

 

It 'blew' every time. I went Summit and never looked back. Food for thought if you should have the same luck as me.

 

heres an idea...
Instead of using the switched ground from the harlan to control the vac solenoid, could you use a shift light and connect it to the solenoid.

ebay has them for around $40 and they have easy dials.



If/when this harlan blows, ill definately be looking for other solutions.

 

he still needs the rpm switch to activate the relay, the only thing that changes when using a relay is the ground from the rpm switch goes to pin#86 on the relay and pin#85 goes to a 12v source, pin#30 to a 12v source and pin#87 to the soleniod and the soleniod ground to teh chassis. This way when the rpm switch hits the preset rpm point it will provides a ground, activate the relay to complete the circuit and provide 12v to the soleniod

 

Nah, that would suck if it did.....

Diagram as promised.

 

Interesting.....maybe you just suck at teh wiring. j/k
I'm 3 for 3, no issues.

Yeah, so did I.

What I don't like about the summit (from what I've read many times) is the need to figure out that if I want my MEVI to open at say 5200 rpms, I better set the Summit Switch for 5400 rpms or the like. That's pretty lame IMO.

 

I had mine set to 3200 which equaled 5200. I've read / heard that you can tune it via 'tuning' screw (probably potentiometer) inside the housing to get it properly matched. I never went that far, but I suppose it was / is doable.

Currently I've got a non - functional MEVI sitting on top my 240k VQ30DE.

It also seems as if there are mixed reviews on the Harlan. Unless you have any trouble, don;t listen to me, I'm just bitter re: Harlan.

 

why not use the msd digital rpm box, I've been using it for over 2years on multi cars without any problems. It's also alot easier to set

 

In my experience (3 MEVI installs using harlan switches back in the day on mine and two buddies' cars) harlan switches are utter trash. I've got run after run of 1/4 mile times to prove that they can wig out and stop working after multiple activations, and require restarting the car. I'd be going through the traps only to realize my harlan switch had freaked on me, not opening my mevi, causing that loud "wheezing" sound that occurs when an MEVI doesn't open and you're wringing out the RPMs, and my timeslips would have the proof. 2-3mph drop in traps, and a quick check of the harlan before shutting off the car would show that it had encountered an error. my buddies encountered this situation as well and I know DaveB did too.

the switch I got from Summit worked flawlessly over the hundreds of 1/4 mile passes I made with it, not once did I ever detect that it was not working.

 

I cant get my harlen to work at all. Its sitting in my glove box right now but it may be that I suck at teh wiring too.

 

wow, sounds like im gonna be looking for another option pretty soon. I am gonna get my NWP spacers either today or tomorrow in the mail, Im gonna install my MEVI tomorrow and then ill update on how well it works.

Thanks wizard for the diagram
This summer Im gonna probably control it with a vafc2 since I want to get a wideband also.



edit: speak of the devil:


too bad I have too much work to do for tomorrow to install everything today...

edit: screw it, im installing it...if i dont sleep tonight, i dont sleep...

 

Well I installed it all today and my car doesnt run...there is a vacuum leak somewhere. When I start the car it revs up to about 4000rpm then stalls. Sadly I ran out of daylight to work on it, tomorrow I should finish it...I just hope the leak isnt somewhere on the LIM...I really dont want to have to take it apart again.

btw to be honest im not surprised, i dont think ive ever really done something to my car without something going wrong....

 

wow, i'm doing the same thing - my mevi is waiting in my room and i'm going to order the nwp spacers next week.

the mevi i bought came with the summit switch and i need to order the vacuum canister from the dealer. what else do i need - a relay? does nissan make the relay?

 

make sure the vacuum canister has a check valve built into it or else you will need one of those. You also need a vacuum solenoid.

 

^^ on the check valve...



The relay is optional, I guess. If you want one, you can get one for sure at Radioshack, Fry's electronics etc. Maybe even stores like Autozone, Pepboys etc.

 

I got everything put together today with no vacuum leaks. I hooked up the rpm switch and the vacuum system, programmed it for 5000rpms but its not quite working the way it should. As i rev the engine it randomly opens and closes from 1000rom to 3000 then it stayed on at 3500 til about 5000 and then it closed. I have no idea how to diagnose that. I have it hooked up according to my picture in post 1. No relay.

 

you can start by taking the pos and neg leads from the vac niod and with the car running touch them to the battery. If everything works fine check your rpm switch again, if everything does not work fine check all your conections.

fyi solder is your friend

 

The solenoid works correctly, I already tested that by hooking it up to a battery and it then opens the mevi. Its either the rpm switch or how the switch is wired. Im gonna mess with it some more either tomorrow or sunday. Its been raining all day today and its forcasted to rain all weekend