BTC installed...but why is it behaving weird???

[rjaffey]

CROM,

What year is your car and which wire did you connect the blue btc wire to? If you connect it to the tach signal (it's blue), the engine will bog badly when boost kicks in if you've got the knob turned passed 3 or 4 clicks.

[CROM]

Raffe, I have the blue wire connected to the Blue wire on the dist. Is that wrong? My car is a 98, earlier models were Blue/Green, atleast that is what the instructions said!

[rjaffey]

There were two blue wires by the distributor of the '97 I looked at. The correct one changed color as it passed through the connector by the distributor to blu/grn in the short span of wire running from the connector to the distributor itself.

[CROM]

When I did the install, I hooked all the wires up at the plug coming from the distributor. That plug had a blue green wire and a blue wire, I hooked it to the blue wire.

Is this right? I think JR has a crew of monkeys writing their instruction pamphlets!

[This message has been edited by CROM (edited October 03, 2000).]

[Streetwize]

On my Si, there are two blue wires, but only one on the distributor side. the correct wire is the one that goes to blue/green tracer on the opposite side of the connector. If you notice (at least on the Civic) the larger guage blue wire on the ECU side does not correspond with a through-wire on the distributor side of the connector. I mentioned this to Keith at JR the other day. The simple solution would be to have a very simple "pin-out" schematic with all the connector wires identified along with the narrative. A picture's worth a thousand words and this would all but eliminate the unnecessary confusion.

As for the minimum setting, I believe that even at the minimum it is something like .8 degrees retard per pound of boost. My first question when I looked at the thing is "minimum what??, maximum what?? I can't understand why they couldn't advise us of the calibration range in the instructions. It's like a lean/rich indicator with no proportional A/F ratio.

Long story short, I believe minimum=minimum amount of retard (.8/psi)but still retarded vs stock (no retard). So at 6 lbs the minimum would correspond to about 4.8 degrees out of the distributor=11btdc if set at 16. Maximum is approx 1.2 deg./psi, which would be correspond to about 8btdc (think same max power as JRSC set at 8BTDC w/no controller) so the middle position would be approx. 1 degree/psi boost. The way it appears to wire up is a P/I (pnuematic to current) transducer sends the proportional input and the amount of retard is varied via the rheostat (dial)in series with the ECU ignition curve. I wonder if the P/I range is calibrated for more allowable boost or if it maxes range @ 6 lbs.

This is the best I can figure out short of pulling out a meter and performing an autopsy on the box. I'm an engineer but I'm just not that curious. If someone has the definitive answer, I'd really like to know.

Mine is set at 18 degrees initial and with the BTC runs best 4-5 clicks from minimum, I also note that I move up or down one or two clicks depending on ambient air temperature and or if the car is loaded down with 2 or more friends. The BTC unit in my 2000 Si is completely hidden inside the console behind the cup holders and the dial is buried in the console storage compartment. Totally stealth.

[228GSR]

With all this talk about BTC, I decided to take the car out tonight and do some tuning of my own. I'm not an expert on BTC settings, I was just going on what I have read so far. First I stopped to get gas...running on E. Set the BTC to the middle setting(12oclock). Took it out on a long stretch of road...left it in first and hit it at about 4,000rpms. The car felt really sluggish. I thought it was just my butt dyno decieving me. I pulled over on the same stretch of highway and set the BTC back to 0. Got back out on the road, left it in first and hit it at 4 grand again. It started pulling much harder...tires were breakin loose after VTEC. Just a tidbit of info...don't really know if it means anything.

------------------
99' GSR 13.6 @ 103.4mph
-JRSC w/ Walbro Fuel Pump, AEM Intake, Tanabe Racing Medallion Exhaust, Mugen Header, Ground Control Coilovers/ Koni Adjustable Shocks, Black 17x7.5 Volk Racing SE37's, and Wings West Body Kit
Since then: Quaife LSD, ACT Clutch, ZEX Ultra Lightweight Flywheel, AEM Cam gears

[randomwalk101]

228GSR, I know what are going through. There is *no* ping...damn. I got pissed this afternoon and drove the car to Acura to get a mechanic take a look at it (he's a friend)...He drove around w/ me and he didn't hear anything either. He said there was no pinging...I certainly didn't hear it.
Anyways, I think the next step would increase the timing to 18 BTDC and do the retard tuning routing again?

[SteveW]

I can turn it almost all the way down, but I have been pussying out to turn it all off. I should have my J&S tomorrow and I will be able to see the detonation rather than trying to hear it. I really cant tell if I am getting detonation up high, I know down low though I am not. Maybe the BTC unit changes timing on its own up high as it is, and the boost dependant portion just changes it over all. Okay I am tired so I might be making no sense. What I am trying to say is that maybe up high in the rev range there might be a built in amount of retarding with the unit, and the boost part makes it lower. That any clearer?
I will see once I get the J&S back to tell for sure.

Steve

[CROM]

Just for some info!

the instructions about the blue wire are not good. On my Car I connected the Blue BTC wire, to the light blue wire with green stripe on the plug that comes out of the distributor, this is the correct way to wire it. At 12 oclock the car was barely moving, now it feels like it did before the BTC...

Thank you Jim and Raffe!

[cpa]

CROM-

So the car with the BTC at mid-pont now feels like it did before the BTC? Are you still able to set the BTC to minimum with no ping, or has that changed as well?