[iNewton]

I am receiving a lot of PV requesting information on how I placed and setup my gauges on my JonV's turbo kit, so I decided to make a complete tutorial including links and part numbers that you need to install everything.

This should normally work with other brands of gauges, I am pretty sure the sensors work the same way no matter the brand.

Why having gauges on a modified engine is a must:
Aftermarket turbo kits are not plug and play. Installing a turbo on a N/A engine is not the same as having a turbo car from the factory. A factory turbo car is programmed to protect itself in case of a malfunction to avoid blowing up your engine. I can monitor boost for overboost for example, and can trigger a "limp mode" if it detects anything out of spec going on, to prevent engine damage and failure.

On your SS, the ecu doesn't monitor this. You are the monitor, and you are the one deciding if something is out of spec and triggering limp mode. The only way you can do this is by manual verification of what is going on. The way to do this is using external gauges and the best way to do it is by logging information so that you can check it once in a while to make sure everything runs as it should.

Here is the list of the gauges I have installed:

AEM Wideband Failsafe:
Wideband Failsafe Gauge | AEM

Innovate MTX-D Oil Pressure / Temp;
Innovate MTX-D Water Temp / Voltage;
Innovate MTX-D Exhaust Gas Temp:
MTX Digital Series "Dual Function" Gauges

Before we start:

I recommend installing the gauges if not before, then at least at the same time you are installing your turbo kit. Installation of some sensors require taking off a lot of parts (headers, coolant hoses and oil pan mainly) that will be a major PITA to remove once your turbo is installed.

Also, I strongly suggest that you get an Aux fusebox before starting if you install more than 1 gauge. It will seriously help keep things nice and tidy: (Polaris Slingshot Fuse Block with Wiring Harness). You are installing close to 1500$ of dials, make you life easy and get this item. I will not cover the installation of this unit, the instructions are well made and its very simple to figure out:

I recommend using wire protectors or friction tape to cover up wires you will be running inside the engine bay, it will protect it from scrubbing and potentialy short. Don't underestimate the effect of vibrations on wires. Below is what (imo) a tidy engine bay should look like:

There are no loose wires and every wire is either in a fiction resistant tape or a plastic protector. Same goes for the interior of the dash, its not as nice but everything is tie-wrapped together and nothing is moving around:

You will end up with a LOT of wires when all is done, so I suggest that you install one gauge at a time to keep things simple and avoid mistakes during installation. Also, have a bit of extra Red / Black and whatever other color wire handy, not all wires are long enough to connect where they need to.

Friction tape: Product Catalog 3M™ Temflex™ Cotton Friction Tape 1755 : Electrical Commercial and Industrial: 3M US

You will need Permatex thread sealant (white stuff) and Permatex Black gasket maker on some sensors, knowledge on soldering is recommended, you can use crimps, but unless you really cannot solder, I don't recommend crimping wires vs soldering. Don't forget to use heatshrink to seal the wires you have soldered together, don't use tape.
=====================


AEM Wideband Failsafe installation:

The AEM comes with a lot of wires that we won't use so don't be impressed by the amount of wires coming out of that box.
Wires we are using:
- USB : This is used to connect the gauge to a PC or Laptop. If you don't have a laptop, make sure you have the gauge configured before installing it into the SS.
- Vacuum tube
- Bosch O2 sensor connector
- Black / Red : switched power source
- Green : RPM Tap
- Grey is for dimming, I didn't use it, the gauge is not bright enough to cause glare imo.
- YELLOW+WHITE+BROWN+BLUE : We are not using those. cut the ends of the wires and once all wires are passed into the dash, just heatshrink the ends and tie them together and place them out of the way. (don't shorten them, just in case for future use)

Vacuum tube:
This is how I setup my vacuum tube: the T I installed there was to test the precision of the gauge using an mecanical pressure gauge. I install on the T to validate the numbers my AEM gives me. Mine was spot on. You don't need to install a T there, you can just install an adapter for tube size adjustment. NOTE: it's not recommended to install this tube on a T to the Bov as it can cause data error on boost and vacuum reading. Make sure all your tubes are solidly sealed.

Bosch O2 Sensor:
Pretty easy to install, you will need to have the bung soldered to the exhaust as per instructions.

Green : RPM Tap
This one is tricky (thanks to @RABTECH for the how-to).
In order to read RPM, we must tap a signal wire from a coil. We can tap it at the coil, or at the ECU. I prefer the ECU because less wire lenght means less signal noise and it make the job look better. In order to tap the wire, you will need to unplug the J2 connector from the ECU (the center one), and remove the cover. Be carefull its very fragile. Then you will need to cut a good portion of the tape holding the wires together and the tie-wrap using an exacto. BE VERY CAREFULL TO NOT CUT ANY WIRES DOING THIS. Its best to use a new blade that is very sharp so that you don't have to push hard on the blade and cut something else. Take your time.

The wire we are looking for is PIN1, its the white wire with a brown line on it:

To tap the wire, you have 2 options:

1)You can strip some part of the wire off, then roll the Green wire around the exposed wire and solder the wires together, then tape it up so that its sealed
2)Use a wire tap (wire tap - Google Search)

Both options will work, I personally used a wire tap with a plug so that it's easier to remove if I need to replace the gauge in the future:

Once you have tapped the wire, use friction tape to bundle the wires back together (don't forget the thin tie-wrap), replace the cover and reconnect the plug to the ECU:

(POWER) Black / Red:
This is where the Fusebox comes in handy. Just run RED to + side of the box, black to - side, put a 5A fuse in the SWITCHED position, you are done.

USB Wire:
This is how I installed mine. It needs to be easy to access this was my solution, just pass the USB wire into the glove compartement using the grommet next the to power outlet. The USB cable is not heat resistant so make sure its not left hanging in the engine bay...

That's it for the AEM installation. If necessary I will do a tutorial on configuring the gauge, but for now, just make sure RPM is set at 0.5 to get the right RPM reading.

 

[iNewton]

MTX-D OIL / TEMP Gauge:

Installation of the gauge itself is simple, just hookup the power cables to the fusebox, and run the wire from the sensor to the proper plugs.
The connectors IN and OUT are for programming purpose, and to hook up to the PL1 logging unit.

OIL PRESSURE SENSOR:
This is where I placed the oil pressure sensor unit, you need to hook it up to the oil gallery under the headers:

You will need a m12x1.75 to npt8 adapter (Adapter, 1/8" NPT to M12x1.75) that goes into the oil gallery. We use the hole closest to the back of the engine, because the one on the front is used for the turbo oil feed line (if your turbo is not yet installed).

Oil pressure sensor to:

Pipe Coupler; Size: 1/8
Coupler 1/8 NPT FEM/FEM

to

Straight Adapter Fitting; Size: -3AN x 1/8
3AN to 1/8NPT MALE / MALE

to

Universal Oil Feed Kit (2 foot hose with -3AN female fittings)
3AN 2ft FEM/FEM hose

to

Straight Adapter Fitting; Size: -3AN x 1/8
3AN to 1/8NPT MALE / MALE

to

Adapter, 1/8" NPT to M12x1.75
1/8 NPT FEM to M12x1.75 MALE

to

Engine block

Use permatex thread sealant on all threads including the one that goes into the engine block, and use a spliced rubber hose to tie it down somewhere on the frame so that it doesn't rattle on anything.

OIL TEMP SENSOR:

For oil temp, things get more complex. I installed my temp probe when I pulled my oil pan:

If you look at the pan, there is a tapped hole there, so I just drilled it all the way thru, and tapped it to npt8 thread. You cannot do this with the pan on the engine. I used copper gasket maker to seal the thread. Then bring the wire up to the dash and to the gauge making sure it wont rub against anything hot (I ran it up the oil dipstip tube, then to the main harness and into the dash).
========================

MTX-D Water Temp / Voltage

Gauge install is the same as the one above, but it only has 1 sensor. Voltage is taken direct from power source.

Water sensor installation is simpler but you need to bleed out the system enough to not make a mess when cutting the radiator hose to place the adapter.
You will need to have a 34mm hose adapter to install the temp probe:

This is what it looks like installed:

MTX-D EGT:

Gauge instalation is the same as the others for power. The sensor is different, and requires a bung be soldered onto the runner of one of the cylinders. Install the sensor so that the tip of the sensor is near the center of the space inside. I put copper gasket maker there then just screw in the bolt into the bung, then put the top bolt into the sensor, then the thin spacer with the cone facing toward the tip of the sensor, then the larger conical spacer again facing the tip of the sensor, install the assembly to the bolt and tighen until the sensor cannot move or rotate. Don't overdo it. run the wire to the gauge making sure its not in contact with the exhaust, but the wire is heat resistant it will not melt unless its touching.

That's it for this gauge.

MTX-D GAUGE PROGRAMING

Don't forget to program the gauges before you install them, especially if you dont have a laptop. Unless you have a very very old laptop or computer that has a serial port, you will need a com port to usb converter cable for the MTX-D gauges:

Insignia™ - 1.3' USB-to-RS-232 (DB9) PDA/Serial Adapter Cable - Black

You must plug the cable to the PC so that the drivers install then unplug, plug the adapter to the gauge, plug the usb to the computer then power on the gauge either from car power or external 12v power supply. Use the included software from Innovate to setup the gauges as per instructions.


My Data:

Idle oil pressure:
Cold : 55 psi
Hot : 39 psi

Cruising oil pressure (hot)
Around 60 psi

Alarm is set at 25 psi. The LE9 is reported to lubricate ok at idle with only 5 psi but lets not forget the turbo that uses the same oil...

Water temp normal is 88 deg celcius when warmed up, at 108 the fan should turn on and bring temp down to 94-95 pretty fast when you are stuck in traffic.
Alarm is set at 110.

Egt are very variable I find it hits around 850 to 950 highway cruising and will go to a bit over 1100 when pushing the car for a while.
1250 deg is the max I would want to see on stock valves before being scared of burning a valve.
I set alarm at 1150.

Oil temp should be around 10 deg celcius more than coolant warmed up so the dial should be at the end of green leds and 1st yellow when reaching around 95 deg celcius. That will tell you that its ok to start pushing it without risking damage to the engine or turbo.
Max oil temp is around 125 deg celcius passed that the oil will start breaking down and be in a not good zone, so at 115 I set my led to turn to red.


Hope this helps you guys installing these gauges. If you have recommendations about alarm temps, please comment, I have set these based on hours of reading on the Le9 and turbo engines in general, I might be wrong.

 

[Bill Martin]

Think even with this fantastic detailed installation procedure it may still be over my level of skill. Nevertheless, kudos to you for a well written, detailed, installation instruction.

 

[RABTECH]

It all looks great to me..... Good write up...

 

[Blitzkrieg]

These are some of the best install docs I've see in a long time iNetwon. Thank You.

I am starting with the most important (to me) gauge first - the AEM Wideband Failsafe.

I cannot find anywhere to download the install instructions and not sure where the bung would go on my Alpha turbo exhaust. As you can see there is very little header pipe before the muffler.

I was going to ping Henry but wondered if you had any thoughts or maybe if the bung can be placed anywhere downstream of the turbo. I assume closer to the turbo is better but w/o instructions not sure what AEM recommends.

Here is a pic for reference. I'm not even sure there is enough room for a bung on the turbo side of the pipe.

Appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Well, this blurb from the SCG install manual answers the O2 sensor placement location, which on the Alpha Turbo muffler pretty much implies the sensor will have to be located after the muffler on the exhaust pipe.

I do have a question though, did you choose the AEM 30-4900 over the SCG-1 because of preference between the two or ?

Weld the bung at least
24 inches
after the turbocharger.

Using a clock as reference, mount the bung between the
9:00 o’clock and 3:00 o’clock position
. Welding the bung in the lower section of the exhaust pipe can result in sensor damage caused by
condensation making contact with the sensor’s internal heating element.

 

[iNewton]

Well, this blurb from the SCG install manual answers the O2 sensor placement location, which on the Alpha Turbo muffler pretty much implies the sensor will have to be located after the muffler on the exhaust pipe.

I do have a question though, did you choose the AEM 30-4900 over the SCG-1 because of preference between the two or ?

Weld the bung at least
24 inches
after the turbocharger.

Using a clock as reference, mount the bung between the
9:00 o’clock and 3:00 o’clock position
. Welding the bung in the lower section of the exhaust pipe can result in sensor damage caused by
condensation making contact with the sensor’s internal heating element.

I chose that model for the automatic 2h datalogging the gauge has.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Thanks.

 

[slinghighslinglow]

MTX-D OIL / TEMP Gauge:

Installation of the gauge itself is simple, just hookup the power cables to the fusebox, and run the wire from the sensor to the proper plugs.
The connectors IN and OUT are for programming purpose, and to hook up to the PL1 logging unit.

OIL PRESSURE SENSOR:
This is where I placed the oil pressure sensor unit, you need to hook it up to the oil gallery under the headers:
View attachment 30337


You will need a m12x1.75 to npt8 adapter (Adapter, 1/8" NPT to M12x1.75) that goes into the oil gallery. We use the hole closest to the back of the engine, because the one on the front is used for the turbo oil feed line (if your turbo is not yet installed).

View attachment 30336

Oil pressure sensor to:

Pipe Coupler; Size: 1/8
Coupler 1/8 NPT FEM/FEM

to

Straight Adapter Fitting; Size: -3AN x 1/8
3AN to 1/8NPT MALE / MALE

to

Universal Oil Feed Kit (2 foot hose with -3AN female fittings)
3AN 2ft FEM/FEM hose

to

Straight Adapter Fitting; Size: -3AN x 1/8
3AN to 1/8NPT MALE / MALE

to

Adapter, 1/8" NPT to M12x1.75
1/8 NPT FEM to M12x1.75 MALE

to

Engine block

Use permatex thread sealant on all threads including the one that goes into the engine block, and use a spliced rubber hose to tie it down somewhere on the frame so that it doesn't rattle on anything.

OIL TEMP SENSOR:

For oil temp, things get more complex. I installed my temp probe when I pulled my oil pan:

View attachment 30332

If you look at the pan, there is a tapped hole there, so I just drilled it all the way thru, and tapped it to npt8 thread. You cannot do this with the pan on the engine. I used copper gasket maker to seal the thread. Then bring the wire up to the dash and to the gauge making sure it wont rub against anything hot (I ran it up the oil dipstip tube, then to the main harness and into the dash).
========================

MTX-D Water Temp / Voltage

Gauge install is the same as the one above, but it only has 1 sensor. Voltage is taken direct from power source.

Water sensor installation is simpler but you need to bleed out the system enough to not make a mess when cutting the radiator hose to place the adapter.
You will need to have a 34mm hose adapter to install the temp probe:

View attachment 30334

This is what it looks like installed:

View attachment 30333

MTX-D EGT:

Gauge instalation is the same as the others for power. The sensor is different, and requires a bung be soldered onto the runner of one of the cylinders. Install the sensor so that the tip of the sensor is near the center of the space inside. I put copper gasket maker there then just screw in the bolt into the bung, then put the top bolt into the sensor, then the thin spacer with the cone facing toward the tip of the sensor, then the larger conical spacer again facing the tip of the sensor, install the assembly to the bolt and tighen until the sensor cannot move or rotate. Don't overdo it. run the wire to the gauge making sure its not in contact with the exhaust, but the wire is heat resistant it will not melt unless its touching.

That's it for this gauge.

View attachment 30335


MTX-D GAUGE PROGRAMING

Don't forget to program the gauges before you install them, especially if you dont have a laptop. Unless you have a very very old laptop or computer that has a serial port, you will need a com port to usb converter cable for the MTX-D gauges:

Insignia™ - 1.3' USB-to-RS-232 (DB9) PDA/Serial Adapter Cable - Black

You must plug the cable to the PC so that the drivers install then unplug, plug the adapter to the gauge, plug the usb to the computer then power on the gauge either from car power or external 12v power supply. Use the included software from Innovate to setup the gauges as per instructions.


My Data:

Idle oil pressure:
Cold : 55 psi
Hot : 39 psi

Cruising oil pressure (hot)
Around 60 psi

Alarm is set at 25 psi. The LE9 is reported to lubricate ok at idle with only 5 psi but lets not forget the turbo that uses the same oil...

Water temp normal is 88 deg celcius when warmed up, at 108 the fan should turn on and bring temp down to 94-95 pretty fast when you are stuck in traffic.
Alarm is set at 110.

Egt are very variable I find it hits around 850 to 950 highway cruising and will go to a bit over 1100 when pushing the car for a while.
1250 deg is the max I would want to see on stock valves before being scared of burning a valve.
I set alarm at 1150.

Oil temp should be around 10 deg celcius more than coolant warmed up so the dial should be at the end of green leds and 1st yellow when reaching around 95 deg celcius. That will tell you that its ok to start pushing it without risking damage to the engine or turbo.
Max oil temp is around 125 deg celcius passed that the oil will start breaking down and be in a not good zone, so at 115 I set my led to turn to red.


Hope this helps you guys installing these gauges. If you have recommendations about alarm temps, please comment, I have set these based on hours of reading on the Le9 and turbo engines in general, I might be wrong.

View attachment 30339

I don't know if your still around but this write up has helped me a lot........one question though there are three plugs on back of head with a green stipe on them this is a picture of the middle one are they oil gallery plugs that I could use for oil pressure