Engine Startup Rig Wiring Questions (Page 2 of 2)

What?  You don't like?

your controller looks good only one suggestion
I think the wire coming out of the box should have a grommet to keep them from shorting out when they get cut by the sharp edges.
hank

Looking good!

My first thought was grommets as well, but you might want to take it a step further.  I assume the wires are fairly long so you have a bit of mobility with the switch, and that you'll be bunching them up so they don't turn into a rat's nest.

Why not have them come out through a single (grommeted) hole and run down inside a wirecover until they split out to their various functions?

So I set up the rig (minus the charging circuit, since I don't have a voltage regulator yet) and did a quick oil pressure test. 

First time around, nothing seemed to be working right.  I had a brain fart and was confused as to why I could engage the starter without the ignition being on, but I specifically wired it like that but the reason escapes me.  Doh!  I think it was because I wanted to be able to do an oil pressure run and I wasn't going to need any ignition for that, but I forgot that the oil pressure light wouldn't work unless the ignition was on, so.... it was a dumb idea.

For safety reasons, I probably should rewire it (and adjust my diagram accordingly) so that the ignition switch also controls power to the starter circuit.

After that, I discovered that my oil pressure light wasn't coming on.  I did a few continuity tests and both the oil pressure and alternator warning lights were working ok and the case was successfully grounded back to the battery.  Thankfully I'm not using my 1776cc, so I pulled the oil pressure switch out of it to see if that was the problem.  That fixed it.  A soon as I turned the ignition switch on with the new switch, I started getting a comforting and pulsating oil warning light when I engaged the engine.  I'm wondering now if this faulty oil pressure switch might have been what lead to the demise of the donor engine in the first place? A hah!

I was getting an intermittant Alternator warning light coming up (before I was using the starter at all) but it stopped randomly.  Since the B+ terminal isnt connected to the battery and I don't have a voltage regulator yet, I'm going to wait to start debugging that.  It may not be an issue once everything is wired, but we'll see.

So far, there doesn't appear to be any leaks.  I cranked it over for about 30 seconds and the oil light started to go out but my battery had pretty much had it, so I packed it in for the day.

I'm sure you guys are sick of the long-winded posts and endless series of pictures about my experiences, but... I really need to show off and I want constant praise and adoration for very minor victories.  This is what happens when your dad never says he's proud of you - you have to turn to the internet for support.  Its a sad sad world haha

All wired up for oil pressure test.

Oil Pressure light works!