ECU heat question

[V8 Vum]

I am thinking of mounting my GM ECU centrally in the cab between the seats on the rear bulkhead and got to wondering if this unit gets hot/ needs ventilation as it has vanes that suggests it does, or can I fabricate a removable box to place over it?

Ihave seen some mount this in a side-pod so.....Any thoughts and experiences would be grateful.


cheers


Keith

[Steve_D]

Don't mount it low down between the seats.............stops you storing an umbrella behind the seats.

Steve

[pilbeam_mp62]

Keith,

This is how mine is fitted, in the driver's side , and it is easily accessible. On the other side of the plate is a fuse block, and relays, and the whole thing fits very neatly.



There will be a lot to fit between the seats, and if you only have the standard loom, you will need to extend some of the wires anyway. Do yourself a favour - buy the proper loom and save yourself a load of grief

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Regards

[V8 Vum]

pilbeam_mp62 said:

Keith,

This is how mine is fitted, in the driver's side , and it is easily accessible. On the other side of the plate is a fuse block, and relays, and the whole thing fits very neatly.



There will be a lot to fit between the seats, and if you only have the standard loom, you will need to extend some of the wires anyway. Do yourself a favour - buy the proper loom and save yourself a load of grief

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Regards

Guys, unfortunately I have looked into buying a engine factory Loom from AS, which was my very first preferance!

I have the Schwartz (bought before AS did an LS7) version and the engine loom is shorter - thus I can't follow the factory way. Jeff suggested fitting the unit to the rear of the LHS side-pod (near the filler cap), but US cars have the fly-by-wire pedal mounted on the left also, so no real problem...
...unfortunately it looks like it is a problem for UK RHS fitment as it is just a bit too far.

AmSp want $1,325 for the loom and by the time it is landed/taxes etc it would have probably cost me over £1000 ...so fitting it a-la-factory is not an option.

The other thought was to mount the ECU on the engine side of the firewall and pass any wires for the loud pedal etc through into the cab, but I have no idea if that is desirable i.e. if the engine heat generated would cause a problem?????

So my options (taking into account the length available + the position of the fly-by-wire unit (other side to US) is somewhat limited.
Inside cab or engine side on firewall????

any advice please?


cheers

keith

Edited by V8 Vum on Tuesday 13th April 08:34

[pilbeam_mp62]

V8 Vum said:

I have the Schwartz (bought before AS did an LS7) version and the engine loom is shorter - thus I can't follow the factory way. Jeff suggested fitting the unit to the rear of the LHS side-pod (near the filler cap), but US cars have the fly-by-wire pedal mounted on the left also, so no real problem...
...unfortunately it looks like it is a problem for UK RHS fitment as it is just a bit too far.

AmSp want $1,325 for the loom and by the time it is landed/taxes etc it would have probably cost me over £1000 ...so fitting it a-la-factory is not an option.

It sounds, from what you say, that the Schwartz-supplied LS7 loom is not suitable for a right-hand drive Ultima, without a lot of modifications - Why not return it to him for a refund, and offset that against the cost of the AS loom ?

You definitely don't want the ECU, fuse box and relays on the engine bulkhead - there's very little room - if you find somewhere to mount it before the engine goes in, you won't be able to access it afterwards - and the heat would probably be an issue. Also, if you have mounted your fuel pump down on that chassis rail, it produces quite a bit of vibration.

That's not what you want to hear Keith, but seriously, you need a suitable loom, unless you want a load of grief. IMHO, of course

Regards

[crafty]

I have mine mounted in front of the fuel filler - on the inside of the panel where the door striker is.

Jeff has had his mounted in the engine bay for years with no problems.

[V8 Vum]

crafty said:

I have mine mounted in front of the fuel filler - on the inside of the panel where the door striker is.

Crafty, Do you swing to the left or the right?

...err, I mean are you a left or right hooker in Hong-Kong?

err....????

[crafty]

Right hand drive... ECU on right.

[V8 Vum]

I will need to look again then, cos I would have thought that the loom supplied would be about the same length as yours! My only concern is that if tight, there is no stress on the cable when the engine rocks!

Must admit mine appears to be quite short, but then I have not tried your routing so it just might be long enough. Where did you pass the fly-by wire connector through from the ECU? The bulkhead at the bottom right? ..and where have you mounted the relays/engine fuse block?

Any help would be appreciated.

cheers

Keith

Edited by V8 Vum on Tuesday 13th April 11:36

[DHGTR]

Mine is mounted in the rh luggae pod. loom extension for the pedal runs through the pod (speak to Kyle for this).

Dave

[RussF]

Mine is also a pre AS LS7 Schwartz supplied one - fits fine in the back of the RHS luggage pod and the throttle cable fits without modification too.
The loom runs down the back of the engine, round the gearbox bell housing and then along the lower chassis rail and into the RHS side pod. For reference the length of the main harness from the main connectors to the main junction is about 1.8m. The main junction on mine is fastened at the end of valley cover at the gearbox end of the engine.

Hope that makes sense!

Russ.

[V8 Vum]

It certainly does Russ!
Sounds like I was making things overcomplicated - but then, that must be because of my advancing age!

I will have a look with a measuring stick in-hand tonite!
Where did you put the rlays and fuse block - in the pod?

On another subject, I am covering my bulkhead with heat blanket, which is fine, and then I used the tape to finish the edges off nicely. I did this also on the fuel tanks, but now I notice the the tape is lifting in areas. Seems that the glue-coating is not very strong which is a pain! Anyone had this experience?

cheers

Keith

[GTRCLIVE]

So whats wrong with mounting it on the rear bulkhead ???

Edited by GTRCLIVE on Tuesday 13th April 16:17

The Motec is under the ally plate behind the seat with the Vent holes in it. We mounted it but also put the plate over it just to stop any connection being accidentally touched or even theft problems etc.

Edited by GTRCLIVE on Tuesday 13th April 16:18

[V8 Vum]

RussF said:

For reference the length of the main harness from the main connectors to the main junction is about 1.8m. The main junction on mine is fastened at the end of valley cover at the gearbox end of the engine.
Russ.

Oh Dear! I have just measured mine and it is half that! I thought it would be the same as yours as it was supplied by Jeff Schwartz!

From the main connectors to the junction as you mention is 800mm so no way can I do what you did. It is only just enough to pass directly through the bulk head right in front of the engine!

What now!

[crafty]

I'm in USA so I cant take photos of my setup.

Post some of yours - have you got the loom going around the front or rear of the engine?

Mine's cable throttle.

[Gulf LS3]

pilbeam_mp62 said:

Keith,

This is how mine is fitted, in the driver's side , and it is easily accessible. On the other side of the plate is a fuse block, and relays, and the whole thing fits very neatly.



There will be a lot to fit between the seats, and if you only have the standard loom, you will need to extend some of the wires anyway. Do yourself a favour - buy the proper loom and save yourself a load of grief

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Regards

Thats interesting as the Gm Ecus ive been using (E67 motorpsport) have three connectors on the them not the two as shown on yours. i believe the gen 3 ecus only had two connectors.

There are 100's of looms available Keith, let me know where you want to mount things and i will see what i can do to help, Painless do some lovely stuff which is no more money than standard GM looms.

The Gm ecu's are weather sealed and will mount anywhere, the only place not to put it imo would be anywhere very hot or wet.

[V8Dom]

GTRCLIVE said:

So whats wrong with mounting it on the rear bulkhead ???

Edited by GTRCLIVE on Tuesday 13th April 16:17

The Motec is under the ally plate behind the seat with the Vent holes in it. We mounted it but also put the plate over it just to stop any connection being accidentally touched or even theft problems etc.

Edited by GTRCLIVE on Tuesday 13th April 16:18

Someone looks very happy in the photo.

Where you paying the tuner per the hour??

Dom

Edited by V8Dom on Wednesday 14th April 19:31

[UltimaCH]

Looks like some deep meditation going on, or could it be some 40 winks??

[Captain Slog]

V8Dom said:

GTRCLIVE said:

So whats wrong with mounting it on the rear bulkhead ???

Edited by GTRCLIVE on Tuesday 13th April 16:17

The Motec is under the ally plate behind the seat with the Vent holes in it. We mounted it but also put the plate over it just to stop any connection being accidentally touched or even theft problems etc.

Edited by GTRCLIVE on Tuesday 13th April 16:18

Someone looks very happy in the photo.

Where you paying the tuner per the hour??

Dom

Edited by V8Dom on Wednesday 14th April 19:31

Is that Mr GTWayne, where the hell has he been, he was all over this site this time last year, hope he is not another divorce victim.

Steve

[V8Dom]

UltimaCH said:

Looks like some deep meditation going on, or could it be some 40 winks??

maybe he is asleep hence the belts still done up so he doesn't hit the steering wheel??