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Thread: SMEC to 87 rewire.

  1. #1
    Boost, it's what's for dinner... Turbo Mopar Staff Aries_Turbo's Avatar
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    SMEC to 87 rewire.

    so recently i rewired my 87 harness that i have in my reliant (87 H body lebaron harness) to use 88/89 smec connectors and run the 88/89 smec boards.

    it was pretty much a continuation of this thread. http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...wiring-the-car

    i edited A.J.'s SMEC to 85 LM document to account for my changes.

    one change that i thought was beneficial was to connect the SMEC 14 way connector pin 2 wire (K5, BK/WT Ground) wire to a 14 gauge wire and connect it directly to the fuel rail ground.

    my car is running pretty well so far.

    SMECto87.pdf

    Brian

    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman
    This one is easy, I have myself to blame, I rush things, don't pay attention to gauges when I should, change to much stuff at once then expect miracles, the list is endless.

  2. #2
    Boost, it's what's for dinner... Turbo Mopar Staff Aries_Turbo's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    oh and btw, unlike A.J., i decided to forgo the connector swaps and just cut each wire individually, slide a piece of marine grade heat shrink over the wire, solder and heat up the heatshrink.

    i didnt want additional 30 year old connectors with their potential resistance to cause problems.

    not a knock on A.J., he decided he didnt want to cut and splice and hack up the harness. he also made this beautiful spreadsheet to guide me.

    thanks A.J.!!

    Brian

    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman
    This one is easy, I have myself to blame, I rush things, don't pay attention to gauges when I should, change to much stuff at once then expect miracles, the list is endless.

  3. #3
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Brian,
    I was thinking of doing this as well. How much time would you allocate for this task?
    Regards,
    Miles

    DD '87 Sundance T1, SLH with rear disks
    '87 CSX #432 2.5 CB TII, SLH

  4. #4
    Slugmobile & MeanMini Caretaker Turbo Mopar Contributor wheming's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Thanks for working through this and sharing your experiences!
    This will undoubtedly be the way to go that others should follow (converting to SMEC boards) to update from the LM. The SMEC has much improved capabilities, especially in the flashable configuration!
    Wayne H.

    '91 Dodge Spirit ES 2.5L turbo 5spd
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    MeanMini dragracing videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...URZLB1RxGYF6vw
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  5. #5
    Rhymes with tortoise. Turbo Mopar Staff cordes's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    That does look like a nice conversion. I'm wondering why the power module still though? Wouldn't it be easy enough to just pull the LM harness across the firewall, and install the 60 way pins on everything that needed it?

    ETA: I now see where doing the 60 way pins which are needed at the LM location would be just as easy if not easier.

  6. #6
    Boost, it's what's for dinner... Turbo Mopar Staff Aries_Turbo's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Quote Originally Posted by chromguy View Post
    Brian,
    I was thinking of doing this as well. How much time would you allocate for this task?
    hmmmmm. i soldered 5 wires or so an evening here and there for around 3 weeks to do the SMEC 60 way end of things. then i took an afternoon to do all the underhood stuff.

    if you are super organized and had uninterrupted time, you could probably do it in a day. it would be a good weekend project.

    Quote Originally Posted by cordes View Post
    That does look like a nice conversion. I'm wondering why the power module still though? Wouldn't it be easy enough to just pull the LM harness across the firewall, and install the 60 way pins on everything that needed it?

    ETA: I now see where doing the 60 way pins which are needed at the LM location would be just as easy if not easier.
    are you wondering why i kept them separate? or are you thinking i kept the 87 power module? i didnt. i swapped to the 89 power board under the hood and the 89 logic board where the LM went. you cant keep the 87 power module unless you do stuff to the injector signals. i believe they are inverted from 87 to 89.

    i kinda wanted to keep the 89 logic board in the car too. keeps the chip area from getting wet and then you dont have to worry about waterproofing it as much.

    my battery temp will be off but if im fussy, i can solder wires where the thermistor goes and extend it to under the hood by the battery. some guys say they accidentally knock that thermistor off the board when socketing the smec and the system still works ok afterwards so im not super concerned.

    Brian

    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman
    This one is easy, I have myself to blame, I rush things, don't pay attention to gauges when I should, change to much stuff at once then expect miracles, the list is endless.

  7. #7
    Rhymes with tortoise. Turbo Mopar Staff cordes's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Thanks for that info Brian. That makes a lot more sense now. I to have run the board without a thermistor for a time, and there was no trouble with anything from what I could tell.

  8. #8
    turbo addict Turbo Mopar Contributor iTurbo's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    That sounds like a lot of work! That's not a jab at all....I can appreciate it - the time and effort involved. With these cars there are so many ways to "skin a cat". I once converted an '88 Omni TBI harness to what was a close approximation of a Mopar Super 60 harness and people thought I was crazy. Lots of splicing, but it fit like a glove. My SL was originally LM/PM, then SBEC ('91 Lebaron GTC harness), and now SMEC (TC harness). Anymore I just like to adapt everything at the bulkhead.

    If I ever do a TIII Omni I have a '90 Omni SBEC harness to base it on. Kudos.

  9. #9
    Boost, it's what's for dinner... Turbo Mopar Staff Aries_Turbo's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Quote Originally Posted by iTurbo View Post
    That sounds like a lot of work! That's not a jab at all....I can appreciate it - the time and effort involved. With these cars there are so many ways to "skin a cat". I once converted an '88 Omni TBI harness to what was a close approximation of a Mopar Super 60 harness and people thought I was crazy. Lots of splicing, but it fit like a glove. My SL was originally LM/PM, then SBEC ('91 Lebaron GTC harness), and now SMEC (TC harness). Anymore I just like to adapt everything at the bulkhead.

    If I ever do a TIII Omni I have a '90 Omni SBEC harness to base it on. Kudos.
    It was alot of work. Had I planned it out better, I would have taken the 89 gtc harness I had and spliced it at the firewall connector. That is less wires.

    That said, I like the smec logic board being in the car.

    Brian

    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman
    This one is easy, I have myself to blame, I rush things, don't pay attention to gauges when I should, change to much stuff at once then expect miracles, the list is endless.

  10. #10
    turbo addict
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    This is the route I will likely go in my lancer. Just have to find some smec connectors. I actually enjoy doing wiring.

  11. #11
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor "Top Fuel" Bender's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Quote Originally Posted by Aries_Turbo View Post
    one change that i thought was beneficial was to connect the SMEC 14 way connector pin 2 wire (K5, BK/WT Ground) wire to a 14 gauge wire and connect it directly to the fuel rail ground.
    Brian
    did that on my omni dragcar
    I also flipped and re-pinned the injector harness so the connector is on the driver's side
    and across the trans
    seemed to cleanup more of the engine bay, shortened the run (less weight too hehehe)

    that ground is a joke , up the fender well, across the firewall, down the other fender, jump across through a connector to the fuel rail harness, ground to the fuel rail and back to the firewall
    or out the computer and to the rail ????? where was the penny counters on this one
    10's AGAIN '07, '08, '09
    TFB Fabrications custom billet machined parts for you Turbo Mopar

  12. #12
    Boost, it's what's for dinner... Turbo Mopar Staff Aries_Turbo's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Quote Originally Posted by "Top Fuel" Bender View Post
    did that on my omni dragcar
    I also flipped and re-pinned the injector harness so the connector is on the driver's side
    and across the trans
    seemed to cleanup more of the engine bay, shortened the run (less weight too hehehe)

    that ground is a joke , up the fender well, across the firewall, down the other fender, jump across through a connector to the fuel rail harness, ground to the fuel rail and back to the firewall
    or out the computer and to the rail ????? where was the penny counters on this one
    Yeah that ground path was a bit crazy.

    I was more concerned with multiple 30 year old connectors messing up that ground signal. Lol.

    Tangent coming.... Thought of you when I moved some vac hoses around on my cnc machined vac distribution block.... :-)

    Brian

    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman
    This one is easy, I have myself to blame, I rush things, don't pay attention to gauges when I should, change to much stuff at once then expect miracles, the list is endless.

  13. #13
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor "Top Fuel" Bender's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Quote Originally Posted by Aries_Turbo View Post
    Tangent coming.... Thought of you when I moved some vac hoses around on my cnc machined vac distribution block.... :-)

    Brian
    thanks !! I sold a ton of those but never see them on anyones car
    10's AGAIN '07, '08, '09
    TFB Fabrications custom billet machined parts for you Turbo Mopar

  14. #14
    Boost, it's what's for dinner... Turbo Mopar Staff Aries_Turbo's Avatar
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    Re: SMEC to 87 rewire.

    Quote Originally Posted by "Top Fuel" Bender View Post
    thanks !! I sold a ton of those but never see them on anyones car
    i remember you hooting and hollering about that lol. mine is on my car hehe.

    Brian

    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman
    This one is easy, I have myself to blame, I rush things, don't pay attention to gauges when I should, change to much stuff at once then expect miracles, the list is endless.

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