Last Work Weekend Before Arse-Freeze

Work continued on the car this last weekend with the Punch List looking a lot greener. Claus aka Lug Nut came in the morning and we worked on the various odds and end. From this work some good and bad news can be reported. On the bad news the Nissan Consult seems to be having trouble connecting. With two computer and at least five different software systems connection into the ECU was not made. Not a huge problem, but without it the Tablet display is dead (some won't cry to hard over that) and a simpler tach will be used. The real negative is we can't look into the ECU to determine what it thinks is going on. Sparky will look at this track side to see if we blew the channels out with the last race and we will have to go from there.

On the good side we tested the fuel delivery system for the first time. It is a 15 gallon conical tank that we have placed onto cart.

We filled it with 10 gallons, inserted the hose to the car, and opened the valve. In 42 seconds all 10 gallons of fuel where dumped into the tank. In the end very successful. Not only is this new system faster, but it appears we will also spilled less than the old gas cans.

Then, in the evening Rod come by. He was able to weld in the K support to roll bar, so now that it done. Then just before he left we tried the to start the car. No go. It was getting cold and we noticed that the battery charge was low. So we put a charge for 20 minutes and again nothing. So we left that evening thinking the battery just needed charging and closed up for the evening.

However, I was very troubled, so today I went back in to test the problem. I did spend a lot of time the day before zip tying wires and now wondered if I had been too zealous. After several tests, it was clear that the fuel pump was not working. After an hour of chasing wires and testing voltages I found that power was not going through the relay switch. So, I replaced the relay turned on the ignition switch, and one throw of the starter switch we roared to life. After checking with Sparky (and being rightfully chastised for messing with ECU board) the trouble is most likely in the connectors to the Fuel relay. On end most likely got loose as a result of my efforts and we will look on Thursday to make sure all those are seated correctly. Sorry Sparky.

In the end we are in business again with a working car and few small action items left for the race this weekend.

Muddy