Tony's City Goblin - 2010 SS/TC

[Tony]

I just read the ABS description and operation section in our GM service manual.
If you could get it to function properly it would be really cool.

Some challenges

When the ABS activates it will likely over power is braking pulses. This will need to be adjusted in the ECM.

The yaw rate sensor will need to be adjusted for timing and intensity and it needs to be relearned how to deal with loose and tight conditions.

The location of the ABS unit is critical and will need to be calibrated. During a spin if the ABS is located up front it will see it as yaw. If the ABS is located in the rear it will see it as both yaw and lateral acceleration.

The ABS will want to see the front tire speed sensors in the front but when the system detects the front tires slipping during braking the ECM commands the engine to add torque to the drive wheels which are now in the rear.

That... sounds way more difficult than I anticipated. It sounds like the traction/stability control is pretty integrated into the ABS system, if that all is necessary. I was just hoping it would only read the wheel speed and modulate brakes based on that, but I don't really have a clue how ABS works haha.

 

[Tony]

Not much of an update for the weekend. Spent a little time cleaning up parts, but was out of town mostly. However, I got my racecar parts stimulus package (aka tax refund) today, so it's time to place the order!

 

[Tony]

Threw together a quick and cheap, but very sturdy work table last night in preparation for the wiring project. It's about 36 inches tall, which is nice since I am quite tall, but it was designed that way because it will become my table saw outfeed table when this is done.

Learn from my mistakes... measure carefully to make sure things you build will fit through whatever doors they need to go through. *facepalm* ended up having to take off part of 2 of the legs and also relocate the lower shelf up 6 inches.

 

[PHerder]

Sort of like the guy who built something in his basement (I have heard of cars and planes) and then had to tear out a wall and the land to get the project out of the house!

 

[Tony]

Was able to find a base model gauge cluster at the junkyard to replace the needles and plastic lens, but my SS face is still pretty shot. I'll need to source a new one of those. Anyone know where I can find one that isn't a $100 aftermarket ripoff? I found a used SS cluster on ebay for around $40, but I would rather not buy that just for the face since I already spent 30 on the base model one.

Dash harness stripped and thinned. Tell ya what, saw a tip on YouTube to use a seam ripper to cut the tape, and that was a life changer. Highly recommended. Also, **** you Chevrolet for making 3 switches, in close proximity, that use the same harness connector. The Traction Control switch, trunk release, and hazard lights are all the same... for future reference, the hazard light switch is black, gray, and white, with the white wire going to pin 9 on the blue BCM connector.

 

[Tony]

About 3 hours of progress since the last update. The body harness is quite a bit more expansive than the dash harness, and my table isn't quite a full 4x8, so it's a bit cramped. I got it mostly stripped and started separating the airbag wires.

Unrelated, I found someone who wants to buy the entirety of the unused parts that I have left, including the shell, to rebuild his wrecked car that still has a good engine. Score!

 

[Tony]

I'm almost finished thinning out the body harness, but I'm having a little difficulty with regards to the ABS system. I know that the twisted pairs are typically either DLC, airbag, or wheel speed sensors, and I don't want to mistakenly get rid of any data wires, since I know that the system is serial, so one break and it doesn't work.

In the video, the onstar data pairs go to the dash harness multiplug and the engine multiplug. In mine, the pair that is supposed to go to the engine MP goes to the ABS connector, then a similarly colored pair, right next to it as shown, goes to the ECM connector. There are two other twisted pairs that connect the engine MP to the ECM connector, a yellow/purple and tan/purple. I'm guessing I should leave these two pairs, and connect the pair from the dash harness to the ECM connector, bypassing the onstar and ABS.

Also on the ABS connector, this green/yellow pair, which goes to the dash harness MP...

...where it is co-pinned with a pink/gray pair.

The pink/gray pair goes to this connector, which breaks out near the 12V accessory wire, where the BCM and rear driver harnesses split. The other two wires (blue and green) go back to the ABS connector.

Those unidentified co-pinned pairs correspond to this unidentified connector on the dash harness, just a foot or so from the MP. The two other wires in it, gray and orange, go to the MP and unsurprisingly go back to the ABS connector.

So given that information, I'm guessing those two connectors and corresponding wiring can be removed, as they are strictly ABS related, but I just wanted to confirm that.

 

[JSATX]

Well all I can say is the tan/blk twisted pairs in the first picture is your CAN bus Hi/lo and are definitely required.

 

[Lonny]

On my turbo car I removed every wire associated with the ABS system except the data wires.
Your finished harness should have a string of tan and tan/black twisted data wires that run from the BCM to the back of the car.

 

[Tony]

On my turbo car I removed every wire associated with the ABS system except the data wires.
Your finished harness should have a string of tan and tan/black twisted data wires that run from the BCM to the back of the car.

Right, that's my goal, I just don't want to accidentally remove any data wires. Since I'm not sure what those 2 connectors went to, and they have twisted pairs, I wanted to double check.

 

[Tony]

Big progress this weekend, at least perceived. Got the body harness completely stripped, mounted the fuse box to the bench, and tidied everything up with zip ties. It's really satisfying seeing this after the huge tangled mess that it started as.

The SS ECM has different connector locations than the base model in the videos, so I need to figure out how best to route that far connector back to join up with the rest of the fuse box wires. I'm getting really close to the point where I won't have much more wiring to do until I start putting it in the frame. I'm planning to just continue to use zip ties to keep things organized until I get things in their final location, at which point I'll pull it out and wrap it with Tesa exterior tape (and loom where necessary) while I get the frame PC'ed. I want to use push mount zip-ties to hold the harness to the frame where required (looks neater than just zip-tying around the bars in my opinion), so having the harness (temporarily) installed while the frame is still bare will allow me to drill holes for those and not worry about rust.

 

[Tony]

Don't have a build update, since I'm kinda at a stall point until I can pick up the kit, but I do have a couple questions.
1. Can cruise control be easily retained since the throttle is electronic? I know the controls are on the steering wheel, so they'd have to be redone, but it seems like that shouldn't be a problem.
2. How is everyone dealing with the parking brake issue? Since the rear brakes are actually fronts, there obviously isn't a provision for that, but I'd like to have one for parking purposes.

 

[BAR-AIR]

Just a heads up sent Adam a set of Wilwood spot brakes a bunch of months ago. They are working on a mount that will attach to the strut bolts that are connected to the knuckle. (I do have a concern that it might reek havoc if we can't still use the camber bolts). The other option is to machine new knuckles (similar to the fronts) for the back that can accept the stock rear brake calipers that already have the mechanical emergency brake.

 

[TomsGarage]

Just a heads up sent Adam a set of Wilwood spot brakes a bunch of months ago. They are working on a mount that will attach to the strut bolts that are connected to the knuckle. (I do have a concern that it might reek havoc if we can't still use the camber bolts). The other option is to machine new knuckles (similar to the fronts) for the back that can accept the stock rear brake calipers that already have the mechanical emergency brake.

Can we do something like this? http://www.914world.com/bbs2/lofiversion/index.php?t24552-50.html

 

[Tony]

That seems like a pretty solid idea, or possibility at least. Maybe I'll go ahead and yank the parking brake handle/cables out of the car before it gets hauled off.

 

[Lonny]

We have the spot brake components laser cut and waiting on a welding jig.

 

[TheNuker]

Awesome, Because I think i will need that also to road register.

Nuker-

 

[Tony]

Very cool Lonny, so will these parts be included in my kit?

Any info on the cruise control question? Also, one other question - do I need to have TPMS sensors installed?

 

[PHerder]

Very cool Lonny, so will these parts be included in my kit?

Any info on the cruise control question? Also, one other question - do I need to have TPMS sensors installed?

I got a set of TPMS sensors installed when I ordered my tires/wheels from Tirerack.com but after the fact, they will not work due to needing to lower the pressure in the tires (lighter car does not need, or can use the higher "normal" pressures ... will wear out the center of the tire!)

I am guessing I will keep getting the warning but since my info center shows the actual tire pressures per wheel, it may still be helpful... I hope!

One year older (i.e. I have a 2008) 2007 and earlier did not have TPMS (at least in the LS versions).

 

[Lonny]

The spot brakes are not included with our kits.

We are creating parking brake kits for the Goblins for the customers that will need or want them. We still need to design the lever and cable system, then we will be able to price it out.