And so 2013 comes to an end....

 A bit of time off work, and apart from entertaining the kids, I've also managed to finish off a few niggles on the car build.

One of them was the fan which I had originally wired in to operate simply from the fan switch in the radiator. As it turns out, the ecu can take charge of this task, with the advantage of being able to program in the temperature you want the fan to switch in and out at. I figured as the the radiator is so far away from the engine in the J15 / Vectis, having the ECU reading the temp direct from the engine would be a better strategy. It's a simple case of using the ECU to provide a 0v signal to a relay, thus making the circuit to turn the relay on, this then starts up the fan...simples.

Also, completed (thanks to some helpful fellow builders / drivers on the locostbuilders forum) was the alternator wiring, the Puma has a two pin connector, so this was simply connected to a switched 12v supply and the other pin to the warning light on the digital dash....I wired all the engine using the semi assembled loom from Omex via connectors so it's all quick release if required.

Finally for 2013, I celebrated the end of the engine wiring by adorning it with a newly sprayed and lacquered engine cover...I was going to make one out of carbon, but thought better of it as the one on the Puma engine has a rather nice design which seals off the spark plug area.

2013......over and out....roll on 2014, which may well be the year the J15 hits the road...we shall see.

And so it continues.....

'First of all...apologies....I wrote this post some time ago, and should have been posted before the engine start post...not sure how to swap them around!'

This wiring lark really does take a while doesn't it.....

I keep wanting to move to the engine loom, but I'm determined to fully complete the rest of the wiring to a point that I never have to think about it again...Reliability is a big part of my own design brief, so simply no compromise with any of the wiring.

If you've been reading this blog for sometime, you will know that I really wanted to use the high quality fuse and relay box I removed from the Puma. At the moment, I'm still glad I pursued this route, as it's made for a good solid platform for the rest of the wiring.

This shows the main fuse box (lights, switches, etc,etc), you can also see the rear of the switch cluster which I have kept on a 'stand alone' panel with a connector - This means I can detach the lot of I need to.

 Moving to the other side of the car, the heavy stuff (starter / power / etc) is taken care of via the engine bay fuse box (from the Puma).....

Moving onto the ecu - although I've not started it's wiring, I have positioned it so I know where the loom will go. I ended up making a bracket on the passenger side which keeps the ECU easily accessible.

Engine.................STARTED :-)

A momentous occasion this evening......The engine started, and whats more seemed to purr like a kitten.

I'll be honest and say it's not been all plane sailing getting it up and running the map the Omex came loaded with did not want to open the injectors (still really don't know why), but a little help from the Omex helpline and a new cal file sent had me underway....a big thanks to Omex, their support has been great thus far, and worthy of a sticker on the side of the car when finished :-)

To recap - the ECU being used is an Omex 600 which uses one of it's aux outputs to control the cam solenoid. The function is an on/off function rather than that used on the Ford Puma which changes the cam timing on the inlet cam gradually as the revs and load rise making it not detectable. using it with the Omex means it will act more like the Vtec found on a Honda. I wired it in using a relay to be safe, although the ECU would probably have been capable of driving it.

The theory is that the cam can be switched in lower down the rev range (around 3000rpm), with the car mapped correctly (which it will be at Northampton Motorsport) should give a worthwhile performance gain........that's the theory anyway...we will see. So, in the Puma, the engine is rated at 125bhp, I've added individual throttlebodies from a gsxr750 motorbike on a homemade inlet manifold, and a decent (I hope) exhaust system...anyone care to guess what the bhp will be?.....I'm hoping for around 140bhp, and I also have a set of ford racing puma camshafts in the crosshiar when the cars through Iva and the bank balance has recovered a little.

Apart from joining the appropriate wires to the lights (that clearly can't be done until the body work is on), that's pretty much it for the wiring, I have some tidying and securing to do.

I'm pleased that I managed to keep the main loom from the puma, this connects to to the ecu via a 16 way connector, but it makes for a very neat install, and keeps the engine bay un-cluttered.

I'm hoping Mr Christmas brings me a few bits....I still need seatbelts, rear lights, some carbon panelling and driveshafts....