Installing the HKS Turbo Timer V Type 1...
This was a Friday off work project. No I didn't play hooky, but took a well deserved break coming up on another quarter end. The first couple of paragraphs are general impressions of the HKS unit, and deal with some problems and niceties found post install. The installation guide follows.
Note:
I take no responsibility for trying this project. This is one I gave a shot and all went well. If you try it and blow up your timer, or destroy the dash or otherwise cause disastrous mayhem, you're on your own for the consequences. Always follow your Turbo Timer makers installation instructions to the tee. I do not cover installation of the Turbo Timer itself here for a litany of reasons. Only one I know will not work with this setup is the Blitz DC series of timers as they have that tiny little .63 inch total depth display that can't be pushed into the enclosure we build here. However, a tiny little 90 degree elbow would be all that is required, and a small hole or double sided tape to mount it to the same location. May even be able to double sided tape the top edge to the dash and not even have to build anything! Just run the wires between the console cover we remove to cut and the plastic face of the instrument cluster.
Here is step one: HKS Turbo Timer Type 1 Install Guide and User's Manual. You will need this to know what to wire and where.
General Observations and Rating the Unit:
I always look forward to a new project. It makes me happy that something new is going on the car, and that I get to be creative for a while. This project however, has been both rewarding and disappointing. Rewarding in that exactly what I wanted to do got done, disappointing in that the HKS Turbo Timer V Type 1 did not really work quite as advertised. Don't get me wrong, all functions work, but one of the secondary functions is compromised due to inaccuracy, and a seeming lack of adjustability that all the other features have.
All of the functions of the unit are supposed to have learning modes, in that they expect similar responses from the various ECU's of turbo cars, but can learn the minor differences in the various signal pulses to match your particular application. After installation, the RPM sensors were off a little (500RPM...) and when following the HKS English instructions, the little box learned the TCCS signal exactly. Hold my gas to 3000RPM for example, the HKS reads the same. Works across the board. I was stoked at this point, expecting that I may have got an almost all in one G-Tech (I know it does not have all the features, but all of the useful ones) and Turbo Timer for only a little more money than a basic timer costs. However, next came the tuning of the speed sensor. No matter how many times I have tried, there is no apparent way to set this to learn the TCCS signal. The speedometer readings are 5kph low across the board. Hugely disappointing! Now, the 0-100m, 1/4 mile, etc. features are all off as they are dependant on the speed sensor. Anger rising! The only good thing is that I have figured out this error never seems to change over time and does not fluctuate regardless of speed. Thus, while the measured distances may not be correct, and your time to distance is not perfectly correct, it is very consistent. So it still makes for a good home base tuning unit, as it will give consistent, repeatable numbers. It's simply that you can't trust the speed and time to distance to be the same at the track. One can do the math to determine the real speed and distance, but this thing is supposed to do it for you, and that is the kind of frustrating part of it. One very important thing to remember, the speedometers of most cars are known not to be perfect. Given the rest of the gauges in the car, it would not surprise me to discover that the HKS is really the more accurate, and that the stock speedometer is off. However, that I cannot get the HKS to match the stocker is the problem. I'm waiting to hear more on this learning mode error too, but I do know that I'm not the only one who cannot get the speed signal learning mode activated. I'd appreciate an e-mail from anyone who finds the fix, and will post the results here to keep you all posted. Even HKS is not sure why this happens, but it is not uncommon.
Overall, a nice unit, but the speed sensor has me miffed. At this point, if I didn't get it for a fire sale price, I'd have been very upset by the speed learning error alone (it is a feature you are paying for, and can't use or trust...). However, after a year in the car, a few things have changed in my eyes. Simply put, the added features don't ever get used. I haven't turned anything but the volt meter on in probably 6 months (I leave it in volt mode all of the time, with the warning features set incase of charging problems, and the timer is set to 2 min 30 sec at all times). I would recommend most people to go with the cheaper Type 0 timer, or your brand of choice, unless these added features are something you know you will use frequently.
Only other downsides to the HKS are the brightness of the display, and the fact that it is blue, not green like the rest of the dash lights. That is a preference thing more than a functional problem though. But know that you could land aircraft in your cabin safely with that little bugger. Keep deer and Miller Lite truck drivers away! I have grown accustomed to it now that some time has passed, and while bright, I I have learned to live with it. However, I plan on moving it to the centre console area when I complete my new component cluster in place of the ashtray and lighter. I got a spare console, and cut the area out. Now I want to cover the whole thing in vinyl to make it look cleaner (the rubber does NOT cut cleanly) and the hole left the width of the AC controls will be the basis for all of my electronic gadget add-ons in the future. Even have a nice tinted piece of lexan to cover the area with to keep prying eyes from seeing what's in the box.
Anyhow, I paid for this one before discovering the speed sensor problem, and got it dirt cheap, so I installed it even with the faults.
Installation:
As with only some modern electronics for the car, this is a truly plug and play device (given that you shell out for the harness, HKS part TT-1 for the 87 to 88, 89+ has a different harness). It should work close to perfectly from the moment you get it hooked up. Be careful on the ECU splices, you need to look at the harness from the side the wires go in, not the plug side. The HKS guide mentions that as a quick passing reference, but it is certainly not a big part of the instructions (glad I read things before installing...sometimes). As for what you need to remove, the lower dash cover with the AC vent must come off no matter where you end up putting it, and removing the centre console will make pulling the wires to the handbrake and the ECU far easier. The steering column need not be disassembled, unless you have some mounting you want to do there.... With that in mind, after installing the harness, the next thing to look at is the mounting location of the timer. There are a couple of web sites that show ashtray mounting, the glove box is always there, the centre console, or between the console and the seats. I've also seen on top of the steering column, on the dash, and custom mounting in the switch panel to the driver's left. Heck, while I have not seen it, one of the 2 centre vents would also be a neat spot, if you remove one or 2 louvers from it and build an enclosure to protect it from heat/cold/dust. When I get some gauges in a pod, and install the NA voltmeter where the factory boost gauge was, this may become the new home of the timer...We shall see.
For me, none of these were going to do. (except maybe the vent...might try that for a fun change someday). I wanted this thing in a heads up position to see the shift light for those occasional drags, and to make real use of the voltmeter as a gauge. Besides, as bright as it is, there is a certain coolness to it...just wish it was a dimmer coolness. After all, why hide the unit away and have to get another set of gauges afterwards for the same function the timer can perform.
My mount location was tough to select. I wanted to see it, but not have a piece of HKS electronics prominently displayed for easy, undesired removal at the local parking garage. I also wanted to ensure that none of the factory gauges were obscured, and that no future installed gauges or electronics would need this location. Finally of course, I wanted it to look like it belonged there (except of course the blinding blue...king of gives away the semblance of being factory). My final choice was to mount it above the oil pressure gauge and idiot lights in a custom box. Please excuse the dust in the pictures, having the dash in pieces for a day or two stirs up quite a bit.
As you may be able to guess, unless you have a bit of practice with a Dremel, and the ability to purchase a new instrument cluster bezel easily, this could get to between somewhat messy, and what the F*&$ happened here. Although, this is not overly tough either. You will be cutting (more melting really, given the properties of cut-off wheels and plastics) the ABS irreparably on this one, so make sure you can access a backup cover.
Parts Required:
Tools Required
Start
ing the Install:First step is to install the timer so that the wires are fed over the instrument cluster and down to the harness. I fed over the oil pressure gauge and pulled it down from below. As you have most of the dash apart anyway, this is the easy part! Take out the 6-7 screws at the top edge and the corners of the unit (one is behind the stereo console and one the fog light switch console). For those not using a harness...good luck. All that soldering out of reach is going to be messy. The unit will then flop down to about the lighter or so. Plenty of cable for almost any mounting option you could desire. Hook up the wiring per the instructions and you're on the way. Now, for the mounting box...
Enclosure Box:
For the enclosure, I started by marking the area to be cut out for the TT display and buttons on the one removable end panel. After all, you need to press the buttons, and see the display. The project box I selected was approx. 1/2" wider than the TT, 1/4" taller and about a half an inch less deep than the TT's body. I couldn't find an enclosure to completely hold the unit in all directions, but my box has removable panels on the ends, so simply removing the back panel is good enough. While it hangs out a bit at the back, that end is the hidden end anyway. For me, the removable panels were a God sent gift, as it really made the cutting process easy. Simply use the Dremel to cut a space almost the right size, and use an exact-o type razor knife for the final shaving to size and straightness of lines. Using this box, you need only cut away the notch for the face, not a hole that would be tougher on a 2 clam shell halves type enclosure. After a lot of small shaving and slicing, the HKS fit perfectly in the hole, and it was on to how to get this in the dash. This close-up clearly shows the former removable face idea I had (and ditched...bad plan) and the cuts made to it. The remaining face is cut right out on the lower half, and has a small strip left at the top that hold it all together. You will be doing a lot of test fits to see if the face of the TT matches the removable panel installed in the box, so be prepared. This is the most time consuming part, and the part that makes or brakes the look of the installed unit. Leave gaps, it looks cheap, get it right, and it looks pro. Mine is somewhere in between. Note: the gap you see at the right and bottom left is there because I need to add thicker pieces of foam to grip the TT more tightly. A good push with my fat finger moved it back and off centre a little. Only out 1mm, but it is noticeable.
Preparing the Mounting Location:
Cutting the dash bezel is a ballsy move. You are cutting a piece of plastic that Toyota probably wants upwards of $100-200 CDN for, so you want to get this right on the first attempt. I test arranged the box under the bezel and angled it, sticking it place temporarily with double sided tape until I got the angle I liked. Once you have this, use a scratch awl to mark the border and Dremel out the hole, but leave a little excess material at the edges of the hole for the exact-o to work it's magic (aka: don't follow the scratch line yet, leave a 1/16" gap before the line to slowly cut away at with the knife and not have to replace the bezel because the hole is too big). Note: you will have to cut the bezel all the way to the back by the cluster, regardless of whether your enclosure is that long or not. The TT will not clear the instrument cluster or the bezel piece properly and will point almost straight down should this not be removed. Do not worry about cutting the rubber nipple that rests on the cluster, as in a year there has been no vibration at all without it present (and no sagging). This next picture gives you a better idea of the cutting involved to the back of the bezel. It is a little washed out, but you get the idea. Note, the little notch at the back right under the TT is left there to support the enclosure. You may want to leave one as well, but I don't know if it actually helped support anything at all. A little safety precaution though, and ensures a little cleaner look from the passenger area.
Now that you have a hole, exact-o it out to perfectly, although make it a snug fit to the enclosure the TT will be in. Test install it in the dash a few times to make sure all is well. If you over cut here, it is all over. If it is a snug fit and does not move, you're ready to do this up. I chose to leave it snug enough to pressure fit itself. The TT will back up to the instrument cluster at the back, so it really doesn't have anywhere to go. You can epoxy or superglue the enclosure to the bezel too, but I saw little point. Should mine come loose I will do that later, but again, a year in and no problems.
You will now install the bezel, running the TT wires through the fresh cut hole. Fully install the bezel, and grab the enclosure box. I now cut the foam to go on either side of the TT inside the enclosure box so as to "pressure grip" the unit. Again, it should be snug and hold the TT well. I had to put in a thicker piece of foam so I can't push the timer through the enclosure anymore, and this will be a trial and error process for you too. You just have to keep trying until it is firmly in place, without crushing the TT itself (or blowing out the sides of the enclosure). In this install, there is no need for the included double sided tape.
Once you push the TT into the enclosure and line the display up with the hole in the front panel, push the enclosure box into the bezel wires first, feeding them over the gauge cluster to keep them from bunching up or pushing the box back out, and work the enclosure up into the desired position. Even out the TT in the access hole and you're ready to rock. On mine, the face normally sticks out 1/8 inch or so from the enclosure (and covers up a small mis-cut of the box nicely).
Should you try this, best of luck, and again, this is the fun of adding goodies...the finished product and the creativity that goes into getting it all to work the way you want. Here's a couple of final pics of the installed TT.
