Okay, since I had a bit of troublt wiring up my turbo timer, I thought it would be a good idea to do a write-up.
My instructions will be for the HKS Type-O turbo timer, but all other turbo timers should have similar wiring. This was also done on a 1987 Turbo with the ca18et. The wire colours may be a bit different throughout the models. (if they are, please post it up so we can add that to the FAQ)
Tools neededWire stripper(optional)
crimper(optional)
soldering iron(optional)
xacto-Knife(I used a swiss army knife)
screw driver
Supplies Neededelectrical tape
solder(optional)
a few feet of 16awg wire(recommend 8ft just in case)
1 insulated ring terminal(optional)
3 insulated female disconnects(optional)
Wiring InfoMy HKS turbo timer had 6 wires
Red - 12 volt constant
black - ground/earth
green - ignition live
Blue - Accessory live
Grey - Parking Brake
Brown - RPM(optional to connect)
Installation InstructionsStep 0: (I'm not only a nerd so I start with 0..but I thought of this after I wrote the guide...and I'm lazy ) Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. You do NOT want power running through the system while you're installing a turbo tiimer. This holds true for all electrical work.
Step 1: Find a suitable mounting location for your turbo timer(this is the first step because after you know this, then you can figure out exactly how much wire you actually need)
Step 2: My turbo timer has a 3 pin harness and 3 loose wires. I decided to keep the harness on.
After you find a suitable mounting location, and a suitable way to route the wiring harness, cut 3 lengths of wire. These three wires will need to be able to reach the ignition key cylinder on the steering column, so cut them at the right length.
Attatch these three wires to the
12 volt constant, accessory live and
Ignition live wires on the turbo timer.
You can either cut the harness off, strip the wires and solder them together(or simply twist the wires together very securely) or you can use the female disconnects and attach these wires to the 3 pin connector(be that if you're going this route to wrap the female disconnects in a layer of electrical tape so the female disconnects won't discharge or arc on each other)
Step 3: Remove the trim on the steering column, it's only held together by 4 screws on the bottom, and should just snap apart/together.
Step 4: Locate the ignition cylinder(what you stick your key into). Follow the wiring harness until you come to a white connector(should be just under the steering column).
The
Ignition Live, 12volt Constant and
Accessory Live wires you will be here.
Step 5: I won't go into details about how to wire them because it's straight forward. Simply strip a little bit of the insulation on the wires mentioned below, as well as the wires connected to the turbo timer, and then connect them to their respective wires. You can either solder them, or wind them tightly together, but also remember to wrap up the connections with some electrical tape.
The 12Volt Constant wire on the harness coming off the ignition cylinder will be a white wire, with a black stripe(highlighted in red in the image below)(note that before the connector, this wire is actually a white wire with a RED stripe)
The Accessory Live wire on the harness coming off the ignition cylinder will be a blue wire(highlighted in blue in the image below)
The Ignition Live wire on the harness coming off the ignition cylinder will be a Black wire, with a white stripe(hightlighted in green in the image below)
Step 6: Now replace the steering column trim. The wires may get in the way a bit, you'll just have to force them together. Once the two pieces are snapped together, they will hold. Then replace the screws.
Step 7: Connecting the ground wire. You must ground this directly to metal on the chassis. I peronally connected mine to where my radio was grounded on the frame of the stereo bracket area. You can use the ring terminal, or simply use the screw in the wire. this part is pretty straight forward. if you need to add more wire to reach the grounding spot, then do so.
That being said, it is said that a grounding point closest to the unit is preferred(ie making the wire as short as possible).
Step 8: You will now need to connect the e-brake/handbrake wire. To do this, you must first remove the center console. There are 6 screws in total. Two are inside the center console compartment, two are on under the tray that sits between the e-brake/hand brake and shifter(this tray simply pops into and out of position, it may take a bit of force to pop it off), the last two are at the end of the center console that is under the dash. They are on either side of the transmission tunnel(these are the most obvious screws of the 6. You can't miss them.).
Step 9: Now that the center console is removed, run the wire from the turbo timer that's associated to the e-brake/hand brake(the grey wire) so that it can reach the e-brake/hand brake. If you need extra wire, add it.
On the e-brake itself, there will be a connector with a wire coming off of it. This is the wire you need to splice into. Again, I won't go into the details of how to splice into it. It's done the same way as the other wires.
Step 10: After this is connected, replace the trim and make sure that the wire you just routed won't interfere with the operation of the e-brake or the shifter(it won't get crimped when you release the e-brake or move the shifter around)
Step 11: The RPM wire is optional. I did not install hook it up because of time constraints. (I will write this part later)
Step 12: reserved for RPM wire
Step 13: reserved for rpm wire
Step 14: Now that you've got it all wired up, make sure everything is properly back in place. Then go reconnect the terminal on the battery.
Step 15: Go take the car out for a drive. Make sure the car warms up properly, and then go driving. Come back home...or wherever you were, park, and turn the car off. If you wired it up correctly and the turbo timer isn't damaged, the car should remain on.
If it turns off, then the wiring isn't right. In my car, my e-brake wire was faulty, so I had to ground the e-brake wire directly to the chassis, and then the turbo timer e-brake wire to the same spot. (this means the e-brake light on my dashboard is constantly lit now).
If it doesn't work, check all your connections again.
General FAQQ: How long should I set the turbo-timer for?
A: It depends on how hot the car is and how long it's been running, but a good general rule is no less than 30 seconds if the car has been warmed up and driven around. For longer trips, you should set it for a longer time, just to be safe.
If there are more questions that are important, post them up and I will add them to the FAQ, hopefully with answers.
Thanks to 30psi and BOSSMAN for the help
