1987 subaru: dual range

[Barry Donovan]

fuse link box complete

the bullet nut and its screw..copper bronze covered something. Freakish luck. the length and size, bam, perfect install.
I love days like today.


the bullet nut on my own stud at heatsink(I had to remove the original for being too small), is quite lucky.
got all the little gadgets today. the 3m heatshrink and solid seam copper ends is the best I have ever done.. that stuff is never happy. I think I could tow the suby without it breaking. The back plate is from the dell monitor. The battery connector is quite heavy. Good stuff. That connects to the wire on the right on heatsink.


I thought this kinda flimsy rightout of the box, and slowly analyzed all the different hold downs. Removing their stud at heatsink for my own was the other helper, I use the back of the buss box case as a washer of sorts.
the cover snapped in, will not need any extras.
You know these jobs are mysterious when you have the desire to screw it all down quick, because it knows its running before it starts…

tommorow install to car if all goes well, tidy it up some. This will snap right onto the factory spot of their fuselink box at the coolant bottle. I’ll just maneuvre the plastic backing with heat.

[Barry Donovan]

the sube with 3 nuts

Sitting on the toilet, I spot on the shelf, an old plastic filing cabinet I had already hacked into for plastic pieces that were durable. Looking over the two bottom remaining reinforced corners... and there ya have it. The stealth bomber black box. Tapered. fat at bottom skinny up top.


it is an exact fit.



I found these on a shelf with brass ends and fancy doodads, my dad was throwing it away. I painstakingly took every screw with a real brass nut dome off of it and kept them for a couple of years.

rummaging through the dash, I found them. With this project in full swing..
I wondered by eyesight..sure enough fit right in. I am playing with millimeters, and they fit.

[Barry Donovan]

battery terminal installed

I forget january cold.. jump right up to go ahead with something only to be put in my place.
my birthday, today, is just like that.


rummaging through yet another pile for a new coolant reservoir bottle, as the old one has to be removed to get my new box in..
I found some copper bronze paint instead. Got some final chores done inside my warm room. The wing nut is literally part of the carb stud kit below it. Very nice install, that is what those are for. The two little screws have round studs from some computer part. Rugged little box.
Looking over subarus oem connection today at the battery and fuse link box one more time..

I broke two connections just to look at it. Those are fresh mind you. I guess I could not even plug in the 250watt heater after all…the way those broke is the evidence. Wimpy ass midget little think ion the electrical power.

Being as I need a warm dry spot to finish this, I did get some good strong connects to simply fix, with the fancy new battery terminal, and the real heatshrink 10-12 awg connector at fuse link box I got in the mail.

The first thing to notice, and a hint of the future, is car warmed up faster. Idle is less of a battle..not cured yet completely, but that is why I made the new heftier rectiy/fuse link box.
doing good. looking forward to the box install, I do not know as a pro could have done better.

[Barry Donovan]

box installed

big bday today, broke down, but had ribeye steak and a cake.


headed to the garage, car died 500 feet before the driveway. the distant thoughts on why I built the fuse link box happened out loud. Very very rare event. Simply shut down, no shorts. All is well now.

My bro n law tugged me with his truck, that is how close I was to my destination, pushed into garage, and I got right to work, coincidentally, on the same subject that shut me down. I had all the parts in a box, was looking forward to a simple swap…was not expecting shutdown on the road.

installed box, was as stubborn as I remember with something a lot more special to be had once going. its like dialing in a computer after changing a long running power source. All was well, sounding damn good, bigger than ever. The thought of guiding the different main power channels with my own fuse sizing is awesome.

took it to full warm, decided to tape up the cables going into box. Woops. This sube cannot do that.

so, tomorrow, the tape gets a cut, and will let it get the air it needs. that is a lot of action in one cluster.. I have only made this mistake one other time, this same subaru. I am rummaging through stuff now for a tube or something simple to place over the cluster of wires.

Very nice splicing, and mounting. I am liking that sound…idles stays confident and closer to 700rpm, even while electrically loaded. it’s a win. Coolant resrvoir bottle has some simple plans in the making. This seems right in photo, more than subarus madness...no coolant bottle to spew all over the electric.

the fuses ended up being a 7.5, two 15, and one 20 (the alternator).
I also found the splice for lamps, another cheap one. I used the sure seal heatshrink butt connector and made it better than 1987 never did.
So now alternator is on its own, no splice, a true rectify heatsink, and four fuses for important channels.


If all goes well early enough in the day, will get the scoop on. The buggy is in dads garage now. Had heat for 5 hours or so, dried the whole car off.

no car in my parking spot, but I am changing something 27 years running. it is not as stubborn as a kc135 by no means. Explaining the physics of ionizing, amperage, static blips stuck in wires..one would have to enjoy science and physics to enjoy this.

some people have no clue at all.

[Barry Donovan]

up and running... again

found one error with the way I hooked up buss box. A nut under the center stud to bind the buss fuse metal to the stud, to the heatsink... separated by urethane to keep heat away of bat/alt bridge. (post #347 has a photo)


As it turns out, the studs I was using for the bus box fit the ribbed brass nuts.. I found a ribbed brass nut from my carb plenum stud kit. With a drill press, reamed out the urethane on the back side just enough room for nut, and allowance for heat to sink into the little ribs..
Bam. Started right up.

been driving around, using the recycle air switch to instantly defog. This car is arctic.
I also learned the mystery wire tapped halfway between alternator and subarus old fuse link box is doing alot more work than I did not anticipate.

up and running, I put a load on everything. That one wire I labeled “weirdo” blew a 20 amp after using cig lighter outlet and everything on. So, dad with his rig right outside, stepped in with a 30 amp ATC fuse. Not often in a 1987 little car.. but making modern sense all the more.

so after looking it over, there is a 7.5, a 15, a 20 (my circuit) and a 30. if subaru stepped up to do it right, this is the answer..
a reassuring thought is the very inventors of ATC type fuses made the fuse box I am using.
after a little while, a check under hood, and heatsink is luke warm. Wires tidy, looking better than subarus cluster flunk actually.

I am very content, content as guided electrical. This job was not even difficult, if you build pc, or circuit boards, its actually fun. think of wires as a garden hose with water…source of pressure and destination. The difficulty I could not wait to try, was the heatsink bridge, called a power rectify. It worked, much bigger than subaru.

[Barry Donovan]

A tricky one... on myself.



is it odds for the B bolt to float to a middle of a hole?
I am certain it just reveals static pressure, and its only get away is equal chances of the circle it passed through..less than a millimeter or not, it still avoided connect. The head of B bolt is flushed to the bottom of fuse bus, that is plastic.. so the head was taken away like an insulated washer underneath it, passing through urethane, it bolts tight to the rectify..

..and the the mystery of skipping the bus plate.

answer is in one post ahead of this one.

[Barry Donovan]

ign cable sheath ground


I found the super cable in the loyales harness I kept. this went to coil. They had a primitive amplify in the loyale, must have spewed everywhere. Their smart answer was to ground the sheathing. I made use of it.

I also made some block to chassis “super ground” with the 3m heatshrink, the very fine grade mig weld cable, and some big thick eyelets to match the 6 awg. I learned there is big drama at the eyelets that one crimps to bolt to someplace.. they need to be extremely insulated, covering the crimp. Must be the bi-metal of eyelets to real copper wire, battling in disagreement.

A most bizarre outcome to the first connection for the super cable, is the scream like tinnitus as it acknowledges that feel good ground. As all cars have a half volt or more that never stops, it is good to wait awhile before running on new grounds for this sube model.

This little car does something very unique, I still blame the tiny stroke of engine. A turning resolution bordering insane. A bigger stroke simply wins every subject. I have learned a lot with this little sube.


the other funny trait to learn with this one..
And a tip for the newbs: the brakes are not real power brakes, the vacuum on the intake is so small in volume, one stomping and the brakes resort to manual mode. The monkeys call that “partial” assisted and get away with it. Adding amperage and good grounds I noticed the brake with the ratchet mechanism swapping between manual and power assisted with vacuum, that alternator acknowledges a change and responds. Gives a nice feel to brake, amperage must be working the ratchet, in a vacuum environment.

This means the fuel air mix has a good charge too. Kinda funny isn’t it. That is the final test for good system ground and amperage for the loyale/gl/xt/dl and even a swap into an old brat.


One last big tip, the little sube bolts in a 15/16ths master cylinder, or even one inch. The original was to die for. I stopped at 15/16ths because the back brake wheel cylinders need to be near new to hold up to a stomping. Do not try that on original hubs, they have all been updated for a reason. The 15/16ths is the same size as the subaru tribeca. Big brake little sube.

[Barry Donovan]

the black hole

with electrical changed, amps increased, grounds, diodes. Ignition with a precise amplify and a clock crystal as big as I have never seen, even as a computer builder..

light emitting diode sensor for a distributor, so sensitve, they had to make it waterproof...

I am older than all that. I listen to the steel when it comes to big changes. This subaru here, it repeats what I think may be an atomic event... with a whisper. I was a boy, whan I first heard this, another car, more than 2 decades ago. I thought it might be chernobyl, as the north owns the south. Decibels, weather, magnetics, density. Love is for the south.

I knew then, what we create, as forward as we go...the more precise it is... has a dark side. A peaceful one, stays silent.

The sound of two steel ships rubbing at the calm mooring in the bay, the shreak of a million finger nails on a chalkboard...just for some seconds. That is this subaru, in its darkest times, climbing out, never to erase it, just to show it.

the other noise it makes, is like glass shattering, then the sound of paper crumpling. It did that on oem catalyst convertor and pipe changes.

The third one, sounds like a splash, with a whip preceeding it.

I knew to pay attention to cars 15 years old and beyond, they all got something..unless they predate the bombs.

the tin can subaru, it is simply playful..historian and prophet.

anyway, today shot up to 42F, in one night, now headed right back to below zero..also one night. A good time to give the sube a heart attack to change.
very confident, I know it is all installed now. All gadgets on, electric heater, took advantage of a grippy highway and climbed to 5k rpm. This grabs the accel to the new power, and tells me there is enough. It goes farther, but I am just initiating a seat.

The last step is the longest.. and that is idle rpm to alternator load. The real final seat leaves the engine alone, to turn electrical items on. This takes weeks. It does have 27 years of 50 amps of idiot to get over... patience is deserved.

[Barry Donovan]

old shoes and an old subaru

I hate shopping, but after a shattered foot, 17 hour operation, and part of a life long gimp.. I need to stay close to shoes. I got at least 6 years this time.

I got to remembering, I am over the 150,000 mile mark with 3 ea82 powered subarus, since 1997. Travelled 13 states, some more than several times.

The trigger for memory, is wrapping a strap through the bumper so my bro n law could tow me. The grill has 370,000 miles. Cracked a spot that had already cracked, maybe to a tow in the past 27 years..the same way.

I wore the same shoes driving this subaru for approx 6 years. that equates to 35000 miles or so. Never enough room for the throttle foot, the heel pushed its way to a comfortable spot.

I share this, as I thought the throttle shoe was funny, you can see an imprint of the subaru pedal.

Goodbye old shoes. On a whim, I was driving by the new mall area, bangor, maine.. found a place desgnated to just shoes. Stopped in, explained what I wanted: a cross between hiking boot and workboot. So, he lead me to a fairly cheap pair of Hi-Tec and said, “we sell all of these”.. so I bought a pair. Waterproof to boot. A pun.

on some car notes, first time driving at night since the big electrical changes. High beam to low beam swapping drops nothing on the volt gauge, and the idle...used to be drama. Nothing to notice now, not a flicker of power, just lights.

The load balancing is coming into play nicely now. The exhaust is headed for perfection, no mig welder noises at certain intervals, and gaining a broader range of normal sounds as time goes along.

power = power noise.

That bussmann brand gets two thumbs up..they invented the ATC fuse as we know it. Of course their bus will work.

[Barry Donovan]

final fuse map

so as to not edit the whole post, the wire I called memory wire is the alternator exciter.. (easier to read for gurus)


one can never overthink this. The loyale years did better at ignition, all else had the classic problems, the whole 9 year run of these models. Some claim the memory wire was the straw that broke the back.

This is not unusual, this chore.. I remember the first nissan maximas...alot of vehicles, mid 80s asian. No real guide electrical.


I could get fancy and play with 1-5 amp on the memory wire, and a 40 amp for the big one. The way it is now, the 40amp relays will be left alone possibly forever, it will just blow the 30amp.

The 25 amp on my circuit is due to 8500 rpm. The accel will be 8.5 amps all by itself, then the subaru oem disty is pushed beyond their written amp numbers I am sure, and my circuit also has the relay starters, and alternator starter, gauges, and dummy lights…and fuel pump.

The 30 amp is the power feed side of the relays, a lot of work to do. The quiet one is the biggest amp usage. kinda mysterious to decipher.

if you are attacking oem, the gl with a carb and no computer.. this bus where it says my circuit should stay at 15, else the ign will steal it all, (My first reasoning for the accel 300). The loyale version has a separate realm with a relay, as the old GL should have. This version here is much bigger than any subaru.

anyway, this is the fun.. precision climbs out, and dials in.

edit:
Now I know this is a 1 year build. The last of the g wagon.

the one I have labeled “memory”. today I experimented with no fuse at all..and failed to find the function. It may be the old exciter wire. I am on a big alternator now, with a pulley smaller than it never got. this means it starts up sooner.

So I plugged the 1 amp ATC fuse and will see if anything triggers it. Weird. Maybe just a spare into the block..hot at all times. Wire is white with black stripe, the smallest of all the wires hooked into fuse links. Appears to be 14 gauge, could be just a 16 with fat covering. I labeled it as very small for a reason.. I cannot remember everything. I did find this same color and wire going into alternator...

So, as of now, my circuit gets a 25 amp, all else remains as is. I must have stopped a monster with the 1 amp.. possibly a big direct shot going nowhere.

this does have only two mysteries compared to the other subes of this generation...make that 3.

• no wires at all for a/c, yet there is plugs under the hood, nothing under dash or near controls.
• The other is the dual range utilizes electric for the diff..this subes rides the backside to float it (acts like a classic gm, LSD). No switches.
• nothing stopped ignition from sucking up all power.

The exhaust is already seating to no snappy tickety noise...I must have found something, and killed it correctly.


looking forward to the last gentle tuning, that is the oem gasket for the monojet.. and the hood scoop to give it the room. My hood is a dildo right now, it hits it.

edit 2: final map

The wire labeled memory, starts alternator only. It must help at slow speed as well. This one can stay very small, 3 amp or less. I opted to think dynamical as an aired fuse...

yet another idea:
I know fuses act like resistors on a buss, as they go to the biggest fuse first, this is what makes a bus useful…aside from cramming everything into a clump with electrical tape. hahaha.

found these unique 2 amp ATC fuses on ebay. the open top may help create dynamics for the tiny circuit, in turn helping the alternator regulate at slow speed. These were made in france for renault. I am certain now, that is the stator wire for the alternator.. can have some fun with it.

Last evening, I noticed the lights from high to low beam switched at idle..made no difference in engine idle. It had the 7.5 amp fuse plugged in. Today with the 1 amp, it almost seems wimpy, but does feed it..just not as strong at idle. The exhaust tells me everything. Too much alternator on the stainless schedule 40 header tickety ticks like a mig welder... tune by ears and gauge.

This is how I know to bump it up by just one...and even be unique about it. Let the alternator do as much work as it can, avoid recycle/amplify of the little alternator exciter wire.

[Barry Donovan]

sometimes I forget..

this tin can was actually a mission...casually mentioned 20 years ago. Listening to the political speech this evening, always near my birthday..

energy is always a big subject. Was watching "my classic car" edition of the 2.5ton coal carrying 2 cylinder boxer engine...from 1897. Autocar, the oldest brand in america. That is at jay lenos garage. they drove it around.

Alot of clues economizing killed the facts of real strength, and balance, and recycling. None of it needs a pig.

I am inspired, once again.

Every efficient thing I do gains over twice the power...that should say it all. For any hot rodder. Parts spanning 7 decades. Some are my wont take on things that never really took off (the top open 2 amp fuse in previous post is one example)

off to carefully put on a hood scoop. I never do anyhting for just one reason...kinda weird for this project. Nothing is a go fast gimmick, just a byproduct.

rochester
delco
hitachi
offenhauser
cooper bussmann
subaru
peugeot
nissan (mitsu/chrysler)
yokohama
caterpillar
bosch
mr. gasket (accel products)

who can forget 3m.

every one of the above is world famous for at least one patent that changed the world. I can only guess about peugeot, but they hang on for something famously earned.

U.S. millsupply, every local hardware store, and car store..
173 items from the net, more than 3/4 of that total just for the sube. Tractor Supply, knowing noone wants to pay alot for a safe welder machine. The recent harbor freight store local, I am in heaven.

I got about 20 rockauto magnets on the fridge.

just when I thought I'd be a jegs or summit catalog freak.. I even went way back to speedway, etc.

The best be where they are at. I hope they always are.

[Barry Donovan]

more fuse box stuff

if anyone never noticed..
when you pull the little lid off the subaru fuse box cover under dash..

everything is 15 amp and 1 yellow 20.

I just happen to have the old haynes that has the 1600-1800 label in the title. this subaru falls into the one year diagrams of 1985-1986... but with no feedback computer. My car does not exist.

Even the diagram shows 10-15-20. Where is the 10 amps?

anyway, the circuit that used to have fuel pump and oem ignition.. the ignition was crazy, ability to suck in all of the 40 amp hitachi alternator. The fuel pump box, however, is genius, with a little controller box, its own relay..and timed by resistors in series. This could mean 200 years durability for all we know.

Without subarus ignition, I am going to drop that to 5 amp. With that done, I may be able to leave "my circuit" at 20 amp.

That is just the beginning to attacking the fuse box. I am also going to see what else can be dropped down.

edit:
today, with a 7.5 amp...(awaiting some fuses delivered)

in fuse box label:
fuel/ig coil - was a 15 now a 7.5 .. I need to drop the original plugins for subaru ignition. I left all that alone to have dual ignition..just in case the accel poops. So plugs are dnagling in the engine bay. I use the tach side of original circuit, and the fuel pump controller. this will soon be a 5 amp. I noticed a little more "DL locomotive" today already (that idle sound is unforgettable - no power steering).

charge - This circuit stays at 15. Not sure how it works, but experimenting with smaller fuse, the idle charge gets dim without this at 15.

engine meter - this one is a dufus. For some odd resaon, I lose the tach and volt meter... and heater motor. heater motor?! I did drop it to ten amp. if the heater needs more than that, time to take it apart and clean and lube. My own is better than new (rebuilt myself). this may be the disperser for volt reg..throw it at an electric motor. My heatsink under hood should take a big load of the blower resistor anyway. (they are some tricky engineers are they not)

my circuit (fuse link underhood) - this has a 20, and it stays. It starts relays, the accel, and the optical disty. The accel ships with a ten, and I got instructed not to remove it or make it bigger. They use it as a limiter as well as fuse. Of course. I am doing the same thing for the rest of the car.

looking over anything else.. the above is the only two changes.
engine meter to 10 amp, and fuel pump to 5amp. It targets the two circuits I wanted calm around my accel circuit. The ten amp on the tach actually synchs with the ten amp for accel. This will be working as is.

the parking lamp switch not working on the oem light switch... because my curcuit splits off a bleeding overlapping error by subaru. It is actually fixed to be forced to use the top of column switch and not the blinker one. Circuit defined. No push or guessing.

away it goes.



I first caught onto this with a friends dodge omni. We all learned it as kids, when these 80s nightmares were on the road, needed to be driven to work.

I also noticed, the only fuse for the hitachi optical is the fuse link, just like subaru. Given it uses hardly anything, the desire to drop the power sucks elsewhere, fed by the same switch.. common sense. Gain a little closer to real protection.

I am already beyond factory, still using it the same..just guiding things around.

will simply map it out when done, or as I go along.


There must be other stuff, will find it.

[Barry Donovan]

coil bleed

the original subaru setup was extremely wimpy, and covering the coil posts was a must do.. or sometimes it would not even start up to idle. The accel is 30000 times bigger, and I got bad (I know now) advice to leave the posts open on the big coil. Very big ignition. I love its confidence.




Stupid mistake. Covered this up and Bam. Even at 12F it is explosive start. It took several minutes like every new coil that has not been connected proper.... like a new burn in.

the other chore was the fancy sheath ground (subaru cable from a loyale) and I got that highlighted in yellow, grounded to the tower. playing around with it, I could see the tiny intervals of fire signal sent to the coil. little tiny bleed signal.

Very big ignition. I love its confidence.

there is one more extra for the two boots at the coil, a right angle plastic piece I normally have there. Water got cuaght up in it one day, and I removed it. I can put a better plan there with vents where the boots are, a center hole in the right angle fits at coil exit post to hold it by the top wire boot. I thought it clever at the time...and so did water. I can get away with that now...looked good too.


and here is the cover. Not trimmed final yet, the black circle is the hole that will go down onto the top post of coil. This also from the fancy modern plastic of the dell monitor. the same plastic is the backing for my fuse link box next to the coil. Meant for this job.

[Barry Donovan]

coil cover

sleepless. Trial and error made this one. Pass it on.


you may have heard, air is the best electrical insulator. That is a crock of shit today.. or is it. My last coil cover was a water trapping catastrophe. these are motherboard standoffs (spacers for large atx).

and here is the beautiful piece of art, finished. Complete with plastic chrome edge trim that wins car shows. The plastic is from a burnt dell lcd monitor. Seems to be a theme in this project… if you guessed old computer parts, you are correct.

[Barry Donovan]

final cover take 2


3am. Not sleeping.
ok. here is the final. I gave it a notch, some computer studs. Rubber feet..
I forgot how hard that boot is, and it is 10F. I am not going to try to take boot off coil. The notch fits under the boot of coil to disty wire. This design also allows me to tighten up against the two front wire boots, however much I want. Wrap zip tie around coil post to hold/tighten. Now its done. I may give it the standoffs for back of cover..but it seems I do not need to. Add a spacer at coil post.


4am. sleep. no sleep.
heatshrunk the little posts. Added pro seal to the top to finish it. I found a plastic coated bread tie, this is looking easy.

going for inert. 30k volts is...just that. I still think this sube pops fuses on the tellie poles.