Brake Lights - Circuit 2/3

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Major System Category: ISIS
Task: Brake lights
Parts:
Prerequisite Tasks:
Power Cell: 2
Circuit: 3- LIGHT GREEN
Master cell: YELLOW BLUE
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: 2 hours
Date Started: November 13, 2013

Date Completed:  November 13, 2013

The brake light circuit is split between two lights (the same the parking lights and hazard flashers). The power leads for the hazard and parking lights come through the tunnel from the forward power cells. At the rear end of the tunnel, these leads split to the right and left. I have a wire loom conduit running along the rear splash guards. The split is located next to the parking brake cable box.

This Is the conduit coming from the tunnel into the engine bay. I ran the hazard and parking light circuits through this. There was no need to run the brake circuit through this conduit, because the brake light switch is wired to the ISIS Master Cell. The signal will be transmitted to through the data bus. This is another instance where ISIS saves you time and effort.

The brake circuit is assigned to Power Cell #2. This is the power cell located in the rear engine bay. I routed the power lead for the brake lights to the same area and spliced the power lead to wires running though the same conduits the parking and hazard circuits.

The hazard lights (yellow), parking lights (green) and brake lights (red). The Hazard and parking circuits come from the front of the car. The brake circuit comes from Power Cell 2, which is mounted on the passenger side of the engine bay. I just ran the brake circuit down the wire loom to get tot he other light. I am glad I did, because the transaxle bracket can be a bear to get back on the car when the body shell is mounted.

The brakes are activated by the brake light switch under the steering column. The switch is wired to the corresponding signal wire from the master cell.

The brake line circuit gets wired together using a terminal block. Once I know everything works I will use Goop to seal up everything.

From a maintenance perspective, all tail light circuits are connected to the power leads with Weather Pack connectors. The reason for this is if the body shell has to come off, the rear lights can be disconnected from the power system.

I ran two legs of wire loom for all the circuits going to the lights. I run them under the cross member at the point where the engine bay begins and the tunnel ends.

After Market Parts

Anyone who has perused the Factory Five Forum, or who has run a number of Google searches will realize that the GTM has spurred a vibrant after market. One of those places is Vraptor SPeedworks. These guys build GTMs, Superlite Coupes, Race Car Replicas and Ultima GTRs. They know where the problems exist, and they are contributors to the relevant forums. They manufacture and sell solutions to the problems they have run into on various builds.

This is a mounting plate for an ISIS Power cell. The problem addressed here is the lack of flat spots where the Power cells can be mounted on the frame. I figured out in an earlier post that I require 3 Power Cells and maybe an InMotion cell too.

So how frustrating or satisfying is it to deal with an after market GTM vendor? I have budgeted into the initial build estimate the Kooks Custom Exhaust supplied by Vraptor Speedworks. I figured I would like to know if they were a reliable source, before I plunk down $2000. A $140 order was my test case.

Mounting bracket for the ISIS Master Cell.

I put together a small order of ISIS mount plates, AC plenum and Stereo closeout panel. These were all items that addressed specific issues raised by multiple builders. My philosophy is to learn from those who have built one of more GTMs and have fashioned solutions.

The AC plenum relocates the blower motor from under the hood to the passenger side footwell. This provides better circulation of cool air inside the car.

I put my order together and emailed Shane at Vraptor Speedworks. He came back with the costs and a PayPal account to use. I paid the total and emailed a confirmation. Ten days later, the parts showed up. I dare say the service here was a darn sight better than some places I have recently dealt with (Grrrr, the Eibach Performance Sway Bars for the Boxster was an exercise in pulling teeth - not Eibach's problem, an unnamed vendor who will receive no more orders).

Stereo close out panel mounts between the dash and the tunnel. This reduces noise and  alleviates temperature issues by providing a seal around the stereo components. I might need one for the inTouchMax screen as well.

inTOUCH Mobile

I'm at the South Carolina house, and Labor Day Weekend has afforded me the time to start laying out the circuits for the GTM. When I decided to tackle this project, I never considered how much of it involved wiring. After spending the long weekend reading up on ISIS, I am convinced the ISIS Power system does significantly cut the time and complexity for wiring portion of the car.

If you have been around an iPad, iTouch, iPhone or Droid, I'm sure you've figured out that Apps are all the rage these days. Key fobs have eliminated the need to fumble with a door key. If you've had a chance to see late model Corvettes, Ferraris or even our Toyota Camry, they use a button to start the car.

So ISIS takes it another step further (they're probably not the only people doing this) and eliminate the key fob and the key. The ISIS inTOUCH system mounts an encrypted WIFI daughter board on the Master Cell. (The Master Cell is the central brain for the ISIS system.) You then download an app from iTunes or the Droid Marketplace (the Droid App is due out in late 2011) to your Apple or Droid device, and load the encryption key to the app. It can unlock the car, turn the lights on or roll down the windows. Actually, you can set up the programming to do just about anything you want.

If you still want a key fob, they'll sell you last century's technology with their inLINK system. It operates on the same principle of mounting a daughter board on the Master Cell and using radio frequency technology.

The cost difference is $70 and you end up with a much cleaner interface.

ISIS Car Wiring System

The project I am currently working on involves updating the front end of the Boxster. One aspect of the new look is the addition of DRLs (daytime running lights) that I purchased from Pedro's Garage. For you Boxster enthusiasts, this is a great site for do it yourself projects.

To get power to the DRLs, I have to tap into the windshield wiper motor. Sounds simple, until you look at all the wires running to and fro just for the wiper motor. Fortunately, I have a multimeter and a very good after market manual. There are several pages devoted to schematics of different electrical systems. As my eyes begin to glaze over, I realize that wiring the GTM could be the hardest part of the build.

So I asked people who have wired cars. My wife's cousin, Tim, has restored several classic cars (and a few other odds and ends) told me to check out American Autowire. If I had a classic Mustang or Corvette that required rewiring, this certainly is the system I would use. However, this is a GTM that I plan to install just about every electronic gadget known to man.

Then I stumbled across the ISIS Multiplex System on the Factory Five Forum. This system might also be referred to as ISquare, 1 + 1 or LittleFuse. ISIS is a modular and scalable electrical system that that manages the lights, signals, dash gauges, electronics, ignition, battery monitoring, electric windows, door poppers (well you get the idea).

Rather than stumble through a poor explanation, I found 4 videos produced by Two Guys Garage. The best part of these videos, they explain the ISIS system and they install it on a GTM!

These videos are about a year old.

Since then, they have added the inMOTION Cell. This module handles item like door poppers, power windows and anything where reverse polarity is necessary to make something run. It manages 5 devices instead of 10 like a regular power cell.

The other addition is the inTOUCH MAX Double DIN Touch Screen. With the exception of turn signals and hazard lights, every switch on the dash can be managed from this touch screen module. Plus you can password protect the car, in addition, the security already built into the master cell. The next video shows an actual install.

I talked to Jay Harris, President of ISIS Power last week. He answered a few more questions:

• LED lights, flashers - no problem. All of that is managed through the master cell and there is no reliance on electro-mechanical flashers.
• The different cells are daisy chained via a data cable enclosed in wire loom. On a build like the GTM, there is no order dependence for cells.
• Back up cameras are not currently supported by the inTOUCH cell. Jay plans to support cameras via inTouch by first Quarter 2012.
• Custom programming can either be done at the factory, or you can do it yourself.
• There is lots of info and reference material on the ISIS Power Site.

This is a modular and scalable system that even a computer geek like me can figure out.

Down side: it will cost more, and I will not be using the supplied wiring from the kit.

Up side: the sky is the limit!!