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Author Topic: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer  (Read 8595 times)

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Offline abzman

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1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« on: May 23, 2017, 02:26:20 PM »
I'm finally getting back into it.  I've always liked older cars and have the thought that anything new or fancy that I want I can add.  Most of the things manufacturers tout as benefits I don't like, and I tend to be very vocal about that and generally grumpy about not being able to turn off things like 'lane departure avoidance', 'park assist', or 'auto locking doors'.  Add that to the fact that I really don't care at all about the safety of the vehicle (young, invincible, bachelor) then building an older car up with all the upgrades that I can think of sounds like a great idea!  Right now my daily driver is a 2003 dodge stratus with completely dry rotted and patched tires, no brake pads, bottomed out suspension, front fascia falling off, but I recently replaced the outer tie rod ends (one fell off while driving) and the throttle position sensor (racing engine at stops) and filled the coolant full of stop-leak which surprisingly worked.  I have no intention to fix that car and have given myself a deadline of whenever the dodge falls apart on the road to get the Eagle to daily-driver condition (it drives now, but it could stand to be more reliable). 

My original thread is here and I'm now going to keep a project thread that I can update regularly in parallel with my blog.  The current project is an LED headlight upgrade (and other lights while I'm there) and should be up tonight.  I'm certain my placement of the new headlight relays is inadvisable, but until I build my own harness the one I got from e-bay will do. 

First question I can think of: any idea where to get the connectors for the diagnostic harness? I think I can find the pinout but I would like to build a proper harness to a tester.   


The air cleaner makes a nice laptop stand where I could watch Brazil while working on the wiring. 
« Last Edit: May 23, 2017, 02:27:13 PM by abzman »

Offline vangremlin

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2017, 05:08:13 PM »
I'm not sure I fully understand what you're asking for.  Are the connectors for the LED lights different than the 2 or 3 connectors on the stock headlights?  I know when switching to the H1 or H4 halogen replaceable bulbs, you just need to swap a couple of wires on the headlight plug to make them line up with the new bulbs.  Thanks.
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Offline eaglefreek

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2017, 05:47:33 PM »
Dave, he's asking about the factory diagnostic connectors. I have no idea. I assume there were some AMC diagnostic tools that connected to those.
1986 AMC Eagle Wagon 4.2L/4.0L head, AW4,NP242, Chrysler 8.25" rear.
1981 AMC Eagle Wagon As Seen On TV  Lost In Transmission


 

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Offline mo.eagles

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2017, 06:41:35 PM »
Terminal Supply should have everything you need.
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power seats ,windows and locks
rear window washer /wiper 
tach and gauge package
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 '85 wagon   power windows and locks
rear window washer/wiper
factory tow package
A/C

Offline vangremlin

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2017, 07:01:45 PM »
Dave, he's asking about the factory diagnostic connectors. I have no idea. I assume there were some AMC diagnostic tools that connected to those.

Gotcha!  No such things for my 80 or 81 Eagle lol
1981 Kammback 258 - "Pepe"
1980 Coupe 258 - "Ginger
1972 Gremlin X 304
1978 Gremlin 4 cyl 121 - sold
1964 TBird 390 - sold

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2017, 09:25:03 PM »
yeah, sorry, I switched topics pretty quickly.  I was talking about these:


I'm capable of designing a panel to test whatever signals are on those connectors, but I'd like to connect to the original ones. 

Offline abzman

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Offline mudkicker715

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #7 on: May 23, 2017, 10:24:36 PM »
Looking bright, how many lumens.



Manitowoc WI

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2017, 09:52:20 AM »
Looking bright, how many lumens.

The amazon page says 2700 lumens on high beams, and 900 on low (estimated from the 45 watt and 15 watt figures)

edit: I just realized that the 15 watt in the listing probably assumes all four are on low, the Eagle only uses two, which makes low 450 lumens. 
« Last Edit: May 24, 2017, 10:08:48 AM by abzman »

Offline vangremlin

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2017, 10:01:38 AM »
Looks good.  If you get a chance could you get a daylight shot with the lights off so I can get a feel for what the LED headlights look like when they aren't on? I've thought about installing these also. Thanks!
1981 Kammback 258 - "Pepe"
1980 Coupe 258 - "Ginger
1972 Gremlin X 304
1978 Gremlin 4 cyl 121 - sold
1964 TBird 390 - sold

Offline IRON HORSE

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #10 on: May 24, 2017, 02:58:32 PM »
           Hello and welcome to the Den ...
  Very nice lookin' Eagle,  ride to be proud of. I like the light upgrade .. I noticed a reflection in the camera lens elements when you took the pict ( to the right of  the toolbox )... looks like 16 LEDs in each light.  How well do they lite up the road ahead ???
                                                             Iron Horse  :o
« Last Edit: May 24, 2017, 02:59:21 PM by IRON HORSE »

Offline amarshall

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #11 on: May 24, 2017, 05:36:43 PM »
I was able to find a reference to the diagnostic connectors in the October 1981 issue of Popular Mechanics.  Looks like the small connector was meant for a plug in tester, and the larger side was "used at the factory".





Who knows what logic this device had in it?  Probably not likely to ever re-create it.  Really makes you realize how these magazines have changed over the years.  Can you imagine anything on the newsstand today going into this level of detail?

Here is a link to the magazine on Google Books site:   https://books.google.com/books?id=-dgDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA139&ots=UvSW4wWGF-&dq=amc%20diagnostic%20connector&pg=PA139#v=onepage&q=amc%20diagnostic%20connector&f=false

Wanted:  More time to work on my Eagle!

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Offline amcfool1

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #12 on: May 24, 2017, 06:01:47 PM »
hi and welcome. Nice Eagle! I also have an 84. May I suggest you get a TSM for it?, available on ebay., about  $50-$80. Has all the info you will ever need, as well as all diagnostic explanations. If you ever recreate that module, let me know! good luck, gz

Offline amcfool1

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #13 on: May 24, 2017, 06:04:38 PM »
btw, if your ECM, (computer) checks out bad, they are still available at any auto parts place, about $180., + core. Cali version only. Located behind pass. kick panel. again, good luck, gz

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #14 on: May 25, 2017, 10:54:41 AM »
Looks good.  If you get a chance could you get a daylight shot with the lights off so I can get a feel for what the LED headlights look like when they aren't on? I've thought about installing these also. Thanks!

Here it is, looks a bit odd, but I'll take it for the added light:

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #15 on: May 25, 2017, 11:08:13 AM »
          Hello and welcome to the Den ...
  Very nice lookin' Eagle,  ride to be proud of. I like the light upgrade .. I noticed a reflection in the camera lens elements when you took the pict ( to the right of  the toolbox )... looks like 16 LEDs in each light.  How well do they lite up the road ahead ???
                                                             Iron Horse  :o


Well, I'll take a picture at night when it finally leaves the driveway again (hopefully soon)

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #16 on: May 25, 2017, 11:11:01 AM »
I was able to find a reference to the diagnostic connectors in the October 1981 issue of Popular Mechanics.  Looks like the small connector was meant for a plug in tester, and the larger side was "used at the factory".





Who knows what logic this device had in it?  Probably not likely to ever re-create it.  Really makes you realize how these magazines have changed over the years.  Can you imagine anything on the newsstand today going into this level of detail?

Here is a link to the magazine on Google Books site:   https://books.google.com/books?id=-dgDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA139&ots=UvSW4wWGF-&dq=amc%20diagnostic%20connector&pg=PA139#v=onepage&q=amc%20diagnostic%20connector&f=false

Wow, ok, not like I'll ever find one of those but it's on my list to look for now.  I'll try to see what the computer actually is, I'm pretty good at '80s computer technology so who knows, maybe I could reverse engineer it.  My plan was to recreate the factory tester as well, something to quickly assess the signals broken out on those pins. 

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #17 on: May 25, 2017, 11:12:30 AM »
btw, if your ECM, (computer) checks out bad, they are still available at any auto parts place, about $180., + core. Cali version only. Located behind pass. kick panel. again, good luck, gz

Do you know what the difference between the California version and the other one is? I may be willing to tear one down if I get a spare so I could design a tester that could talk to it like the one in that article. 

Offline amarshall

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #18 on: May 25, 2017, 01:30:34 PM »
That Pop Mechanics article also mentioned that the MCU was bought from Ford, so maybe there is another vehicle out there using it?
Wanted:  More time to work on my Eagle!

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Offline amcfool1

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #19 on: May 25, 2017, 07:22:15 PM »
hi don't know the difference between cali and 49 state, but, probably just tuned to run a little leaner. My cali version is running great here in VA, good luck, gz

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #20 on: May 30, 2017, 02:25:02 PM »
          Hello and welcome to the Den ...
  Very nice lookin' Eagle,  ride to be proud of. I like the light upgrade .. I noticed a reflection in the camera lens elements when you took the pict ( to the right of  the toolbox )... looks like 16 LEDs in each light.  How well do they lite up the road ahead ???
                                                             Iron Horse  :o


Just got a chance to take it out.  Strangely for a while when I put on the high-beams it would stick on until I turned them off entirely.  That seems to have gone away, but if it comes back I have a few thoughts on fixes (never thought I would want pull-down resistors on relays). 

No lights


Regular lights


High beams


Offline eaglefreek

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #21 on: May 30, 2017, 04:15:25 PM »
I used an Ebay relay harness when I converted my dad's 83 Oldsmobile to H4's and had the same exact issue with the highbeams. On the one I bought, the highbeam relay got it's power from the 87a terminal of the low beam relay. Once I removed that and supplied power from same power line that was feeding the low beam relay, the problem went away.
1986 AMC Eagle Wagon 4.2L/4.0L head, AW4,NP242, Chrysler 8.25" rear.
1981 AMC Eagle Wagon As Seen On TV  Lost In Transmission


 

"I know he'd be a poorer man, if he never saw an eagle fly,
Rocky mountain high"  John Denver
Click for Fayetteville,TN Forecast" border="0" height="100" width="150

Offline abzman

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #22 on: June 09, 2017, 02:05:23 PM »
A couple more small fixes:

https://abzman2k.wordpress.com/2017/06/09/amc-eagle-air-cleaner-vacuum-actuator/

https://abzman2k.wordpress.com/2017/06/09/amc-eagle-electronic-flashers/
(need to grab one more picture for this one tonight)

https://abzman2k.wordpress.com/2017/06/09/amc-eagle-led-marker-lights/

Working up the courage to try to rebuild one of my spare carburetors...

Offline amcfool1

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Re: 1984 Amc Eagle Wagon build by an electrical engineer
« Reply #23 on: June 10, 2017, 12:24:44 AM »
hi, good job on the lights. On my 84 I went with a custom built harness from www.danielsternlighting.com. (since I'm NOT an electrical engineer:), but did not use LED headlamps, used the best halogens available according to Mr. Stern, and certified legal as well. However, I did the LED underhood light, man is that thing bright! Too bright, just may go back to a regular bulb. The dome light is good for led, 561 bulb, not too bright, and no heat to melt the plastic housing, same for the courtesy lights, if you have those. Thanks for the tip on polarity for the side markers, did not know that. good luck, gz

 

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