Priya's SX/4 project

[JustinS]

Priya,  I'm a very new member to the Nest, and have to say, Wow.  Your car is looking amazing.  If I can make my SX4 look half as good as yours, I'll be pleased as punch with myself.  Now I just need to get a garage closer than a 5 hour drive to work on her.  Well, that and scrape my jaw off of the floor...

[priya]

Thanks, jcsmn74!

[mojobean]

Priya.. all I can say is WOW!!!
Absolutely STUNNING! I tried to get my hubby to let me repaint the engine and bay before we put an engine back in (it was supposed to get rebuilt, and still sits ready to reassemble) but instead of letting me clean and paint, he threw a used engine in. Looks as sh*tty as it did before, with less grime. (atleast i can drive it now)  seeing yours gives me hope for the future!!!!

Can i ask.. when you did the rear hatch lift wiring.. do you have any photos of the wiring you ran from the glovebox switch into the engine bay and solenoid and all those miscellaneous fusible link spiders web? Or did you wire it differently than the  diagrams? Please do tell, as that is my current half done project and the part i'm stuck on.

[priya]

Awww, thanks Mojobean. 

The only pictures I've got are the ones I've posted but I can take more if it would help.  I decided I didn't like the hatch release switch in the glove box and wanted it accessible from standing at the driver's door so we mounted it on the left side of the dash just below the instrument cluster.  I only have the foggiest understanding of what my husband did with the wiring so I'll ask him to respond to your question but that won't be until late tonight at the earliest.

[captspillane]

The hatch usually needs to be wiggled to work. I mount my release switch in the back. I use a doorbell switch mounted out of sight above the inboard corner of the passenger side tailight. This lets you wiggle and pull up to help the solenoid while you push the button. Even a properly working solenoid gets stuck occasionally.

Every hatch solenoid will not work reliably with the factory ground post. You must run a ground wire from the roof to the hatch. The positive comes through a wire to a copper post but the ground is supposed to come from the grounding of the hatch itself. The problem is that the hinges isolate the hatch electrically and the ground post is worthless. Before running a ground wire you will see less than 6 volts across the solenoid. Afterwards you will see 12 volts across it. It will click weakly and not work without the ground wire.

To lock the hatch I put a rocker switch in the glove compartment. When it doesn't send power the doorbell in the back has no power to it. The doorbell switch is a momentary switch that is supplied power only if the glovebox switch is on. You cannot use a on off switch directly to the solenoid because the wires will melt if the solenoid has power going to it for more than a few seconds.

The switch I use is snapped backwards into the plastic holder it comes with. The original screws for the factory glove box switch are the perfect width for this bracket. I used the old screws and didn't need to modify anything. This exact switch is available at Walmart and most auto stores.

The whole system is a single 12V source wire with an inline 30 AMP fuse, heavy gauge, to the glove box rocker switch. Then it goes from the rocker all the way to the doorbell. Then doorbell to positive post contact point.

[JustinS]

I must say, I like that! 

[68AMXGOPAC]

Well, I am glad mine works just fine.My son found out it needs to be pushed twice for some reason.Seems it gives it an extra wack on the arm and it pops open.I say though, it did take a bit of work to get the hatch and the parts aligned to work easily and pop itself up a bit when the switch is hit.That and new strut arms worked best.
Great fix and repair youv'e got there if one has problems with them, that seems the answer.

[priya]

Mojobean, here's my husband's response to your question:


Some notes regarding power hatch release:

-The power supply can be switched or on
battery power. I it's switched you will
have to turn the ignition to "on" or
"accessory" before the release works.

-The fuse rating is usually determined
by finding the current demand of the
circuit and multiplying by 1.5. If
you use 14 gauge wire for everything
except the switch and a 20 amp fuse it
will work without issues.

-The wires from relay pin 86 to the switch
and the switch to ground can be much thinner
(16 or 18 gauge) as they only carry 1/4 amp
or so. The smaller wires make easier to hook
to the switch also.

-I would recommend that the solenoid ground
wire be brought back up the hatch and grounded
to the body of the car. Hatch hinges are not
really good conductors of electricity. If
you do ground to the hatch run a ground strap
(14 gauge) from the hatch to the body to
provide a reliable ground.

[Hawk258]

Did you have to build a custom air filter for your air cleaner?

[priya]

Did you have to build a custom air filter for your air cleaner?

No, it still fits the factory air filter which is used on a wide variety of chrysler products including the 318 in my husband's truck.

[Hawk258]

Good to know.

[landphil]

I have not been on the site in a while, I was so happy to see your progress.  Awsome work

[priya]

Thanks landphil.

[priya]

Hubby got all the wiring done under the dash so I've been able to assemble it.  He put in relays for the headlights, each setting on the blower fan, for the oil and temperature light (don't ask me why, I didn't understand it), various circuit breakers and a relay for the hatch release.  As we didn't include a light for the rear defroster he wired it so the check engine light comes on when the defroster is on (a little odd but it works).  He also wired up the stereo I got from Gronk (thanks Gronk!).

The first piece to go in was the instrument cluster:


The button underneath the headlight and wiper switch is the hatch release.  I never liked trunk release buttons in the glove box and wanted one I could reach while standing at the driver's door.  It doesn't need the key on either another common feature on power trunk cars I really disliked:


The vent and lower steering column bezel went in next:


The radio and heater control bezel was next but first I needed to refinish it as the one I got from the Spirit AMX dash wasn't in the best of condition:


I got some aluminum flashing, and cut out a rectangle and proceeded to trace around a plastic overlay from another bezel with a scratch awl.  This was the third attempt as I screwed up the first two:


I used my husband's gasket punches to make the smaller holes and the rounded corners and the aluminum was soft enough I was able to cut out the rest with an ordinary pair of scissors:


Here's how the Spirit AMX bezel looked after painting and installation of the aluminum overlay:


And here's how the radio/heater control bezel looked installed in the car with the AM/FM cassette:


The glove box door went on next.  Try as I might for 2 to 3 hours I couldn't get it adjusted nicely, I guess the parts warped over the years and/or weren't perfectly formed from the factory:


The Eagle glove box label fit in the same holes as the AMX label so of course I had to shine it up:


The package tray went in next and the interior is really coming together!

[rohnk]

Coming along nicely!