spartan

PM'd.

You will notice from the diagram that the output wires to both tail lights and brake lights have been joined together (the exisiting connections from the loom are left disconnected on one side). It should be impossible, therefore, for either nearside tailights or brake lights to behave differently to the offside. From your description, they do behave differently and ipso facto the wiring can not be the same as the diagram ... Maybe some pictures of your wiring would help?

Perhaps an answer really should be in the FAQs section though ...

Surprisingly, this doesn't appear as a question in it's own right under FAQs. I believe the first row of Japanese symbols, "シフトロツワ", are written in Katakana and phonetically spell: "shi fu to ro tsu ku" which, if you say it fast enough with the corners of yours eyes pulled back, sounds a bit like "Shift Lock". I assume that the second row says the same thing but written in Kanji. The only use for it I have found is, it's easier to remove the surrounding trim piece (as the first step in dismantling the dash. - how many times have we all done that?!) if the stick is in Neutral.

When you say you cut into the wire, did you actually disconnect it from the loom side? If not, it will still be joined to the other light and, hence, 4 foglights. If the conversion has been done properly then, when the foglight switch is off, all brake lights should work as before. I think it's possible that the wiring you've found is for an additional 'dangly' foglight, fitted externally and possibly only put there to pass MOT (and since removed). Hope that helps.

My solution to Four balls: Ferris Fandango An earlier version (during build) that gave me the inspiration for the above: Ferris Fail You need to zoom out a bit to get the full effect.

Perhaps we should all chip-in and by it for the club?!

As already suggested, the first thing to check would be that those items are plugged in behind the dash. It's possible that when your car had a speedo converter fitted, someone forgot to reconnect something. There's a great page here that shows you how to remove the dash (very easy): http://www.internetwork.org.uk/Dash%20Conversion/Instructions.htm The dash on your VVTi looks slightly different to the pictures shown but the principles are exactly the same (your centre section - surrounding the instrument dials - is not screwed in place, it's just a push fit; the left section - the big one - does have one screw at the top corner; the right section - with the ignition key - also has one screw at the top corner). Just one caveat - DO NOT be tempted turn on the ignition (to test, say) with the dash panels removed (the top one can cause problems with your air-bag warning light).

Would the triggering of stock traction control be affected by the fitment of a LSD? My guess is it would in which case I wonder how Toyota could offer it as an option (OK factory fit) on JDM Supras. Unless traction control ECU/logic is also different on models with it fitted (which I find hard to believe, more likely 'one size fits all') then either the traction control logic is set-up in a way (smart/dumb enough) to allow the LSD to do it's thing or an LSD is almost useless if used with stock traction control switched on. Happy to be told I'm wrong! For the record, I leave mine on by default and would only consider switching it off if I'm pulling out into/across a small 'window' of traffic. I just don't know if I'm a skillful enough driver to cope without it. It's my responsibility to do something about that but in the meantime it stays on.

Found another one (probably another repost but I did search carefully this time): vsNUvDeu-j8

Cool (or not as the case maybe)! To be honest, I would have thought that the ambient temperature out there would have meant that it's even more important to make sure you're engine isn't sucking in air directly from inside your engine bay. How about water injection too? http://www.aquamist.co.uk/

Norfolk? Very nice project! You might improve the temperature situation by getting a decent 'cold' air feed to your filter (box it in or relocate it) ...

OK. Just to be clear on this, there are currently three versions of the SpeedM8 that are available to be fitted to the VVTi Tiptronic: 'VVTi Tiptronic' - does speed conversion and removes top speed limit BUT doesn't generate an unconverted speedo output so active spoiler (if fitted) is messed up (and also speed sensitive steering?) 'VVTi Tiptronic - A/F spoiler mod.' - creates an unconverted speedo output signal to correct above problem (and also speed sensitive steering?) 'Analogue' - does speed conversion and generates an unconverted speedo output signal (nothing else messed up) BUT doesn't delimit. Presumably someone must've fitted versions 1 & 2 at some point otherwise why would've SpeedM8 have made them? Those just with version 1 fitted may not be aware of the effect it could be having on speed sensitive steering (subtle - it's progressive not on/off), especially if they don't have an active spoiler fitted; I don't think cruise control was ever available as an option on VVTi cars. The 'Snow' issue appears to only have affected my car when using the Thor/TRL VVTi unit. I still don't know if anybody using the SpeedM8 device (version 1 above) gets this problem. However, it most definitely IS related to the 'capped' speed input signal sent to the main ECU. When I made the mod. explained in post #5 above with the Thor unit fitted, the 'Snow' issue went away. It was when I started contemplating what other effects interfering with speed signals sent to the ECU might have (gear changes, traction control, ABS, air-bag deployment?) that I decided it was time to steer clear of the ECU completely and find something 'simpler'. Hence, the start of this thread.

You're right, of course. Maybe as an instantaneous check if you're not comfortable with the 5/8 or 'knock the last zero off and multiply by six' mental arithmetic?

Nice one! Seriously though, is it only a problem when you drive on or reverse on? One way around it (if you can't change anything else) is to create a 'bump' on the drive corresponding with where your wheels would be just before the bumper grounds. This should lift the car just enough to avoid it (assuming it doesn't ground on the bump first) ... Of course, if it's happening at both ends simultaneously, back to Plan A!

If you look back to post #5, you'll see I describe how to 'undo' the speed delimiting function. There's no reason at all why this couldn't also be achieved through a simple (changeover) switch: leave it off normally; flick it on when you want (to risk) it. Best of both worlds? That reminds me of something else I thought of: it would be equally easy to put a switch on the speedo input signal, enabling you to revert to a kmh readout when required (e.g., driving on the continent). Odometer would be affected too mind.

Those pin-outs are a bit misleading (in fact the whole thing's a bit questionable): each sensor usually has it's own ground (i.e., what the sensor signal itself should be compared to) but is not labelled as such in that list (shares the same name).

Found the e-mail from Pete:

No, I didn't make this clear The SpeedM8 unit is '2-Channel': the analogue version takes the speedo input signal and from that creates both a converted (kmh:mph) speedo input signal and an 'unconverted' (1:1) speedo output signal to simulate what the speedo would have output if it had received an unconverted signal. Consequently, the actual speedo output (as opposed to the one generated by the SpeedM8) is left disconnected. Hope that makes sense! The 'perfect' speedo converter for the VVTi Tiptronic model would be (at least) '3-channel': converted speedo input signal unconverted speedo output signal capped ECU speed input signal (to disable top speed limit) I am in posession of such a device - it's a Thor/TRL unit that has been modified by Pete Betts (genius) specifically for the VVTi Tiptronic - but when fitted, on my car at least, I experienced 'random' problems with traction control going into 'Snow' mode (Pete did try to explain this to me but I can't remember the full details - I'll dig out the e-mail if anyone's interested). Unfortunately, I think Pete has given up trying to perfect it (I've recently been informed by Thor that no more VVTi versions of their unit will be produced). I haven't been able to ascertain whether the SpeedM8 VVTi Tiptronic version is susceptible to this problem - possibly not because it's only 2-channel (and, therefore, you'd need two of them to replicate what the Thor/TRL unit was doing). Certainly, the Analogue version isn't - it can't be as it doesn't go anywhere near the ECU.

Perhaps this could be approached from a slightly different angle, maybe by working out how the top speed limit is actually achieved and 'overriding' it, i.e., what does the ECU 'do' to the engine to stop speed increasing? I don't think it's the same as traction control (separate throttle butterfly) and it doesn't sound like fuel cut either (I've never experienced that but it sounds more dramatic than top speed limit). Just ignition/timing? Ah! A thought has just occurred to me - could it be the drive-by-wire throttle control (effectively ignoring pedal input)?

I think the actual speed above which this problem may be exhibited will depend on the 'capped' speed that is sent by the speed delimiter to the ECU. So, for example, if the capped signal is set at 110mph then I would expect the problem to only be experienced at speeds above that. However, it is my belief that some speed delimiters set the capped speed to just 85mph, in which case the problem is potentially (worryingly) more likely to occur. I have read that the SpeedM8 capped speed is 105mph.

As I kind of said before, if it works (really works - no unexpected side-effects) then don't knock it! Seriously, it probably is the case that we just don't normally drive fast enough for this to actually happen. The problem with that argument is though, it's only got to happen once and you're engine is toast. Not something you'll have to worry about for long with a new ECU on the way!

I think you're absolutely right Pete. The thing that doesn't make sense to me though is why this problem has appeared at all. If you put the Tiptronic into manual mode and try to change down (most likely accidentally) into a gear that would put the revs in the red, you get a polite beep and it stays in gear. My feeble reasoning leads me to believe that it does this by comparing the current revs with what they would be if you changed down and it's calculating that based on the respective gear ratios, e.g., if you're in third (ratio 1:1) and you try to change down to second (ratio 1:1.531), then Revs in 2nd gear = Revs in 3rd gear * 1.531 N.B. I've simplified that slightly (cheated!) by choosing third (1:1) If the 'new' revs calculated are higher than the red-line then 'BEEP'! Vehicle speed doesn't come into the equation and why should it ($64k?)? Answers on a postcard please ...

Fitted the 'Analogue' version of the SpeedM8 speed converter today, behind the dash rather than at the ECU and, as hoped for, it works perfectly: recalibrates the speedo. (odo.) input signal so it reads mph (miles) rather than kmh (kilometers); leaves all other 'downstream' systems unaffected. that's it (no side-effects)! :Pling:N.B. the one thing it doesn't do on the Tiptronic model is act as a top speed delimiter. If you need a top speed delimiter for this model then you require the VVTi Tiptronic version that requires fitting at the ECU but be warned this has the potential to cause problems with gear changes at high speeds (possible down-change resulting in over-revving) I would say that if you already have the VVTi Tiptronic version fitted then unless you're really worried by the gear change problem or you're experiencing problems with steering feel, active spoiler deployment, etc. (and even these problems can be resolved by using an additional SpeedM8 unit) then it's definitely not worth changing it, particulalry if the speed delimiting function is important to you.

That's good of you Pete but I've looked at similar devices before and their major drawback is you also need an unconverted signal output too. Let me explain (you probably already know this but for the benefit of others who might not). The speedo takes an input signal (SI) that is used to move the speedo needle and increment the odometer BUT it also uses this to create an output signal (4P) that can be used by 'downstream' systems that use the vehicle speed as a parameter, e.g., active spoiler, power steering, cruise control. Crucially, the input (SI) signal is not in the same format as the ouput (4P) signal but it is directly proportional to it. This is where problems can start to arise. If the speedo input signal is converted from kmh to mph, it is reduced by a factor of (approximately) 5/8 and, therefore, so is the speedo output signal. Effectively this means that downstream systems get the reduced signal and do not operate as intended, e.g., speed sensitive power steering that should become more resistive as speed increases will do so at a reduced rate and could, therefore, appear quite 'loose' to a driver even at high speeds. Similar problems would be experienced with the active spoiler control: it wouldn't deploy/retract. until a much higher speed was attained; instead of 50mph it would be (50 x 8/5) = 80mph! So, a 'good' speedo converter not only provides a converted speedo input signal but also an unconverted output signal, to simulate what the speedo would have generated if it had been fed with an unconverted input signal (N.B. in this respect the SpeedM8 VVTi Tiptronic version is not 'good' as it doesn't provide an unconverted output signal). A really good speedo converter would also provide a top speed delimiter (the SpeedM8 VVTi Tiptronic version does do this). If this is the holy grail of speedo converters, I'm not sure it exists (at least in a single unit).