Installation day finally arrives.
I started out the installation by first opening all the parts bags and laying them out on the tool tray. At this point it becomes very apparent the great deal of effort Emjay Engineering has put into assembling the installation kit for the Strategy Controller. Every effort has been made to ensure the customer has EVERYTHING he needs to make a successful installation.
 Controller
setup before install |
There is an abundant supply of self sealing
heat shrink butt splices, as well as gel filled
scotch lock connectors for those individuals who may not have
a heat gun available. Five separate wiring harness's are
included, each one clearly marked for easy identification. Also included is a 12 volt relay and a fuse holder with fuse. A toggle switch is included to cycle between the 3 memory settings and a serial connector with a new serial cable, is included for easy hook up to your computer.
Rounding out the kit is a wire hook up for an exhaust brake, three blade crimp terminals for the switch, stainless self drilling screws to mount everything, high quality wire ties and a roll of cold shrink tape (omitted from photo). Add the Strategy Controller, the Software and phone numbers in case you need help, with everything neatly packed in vacuum bags and you have the kit. I must say My hat is off to Mike Steiger of Emjay Engineering for putting such a great kit together. I actually had splices and connectors left over, even though I replaced a couple of splices I wasn't happy with.
Getting started!
First step was to install the provided software and print out the instruction's for easy reference as I went to work. The list of tools needed included, wire cutters, insulated terminal crimping tool, slip joint pliers, Heat Gun (Not a hair dryer!) and a sharp knife or razor blade.
I used a battery operated screw gun to drive the self tapping screws.
The instructions included with the Strategy controller include detailed photos and descriptions of each step. So I will stick to the general method used to save space here.
Start by removing the air filter box and air intake hose to the turbo. (I placed a sandwich bag with a rubber band over the inlet to keep debris from entering the turbine.)
See photo below:
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for larger view This will expose the PCM and after removing the small cover, the three connectors were easy to reach. Un-plug all three connectors by squeezing the latch tangs on top and bottom of each plug, and gently pulling them off. They are colored black, white and gray and each plug will only fit it's corresponding plug so you won't mix them
up. See photo below:
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for larger view Interestingly at this point I discovered one of the plugs on the PCM was filled with oil. There was no evidence of oil on the plugs or the cover, but the wires themselves had residue on
them. See photo below:
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for larger view A year ago I had replaced a leaking A/C Cycling switch that is mounted on top of the accumulator to the right of the PCM.
My theory is that the oil was probably leaking from the A/C system, worked it's way up the wires and into the plug aided by the air circulated by the fan. After a can of contact cleaner was liberally applied to all the surfaces, I was able to
proceed. See photo below:
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for larger view Next I unwrapped the tape from the wire harness coming off the PCM connectors, as far as the first harness anchor on the firewall. Then after separating the split conduit from the harness and tucking it out of the way, I began splicing in the wires following the directions.
I chose to use the heat shrink splices because I like the way they seal better than the
scotch locks, plus I received a new heat gun as a gift and this was a great opportunity to try it out. The supplied splices worked very well on their own. I added a piece of shrink tubing over them mainly to play with the heat
gun. See photo below:
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for larger view
Mike Steiger Of Emjay Engineering LLC saves the day!
After hooking up a couple of the wires following the color code provided I hit a bit of a snag. One of the wires I was to splice had an identical color coded wire next to it, so I decided to call Mike Steiger at Emjay and ask about it. It was almost 5 PM Saturday afternoon so I was not surprised to get his voice mail. I left a brief message, figured on talking with him Monday and decided to send him an Email. Before I could address the email, Mike surprised me by calling back and immediately looked in his wiring diagrams but they did not show this wire. The wiring diagram I have here also did not show it. Hard to say how the same color coded wire was placed in there, but strange things do happen in the factory all the time. At Mike's urging I used my volt ohm meter to be certain I connected to the correct
one, and then completed the splices with out encountering any more problems
| Back to work!
Thanks to Mike and his timely phone call, I was able to proceed confidently on to the next step of the installation.Having finished the splices and heat shrinking all the self sealing connectors, I double checked everything and used a few wire ties to tighten up the harness. Then I wrapped it all up tight in the Cold shrink tape and pulled the split conduit back over the harness, using a few of the wire ties to secure everything
up. See photo below:
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for larger view
Mounting the Strategy Controller
I then proceeded to mount the controller to the firewall with the supplied self drilling screws while taking in to account the room I would need for the up coming Scotty II intake air filter system. Along side this I mounted the fuse holder, also with one of the self drilling screws. The Relay I strapped to the harness with a wire tie as I want to leave room for the Scotty II before I make it a permanent mount.(Photo taken from the included
instructions) See below:
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for larger viewThe next step was to run the long Harness across the firewall and into the cab for the switch and the serial cable hook up for the PC. I ran it along side the existing harness and secured it with several of the wire ties. I cut a small X in the rubber clutch linkage pad and poked the end of a Wire pulling fish tape from the inside and then taped the wires to it so I could pull them through. I am sure there are other ways to do this, but having pulled stuff through there before hooking up gauges, I find this the easiest way. That rubber plug is tough and in a place you can't easily reach and see at the same
time. See
photo below:
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for larger view Installing the switch and serial cable pigtail. I drilled a hole in the knee board area of the dash on the left side to install the switch. Then it was just a matter of crimping the blade plugs on the wires and plugging them
in. See photo below:
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for larger view The serial cable pigtail I spliced in with the
heat shrink connectors and then ran the wire up the trailer brake relay, tying it off with cable ties for the time being. I have not decided on the best place to mount it permanently, but it works just fine right
there. See photo below:
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for larger view Button everything up
I used a few wire ties under the dash to secure the new wiring and replaced the knee board I removed to get better access under the dash. I then plugged in all the connectors for the Emjay Strategy controller and after being certain the contact cleaner had dried, plugged the PCM connectors back in. I wrapped some tape around the PCM connector wiring harness to prevent oil from crawling back up in the plugs again. I then took a few more wire ties and tightened everything up and clear of anything that could cause a problem later on. The idea here was to be sure the wires were not laying against anything that could rub a hole in one or burn through. Plenty of wire ties in this kit so you can snug up some of that stuff they never quite got right at the factory
too. See photo below:
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for larger view That completes the installation of the Emjay Enterprises LLC Strategy Controller.
Installation Evaluation Conclusions I can not emphasize enough on how impressed I am by the ease and simplicity of the installation process. I am sure this is in no small way due to the great care and obviously well thought out process, The team at Emjay Enterprises LLC, have put together. Every step of the process is superbly documented with printable instructions, including color photographs and installation tips. The Appendix attached to the end of the
instructions even points out the improved innovations of the splices and connectors included in the install kit. The parts are all top notch, and I really liked the cold shrink tape. I have taken notes along the way and tried to find things to suggest that might improve on this process, however I can not find any fault, or offer any suggestion other than to use a volt ohm meter as Mike suggested to me over the phone. The connectors of the PCM are all numbered and the corresponding wire color code for each is listed. If you should come across one that has two the same color as mine did, the meter will help you isolate the correct one. Allow about 2 hours to install the unit. The next step is to hook it up to the computer using the supplied serial cable and begin trying some different settings. I will be showing results and pictures of this process in the next installment of this article to be released in just a few days, so keep looking back here for it!
To Be Continued...
This is the second installment in an ongoing technical article intended to shed some light on some new and exciting products that will hopefully take care of some old problems.
Please keep an eye out for the next installment to be added very soon!.
This ongoing article is written by Staff Writer: Lary Ellis
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