installation problems and their solutions

[alexander]

the following are the problems i encountered getting the mj to a functioning state, and how they were solved.

*problem: software froze within seconds after motor was started. this is apparently due to the certain brands of serial/usb converters using a chip which is upset by something in this application.
1st solution: i bought a used laptop which had a serial port. unfortunately its HDD died a week later...
2nd solution: i bought a BELKIN brand serial/usb converter. that work almost perfectly, but software froze once, so i put an extra serial lead between it and the mj (someone else's suggestion). no problems since.

*problem: wiring loom i made fits in place, but not neatly.
solution: for next time or when i can be bothered making a new one: put all the hardware in its final place, THEN cut the wires to length

*problem: intermittent loss of spark. mj worked first off, but under acceleration car felt like the ignition was cutting out momentarily. i think what was happening was that the mj was momentarily disconnecting due to poor cable connections, and what felt like the ignition cutting out was in fact the EDIS changing to limp-mode.
solution: see next comment

*problem: after connecting/disconnecting the mj a number of times, the advance and rpm gauges stopped working, and mj ceased controlling spark.
solution: the pins in the junior mini-fit molex connector had become pushed back into the plug and were not making reliable contact with the part of the connector in the mj itself. i pushed them back in with a small screwdriver. but.. see next comment...

*problem: some pins in molex connector did not seat correctly
solution: DONT SOLDER THE PINS, AND BUY A PROPER CRIMP TOOL! and i dont mean the first yellow handled piece of rubbish at the local variety store.

*problem: mj wont drive my Smiths RVI type tachometer (or anyone else's!)
solution: get another tachometer. i have bought one from ebay store called VEHIPRO . AUD$40 including shipping sounds good to me! it hasnt arrived yet, so cant confirm that it worked yet, but no reason it shouldnt. i will edit this as necessary when it arrives.

*problem: software "could not open port" (using a serial/usb converter)
solution: go to device manager and set the usb/serial converter to a port number that matches the setup in the software

i think that is all that i had to deal with along the way. just thought it might help persons about to set the thing up to see a list of problems, with solutions, all in one place. particularly as some of these seem to be common encounters.

regards
alexander.