Identify what I need for this 2.3

[Mark_88]

Unless you have a distinct reason for the Neutral Safety Switch to be functional I would suggest a jumper wire to bypass it completely....if its going to present problems. I drove my 88 for 14 years with it jumped and never felt overly concerned that I might try starting my truck with it in gear...but actually did use that to bunny hop out of a bad situation once...lol

If it's needed by the computer then by all means figuring it out will be needed. I had looked into my 96 since it had 6 wires and my 88 had two (I think). I had to actually swap the whole pedal assembly over eventually because of the way my setup was...and the clutch Master cylinder is mounted on the pedal assembly as opposed to earlier versions that were mounted directly on the firewall.

Not sure when they started doing that but it was after 1992 since my 92 was mounted on the firewall also.

 

[tomw]

You might consider the switch operating a two pole relay. Use the NC side for one swith and the NO contact for the other. Use the existing switch to operate the relay.
tom

 

[kishy]

RE: clutch switch...yeah, I trust myself when starting with the key. The problem is a remote starter. I often park in first (bad habit, I know). I'm going to have to wean myself off of that.

Tom, using a 5 pin relay like you describe has occurred to me but the problem is the "normally closed" function is only used by Cruise, which my truck doesn't have (and while I'd like to add it later possibly, it's not happening at swap time).

What I need are two normally open switches (relays), electrically isolated, for the start circuit and for the computer (start circuit should only go hot when key is in start AND clutch is down, but computer needs to go hot any time clutch is down with key in run...and the 'hot' comes from the computer itself for that*)

*: the clutch switch needs to bridge pin 30 on the computer to the signal return pins on the computer, so it cannot be fed by an outside source, it needs to just close the circuit between those two pins. I'm not sure what would happen if pin 30 was just permanently wired to the sig rtn pins, maybe it'd be fine.

Below taken from this thread on Corral: http://forums.corral.net/forums/eec-tech/719667-question-about-eec-iv-pin-30-a.html
It's 5.0 stuff, but EEC-IV is EEC-IV (for the most part).

...with an auto, Pin30 sees 12 volts during start only. With a manual, Pin30 sees only signal return(ie. ground)...

If you have a manual computer, then you can get by with simply hooking Pin30 up to a constant ground. I don't know if that is the "correct" way to do it but some Ranger guys doing EFI swaps have done this with success.

Below taken from this thread on FTE: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/460085-eec-iv-ecm-manual-and-automatic-difference.html

the ecm looks for a clutch pedal switch on the stick cars to hold the idle higher during gear changes

If that is true then it seems wise to have it switched as intended. That's also what I was kind of expecting the reason to be, kind of like a dashpot function (allow idle to slowly fall rather than just drop right off).

More operating theory (again not Rangers or 2.3 specific, but it's EEC-IV): https://eectuning.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=100507&sid=04fc56dcce0f30566127a02dad8b27a9#p100507
(specifically, the difference between stick and auto re: pin 30 - it works different depending on if ECM is for stick or auto)

Relevant summary:
Automatic EEC is setup to detect when the starter is cranking on pin 30 (+12V sent to pin 30 from ignition switch in 'start')
Manual EEC does not care if the starter is cranking and instead uses pin 30 jumpered to the blue/yellow wire to detect clutch and neutral engagement by sensing if the blue/yellow wire is grounded to pin 46 or not.

(irrelevant to my project but still worth knowing) If Manual EEC were used with automatic wiring, Signal Return trace in the ECM can be burnt due to short from ignition switch +12V source to the signal return (46) pin.
Since the EEC-IV uses +5V for all sensors I would guess the manual trans ones probably (?) output 5V on pin 30, when the circuit closes (clutch pedal down), that 5V (not 12V like comes from the ignition switch) goes back to the signal return pin. It's a guess, but probably a good one.

 

[tomw]

I did not analyze all that was said, but will note my wish that there was no 'dashpot' function done by the EEC-IV. When I shift, I have to pause between to allow the rpms to come down. Maybe it is a quirk, but I don't like to have the engine rpms high when I release the clutch pedal and without a pause, on my part, the engine rpm would be too high.
On some vehicles, the 'dashpot' effect is a real PITA, in my opinion.
I'd sooner not have it.
tom

 

[kishy]

I'll hook it up so it can work and if I find it objectionable, I'll undo it. I know with carb arrangements it's a significant emissions and cat preservation concern because quickly snapping the throttle closed sends the mixture rich momentarily. I would think that EFI (especially mass air EFI) would be able to avoid that.

I think I'm giving up on the 95+ ECM box out of the firewall. What a ridiculous mess it is to get those things out. Dropped the dash in one in the junkyard, found that the thing is glued in with seam sealer and then painted over...not budging. I'll come up with an alternative solution.

I have no interest at all in putting the thing inside the cab though. The effort to achieve that would be massive.

 

[Mark_88]

I'm sure you could make something better anyway. It's just a plastic box with a faceplate that allows you to mate it with the front plate that pulls off with the ECM so a bit of cutting and melting plastic to seal it should be a breeze.

If you score the aluminum shield it will help dissipate heat and give you a ground option that might make the whole thing a lot easier. Unless you are set on having AC working hacking the heater box to give it a more recessed place to be mounted is also an easy mod. You really only need the airway for the blower motor to force air over the heater core and through to the cab...maybe a 4 x 4" pathway...but that was why I swapped over the 96 heater box for inside the engine bay...just took a bit of hacking the firewall to make the appropriate holes...

I posted pics of my inside cab hacks for all the mods on Photobucket...and they are still viewable. I tried to download my photos to my computer but the site really bogs down now...and my USB stick got corrupted so I had to reformat my only copy.

 

[kishy]

My truck doesn't have A/C, so the spot for the evaporator isn't there (also makes access to exhaust manifold and engine mount quite easy). Otherwise I'd definitely stash it in there.

The aluminum shield is out of the junkyard truck, I could go grab it, but I figured it would be just as easy to put a ring terminal on one of the screws the thing already has. I do think some of the function of that piece is a passive heat sink also. If it were only for grounding, it wouldn't be so big...and since the EEC-V that normally sits on it incorporates the ICM, I expect they get kinda warm. Depending on where the EEC-IV ends up going, it might be irrelevant, especially since it does not have the ICM integrated.

It's not rocket science, really...just need to find a way to keep stuff from splashing onto it. I had kind of hoped someone out there made a product for this but it seems not to be the case.