A'PEXi Rev/Speed Meter Install

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Materials: RSM and all accessories Electrical tape Zip-Ties Tools: 10mm wrench or ratchet/socket Wire strippers Wire cutters Wire crimpers Utility knife Before beginning this installation, it's probably a good idea to disconnect the positive battery terminal. We ARE going to be tapping into power and the ECU, for crying out loud. Step 1: Locating the ECU Where is the ECU in a 7th Gen? Easy. Right behind the glove box. Start by removing all the contents of your glove box bin. Next, locate the two stopper/retainers for the bin, on the sides. To remove, simply raise the bin up an inch or so, then push each tab in from the outside of the bin with a finger. Now just let the bin drop and hang there, conveniently out of the way. There you have it. . . behold, the ECU: (Note the location of the three wire harnesses) Before removing the three ECU plugs, I moved this harness coupler out of the way. To do this, push in tabs on all sides of the white retaining clip, then pull the whole coupler off the metal bracket it's attached to. Step 2: Determining which wires go where Looking in the Honda section of the RSM's Vehicle Specific Wiring Diagram booklet (page 27) you'll see the Civic group near the bottom of the page. What? No D17 listing? Pssh. Just use the EP3 line. "But Art, we don't have a K20A under the hood!" No problemo. We have the same ECU plugs in our car that the K20 cars use. Go along the line to the right to find the proper diagram listing. Ahhhhh. . . . diagram H8-b. (The "D" in the preceeding column tells you where the ECU is located. . in the dash, duh.) The diagram reads left to right in the book, bottom to top on the ECU. Note here I labeled the wires to make finding them easier. Step 3: Prepping the RSM's wire harness Here's where the tools start to do their work. Take the RSM's harness, and isolate the following wires: Purple Red Black Yellow Take the rest and bend them back along the harness' insulation and zip-tie them out of the way. Note I covered the leads with electrical tape to make sure they won't interfere with the operation of the RSM. Also, clip the end off the purple wire and strip off about 1/2 inch of insulation. In this installation we don't cut the speed limiter. In my installation (placing the RSM just above the cup holder in my 2002) I ran the RSM's harness from the lower center dash panel to the vicinity of the ECU. Step 4: Prepping the wires on the ECU Now that we have the RSM's wire harness in place, and we know which ECU wires to tap into, we're ready to start the fun stuff. Referring to diagram H8-b on page 30 of the booklet, we see the exact locations of the wires. And, thanks to me, you won't have to do much work to figure out which colors they should be. Pull off some of the electrical tape from the bottom and top harnesses. You've no doubt figured-out we're not touching the middle one. Now, using the wire stripper, carefully clamp it over the wire using the appropriate gauge hole. DO NOT SLIDE THE STRIPPER. We simply want to score the wire in two places. Do the same thing about 1/4 inch away from the first score. Now, using the utility knife, cut longitudinally down the wire between the two score locations. Basically, we're just cutting a seam into the small piece of insulation we just made with the stripper. Make a few very shallow cuts. . . just enough to break the surface of the insulation. Now you should be able to get the tip of a fingernail in there and pull apart the insulation to take it straight off the wire. There should now be a section of wire about 1/4 inches long exposed. Do the same to the other three wires we've targeted. Step 5: Making the connections Once all four wires have been prepped, it's time to make the connections. Take one of the wires from the RSM's harness and give the lead a slight twist. Now, place that wire along the wire it's to be crimped onto, leaving the lead just over the exposed portion of ECU wire. Now wrap that lead around the ECU wire a few times until snug. Take one of the tiny clam crimps provided with the RSM and cup the bare wires from the ECU wire's side. Using the wire crimper, clamp down on the metal crimp to make a tight bond. Don't be afraid to do this a few times to get it good and snug. Those metal crimps are thick! In case you're wondering, this is the matchup: PURPLE to White/Green RED to Yellow/Black BLACK to Black YELLOW to Blue Repeat the process for the other connections. . . then wrap each one in electrical tape to isolate and protect the taps. Step 6: Wrapping things up Now that all the connections have been securely made, it's time to finish the install. Plug the ECU harnesses back into their respective recepticles. Don't worry, they won't fit unless they're going into the right one. Now replace the harness coupler we moved out of the way, earlier. Next, flip the glove box bin back up far enough to catch once the retainer/stoppers are back in place. To replace, simply insert them back in the slots the same way they came out, then snap them in. Put your stuff back in the bin and shut it. Hopefully, by now you've figured-out where you're going to mount the meter. Well, what are you waiting for? Plug it in and do it. With any luck, you've put it somewhere that's easily visible while driving. . . that's what it's for, right? Now conceal the RSM's wire if you have to. Reconnect the battery to the electrical system. AND START UP THE CAR. The RSM will automatically power-up whenever the ignition is turned-on. From here, you'll have to read the user manual. I JUST installed mine and I have yet to figure out all the neat stuff it can do. I hope this wasn't too big an ordeal for you. I was hesitant to do it, myself. . . and this stuff doesn't usually scare me. But once I got going, it wasn't too bad. Now get out there and enjoy your new toy!!

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