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Picture of a headlight switch manufactured by Standard Motor Products

Headlight Switch

It’s time to wire in the headlight switch in our customer’s 1967 Mustang.  They are installing our 20-Circuit Kit in the car.  In previous posts, we blogged about wiring the headlights and parking lights to the outputs on the POWERCELLs in the car.  You can read about that process at this link.

Remember that there is no direct connection between your switches and the things that you are switching.  In this case, there is no direct connection between the headlight switch and the headlight bulbs in the front of the car.  The headlight switch connects to the MASTERCELL.  The headlight bulbs connect to the POWERCELL.  The MASTERCELL and POWERCELLs are connected with our CAN data cable.  When you turn on the headlight switch, the MASTERCELL sees the switch turn on.  It sends a command to the POWERCELL in the front of the car and commands it to turn the output on that powers the headlight bulbs.  The same thing happens when you turn on your parking lights.  The MASTERCELL sees the parking light switch turn on.  It sends a command to the POWERCELLs in the front and rear of the car.  Each of these POWERCELLs turn on parking light outputs locally in the car.

Our customer started with the original headlight switch that came with the car.  After some checking and testing of the switch, they figured out that the switch was bad.  Something inside the switch failed.

Picture showing how to use a multimeter to check continuity between terminals on a headlight switch

Picture showing how to use a multimeter to check continuity between terminals on a headlight switch

They wanted to keep the traditional pull-type headlight switch in the car so they picked up a replacement switch made by Standard Motor Products.  This what the switch looks like.

Picture of a headlight switch manufactured by Standard Motor Products

Picture of a headlight switch manufactured by Standard Motor Products

This is a multi-function switch.  It controls the parking and headlights in the car.  You get the parking lights when you pull the switch to the first detent.  You get both the parking lights and headlights when you pull the switch to the second position.

This is a very common switch, used in lots of different cars.  We created a specific wiring diagram showing how to wire your MASTERCELL inputs to the terminals on the switch.  This picture shows you the diagram.

Picture of a wiring diagram for a typical headlight switch

Picture of a wiring diagram for a typical headlight switch

You can download a PDF of this diagram by clicking this link.

The first thing that we did was to check the configuration sheet for this system.  You can get more details on the configuration sheet for your system by clicking this link.  The MASTERCELL inputs for the headlights and parking lights are going to connect to the switch.  The headlight input is the white wire with the green tracer.  The parking light input is the blue wire with the black tracer.  Both of these inputs are on the MASTERCELL input harness.  You also need three ground connections to this switch.  Two of the terminals need to be grounded and the switch housing needs to be connected to ground.  You can use the black wires that came in the MASTERCELL input harness as grounds for this switch.  One of the MASTERCELL ground wires can handle the ground for the entire switch.  Just jumper that black wire between the different terminals on the switch and the case.

Follow the diagram to see which terminals on the headlight switch connect to the headlight and parking light input wires on the MASTERCELL.  This is pretty simple.

Once you have the input wires connected and the grounds connected, you have wired the inputs for the headlights and parking lights.  When you pull the switch to the first position, the switch connects the parking light input wire to ground.  This sends the signal to the MASTERCELL to control the lights through the front and rear POWERCELLs.  When you pull the switch to the second position, the switch connects the headlight input to ground.  This triggers the MASTERCELL to control the headlights from the front POWERCELL.  When the switch is in the headlight position, the switch also keeps the parking light input connected to ground.

Once you have the headlight and parking light inputs wired, you can also use this switch to control and dim your dash lights.  This specific switch has a rheostat built in to dim dash lights.  In most cases, you are powering your dash lights off of your parking light output.  See this blog post for more details.  You will have power to your dash lights when the parking lights or headlights are on from this switch.

This switch has a rheostat built in to dim the dash lights.  A rheostat is a variable resistor.  Turning the knob, increases or decreases the resistance in series with the dash lights.  This lets more or less current flow to the dash lights, which will dim or brighten them.  Please note that the dimming effect may not be as significant when using LED dash lights.

You can wire the dash light feed though the rheostat on the headlight switch.  See the wiring diagram above for the details of which terminals need to connect to the wires.  Please note that there is a metal jumper that must be cut to do this.  If you do not remove this metal jumper, you will damage your MASTERCELL inputs and potentially void the warranty.

That’s it.  This one post covers wiring  your parking light input, your headlight and your dash lights.  Please click this link to contact our team with any questions about our Infinitybox system.

Switch Terminals

We’re progressing through the different switches that need to get wired to the MASTERCELL in our customer’s 1967 Mustang.  They are wiring their car with our 20-Circuit Kit.  The last post covered the brake pedal switch, which is one of the easiest.  In this post, we’re going to talk about how you figure out which switch terminals you need to connect to your MASTERCELL inputs.

Some switches are really easy, the brake pedal switch is an example.  Others, we have created wiring diagrams for you to use.  Our Resources section of our website has a long list of turn signal switches, ignition switches and headlight switches from different makes of car.  You can find these under the Installation Guides section at this link.  

There are some switches that are unique to a model year or are unique to a specific car.  We may not have a wiring diagram assembled for your specific switch.  It is usually pretty simple to figure out how to connect these switches to your MASTERCELL inputs.  We’ll talk about the basics in this blog post.

Remember how a MASTERCELL input works.  The MASTERCELL input gets triggered by getting connected to ground through the switch.  In the case of the brake switch from our last post, that one was easy.  One of the switch terminals connected to the MASTERCELL input.  The other of the switch terminals connected to ground.

There are a few simple steps to follow to figure out which switch terminals you need to connect to for a new switch.

The first step is to find out where power came into the switch originally.  Let’s use this switch as an example.  One of our customers is wiring a 1972 Chevy truck with our 20-Circuit Kit.  He sent us this picture of his ignition switch.

Picture of a typical Chevy truck ignition switch.

Picture of a typical Chevy truck ignition switch.

He didn’t know how to connect his MASTERCELL inputs to the switch terminals on the switch. If you look at the terminals on the switch, there are two labeled BAT.  These are in the lower right corner of the picture.  In most cases, BAT is where the battery originally connected to the switch.  Ignition switches usually have two separate battery feeds: a dedicated one for the starter solenoid and one for the ignition feed.

You will also see that there is a terminal labeled IGN and one for SOL.  At a first glance, you can assume that these are for the ignition power and starter solenoid feeds.

You are looking for terminals that have continuity between them when the switch is on.  In the case of this ignition switch, you need to find the terminals that have continuity when the switch is in the run position for the ignition input.  You also have to find the pair that have continuity in the start position for the starter input.

If you can, search the internet to see if you can find wiring diagrams for that specific switch.  We’re always surprised to find that there is a forum or chat group for practically any type of car out there.  Someone has worked on that switch before you and they have posted some wiring diagrams.

Once you have identified the terminals on the switch, get a multi-meter and check continuity between the terminals.  If you don’t already have one, a good multi-meter is a powerful tool to have in the shop.  The two most critical things that you have to measure would be voltage and resistance.  Here is a simple meter that you can source from Waytek Wire.  Here is an example of a meter from Del City.

Picture showing how to use a multimeter to check continuity between terminals on a headlight switch

Picture showing how to use a multimeter to check continuity between terminals on a headlight switch

To figure out our switch terminals, we want to measure continuity or resistance.  If a circuit has continuity, it should have low resistance between the terminals.  Low should be less than 1 Ohm.  Look for the resistance setting on your meter.  On most meters, this is represented by the Greek letter Omega that looks like this: Ω.

Represents electrical resistance

Represents electrical resistance

Some meters have an auto-range function that will internally adjust to select the right range to measure resistance.  Others have a dial to select the range.  You want to set the range of your resistance measurement to the lowest range. To measure resistance, it really doesn’t matter if you have the red or black leads from the meter touching the different terminals.

Touch the test leads from your meter to the terminals with the switch in the off position.  You should measure very high resistance or no change in resistance.  In the case of this 1972 Chevy ignition switch, we were measuring between each of the BAT terminals and the IGN terminal with the switch off.  We repeated this by measuring between each of the BAT terminals and the SOL terminal.  We measured a resistance in the mega-ohm range.  Some meters will show this as “OL” or “overload”.

We then turned the switch to the ON position and measured between the BAT terminals and the IGN terminal.  We found that we had about 0.4 Ohms of resistance between the inner BAT terminal and the IGN terminal when the switch was in the ON position.  In the case of this switch, we will connect the MASTERCELL ignition input wire to the IGN terminal and connect one of the ground wires from the MASTERCELL input harness to the inner BAT terminal.  When the switch is in the ON position, there is continuity between IGN and the inner BAT terminal.  This will ground the MASTERCELL input, which will turn on the Ignition output on the POWERCELL.

We repeated this for the SOL terminal.  We measured between SOL and both of the BAT terminals when the switch was in the START position.  We found that the outer BAT terminal was connected to the SOL terminal in the start position.  We will connect the MASTERCELL input wire for the starter to the SOL terminal and connect one of the MASTERCELL ground wires to the outer BAT terminal.  When the key is in the START position, there is continuity between the SOL terminal and the outer BAT terminal.  This will ground the MASTERCELL input for the starter, which will turn on the starter output on the POWERCELL.

Just as a sanity check, we went back and measured resistance between the IGN terminal and the inner BAT terminal when the switch was in the START position.  When the switch is in the START position, you must still have continuity between the IGN terminal and its ground connection so that the engine will start.  The IGN terminal has continuity to its ground connection when the key is in the start position.

Figuring out how to wire your switch to  your MASTERCELL inputs can be scary.  We’ve built a large of list of different switches over the years but the steps above will help you to figure out any switch in your car.  Click on this link to contact our team with questions.

Picture of a lost-travel brake switch. Commonly found in Ford Mustangs.

Brake Switch

In previous posts, we talked about how to wire the brake lights to the rear POWERCELL in our customer’s 1967 Mustang.  We’re going to talk about wiring the brake switch in this post.  This is a very easy MASTERCELL switch input to wire.  There are lots of different brake pedal switches out there.  Here are a few examples from the Summit Racing website.

 

Hydraulic pressure brake switch

Hydraulic pressure brake switch

MOPAR-style brake switch

MOPAR-style brake switch

Automotive brake pedal switch

Automotive brake pedal switch

Picture of a lost-travel brake switch. Commonly found in Ford Mustangs.

Picture of a lost-travel brake switch. Commonly found in Ford Mustangs.

This last brake switch is what our customer is using in the 1967 Mustang.  All of these switches have 2 terminals on them.  One will connect to the MASTERCELL input wire.  The other will connect to ground.  When the pedal is pressed, there is continuity between the MASTERCELL input wire and ground.  Refer back to this illustration again.

Simple diagram showing how to wire a switch to the Infinitybox MASTERCELL

Simple diagram showing how to wire a switch to the Infinitybox MASTERCELL

The brake pedal switch simply connects between the MASTERCELL input and ground.

Start by checking the configuration sheet that came with your kit.  This link will take you to an earlier post in this series about the importance of your configuration sheet.  This car is wired with separate brake light and turn signal outputs on the rear POWERCELL so we’re going to use the MASTERCELL input for Brake Lights with Multi-Filament Bulbs.  This post will get you more information on the different turn-signal and brake light options.

We checked our configuration sheet.  The MASTERCELL input for the brake switch for the configuration that we want is the Yellow-Green wire.  This is input 15 on the MASTERCELL A connector.  Remember that the MASTERCELL input wire needs to connect to one side of the switch.  The other side of the switch needs to connect to ground.  In the case of the brake switch, there is no polarity.  You can connect the MASTERCELL input to either of the terminals on the switch.

In the case of the Mustang switch, you can purchase the mating connector and harness that plugs onto the back of the switch.  This has the two wires that connect to the MASTERCELL input and ground.  You can splice or solder these wires in any way as described in previous posts in this series.

For the ground connection, you have two options.  You can make the ground connection directly to the chassis at the brake pedal.  Make sure that this connection is made on the body, not on the brake pedal mechanism.  You will not get good continuity to ground through the pedal linkage.  Put a ring terminal on the ground wire to connect to the chassis.  Make sure that you have a metal-to-metal connection for this ground.  The junction should be free of dirt, grease, oil, rust, paint, powder coating or any other contaminant.

You also have the option to use any of the black wires in the MASTERCELL harness as your ground connection.  There are 8 black, ground wires in the MASTERCELL A harness.  All 8 of these wires are electrically the same.  You can use any of them to be the ground connection for your brake switch.

Here’s how your brake light circuit will work when it is connected.  When you step on the brake pedal, the contacts in the brake switch close.  This connection takes the MASTERCELL brake input and connects it to ground.  The MASTERCELL detects that the input has been grounded and sends a command to the POWERCELL in the rear of the car.  The POWERCELL receives this signal and turns on the output for the brake lights.  When you take your foot off of the brake pedal, the contacts in the brake switch open.  This disconnects the MASTERCELL input from ground.  The MASTERCELL sees this input turn off and sends a command to the rear POWERCELL.  The rear POWERCELL gets this command and turns off the brake lights.  It seems complicated, but it isn’t.  All of this is automatically managed from within the Infinitybox system.

If you have questions about connecting your brake switch, you can click on this link to contact a member of our team.  Keep watching our blog for more updates on wiring switches in our customer’s 1967 Mustang.

Picture of a fuel pump inertia switch

Inertia Switch

We just posted details on how to wire the fuel pump to our Infinitybox POWERCELL.  That was a very simple part of the wiring process in this 1967 Mustang.  We received a follow up question to this post about wiring a fuel inertia switch.  We’ll give details in this post.

A lot of manufacturers, Ford especially, use an inertia switch to interrupt the power going to the electric fuel pump in case of an accident.  These switches use an internal magnet and a ball bearing to close the circuit providing power to the fuel pump.  If there is a large impact to the car from a collision, the force of the impact knocks the ball out of its location.  This opens a set of contacts in the switch, which interrupts power going to the fuel pump.  These switches can be sensitive.  They may shut down the fuel pump if you get a flat tire or if you hit a large pot hole.  A lot of us here remember the prank of pounding on the driver’s rear fender in a mid-1990’s Thunderbird or Mustang to kill the fuel pump and leave a guy stranded.

Picture of a fuel pump inertia switch

Picture of a fuel pump inertia switch

If there was an accident, this switch opens and cuts off power to the fuel pump.  There is a reset button on the top of the switch.  If the red plunger is up, that means that the switch tripped.  If you press down on the plunger, it will reset the switch, letting the electric fuel pump operate again.

In some cars, these switches are in the rear near the fuel pump.  In other cars, they are up front behind the dash.  Wiring an inertia switch to your fuel pump powered by our 20-Circuit Kit is really easy.

You can purchase these switches from any on-line source.  This link will take to you the popular Ford switch sold on Amazon.  You can find the switches but you can’t always find any data or specifications on them.

Switches are only designed to carry a maximum amount of current.  You always have to consider that when you choose a switch.  That is true when you pick your inertia switch.  These switches were designed to interrupt the feed going directly to the fuel pump.  This means that the switch was designed to carry the current for that pump.  In the case of this 1967 Mustang, we are installing a higher-performance pump that draws much more current that the original OEM pump.

To be safe, use the inertia switch to interrupt the MASTERCELL input wire for the fuel pump.  Each of our inputs only require a very small amount of current to operate.  The contacts in the inertia switch can easily handle the small amount of current from the MASTERCELL.

Under normal operation, the MASTERCELL input will be connected to a switch that turns on the input for the fuel pump.  This could be a signal coming from an ECU, it can be from a separate fuel pump switch or it can be tied to the ignition switch.  The inertia switch would be wired in series.  If there were to be an accident, the input from the MASTERCELL would be interrupted by the open contacts in the inertia switch.  This would cause the MASTERCELL to send the command to the POWERCELL to turn off the fuel pump output.  Wiring the switch in with the MASTERCELL input ensures that you will never overload the contacts on the inertia switch.

Click this link to contact our team with questions or comments on this post.

 

Example of a General Motors Ignition Switch

GM Ignition Switch

Wiring any switch into the Infinitybox system is really easy.  You just have to remember that the MASTERCELL input wire needs to get connected to ground to turn something on.  In most cases, you can simply connect the MASTERCELL input to one side of the switch and ground the other.  When you close the switch, the MASTERCELL input gets connected to ground and the output turns on.  This blog post is going to cover wiring the GM Ignition Switch with our Infinitybox system.

With most OEM switches and the original switches that are in your car, you can connect the battery feed from the switch to ground.  Then you connect the MASTERCELL input wire to the terminal on the switch that powered the original function.  Here’s a good example for a GM Ignition Switch.  This GM Ignition Switch was used in most Chevrolet and Pontiac cars from 1969 through 1994.

Picture of a wiring diagram showing how to connect Infinitybox MASTERCELL inputs to the GM Ignition Switch

Picture of a wiring diagram showing how to connect Infinitybox MASTERCELL inputs to the GM Ignition Switch

You connect the original battery feeds for the GM ignition switch to ground.  You then connect the MASTERCELL input wires for the ignition and starter to their respective terminals on the switch.  When you turn the key to the ignition position, the switch connects the MASTERCELL input wire for the ignition to the ground through the battery terminal.  This sends a signal to the POWERCELL to turn on the ignition output.  The same thing happens when you turn the key to the starter position.  We created a simple wiring diagram showing you how to wire this GM ignition switch.

You can download a copy of this wiring diagram by clicking this link.

You can contact our technical support team with more questions at this link.

Wiring Power Window Switches

Electric-Life Power Window Switches

Electric-Life Power Window Switches

The inputs to our MASTERCELL are really flexible.  They can connect to practically any switch in your car.  When it comes to wiring power window switches, it is really easy.

Remember that takes a very small current to turn on a MASTERCELL input.  This small current at the switch can be used to control very high levels of current at a POWERCELL.  It can also be used to control large amounts of current through an inMOTION cell plus change polarity output.  You use inMOTION to control things that need to change direction, like power windows, lock actuators, exhaust cutouts and linear actuators.  inMOTION changes the flow of current, which changes the direction of the motion.

A lot of guys ask us how to wire their power window switches to the MASTERCELL inputs.  The answer is very simple.  Remember that the MASTERCELL inputs work by getting connected to ground through the switch.  In most cases, you what was the power feed to the switch to ground, then connect the MASTERCELL input wires to the output terminals on the switch.  In most cases, you can figure this out with a multi-meter set on the resistance setting.  Set the meter to its auto range or its lowest range.  Connect the leads of the meter to the power terminal on the switch and one of the output terminals.  With the switch in the center position, the resistance should be very high.  When you push the switch in one direction, you should see continuity through the switch.  Repeat this process for the other terminal on the switch.

We created an example wiring diagram for the 4920-10-260 power window switch sold by Electric-Life.  These are a very common switch and you see these in lots of cars.  This diagram will show you the terminal that you need to connect to ground and the terminals that you need to connect to your MASTERCELL inputs.  Please note that you must use the wire colors that are detailed in the configuration sheet that came with your kit.

Picture of wiring diagram showing how to connect power window switches to Infinitybox MASTERCELL inputs

Picture of wiring diagram showing how to connect power window switches to Infinitybox MASTERCELL inputs

This link will take you to PDF of this diagram showing you wiring power window switches.

If you have a power window switch that you are trying to figure out, give our team a call at (847) 232-1991.  We are always here to help.

Picture of the Limeworks TS1342 Turn Signal Switch

Wiring Turn Signals- Limeworks TS1342

We get a lot of questions about wiring turn signals.  Our MASTERCELL inputs are very flexible.  These let you connect practically any switch to the Infinitybox system.  We have other blog posts that show you how to wire GM-style steering columns to the Infinitybox MASTERCELL.  You can check that out here.  Flaming River columns and IDIDIT columns use the exact same connector so you can use the same instructions.

We got a call from a customer installing a TS1342 turn signal switch sold by Limeworks.  This is a very classy turn signal switch with a very retro look.  There are two versions:  one for a 1 1/2″ column and one for a 1 3/4″ column.  It also has a lit end that can be used as a turn signal indicator if you don’t have one on your dash.

The customer asked about how to wire the turn signal switch into his Infinitybox MASTERCELL.  It’s is such a good question, we created a new application note for it and posted it.

The wiring diagram that comes with the switch shows the need to use a 3-prong flasher module.  You need this if you’re connecting it to a traditional wiring harness.  If you’re connecting it to our Infinitybox system, you don’t need the flasher.  We build that into the system so no external flashers are required.   This diagram shows you how to connect the Limeworks TS1342 turn signal switch into the Infinitybox system.

Picture of wiring diagram showing how to wire the Limeworks TS1342 turn signal switch with the Infinitybox system.

Picture of wiring diagram showing how to wire the Limeworks TS1342 turn signal switch with the Infinitybox system.

The MASTERCELL inputs work by getting connected to ground.  This column switch was designed to supply battery voltage to a flasher, which fed the turn signal bulbs.  As we said above, we can eliminate the flasher.  To make it work with the MASTERCELL inputs, you simply ground the wire on the switch that was connected to the battery.  The two wires that connected to the left and right turn signals will connect to their respective inputs on the MASTERCELL.  That’s it.  When you push the switch to the left, you’re electrically connecting the former power wire to the left turn signal input.  Since the former power wire is grounded, the left turn signal input wire gets connected to ground.  The MASTERCELL sees this and tells the POWERCELLs to flash the left turn signal.  The same thing happens for the right turn signal.  The diagram shows you which wires on the switch need to connect to the MASTERCELL inputs.  Use the configuration sheet that came with your kit as a guide to identify the MASTERCELL wire colors.

The other thing that you’ll notice in our wiring diagram is that the brake pedal switch doesn’t get connected to the turn signal switch.  The original wiring diagram had that because the brake pedal jumpered the left and right turn signals together for the brake lights.  This is something that we manage within the MASTERCELL.  If your rear turn signals are also your brake lights, you simply use the MASTERCELL input that is assigned to the 1-filament brake lights and connect that to your brake pedal switch.

The last thing to talk about in this post is turn signal indicators.  Depending on your gauges, you can handle this a few different ways.  If you have turn signal indicators on your dash, we recommend splicing off the left and right turn signal outputs on the front POWERCELL and connect them to the indicators.  Most turn signal indicators draw very little current so you can run a light gauge wire, like 22-AWG from the POWERCELL outputs to the indicators.  If you’re using LED’s make sure that you’re paying attention to their polarity.  Also, check the voltage rating of your LED’s.  Most are rated to 5 volts or less.  You may have to add a resistor in series to limit the current flowing through the LED.  Give our tech guys a call if you have question here.

One of the cool things about the TS1342 is that it has an indicator light on the tip of the stalk.  It can flash when the turn signals are flashing.  To do this, you need to splice off the POWERCELL outputs for the left & right turn signals like I mentioned above.  Since there is only one light, you need to connect the outputs together.  However, you need to put diodes in the circuit to isolate the left turn signal from the right.  Without these diodes, the left turn signal would flash when the right was flashing and vice veat companies like www.digikey.com or www.mouser.com.  Or you can pick these up at a Radio Shack if they are still open where you are.  See the diagram for details on how to install these diodes.  Remember, the orientation of the diodes is critical.

You can download a PDF of this application note showing wiring turn signals using the Limeworks TS1342 turn signal switch.  If you have any questions about this, feel free to reach out to our technical support team at (847) 232-1991.  Or click on this link to contact our team directly.

Turn-Signal Options

We get a lot of questions about turn signals and brake lights.  There are two options in our standard front-engine configuration: Mechanical Multi-Filament and Mechanical Single-Filament. This is where there is sometimes some confusion. In both cases, this is where you use a traditional steering column with the canceling mechanism built in. This can be an OEM column or one from an aftermarket company like IDIDIT or Flaming River. In both cases, the mechanism in the column turns off the turn-signal action when the steering wheel returns to the center position.

The mechanical column, multi-filament configuration should be used when you have separate filaments in the rear of the car for the turn-signals and the brake lights. These could be completely separate bulbs or different filaments in a multi-filament bulb. The inputs to the MASTERCELL control separate outputs for left & right turn-signals plus the brake light.  There is a good rule of thumb for multi-filament turn-signals: if your turn-signals are amber, you should probably be using the multi-filament configuration.

The mechanical column, single-filament configuration should be used when the brake lights share a common filament with the turn-signals in the back of the car. Remember that you need to look at the filaments, not the bulbs. In this case, the MASTERCELL inputs will activate the left and right turn-signals as directionals. You only wire the left and right turn-signal wires to the bulbs. No brake light output is required. For the brake light, the left and right turn-signal filaments light together.

Once you figure out what you need in the car, you just pick the inputs that you need and wire them to the column. This schematic will show you how to wire the MASTERCELL inputs to the GM, IDIDIT and Flaming River columns.

If you have any questions about wiring your turn-signals, give our team a call at (847) 232-1991 or email us at sales@infinitybox.com.  Or you can contact our team directly by clicking this link.

Picture of the Honda S2000 Engine Start Button.

One-Button Start

A lot of our customers use our One-Button Start function.  This is standard in our 10 and 20-Circuit Harness Kits.

To start your engine, you have a few options when you wire your car with the Infinitybox.  You can use a traditional keyed ignition switch.  You pick our standard input wires for the ignition and starter and wire those to the switch.

Or you can use our One-Button Start function.  This involves taking one MASTERCELL input wire and connecting it to a momentary button.  That is all you need to manage your ignition and starter outputs.

When you press and release the button, the ignition output turns on.  When you press and release the button again, the ignition output turns off.  Pretty simple.  To start the engine, you simply press and hold the button.  The POWERCELL turns on the ignition, waits one second for the fuel pump to prime, then cranks the starter solenoid.  The starter will crank as long as you are pressing the button.  When the engine starts, you simply release the button and the starter will stop cranking.  The POWERCELL turns off the starter output but leaves the ignition output live so the engine will run.  To shut down the engine, you simply press and release the button again.

A lot of our customers use the Honda S2000 Start button.  This is a really popular button.  This link will take you to a wiring diagram showing how to use the Honda S2000 button with our one-button start.

You will note one thing about the way the Infinitybox One-Button Start works.  If you press and release the button to turn on the ignition, you have to press and release the button to turn the ignition off before you can press and hold it to crank the engine.  The personality that manages this function does this for a very important reason.  We don’t know if the engine is already running when you press the button.  Pressing and releasing the starter button forces the system to shut off the ignition output so that you cannot accidentally crank the starter with the engine running.

This function is another great example of how Infinitybox can help you to simplify the electrical system in your car.  You can certainly get a starter function similar to ours but it requires a separate box to manage the function.  With Infinitybox, you can eliminate the need for extra control modules to have to connect into your wiring harness.

Click this link to contact our team with any questions about using our one-button start feature.  

Wiring MASTERCELL Inputs to the GTM Column

For all of those guys building a Factory Five GTM with the C5 Corvette steering column, here is how you connect the Infinitybox MASTERCELL inputs to the column harness.

Connect these pins to the MASTERCELL inputs:

  • Pins D, Z, X & W – Connect to Ground
  • Pin V – Horn input to MC
  • Pin R – Park lights input to MC
  • Pin L – Low Beam input to MC
  • Pin K – High Beam Input to MC
  • Pin G – Left Turn Input to MC
  • Pin F – Right Turn Input to MC

Depending on which turn-signal style you want (1-filament vs. multi-filament), refer to your configuration sheet for the specific wire colors.  You can download the Infinitybox GTM Configuration Sheet by clicking here.

Many thanks to Shane Vacek at VRaptor Speedworks for sending us this information.