Steven

Just be aware that now you have removed the third brake light the vehicle can be defected, and in the case of a rear end collision the insurance companies can possibly void any claim. I think the ATX or other non-spoiler Aurions had a rear window brake light in order to meet this design rule. However I'm not 100% on this if anyone else can provide any info? Otherwise she's looking pretty good. Agreed though now it needs a ducktail to balance things a bit.

I'll be there, slutting a ride as usual

haha, that's better

If it's a joke make it funny next time ;)

That's a bit of a bugger about the 555 circuit. Probably better than my skill though. When I tend to build a circuit from plans, it never works like it should. Correct. But I think if you run your Aurion on the dyno, you should still disable the TC via the traditional method. Why? How the heck can the dyno operator check your RPM? Don't you mean speed? The rev counter should be fine I would have thought. I'm still having trouble with this damn thing, now I'm getting 3.5v - 11vs through the transistors but that's changing to around 2.8v - 5.5v under load (when the relay is connected). 2.8v is still enough to switch the 6v relay. This has only happened since I have tested the unit with the engine running so with the battery at maximum voltage. Going to try a few more things tomorrow but damn this is annoying. Now I need to have enough buffer in the minimum state to ensure that under no circumstances with the Traction Control turn off without the button being pressed! If I can get to Jaycar I'll put together a voltage comparator and place it between the IC and the Transistor. HOPEFULLY that will work

um doesn't the TRD Aurion put out 200fwkw standard? Pretty sure that's what DJKOR achieved. Sorry to hear that Ford "Service" is once again stuffing you around. This is why whenever I book in for anything I always record the phone call - it has backed me up on poor service many times and usually results in a significant discount due to the required rescheduling.

I tried an alternate electronic switching circuit that revolves around a 555 timer rather than the currently used 4013 IC, as the 555 timer required far fewer components and was more compact overall. I checked my circuit several times over but in the end it appears the circuit design I followed is flawed and does not work. So I'm stuck with my current design which means the switch won't work if the battery is low (which is a moot point because when the engine is on and the alternator charging the battery is always plenty high enough. I'm talking sub 12volts before issues arise.) Also just realised this but technically wouldn't the Aurion be unable to drive a dyno without the traction control disabled?

I'd say stick with the Toyota - didn't the Top Gear Christmas special teach you anything? "I make no bones about it, I still maintain this is a fantastic little sports car... but I haven't bonded with it. Steering's lovely, ride's lovely but the one thing you don't do is love it." - Jeremy Clarkson on the Mazda MX-5

fixed it for ya

Finished my switching circuit for the traction control. http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31446&pid=432768&st=0entry432768 Also my UR rear sway bar arrived today, hope to have it in soon.

Well it looks like the circuit still works regardless, due to the zener diode/cap addition the relay sees 0.5v in the low state (easily switches off) and around 3.8v in the high state, which is only just enough to activate it (most likely will be higher though when the engine is actually running).

There is a bit of an art to buying a decent car second hand through a dealer. A dealer's willingness to negotiate and drop the price depends on many factors such as type of car/dealership, how long the car has been on the lot, known visible defects with the vehicle, current time of year, his or her star sign etc etc To me, and this is just my humble opinion, he wants a deposit on a vehicle as he wants you tied into the purchase in case the inspection turns up something bad. Remember though when it comes to buying you have far more rights than they would let you believe and at any stage (even up to immediately after buying it) you can walk away with your money AND deposit intact. Don't ever let a dealer push you around - some have developed a habit of bullying people into a sale and it can also be just to hide a dodgy vehicle. Never buy from such a dealer. That's my advice.

haha - some of those blokes don't really give the impression of "specialist technicians". Lots of special treatment. Granted a very nice car but IMO that treatment goes overboard with extra care.

Now I'm back home at the computer I have a better grasp of what's being said here and obviously I'm in the company of some fairly experienced technicians. One of the main reasons I'm using a 6v relay is because somehow, despite having a regulated 12v input to my IC, I'm only getting around around 6ish volts at the output of the transistor when the IC is outputting a high signal yet the main concern is that in the low state the IC is still feeding the transistor around 2volts! With a 12v relay I simply wasn't getting the required power to switch them on, with a 6volt relay the current is sometimes too high to let it switch off (and if I add more load to the the relay to drop the overall voltage, there isn't enough juice left to turn the relay on in the high state). my "button" IC circuit is attached. The relay in the picture is the 6volt I'm currently using. At the moment I've sort of gotten around this but connecting a zener diode in series with the relay (just normal bias as I ran out of regular diodes) and a 0.1uF capacitor in parallel with the diode. I found that only by adding the capacitor to the diode would the current be so that the relay would turn on and off (lucky guess?). The circuit appears to work in this manner but due to varying voltages in the car I'm concerned that when the car is running (and hence main power is higher, despite being regulated) the relay may be getting too much juice to switch off through the transistor (as the 2 volts in the low state is directly tied to the voltage level of the main input). I have 2 ideas on how to fix this but no idea how to accomplish them. 1 is to make a "minimum voltage" at the relay in that if the transistor output isn't over at least 3.5 volts then no power gets through to the relay (so that way power only ever reaches it in the high state when output is at least 6 volts) OR figure out why the hell my IC isn't outputting only 0volts in the low state and make it so it does (circuit diagram attached. Experts please peruse and advise).

I think i have caused some confusion. My switcher is a transistor running off an ic chip, which in turn runs a 6v relay (with a diode connected in parallel) which in turn runs the switching relays

Btw what i meant with the ssr's was the circuit also flowing in the opposite direction at times (for a dc signal current must go both ways)

Only my button circuit is solid state (kinda) my switching circuit uses good ol reliable relays

I dont think solid state relays would work because arent they just high current oversized transistors? No good for a dc signal

Got my solid state version in and running - however it will not switch the relays if the car is running down on battery as I just found and caused a VSC error (as relay didn't have enough power to fully turn on). As for why the ecu doesn't log the error, who knows? Right now I'm thankful it doesn't, but perhaps Toyota in their wisdom decided to set up the system so that a minor hickup every now and then wouldn't create a permanent error code and require dealer servicing to correct.

How fast is a Falcon in limp mode? :)

The electronic switching arrangement I was talking about - and who knows if it will work once off the test bench and into a car environment...

As another participant in this mod, I strongly endorse the above switching method to all who partake in this madness. Electronic switching is possible but the path is paved with confusion and migraines. BTW Daryl, 1.52am posting time?

A few mods - finished the footwell lighting and all the roof LEDs, got to the glovebox and decided to carpet the base of it like so many luxo vehicles are - plus it will stop my Ipod from sliding around! Traction control switch mod is well underway and I hope to have it finished this weekend. HOPE being the key word here.

I'll be there

oh man I feel sick....