hi gang! well, i finally got a chance to do a minor mod i have been thinking of for a while. i put in a pair of LEDs that show the status of two relays under the hood: the a/c compressor relay, and the fuel cut relay. i ran a twisted, shielded pair of wires from the area near the 2 under-hood fuse/relay boxes on the driver's side of the engine compartment, around the left side fender, and into the passenger compartment. each wire of the pair was soldered to an LED (blue for a/c, and green for fuel cut). then each LED has a dropping resistor soldered on, and then the resistors go to a single ground lead, which gets grounded to a bolt on the hood release handle bracket by the left-side door.
the blue LED comes on whenever the a/c relay supplies voltage to the compressor. that way i can see when it cycles, but mostly i can remember to turn the damn thing off if i have been running it only on the down hills.
the green LED comes on whenever the fuel cut relay is supplying voltage to the fuel pump. that way i can make a better-informed desision whether to let the wheels drive the engine and regen the battery, or do a FAS. i will however be putting in a relay to make the LED go ON when the fuel cut relay is OFF. more in line with the autostop LED on the dash.
knowledge is power! or at least it can lead to higher MPGs. i hope!
pics and wiring info to follow.
the blue LED comes on whenever the a/c relay supplies voltage to the compressor. that way i can see when it cycles, but mostly i can remember to turn the damn thing off if i have been running it only on the down hills.
the green LED comes on whenever the fuel cut relay is supplying voltage to the fuel pump. that way i can make a better-informed desision whether to let the wheels drive the engine and regen the battery, or do a FAS. i will however be putting in a relay to make the LED go ON when the fuel cut relay is OFF. more in line with the autostop LED on the dash.
knowledge is power! or at least it can lead to higher MPGs. i hope!
pics and wiring info to follow.