DL1 - Multiple Sensor - Messy wiring

[Sirius]

Hi Folks,

I have recently installed a DL1 and DASH3 in my car mainly for purposes of monitoring and logging of engine parameters. As such I am running a number of sensors:

Water Temp
Oil Temp
Oil Pressure
EGT
Fuel Pressure
Intake Air Temperature
Chargecooler Fluid Temperature
Air Fuel Ratio
Boost Pressure

Given that the DL1 has only 2 5v supplys and 2 earth connections its simply not possible to wire this number of sensors into the back of the units directly.

What I have done so far is basically get two metal earthing blocks and mount them seperately (insulated) and wired the power and earth feeds into the blocks and then the blocks to the DL1 - thus using only the two 5v supplies. I have then wired the white (data) wire for each sensor directly into the relevant port on the DL1.

This seems to be working fine but my issue is that the installation is *really* messy. There must be a simpler/tidier way of doing this for those of us running lots of sensors.

Any idea folks? Thanks very much for reading

[David Ferguson]

Custom harnesses often have splices for power and ground signals. Now that you know what you want to measure and where the sensors go, lay out a custom harness, and build in the splices you need into the harness.

This can look very neat and tidy if done right.

[osborni]

1) add up the current draw from all your sensors and make sure you don't exceed the DL1's capability.

To avoid potentially damaging the expensive DL1, I use a linear voltage regulator, a couple of caps and a prototype board for about $10 USD.

2) Wires - I purchased a spool of 3 conductor ~20 gauge, shielded, multi-strand wire and run them from the sensor all the way back to the the same location as the DL1, but unto a NEMA box. The power gets split off and the signal wires go to the DL1. The power supply is inside the NEMA box and a switch with status light is mounted to the box as well.