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Boost Gauge Installation question

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Old 04-02-09, 01:28 PM
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Boost Gauge Installation question

Hi. I just bought a Swoosh Boost gauge and I dont know how to install it. I don't know how to do the electronic part of the installation....
There are 5 wires that come from the gauge:
Red wire is for power (Battery +)
Black is ground
Yellow is for the ACC key switch
Orange is for the "ON" the car power line that will not be disconnected at start of engine, from key switch)
and Brown is for a small lamp.....

Ok, so i get the ground wire, thats easy. But......
- where can i get the power (batter +)? where can i hook up the red wire?
- How do I hook up the yellow wire to the ACC and what is the ACC wire anyways and where is it?
- Where do I connect the Orange wire? How Do i know which power line on the rx7 is disconnected at the start of the engine and which one is not? Where do i connect it?
- and the brown wire, do I just connect a little light bulb to it?.... Why?......

Anyways, please help out, thanks a lot in advance
Old 04-02-09, 01:57 PM
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Those colors are a little odd... out of the ordinary

Use the wires that your car stereo hooks up to (behind your radio). The gauge shouldn't pull enough amperage to cause any problems


You're gonna need a test light if you're going to do this yourself.
Basically, you need constant power, power that turns on and off with a key turn, power that turns on when you turn your headlight on

Is this a mech gauge?
Seems like there's 1 too many + wire
Old 04-03-09, 12:24 AM
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It is a mechanical gauge. I have the vaccum line hooked up but the needle doesnt move because I guess you need the electricity and all that to be hooked up in order for it to work.
But yes, odd colors. haha too much wires too wtf
Why would I need a test light?
The wires fr the stereo? But the stereo turns off when the car starts... turns off for a sec and then turns on again....
And yeah, where can I get that constant power??
Old 04-03-09, 05:26 AM
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For your power use the ashtray light. Here's a good write up on how to install your boost gauge http://home.ptd.net/~blouzbee/guides/boost.html

I'm going to be installing a boost and water temp gauge when I get back to my car in about a week. I'm going to try and make sure to bring my camera so I can post up a more in depth how to for the forums.
Old 04-03-09, 05:33 AM
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Originally Posted by StreetRage
Why would I need a test light?
The wires fr the stereo? But the stereo turns off when the car starts... turns off for a sec and then turns on again....
And yeah, where can I get that constant power??
after a little research.. seems swoosh gauges are like defi's?
they have the startup sequence? (explains why they need the wire that doesn't get cutoff when the car starts... so you don't interrupt the startup sequence)

test light so you can confirm what wires are what (unless you have an fsm-but thats more complicated to look up than using a test light) The reason why alot of people use wires from the stereo is because it's all there.


There are 5 wires that come from the gauge:
Red wire - find a power source that ALWAYS has power going to it.
Black is ground - no explanation needed
Brown - dimmer switch basically. Find a wire that turns on only when you turn on your headlights/parking lights
Yellow is for the ACC key switch - any wire that gets power when you turn your key to the ACC position
Orange is for the "ON" the car power line that will not be disconnected at start of engine, from key switch - pretty much explains it. I'm assuming they added this wire to your gauge because it has a startup function. Because I don't see why else you would need 2 different ign sources

Reason why I recommend a test light is because it will EASILY tell you which wires do what.
Definately needed for those DIY'ers. Without one... you're shooting in the dark
Old 04-06-09, 02:19 PM
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Thanks a lot. my only question now is WHERE do I find those wires? Where is the wire that has constant power? where is the wire that gets disconnected? I can't just be randomly cutting wires and testing with a test light and connecting them again.... any advice?
Old 04-06-09, 03:28 PM
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constant +, switched +, dashlight and ground can all be found in the stereo loom.
There probably is a conversionharnass behind the radio from the Mazda plug to a standardized ISO plug for the stereo.

Constant + = yellow
switched + = red
dashlights = orange
ground = black
the drawing shows it as one plug but the speakers are in a seperate one.
Old 04-12-09, 11:05 PM
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Sweet... thanks a lot.
Old 04-15-09, 10:32 PM
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in regards to that diagram... the red wire is 12v when the car is in the ON position?
Old 05-06-10, 11:34 AM
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Sorry to bring the thread back from the dead but... Where do I connect the orange wire to? Which wire doesn't get disconnected at the start of the engine? Where do I connect it to? Because I have been splicing random *** wires and none of them seem to be staying on when engine starts. Anybody know which wire i can connect the orange wire to?
Old 05-26-10, 10:27 AM
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Just purchased some of these gauges ,Im interested in the orange wire also,,, surely i should be able to hook the yellow and the orange wire up to the ACC key switch? any one got any info on the wiring for these guages?
Old 05-26-10, 01:37 PM
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just pull the steering wheel cover and break out the FSM, probably not the best way to do things, but as long as you solder it then seal it with electrical tape, and avoid the half *** couplers, you should be fine
Old 12-16-10, 01:28 AM
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So have any one of you guys figure out where to connect the orange wire to???
Old 12-16-10, 03:13 AM
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IMHO the absolute best place to get stock switched power is from the empty slot on the top right of the white piece which holds the fuse block. Spade connector + wire = win.
Old 12-16-10, 04:31 AM
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The Swoosh boost gauge is like the defi's in that it needs constant power for memory or something. I had one on my sr 240sx and everytime I would start the car it did a learning sequence. You have to find a wire that has constant 12v+ for the orange wire. By the sounds of it, if you are randomly splicing wires together, you shouldn't be anywhere near an FD. (not to be rude) May be easier to get a cheap mechanical gauge (sunpro from autozone) that needs no wiring unless you want the light. The swoosh is not mechanical. And FWIW, my gauge quit working after about a month, junk.
Old 12-16-10, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Gringo Grande
IMHO the absolute best place to get stock switched power is from the empty slot on the top right of the white piece which holds the fuse block. Spade connector + wire = win.


I have no idea where thats at, can you give me more specific details!!!
Old 12-16-10, 04:18 PM
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Go to this thread and look for post #93. There are two big photos. The second one shows the ignition on power source circled in red. It surprises me how many people do not know about this after 17yrs! =)

https://www.rx7club.com/se-rx-7-forum-35/what-did-you-your-rx-7-today-905685/page4/
Old 12-16-10, 04:35 PM
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What 'gringo grande' just posted above is correct. Also, I just installed my AFR gauge and this might help for the boost gauge:

I connected my 12v switched wire to the sunroof fuse next to the drivers kick panel, I just used a fuse tap. Since my car is an R1, the sunroof fuse wasn't being used anyway. Works perfectly and was very easy to do.

While installing that, I also found that the empty fuse slot to the left of the sunroof fuse supplies a constant 12v source. So you can use that if needed for something like memory
Old 12-16-10, 07:22 PM
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Here's another picture in case it helps. At least if someone searches it will be in this thread. Switched power is circled. Car is under a cover for the winter and I'm too tired to confirm, but the other wires might be what zeroG was talking about for constant power.

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