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I figured the problem was that the little battery was only capable of supplying enough power to crank the motor for a good 5 seconds and it wouldn't give any more after that, requiring a jump.

Due to the dimensions I took, I found a 980 CCA Optima Red Top that fits in the reserved battery spot. I had to modify the metal brace as shown below:



I also changed the connector tops to something made by Tsunami audio for battery terminals that allows me to connect two 2 to 4 gauge lines and two 8 to 16 gauge lines on the side. This was a perfect solution for what I wanted to do next which was the addition of a second battery.

You must be sitting there reading and thinking, "Why another battery?" My answer is, because I don't ever want to jump. Secondly, this allows me to run stuff like a small laptop (ASUS EeePC laptop) all the time.

I installed an Odyssey PC2150 (100 Amp/Hr battery) separated by a SurePower 1314-100 battery separator. This allows me to separate the power consumption of the all-time-run items like the laptop from sucking the power from the main battery. The separator will engage when there is 13.2 volts being supplied at the Main battery side (alternator's turning) so I can charge both batteries at the same time.



I started installing the shunt and the blades for the all-time-run units:



The black shunt is what allows me to measure the actual amperage in DC current.

]]> http://www.iansmonstermiata.com/index.php?entry=entry080810-103703
I figured out how to get the A/C working on the Miata. I had to do some soldering in two places and added a relay to control the A/C relay.

Now, the A/C works perfectly. Got cold air now. I'm not even using the ECU to control the A/C. The reason is that my engine has so much torque at idle that it doesn't really drop in RPMs that much when the A/C compressor is running. I just had to increase the idle to about 850-900 RPMs then when the A/C compressor kicks in, then it drops to a nice galloping 750-800 RPMs. But, when I disable the A/C by the button on the dash, the engine revs up a bit more to 850-900 RPMs. Not too bad.

When winter comes around, I'll just leave the A/C off and adjust the throttle accordingly. Even with the large cam that my engine has, even if it dropped down to 650 RPMs, it'd still gallop nicely with the A/C enabled. The reason why I increased it is for throttle response time. If the RPMs are too low, the engine responds slowly at acceleration.

I'll be putting up pics of how the wiring goes in on the A/C switch behind the dash. The rest is straightforward. If the A/C button is enabled, the A/C clutch and fan both disable when in START mode (cranking) and activates once again when the engine's started. You might want to add a relay to disable the whole circuit when the engine is off so the clutch and fan are not energized when in the RUN mode while the engine is off. That's the next thing I'm going to do. But for the meantime, I'll just keep the A/C button off when the engine is off. The whole circuit de-energizes when in ACC or OFF mode along with the entire blower fan/cooling/heating circuit as it should.

Cheers.]]> http://www.iansmonstermiata.com/index.php?entry=entry080807-135835
Right now both fans are connected to the engine thermostat switch. I need to take one fan off that circuit and wire it into the air conditioning fan connector and go from there. I believe that once this circuit is complete, the compressor will come online. Steve expressed urgency in the fact that if the fan don't turn on when the compressor turns on, there could be some severe repercussions in regards to the pressure regulation. That was just some fancy babble to say "boom".

Pictures of the AC system to come shortly.]]> http://www.iansmonstermiata.com/index.php?entry=entry080806-153154
So, I'm probably going to pick up the car tomorrow after work. ]]> http://www.iansmonstermiata.com/index.php?entry=entry080731-152439
Turns out that the project is going to need a bit of re-arranging of how components are implemented. Like for example, the drier has to be located before the compressor instead of in front of the condenser. Steve said that he needed to put in an expansion valve before the input line to the evaporator.

I was fine with that. I basically told Steve to do whatever it takes to get it to work. I mean, it's f'ing hot here in Arizona. I'd like to enjoy the car at the hottest time of the year...]]> http://www.iansmonstermiata.com/index.php?entry=entry080729-205745
My carbon fiber hood from Simpson Design arrived today! I was too eager and started ripping the box open so I could get it on the Miata. Oh gosh, it looks so nice. There's something about how real carbon fiber looks as opposed to the faux crap.

Here are some pictures:
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