VSS wire harness connector/speed calibration box install

[Mark99GT]

For my gear install I'm going to install a speed calibration box from Abbott and it needs to be wired in. I'd like to wire it outside of the car using connectors to then plug into the VSS and transmission wire harness, instead of cutting into the harness itself. I'd like to keep the speedcal box in the center console. I don't like the idea of cutting the harness, so I'd like to avoid it if at all possible. I know I'll have to cut into the power, but I should be able to use the center console cigarette lighter for that. Not too worried with that one (if I mess it up I care a lot less since I don't use it). Wout a t tap be a good/acceptable option for the power?

I see you can get the male pigtail plug (harness side) that plugs into the VSS for about $15. But I've been searching and can't find a female pigtail plug that accepts the wire harness. The female end would basically be the VSS itself. Are these types of plugs somewhat universal in the auto industry? Anyone know where I could find one? If the female side plug is not available do you think I could just buy a VSS for like $30 and carefully cut the plastic connector and wires away from the VSS body to create a pigtail plug?

Also, what would be the best option for connecting the speedcal box's ground wire?

I'm definitely not an electrical expert and wiring is not really my thing, so please let me know if I'm being crazy here. Thanks.

 

[04DeadShort]

Got a link to this Abbott you speak of, I've never heard of it. Second I used the male and female O2 sensor plug for my Dallas speed cal. Luckily I had a old harness and sensor laying around the shop. I cut the plugs of the harness and sensor and soldered/heat shrinked the wires in. Rock Auto used to carry these plugs as the are universal. Not sure if they do anymore or not.

 

[Snaketamer]

Sub'd....

 

[Mark99GT]

Got a link to this Abbott you speak of, I've never heard of it. Second I used the male and female O2 sensor plug for my Dallas speed cal. Luckily I had a old harness and sensor laying around the shop. I cut the plugs of the harness and sensor and soldered/heat shrinked the wires in. Rock Auto used to carry these plugs as the are universal. Not sure if they do anymore or not.

Here's the link

Electronic Ratio Adapter (ERA)

Abbott Enterprises, Inc. manufactures and repairs speed and activity monitoring devices for trucks, trailers, buses and the automotive industry.

www.abbott-tach.com

Im waiting for it to be delivered.

 

[Mark99GT]

I've created this wiring diagram below. I'm looking for confirmation that the VSS (+) is actually the output from the VSS to the PCM. Does this diagram look ok? Go ahead and blast me if it's all f'ed up--I just want to get it right.

I was able to remove the VSS plug from the VSS body ($15 bucks for a VSS on amazon) to create my own pigtail. Pic is below, still gotta clean it up a bit. Any suggestions on the best, most secure/durable way to add the pigtail wires to the prongs? Assuming soldering/heat shrink wrap, but anything else to add to it? What gauge wire would you suggest? This pigtail end would plug into the transmission harness, and the other pigtail end would plug into the VSS with the output wire spliced into the Abbott ERA wires.

 

[Mark99GT]

Got a link to this Abbott you speak of, I've never heard of it. Second I used the male and female O2 sensor plug for my Dallas speed cal. Luckily I had a old harness and sensor laying around the shop. I cut the plugs of the harness and sensor and soldered/heat shrinked the wires in. Rock Auto used to carry these plugs as the are universal. Not sure if they do anymore or not.

Can you elaborate on the O2 plug and how you used it? Which wires specifically used the plug? I'm trying to visualize it. Thanks

 

[shurur]

Just be careful about connecting power to the cigarette lighter.
The 1994-1999 (yes the 99) cigarette lighter is constant on (not switched), so you could run your battery down if the car sits for a time.
You can make the lighter switched by stealing the convertible fuse maybe.

 

[Mark99GT]

Just be careful about connecting power to the cigarette lighter.
The 1994-1999 (yes the 99) cigarette lighter is constant on (not switched), so you could run your battery down if the car sits for a time.
You can make the lighter switched by stealing the convertible fuse maybe.

Damn, thanks for the heads up. I thought it was key-on but didn't actually test it. Is there another key-on power source in the area/easy to get to?

I have a convertible, so there's the button for the top in the center console. Would that be an acceptable power source?

 

[04DeadShort]

Can you elaborate on the O2 plug and how you used it? Which wires specifically used the plug? I'm trying to visualize it. Thanks

I had bought the Dallas Pro Cal used years ago while planning to do a t56 swap. That plan got put on hold much longer than I expected. I was finally able to do the job a few months ago and when I dug the Dallas PC out of the box I realized I had no instructions. I was able to find a old write up on American Muscle that gave me enough info I needed to know where to put the wires. Basically I just used the the old O2 plugs I had, male and female to make my junction between the transmission connector, speed cal and car harness. I have a tool that allows me to take the pins out of the connector without damaging the connector or pin. I pulled the pins out of the original trans connector and plugged into the O2 style plug. Then I pinned the other plug as the instructions said for my speed signal to speed cal and signal out of the cal. I'll post the link below of what I referenced to. It's not the best but maybe it will help give you a idea or two.

Mustang Speed Calibrator Installation Guide | AmericanMuscle

www.americanmuscle.com

 

[Mark99GT]

I finally got the Abbott box and I'm working on wiring this thing up over the weekend. Can someone double-check part of my post #5? I think I have the + and - backwards in that diagram.

After looking at it again, I believe the + would be the power from the vehicle harness to the speed sensor and the - would be the signal out from the speed sensor to the Abbott box. Can anyone confirm whether the + is power and - is signal out to PCM for me?

For power to the Abbott box I decided instead of splicing into a wire to use a fuse tap in the interior fuse panel on #11 (15 amp radio) and just run a longer wire.

If this all works correctly I'll upload some pics of what I did and correct that diagram in #5 so someone else can use it.

 

[boost88]

Here's the harness pin out. Should give you colors which is enough to trace back to the vss

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

 

[Mark99GT]

Ok, I got the Abbott box installed and it seems to work well. I still have the stock 3.27s so I set the switches in the box for the appropriate ratio, took it for a test drive and the speedometer works fine. It reads exactly as it did before the box install, which is what I was expecting. I'm scheduled to have the 4.30s installed next Monday so I'll update after they're installed and I re-test it.

Overall it was a pretty easy install, I just needed to accumulate all of the tools to do it right. I used 3M quick disconnects on all of the wires so I had it all set up indoors and then just went to the car and plugged it in. The whole thing can be removed/serviced/returned to stock in a matter of minutes. No hacking into the wire harness. After the 4.30 gear install next week I just need to clean up the wiring inside the car and it should be good to go.

Side note: That diagram in my post #5 needs to be fixed a bit. Is there any way to edit the post? I don't see an edit button on it.

 

[boost88]

Ok, I got the Abbott box installed and it seems to work well. I still have the stock 3.27s so I set the switches in the box for the appropriate ratio, took it for a test drive and the speedometer works fine. It reads exactly as it did before the box install, which is what I was expecting. I'm scheduled to have the 4.30s installed next Monday so I'll update after they're installed and I re-test it.

Overall it was a pretty easy install, I just needed to accumulate all of the tools to do it right. I used 3M quick disconnects on all of the wires so I had it all set up indoors and then just went to the car and plugged it in. The whole thing can be removed/serviced/returned to stock in a matter of minutes. No hacking into the wire harness. After the 4.30 gear install next week I just need to clean up the wiring inside the car and it should be good to go.

Side note: That diagram in my post #5 needs to be fixed a bit. Is there any way to edit the post? I don't see an edit button on it.

Should be a "moderate" button

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

 

[Mark99GT]

Got the 4.30s installed. Still doing the recommended break-in (I can't see how it's really necessary...), so I haven't beat on it yet.

Also I can confirm the Abbott ERA works. I used a GPS app while driving and the speedo was dead on. I had a mixed up wire in my setup so it took a second try to get the ERA to work, but that was my fault. Now I just have to put it back together (again).

 

[PSUCOBRA96]

I'm glad you got the Abbott, my SpeedCal appears to be dead and I was looking at the Dakota Digital as I heard no one offered anything else anymore. Rumor was Abbott was out of business too. How much did the Abbott cost and did you just email to order? My Speedcal was like 6 years old but the car was barely used. I will verify that the Speedcal will kill your battery and in short order if you have any other parasitic loss you cant find.

I like the ease of programming the dakota digital but not sure if it will work. My cars in the shop getting painted so afterwards I gotta figure out a way to get some kind of unit working since i have 4.30s now.

 

[Mark99GT]

I'm glad you got the Abbott, my SpeedCal appears to be dead and I was looking at the Dakota Digital as I heard no one offered anything else anymore. Rumor was Abbott was out of business too. How much did the Abbott cost and did you just email to order? My Speedcal was like 6 years old but the car was barely used. I will verify that the Speedcal will kill your battery and in short order if you have any other parasitic loss you cant find.

I like the ease of programming the dakota digital but not sure if it will work. My cars in the shop getting painted so afterwards I gotta figure out a way to get some kind of unit working since i have 4.30s now.

I believe Abbott is still in business. I ended up talking/texting with one of the guys there via his cell phone because (according to him) their phone system has an issue. Since you can't order online and I couldn't get through on the phone I ordered mine from eBay. The guy (John) I spoke with with was responsive and helpful with my questions. It's works perfectly and the way I did the install made it pretty easy (IMO). I can't comment on it's longevity, but so far it's great and I'd recommend it. I think it was $189 on ebay.

 

[shurur]

I'm glad you got the Abbott, my SpeedCal appears to be dead and I was looking at the Dakota Digital as I heard no one offered anything else anymore. Rumor was Abbott was out of business too. How much did the Abbott cost and did you just email to order? My Speedcal was like 6 years old but the car was barely used. I will verify that the Speedcal will kill your battery and in short order if you have any other parasitic loss you cant find.

I like the ease of programming the dakota digital but not sure if it will work. My cars in the shop getting painted so afterwards I gotta figure out a way to get some kind of unit working since i have 4.30s now.

The speedcal or any device that is connected to the 96-99 cigarette lighter will drain the battery. This is because the cigarette fuse is not switched, but constant on for those years. On the 99, the speedcal needs to feed off the traction control switch power as was outlined in the Miracerros site.

 

[Mark99GT]

The speedcal or any device that is connected to the 96-99 cigarette lighter will drain the battery. This is because the cigarette fuse is not switched, but constant on for those years. On the 99, the speedcal needs to feed off the traction control switch power as was outlined in the Miracerros site.

Yes, you pointed this out for me (thanks again). I ended up using an add-a-fuse on the radio circuit (key on). Super easy to install and no cutting into any wires/harnesses.

 

[shurur]

Yes, you pointed this out for me (thanks again). I ended up using an add-a-fuse on the radio circuit (key on). Super easy to install and no cutting into any wires/harnesses.

Sorry..was responding to folks claiming speedcal was draining their batteries.

 

[Mark99GT]

Sorry..was responding to folks claiming speedcal was draining their batteries.

No you're good. I was originally going to tap into the cigarette lighter since it's right there. You point out the issue and saved me a major headache.

I figured I'd also just reiterate the add-a-fuse solves the problem and is very clean/easy to install.