[TJ-MX6]

I meant to say the Neutral Safety switch. Was giving me problems so my mechanic at the time removed it..
ABS is ok..it's the Air Bag module supposedly, that kept beeping often...so I unplugged it.
Certainly a labor of love....
I've had mine since new, off the lot with 300km on her.. Now 146,000+ kms. Wasn't a daily driver for most of those years.

 

[Spannerhead]

Just some driveway snaps from earlier. She's in the garage most of the time when she's home...

 

[TJ-MX6]

I still find this 2nd gen to be a really good looking car, imo. Good lines and shape.👍

 

[Spannerhead]

LED-ified the cluster earlier this afternoon.

Before:

And after:

Best part is the cluster matches the headunit in both intensity and color now:

I also installed the mic to the back of the headunit, so the ALC (automatic level control) will hopefully work now and the volume will increase or decrease automatically depending on the ambient noise in the car.

Also also, I located the chassis wire that activates the power antenna, and got that hooked up to the headunit (it wasn't before). I have a new mast, so hoping to have that operational soon.

 

[TJ-MX6]

Really like the LED move..and match. Looks really good. Plus your other ad ons... Good on you..!!

 

[Goodbar]

The LED on the instrument panel really add a great touch. I like the green colors. I have blue and red on my white 94.

 

[Spannerhead]

Surgery on the power antenna assembly last night to install a new mast.

The mast is made for an NB (2nd gen) Miata, but it fit perfectly---with one modification. I did have to trim the plastic (nylon?) spacer that the antenna bottoms out on by 9/16" so the top of the antenna would retract flush to its bezel.

Success:

Now I just have to wire up a switch to be able to retract it manually, since my headunit leaves it up unless I'm in "standby" mode. There's really no need for the antenna if I'm listening to a CD or playing something via the USB port or Bluetooth...

 

[Spannerhead]

Finished replacing all the dash & HVAC lights with LEDs:

For the record, the HVAC panel takes three T4.7 "wedge" or "neo-wedge" lights.

You may have noticed the HVAC panel isn't stock. It's pulled from a 1998 626 I found at the junkyard last weekend. I got:

• The HVAC unit
• Each connector and about 6-8 inches of the pigtail coming off of each

I also needed:

• 6 small/medium spade connectors
• Wire stripping & crimping tools
• Heat shrink tubing and heat gun
• 1 wire splice terminal (see pic below)
• Basic tools & a tiny flat blade screwdriver / pick to remove the 1 pin from the connector

The actual unit is a direct fit, and the two blue plugs fit perfectly, but the fan controller plug is a bit smaller, and the socket is on the left side of the 626 HVAC unit vs. the right side with the factory MX-6 piece.

So, as shown above, I used the connector and pigtail from the 626 and 6 spade connectors to create a little jumper harness that plugs into the MX-6 dash harness and provides the necessary length.

Several of the wire colors are different. Here's how I matched them up:

Body (MX-6 side)            Jumper Harness
Black                 >>>        Black
Blue/Yellow         >>>        Blue/Yellow
Yellow/Black         >>>        Green
Blue/White             >>>        Blue/White
Blue/Black             >>>        Violet/White

Issue solved.

Only other difference is the 626 HVAC requires a constant 12V source to remember the positions of the blend doors, otherwise it defaults to defrost every time you start the car.

After scouring the wiring diagrams, I discovered it gets that 12V from the blue/red wire in one of the rectangular plugs. Fortunately, the equivalent pin position in the MX-6's connector is unused, so I simply pried out the pin & wire:

...and snapped it into the corresponding location in the MX-6's connector:

Then, I needed a 12V source. Fortunately, there's one a few inches away: The blue/red wire that feeds the headunit. I spliced the HVAC's blue/red into it using one of these:

And everything works perfectly. I love having the knobs vs. the sliders. It looks newer, and is more ergonomic since I was always having to kind of brace one of my fingers against the side of the opening when moving the sliders. Also, the button LEDs are brighter, and the buttons aren't latched so I don't feel like I'm playing Hungry Hungry Hippos every time I press a zone selector button.

Oh, and I also wired in a manual switch for the power antenna:

since my headunit extends the antenna whenever it's powered on, regardless of whether or not I'm listening to the radio. There's no need for the antenna to be up when I'm listening, say, to a CD, and I like having manual control anyway.

Just some cosmetic work (read: bath) planned for this weekend. Here's hoping it warms up a bit more by Sunday!