ACE or not?

Stanleysteamer said:

Also among the stuff you will need to retrofit is the ACE ecu which might be a problem, i.e. in getting it to "talk" to the rest of the electrickery.

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Why would this be a problem?

I did say "might". I don't actually know.

I am not an expert in all the electrickery there is on modern cars, but I do know, for instance, that if you buy a replacement engine ECU, same serial number etc, you cannot just stick it on the car, plug it in and expect it to go. It has to be coded to the BCU.

In the meantime I will wait until one of the members like @sierrafery comes on and tells us cos I expect he will know.

The ACE ECU is not a problem, it's plug and play. The more complicated thing is the chassis harness which has the block's plugs and has to be connected to the main harness which must be suitable for the vehicle...and there are more versions http://new.lrcat.com/#!/1232/36532/36727/2787/36755

sierrafery said:

The ACE ECU is not a problem, it's plug and play. The more complicated thing is the chassis harness which has the block's plugs and has to be connected to the main harness which must be suitable for the vehicle...and there are more versions http://new.lrcat.com/#!/1232/36532/36727/2787/36755

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Thanks mate. Knew there would be more to it than simply fitting it.

sierrafery said:

The ACE ECU is not a problem, it's plug and play. The more complicated thing is the chassis harness which has the block's plugs and has to be connected to the main harness which must be suitable for the vehicle...and there are more versions http://new.lrcat.com/#!/1232/36532/36727/2787/36755

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Ok, so a non-ACE car may not have all of the harness plugs on the chassis under the driver's seat if it ACE wasn't fitted from new?

Alpinejim said:

Ok, so a non-ACE car may not have all of the harness plugs on the chassis under the driver's seat if it ACE wasn't fitted from new?

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I'd say that a non-ACE from factory would definitely not have the ACE chassis harness so nothing ACE related in it, if it has SLS it will have only the SLS plugs and if no SLS either not even those plugs... I like ACE but i'd not encourage anybody to retrofit it to a factory non-ACE vehicle

It may well be that your vehicle originally hd ACE and someone removed it. OR that your model of D2 could be fitted with ACE. An examination of the loom to see what is there and isn't there may well answer your question.
Best of luck, it would be a real shame if you found all the plugs etc just weren't there.

Here's my donor chassis, which I'm breaking. It should be simple enough to take whatever connectors and wiring I need from it.

Maybe a bit harder to do a good job of integrating them to the non-ACE chassis harness. Would I also need the harness from the body where the ACE ECU sits? Would the body harness have the necessary plug or is it like the chassis where if it wasn't factory fitted, the harness won't have the ACE ECU plug and wiring?

Alpinejim said:

Would the body harness have the necessary plug or is it like the chassis where if it wasn't factory fitted, the harness won't have the ACE ECU plug and wiring?

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I'm affraid that you'll have to find out that yourself as i have no ideea... though i'd presume that the interior facia harness which is connected to the chassis harness should have the connectors as the differencies between those harnesses is based only on the ICE specs

sierrafery said:

i'd presume that the interior facia harness which is connected to the chassis harness should have the connectors as the differencies between those harnesses is based only on the ICE specs

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That would be a relief since I've scrapped the body already. This retrofit didn't occur to me until after the body was gone. I'll check what plugs I have over the weekend.

All you have to do is to unplug the chassis harness on your vehicle and compare the connector with the ACE one and see if there are wires in the fascia side to the wired pins for the ACE harness then search behind the glovebox for free ECU plug and the upper accelerometer plug under the front interior lamp

If I was in this position I would do it, my commute is ideal D2 territory.

Twisty country roads, a few corners I can actually lift inside front on cornering, but not recommended, only normally after overtaking a Porsche. I suspect by product of ACE.
Roundabouts 3 x 270 degree fast ones.
Floods, up to 18" deep in places.
Not scraped when snowy.
An alternate route though a B.O.A.T.
Pass by up to 3 LR specialists,
Only 1 mile from main dealer if on that route.

BOAT?

Byeway Open to All Traffic

I got all of the ACE bits off today. The pipes coming out of the valve block were a right bugger and I've broken one of them.
I was thinking to have some flexi pipes made up and join them on to the existing hard pipes going to the valve block, but since one is now ruined, I might mod the block and screw new pipes in, like this...


It's a nice bit of work but at £435, hopefully I can make a mod a bit cheaper than that.

Last block cost £60 to machine

Hoses roughly £20 each

£60! when was that? I thought it would be a lot more. Did you have it machined so that the hoses thread into the block or was there an insert that protruded and the hose goes on to that?

I will get complete hoses made up, I think because I have to thread them into place with the body on.

Alpinejim said:

£60! when was that? I thought it would be a lot more. Did you have it machined so that the hoses thread into the block or was there an insert that protruded and the hose goes on to that?

I will get complete hoses made up, I think because I have to thread them into place with the body on.

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I asked at a local engineering shop offered £10 per hole

Drilled and tapped from 1/4" BSP

Used male female stub, swivel, hose, with Dowty washers where needed.

Pipe short pipes use 3/8" BSP hoses with compression onto cut pipes.

So a Dowty washer between the fitting and the valve block is enough to hold pressure? No need for a tapered thread or sealant.

Alpinejim said:

So a Dowty washer between the fitting and the valve block is enough to hold pressure? No need for a tapered thread or sealant.

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Just a threadlock