The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support Morrison Fabrications
Please Support STM Tuned

1G Wiring up Dynatek ARC-2 to 1990 1g

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

perrytheplatypus157

Proven Member
81
44
Jun 18, 2017
Fall River, Wisconsin
I have the worst part of the wiring done as far as the tach interface side of things. All I have left is the 1990 1g coil pack and the ARC-2 plug that's wired for the 2g DSM.

My question is, which wires from the ARC-2 2g plug go to which wires of the 1g coil pack? I apologize for the poor pic.

White wire that goes to coil 2 and 3.
Red wire goes to 1 and 4
Black/White wire goes to both coils.
Then there is the 2g plug with white, blue, and a black wire.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.
 
I have the worst part of the wiring done as far as the tach interface side of things. All I have left is the 1990 1g coil pack and the arc2 plug that's wired for the 2g dsm. My question is, which wires from the arc2 2g plug go to which wires of the 1g coil pack? I apologize for the poor pic.

White wire that goes to coil 2 and 3.
Red wire goes to 1 and 4
Black/White wire goes to both coils.
Then there is the 2g plug with white, blue, and a black wire.
From looking at my harness.

White > White
Blue > Red
Black >Black
 
I converted my ARC-2 box on my living room floor. I need to write it up I guess. I hope one of these pictures is helpful.

Let me know if there is any other shots that you might need.

This converted it all over to a 1990 harness. Works great on mine. Change the triangle plug on the ARC-2 to the square 1990 plug. I bought all of my connectors from members on here. :thumb:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.
 
Alright, I got it wired up. The only thing is now it only fires on cylinders 1 and 4. It throws a 044 ignition circuit malfunction code. I was thinking it wasn't getting spark but cylinders 2 and 3 are definitely getting it. I used a spark tester to see it spark while running. my settings on the box are single spark, rising edge, and crank.

Also, what's this box? Do I need it or can I bypass it?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1782.JPG
    IMG_1782.JPG
    59.6 KB · Views: 142
Last edited by a moderator:
my settings on the box are single spark, rising edge, and crank.

Also, what's this box? Do I need it or can I bypass it?[/QUOTE]

Perry, you are a 1g, change the last switch to CAM from crank. You don't have a crank sensor, you have a cas, cam angle sensor. That shud fix it. :thumb:
 
Perry, you are a 1g, change the last switch to CAM from crank. You don't have a crank sensor, you have a cas, cam angle sensor. That shud fix it. :thumb:
What he has is correct. It is suppose to be set to crank for our wasted spark ignition. Cam is for sequential spark.

I would start by double checking your wiring. Not sure what you were doing but you don't need to wire in the factory tach interface. Delete it and use the tach output from the arc 2.

For my setup I deleted the tach adapter and ptu and wired it directly to get rid of the tach adapter dynatek supplies as I hear it's a common failure point.
 
Last edited:
Well I run cam and multi strike both. Car loves me. Its the flip of a dip switch and worth a try over digging around for a half hr or more. I stand by, awaiting a reply from Perry :)
 
The cam/crank setting is whether it fires every 360 degrees(wasted spark), or once every 720 degrees(sequential). 360 degrees would be crank, 720 degrees would be cam. This primarily affects the rev limit RPM calculation, and the built in timing retard calcs. Set it to crank to work with the OEM setup.
You must not have used the launch control yet because it effects the rpm selection.

Also OP, it is best to wire the tach interface to the engine harness vs the arc2 plug and play harness. If you ever needed to remove the arc 2 you'd still be able to plug in coil pack and be able to drive with a working tach/rpm signal. That old write-up from DSMtalk is dated.
 
Last edited:
Nope. I use it only as my ignition amplifier. Link is where my launch controls are performed. The 3 extra wires don't concern me so I isolate them. This is in a 1990 which is what the thread is about.
I looked to see what car you are working with but your dsm profile is empty.....
 
You're missing out. The arc 2 has a way better ignition cut launch control. More boost off the line and tighter rpm swings for better consistency. My profile is in my signature over on the link forums. I don't have a need for one here.;)
 
Nah, I'm not missing anything. OP asks about a Arc2 in a 1990. I got it.
My sons 97 Talon uses the launch controls on the box. Since my car ran fantastic the way I wired it from day one, I really don't need to change it, but I am trying to help Perry get all 4 firing. :) :thumb:
If Perry wires his like mine, he can unplug a dead or malfunctioning Arc2 box and plug his coils back in and continue on, although the tach won't work if we ever have to do that. ;)
 
Last edited:
Alright. I've been messing around with it today. Everything seems to be wired up in the correct fashion. After trying a bunch of different options as far as different coils, wires, and grounds, I've found that my car runs poorly only if both of the tach interfaces are hooked up. If one is hooked up, the car runs perfectly again but with no tach. Either one can be hooked up and the car doesn't care, it just won't show me the RPMs. Sorry about the late reply. The shed gets poor reception and the page would refresh but wouldn't show new responses.
 
That doesn't make sense. The car won't run at all if the arc2 tach adapter is removed. Without it install there would be no coil inputs to fire the coils.

Do you have the tach interface wired in correctly? The two "in" pins get connected to either coil wire(yellow/black and yellow/green) and the "out" pin is the tach wire(white.) .They are the colors on the engine harness itself where I would recommend you attach them to, vs the PNP harness.

Just to make sure you're not connecting the tach wire(bullet connector) right?
 
Sorry. When I meant I unplugged the tach adapter, I meant that I unplugged it but jumped each wire according to color so it was just bypassed. And I am not using the green tach wire that comes directly off of the CDI itself.
 
You probably have a bad tach adapter then. They tend to go bad. Its basically a dummy coil that generates a signal that the ptu/tach interface uses for tach output (why your gauge isn't working).

Test the box and check the resistance between the two pairs of coil wires you are jumping. I think mine was around 170 ohms. Though I'm not sure that would help much to determine a faulty adapter or not.

You could also use the green tach signal directly from the arc 2 but, I'm not sure if your gauge would read it because the 90 cluster was funky like that.
 
So if Im using a 90 coil pack do I just eliminate the tach interface and disregard the yellow, red, and white wires that are associated with it?
 
Right now my cool pack is soldered directly to the engine harness so I won't be swapping the the plug connectors.
 
You have to wire the tach adaptor AHEAD of the ARC2 box. I have mine wired to plug and play and it works great.
This write up was very helpful to me. I wired mine up with 1990 connectors in my kitchen, went out and plugged it in, and everything worked like a champ!

https://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203681
 
I don't want to use connectors. And I don't need a functioning tach. Do I disregard the yellow wire?
 
If anyone comes across this thread and needs my video, it can be viewed here.
I will add it to my thread also.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top