ECS Alky Panel from Beer99C5
With the addition of an APS Twin Turbo kit to my car came some peripherals, one of which is an ECS Alky Control kit, or Methanol Injection kit. ECS supplies a controller box with the kit that while functional, is bulky and hard to fit anywhere. I find it ugly so I blurred the picture (ha ha). I ordered the new panel from Jim, the one where the controls are installed instead of the entire box. Nice piece, pics to come. For now, let's get started.
First thing I did (besides remove the entire center console and radio bezel) was remove the power knob from the controller. Remember where you you had you controller set, but no need to worry about the positioning of the knob for reinstallation. Turn the controller to off, then use a very small flathead screwdriver to loosed (do NOT remove) the retaining screw on the control knob. Slide the knob off the shaft and set in a safe place.
Now, flip the box upside down and remove the two phillips head screws from the controller box. Remove the bottom half of the box. What you'll get is shown in the second picture.
Now remove the top half from the internals. You'll see there are two plates at the front and back, these simply slide into guides on the top and bottom half of the controller box. If you'd prefer (I did) to remove the rear plate, now would be the time to cut it off.
Now we need to remove the faceplate. A 10mm wrench is needed for this operation. Make sure to carefully support the electronics from behind while you're loosening the retaining bolts. On the controller shaft, there is a rubber grommet that must also be removed, it simply slides off. The Power LED simply pushes out of it's holder. The second picture illustrates what you're left with after the faceplate is removed.
Now we need to get the LED retainer from the faceplate. This is accomplished by GENTLY squeezing the two locks on the rear of it. It pushes through the front of the plate.
Here's a test fit of the panel. As you can see, in addition to the Alky controller, I also have a switch for a Line Lock and am retaining my cigarette lighter (good power source). The second picture illustrates how much clearance is in between the face plate and the back of the ash tray cover on the console.
I had to do some trimming to make sure everything fit. You can see where I trimmed in the two pics above. For the cigarette lighter, I initially thought I trimmed enough, but once the wiring harness was installed I needed to trim a LOT more. Additionally, I ended up cutting out the remainder of the back side of the ash tray recess to facilitate easier installation.
Installation of the controller is simply opposite of removal. Reinstall the center console and pull the wiring through the openings you made. Insert the LED retainer into the panel, then guide all the controller pieces through the front of the plate and reinstall the retaining bolts. Put the controller knob back on and line up (it should still be in OFF) the knob with the OFF line, and tighten. Turn to various settings to verify it's all in sync. Apply some two sided tape to the panel along the areas where contact is made, and press into place (no mention of line lock was made because I don't have one...yet). Viola! That's it, and you've now got a smooth looking out of sight control panel for a smooth looking car.