2003 E-350 MG Metal Works conversion, VSS, Abbott ERA

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Hey guys, I finally got my Abbott ERA for my conversion. The instructions say to wire it the following:

Red to 12V + (keyed)
Black to ground
White Signal in from the speed sensor
Blue Signal out from speed sensor.

does anyone know which wires are what coming out of the speed sensor?

Again, this is on a 2003, 7.3 E-350 with a 4R100 with an output shaft from a 4x4.

Thanks

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Man... All these converted Econolines and not one single reply on two wires. ExPo used to be the place for info.

 

[turbodiesel]

Interested in this as well. About to do the same thing. Have you tried calling Abbott?

 

[RVflyfish]

I bet MG at ExpoVans or Chris at Ujoint could answer your question. You might dry DM’ing them.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

I have nothing against Chris, we've talked a few times in the past and he used to be pretty informative, but he has chosen to only sell select items to people that don't buy his current conversion kit. That's fine, it's his company, but consumers also have the choice on who/where to support with their money. i.e., Chris won't sell you an Abbott unless you buy his conversion kit. He will however sell you one of his bumpers though. Why is our money good enough for his bumpers or racks, but not shocks, ERA's and other non proprietary items that he is only a re-seller for? No thanks.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Interested in this as well. About to do the same thing. Have you tried calling Abbott?

I did call Abbott. They are not familiar enough with the wiring (Ford specific wiring since these are used in many different applications) to say either way. They did inform me that the ERA must be placed inside an area well protected from the elements though.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

So I bought a full set of OEM service manualsand had time to dive into them tonight. Before reading the manual, I assumed that the wires were wired separately, but after showing the schematic to a buddy who is an electrical engineer, he thinks the ERA is supposed to be wired inline with the white wire going to the VSS and the blue wire going to the speedo.

MG was kind enough to dm me and I ran this by him. As soon as I get a confirmation, I'll post it.

For GP the VSS signal wire is represented in the 2003 Wiring Diagram as a Pink wire with an Orange tracer.

 

[turbodiesel]

So I bought a full set of OEM service manualsand had time to dive into them tonight. Before reading the manual, I assumed that the wires were wired separately, but after showing the schematic to a buddy who is an electrical engineer, he thinks the ERA is supposed to be wired inline with the white wire going to the VSS and the blue wire going to the speedo.

MG was kind enough to dm me and I ran this by him. As soon as I get a confirmation, I'll post it.

For GP the VSS signal wire is represented in the 2003 Wiring Diagram as a Pink wire with an Orange tracer.

I'd appreciate it. I'll add the info to the massive spreadsheet I have as well to share for others.

 

[ujoint]

I have nothing against Chris, we've talked a few times in the past and he used to be pretty informative, but he has chosen to only sell select items to people that don't buy his current conversion kit. That's fine, it's his company, but consumers also have the choice on who/where to support with their money. i.e., Chris won't sell you an Abbott unless you buy his conversion kit. He will however sell you one of his bumpers though. Why is our money good enough for his bumpers or racks, but not shocks, ERA's and other non proprietary items that he is only a re-seller for? No thanks.

Several things forced me to make that decision several years ago. One reason is that we had too many guys buying partial kits and building vans to a sub par standards and then selling them as a UJOR conversion to someone that doesn't know any better. Guess who had to pick up the pieces and help the new owners get the vans correct? Me. Big waste of time and a big bummer for the new owner. Also, guys reaching out for individual parts to finish an incomplete kit from another vendor. Another waste of time. By selling complete kits we were able to lower the prices and ensure everyone gets the correct stuff. Sales are up, all is good ?

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Several things forced me to make that decision several years ago. One reason is that we had too many guys buying partial kits and building vans to a sub par standards and then selling them as a UJOR conversion to someone that doesn't know any better. Guess who had to pick up the pieces and help the new owners get the vans correct? Me. Big waste of time and a big bummer for the new owner. Also, guys reaching out for individual parts to finish an incomplete kit from another vendor. Another waste of time. By selling complete kits we were able to lower the prices and ensure everyone gets the correct stuff. Sales are up, all is good ?

I think its a win for everyone when sales are up, and competition drives innovation. I don't doubt what you're saying one bit, I'm sure it was extremely frustrating to fix problems that weren't originated from your parts. My above question was rhetorical. It's your company, you don't need to explain your business model to me. I've been on this forum since 06 and I've yet to start a pissing match.


Personally speaking, I do think your reply is a perfect illustration of what I was trying to convey in my above post. You could have easily answered the question in post 7 faster than typing out your reply, but you chose not to. It's obviously a question that would benefit the entire #vanlife conversion community.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Getting back on track here. MG confirmed that the Abbott ERA does in fact get wired in line. The white wire goes to the VSS and the blue wire goes to the ECM. Problem solved, big thanks to everyone! Hopefully this will help some people out in the future as I have spent a ton of time on forums trying to figure this out.

 

[ujoint]

I think its a win for everyone when sales are up, and competition drives innovation. I don't doubt what you're saying one bit, I'm sure it was extremely frustrating to fix problems that weren't originated from your parts. My above question was rhetorical. It's your company, you don't need to explain your business model to me. I've been on this forum since 06 and I've yet to start a pissing match.


Personally speaking, I do think your reply is a perfect illustration of what I was trying to convey in my above post. You could have easily answered the question in post 7 faster than typing out your reply, but you chose not to. It's obviously a question that would benefit the entire #vanlife conversion community.

Thanks, glad you understand. My customers get a very specific instruction sheet for this part and they arrive pre set. I avoid involving myself with other vendors swaps, not my place.

 

[turbodiesel]

Getting back on track here. MG confirmed that the Abbott ERA does in fact get wired in line. The white wire goes to the VSS and the blue wire goes to the ECM. Problem solved, big thanks to everyone! Hopefully this will help some people out in the future as I have spent a ton of time on forums trying to figure this out.

Take some photos when you get it wired up. Sometimes a photo is worth a thousand words.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Closing the loop on this topic. I reversed the wiring of the ERA. The above wiring is incorrect. The blue & white need to be reversed from whats explained above.

 

[Christian P.]

Thread closed per OP request.