Bosch Motorsports Ignition Module Upgrade

[widebody180]

Amazing fact - Spitfire coilpacks are not the magic cure for all misfire problems. The standard Nissan PTU's are terrible pieces of gear. They seem to break down, not helped by their location right on top of the engine. A PTU may test fine when the engine is cold but suffer a melt down any time the temperature gets up, so it can be hard to diagnose. Brand new Nissan PTU's can be had for around the $600 mark, but they are likely to break down in time also. Second hand units will set you back a couple of hundred, but who knows if they are already stuffed. The solution is get a decent unit that is proven to work. This is where the Bosch Motorsport triple coil ignition module 0227 100 203 comes into play. This unit is race proven on some high powered Euro cars and will not break down when the feeble Nissan unit will. Obviously two of these units will be needed since they only fire 3 cylinders each. If you try to price two of these in Australia, you will probably have a heart attack. However, check out ebay as some come up on there for a good prices. I got two second hand units that had been reconditioned. I didn't realise they were secondhand at the time but they seem to be good. The units are oem equipment on some Volvos e.g. V90 I believe. You will also need two Bosch or AMP seven pin junior timer connector kits. Again, get these online, but shop around and try to get a kit that comes with the boots. You will also need plenty of wire. I used about 15m of 15A. 15A seemed pretty overkill, but oh well. You'll need a soldering iron, solder and some basic knowledge of electrics and soldering. Also get two cheap six pin connectors from somewhere like SuperCheap. I didn't put these in but I will go back and do it now that it's all working. I have included instructions for installing those connectors. Make sure you check out this link. It has the wiring diagram for the module. I've done a basic diagram of some of the wiring down the bottom also. I do not take any responsibility for and loss or damage as a result of people trying this. This is just what I have done. If you don't understand enough about auto electronics to do this confidently, get a professional to do it. Doing it wrong could damage your car. I must give full credit to user ChrisWilson of GTROC for the idea to do this conversion.

Step 1. Remove coilpack loom from car. Note that there are 6 coilpack connectors, one ptu connector, one positive wire connector and an earth.

Step 2. Familiarise yourself with wiring. Note the three wires coming from each coil connector.There should be one pink negative, one white positive and one black earth. Note that coil one may have a black negative instead. The ptu connector should have seven wires, five pink and two black. The five pink wires correspond with the five pink negative wires on coils one to five and the blacks correspond with the negative on coil one and the black earths. On the positive connector, there should be one white wire and two blacks. The white wire corresponds with the white positive wire on the coils and the blacks correspond with the black earths. The only rewiring to do on the coilpack loom is the five pinks and two blacks going into the ptu connector.

You also need to identify the seven wires on the ecu side of the ptu. There should be six blues and one black earth. The blues will need to be rewired but do not touch the black.

Step 3. Measure the distance from the wiring to where you want your new ptu's to be located. Try to get them away from the heat. I mounted mine behind the drivers side suspension turret. Also figure out where your new earths are going to be grounded. I decided to ground mine to the earthing kit which was conveniently located on the drivers side suspension turret. Measure the distance needed for this wiring too and cut all wires to length, six lengths to wire to the pink wires, six to the blue wires and two to the ground.

Step 4. Strip one end of each of the wires and insert into new ptu connector pin. Crimp, solder and insert pin into connector.

Step 5. Tape all of the wires going to the pink wires together and do the same for all the wires going to the blue wires.

Step 6. Strip the other end of each wire, insert into six pin connector pins. Crimp, solder and insert pin into connectors, six pinks into one and six blues into the other.

Step 7. Put a round terminal on each of the ground wires.

Step 8. Strip all of the pink wires, insert into six pin connector pins. Crimp, solder and insert pin into connectors, making sure that the pins correspond with the correct coils. Do the same for the other connector with the blue wires.

Step 9. Reinstall coil pack loom. Connect it to each of the coils, ground the earth, connect the positive wire connector and connect the new six pin connector to the corresponding connector.

Step 10. Connect the other two six pin connectors together.

Step 11. Attach the new earth wires to the grounding point.

Step 12. Attach the new ptu's into desired location.

Step 13. Attach new ptu connectors to new ptu's.

Step 14. Double check everything is connected.

Step 15. Reset ECU.

Step 16. Take your car out for some spirited driving and enjoy.

[R.3.2.G.T.R]

great work mate, read the thread previously on gtr uk forum.. how much did the bosch set u back?

[widebody180]

I got them from ebay for around $80. Volvo igniter on ebay.

I purchased the junior timer connectors from Competition Systems in Australia. These ones don't come with the boots though.

[karma_syke]

this might be obvious? but you can't do this with series 2 r33's and beyond can you?

[widebody180]

Probably should have mentioned that this was on an R32 GTR. It may work for other models, but I couldn't be certain. Is the PTU different on the series 2 R33? From what I've read the 300ZX is the same as the R32 one and even the Silvia units are quite similar, although only for 4 cylinders.

[PM-R33]

Yep S2 is different because the igniters are part of each coil pack instead of running an external igniter.

[funkymonkey]

we've used a pair of Volvo S90 Ignitors on an RB we built for a track car. Got brand new ones from Bosch Australia, they cost about $90 each.

[widebody180]

Yep S2 is different because the igniters are part of each coil pack instead of running an external igniter.

In that case, I would imagine that you could combine this mod with the wasted spark mod that I have seen discussed on here previously. Essentially, you would be using the Bosch ignition modules with a Holden coil pack and then just run leads to the spark plugs.

[widebody180]

we've used a pair of Volvo S90 Ignitors on an RB we built for a track car. Got brand new ones from Bosch Australia, they cost about $90 each.

You can purchase them directly from Bosch? I thought that they only sold through distributors.

[karma_syke]

In that case, I would imagine that you could combine this mod with the wasted spark mod that I have seen discussed on here previously. Essentially, you would be using the Bosch ignition modules with a Holden coil pack and then just run leads to the spark plugs.

thats "if" the holden coil packs fit the series 2 r33 or even the series 1 r33.

[widebody180]

thats "if" the holden coil packs fit the series 2 r33 or even the series 1 r33.

Why shouldn't it fit? The coil packs are located externally and then they just use leads from the coil pack to the spark plug. Here is the link to the wasted spark setup diy: Wasted Spark DIY. Don't do it on my say so, I have never tried it but seems like it shouldn't be a fitment issue judging by that thread.

[funkymonkey]

You can purchase them directly from Bosch? I thought that they only sold through distributors.

helps when the workshop has a good relationship with the wholesale manager although now that the shop's closed it's cheaper to get em out of the US/EU for me too