V3 MicroSquirt® - QuickStart Guide

To reduce the chance of personal injury and/or property damage, the following precautions must be carefully observed:

General

In order to install your MicroSquirt® controller successfully, you will need additional information than what is contained in the your MicroSquirt® controller documentation. It is not possible to provide exhaustive documentation for every combination of vehicle and fuel system components. In order to have the information you will need, be sure you acquire, read and understand:

• The owner's manual for your car.
• The dealer's 'shop manual' for your car.
• The dealer's 'shop manual' for the vehicle from which you are using any component which is not covered in the shop manual for your car.
• Operator's manuals for any and all tools, equipment, and facilities you will be using.
• A current copy of your local fire code.
• If you are not sure of anything at any point, seek the advice of a trained professional mechanic.

• Ensure children and animals are kept well away from the working area for the entire duration of the work, including periods where the vehicle is unattended.
• Allow the presence only of persons who are trained, professional mechanics, or those who have read, understood, and agreed to follow all of the safety precautions applicable to your vehicle, tools and equipment, and any and all applicable fire regulations.
• Wear eye protection whenever you operate power tools.
• When using any tool or equipment that requires household current, make sure the device is correctly connected to its plug, and that it is correctly grounded (where necessary - see the operator's manual for each tool or piece of equipment).
• Before each use, check the power cord for any device operating on household current for cuts, breaks, or other defects. Replace or repair any damage components before using.
• Do not operate any power tool or equipment in damp conditions.
• Wear ear protection whenever you operate loud power tools.
• Do not wear loose clothing, ties, or long hair, which can get caught in moving parts and cause serious injury or death.
• Do not where a ring while working on a vehicle. It is a conductor and can cause an injurious short circuit.
• Cover as many areas of your body as possible with appropriate fire-retardent, abrasion resistant clothing.
• Get someone to check on you regularly while you are working on your vehicle.
• Keep all chemicals, cleaner products, automotive fliuds and other such products tightly capped and out of the reach of children and animals.
• Do not siphon toxic liquids such as gasoline, anti-freeze, or brake fluid by mouth, or allow them to remain on your skin.
• Get help lifting heavy components. Do not attempt to lift heavy items, or you may injure yourself.

Mechanical Repair/Modification

• Disconnect the battery before beginning any repair or modification work. Disconnect the negative terminal first before working on the vehicle, and install the negative terminal last when the repairs are done.
• Always ensure the park brake is applied, the vehicle is in park (automatic trans) or neutral (manual trans), and the wheels are chocked with approved devices.
• Always consult your owner's manual for proper jacking procedures. DO NOT WORK UNDER THE VEHICLE unless you have properly located 4 suitable automotive jackstands under the frame at the approved locations. Don't rely on a jack when working under a vehicle.
• Always pull a wrench towards you when loosening fasteners, never push away from your body.
• Always use the proper tool for the job you are doing. Where this is specified in the shop manual, use that exact tool. Otherwise, use the appropriate tool of the proper size, specification, and strength for the job you are doing.
• Don't attempt to loosen extremely tight fasteners, or you could hurt yourself or damage your car or property. Take the vehicle to a licensed repair shop to have the fastener removed.
• Never use a pipe over a wrench as an extension. The pipe or wrench could fail and cause injury or damage.
• Any fastener that is removed and subsequently re-installed must be correctly torqued to the manufacturer's specification using an appropriate torque wrench.
• Any fastener that is replaced with another must be of the same dimensions, thread size and pitch, and strength and ductility as the original.
• Take great care when installing fasteners to guard against cross-threading.
• Don't try to start the engine without checking that the transmission is in neutral (or park for automatics) and the parking brake is set.
• Don't remove the radiator cap from the radiator until the engine has completely cooled.
• Don't drain the oil from the oil pan until the engine has completely cooled.
• Do not touch, or allow your clothing to touch, any part of the exhaust system until is has cooled enough to avoid burns.
• Do not allow spilled liquids to remain on the floor. You could slip and injure yourself.

Electrical Repair/Modification

• Always place an appropriately rated fuse in the power supply line to any electrical component you add to your vehicle. See the equipment's manual for an appropriate amperage rating for the fuse.
• Use appropriate wire sizes (gauge) for the current and length of your wires. When in doubt, use larger wires.
• Splices can be made using solder and electrical tape (or heat shrink tubing), or crimp connector. If you solder, make sure to have a proper, cleaned join before overlapping the splice with electrical tape (or heat shrink tubing). Be careful not to burn yourself when soldering or shrinking the heat shrink tubing. If you use crimp connectors, be sure to use the proper tools and procedures recommended by the crimp/tool manufacturer.
• Keep all wires away from moving parts (including, but not limited to: belt, pulleys, throttle linkage, transmission cables, etc.) and away from hot parts (exhaust, cylinder heads, etc.). Use a retentive device (such as nylon tie-straps) to keep wires in place.
• Wherever possible, use a protective covering (such a convoluted tubing) over bundles of wires.
• If a fuse blows, do NOT bypass it. Find the problem and fix it before operating your vehicle.
• Never expose a battery to open flame or electric spark - batteries generate a gas which is flammable and explosive.
• DO NOT allow battery fluid to contact eyes, skin, fabrics, or painted surfaces. This fluid is highly corrosive. Flush any contacted areas with water immediately and thoroughly.
• Be careful that metal tools or jumper cables do not contact the positive battery terminal (or metal in contact with this terminal) and any other metal on the vehicle, because a short circuit could occur and cause injury or damage.
• Always wear eye protection when cleaning the battery.
• Batteries should always be kept out of the reach of children.

Fuel System Repair/Modification

Elimination of fuel spills or leakage from vehicles, in combination with adequate ventilation and control of ignition sources, is the most effective way of preventing flammable liquid fires in the shop environment. Safety measures in any work area used for automotive maintenance, repair, or modification should also include the following:

• Keep two (2) fully charged fire extinguishers suitable for extinguishing gasoline fires readily at hand at all times when working on your vehicle. Carry one in your car at all times.
• Do not use gasoline for cleaning parts under any circumstances.
• DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY REPAIR ON THE FUEL TANK OR FUEL FILLER NECK WHERE HEAT OR FLAME IS REQUIRED. This includes grinding, soldering, welding, drilling, hammering, chiselling, filing, or any other operation that might create a spark or heat.
• A small amount of fuel will be released when fuel lines are disconnected, so be sure to wear appropriate fuel proof gloves, and have a shop cloth ready to catch any spillage, then place the cloth in an approved container.
• Use care in removing fuel injectors to prevent damage to the electrical connections, the injector fuel filter, or the injector nozzle. Do not use pliers to remove injectors since their use could damage the injectors. Injectors are electrical comopnents and should NOT be immersed in any type of cleaner.
• Keep all fuel lines away from moving parts (including, but not limited to: belt, pulleys, throttle linkage, transmission cables, etc.) and away from hot parts (exhaust, cylinder heads, etc.). Use nylon straps and convoluted tubing to keep wires in place.
• DO NOT disassemble your fuel pressure regulator. It contains a spring under heavy compression, and this could cause injury if it is accidentally released.
• Fuel hoses are specially manufactured. If replacement becomes necessary, it is important to use only hoses meeting GM specification 6163-M. Hoses not meeting 6163-M could fail and cause injury, death and/or property damage.
• An approved flammable and combustible liquids spill control procedure, in conformance with your local Fire Code, should be implemented in automotive repair areas. This may include the use of barriers of non-combustible construction to contain a spill, sloping the floor to divert a spill to a proper drainage system or use of non-combustible absorbent materials conforming to ULC/ORD-C410A.
• Properly designed ventilation should be provided in automotive repair areas to ensure that explosive flammable vapor concentrations do not accumulate.
• Ignition sources, such as smoking or cutting/welding operations that create open flames or sparks, should be controlled in automotive repair areas if vehicles are fuelled or flammable liquids are being handled.
• Electrical equipment in automotive repair areas should conform to your applicable Electrical Safety Code and should be maintained in good repair.
• Incandescent trouble lights should be replaced with fluorescent trouble lights. Tests have shown that incandescent trouble lights can ignite gasoline vapors if the bulb is broken from thermal or mechanical shock and the hot filament is exposed to the vapors. Thermal breakage of the bulb may occur if a liquid at room temperature is spilled or sprayed onto an incandescent bulb at its normal operating temperature (350ºF to 400ºF). Use incandescent trouble lights with Teflon coated bulbs or fluorescent trouble lights to reduce this potential ignition source.
• Repair or maintenance work on propane (or natural gas) fuelled vehicles should not be done unless fuel shut-off valves located at the fuel tank are closed.
• Repair work on fuel systems in operational gasoline or propane/natural gas powered vehicles (i.e. fuel tank, associated piping and fuel injection systems) should not be done in at home. Take your vehicle to a licensed automotive repair shop for this work.
• If you replace the gas tank cap, it must have the same features and design as the original. Failure to use the correct cap can result in injury, death, and property damage.

NOTE: Despite special precautions being taken to first drain fuel-filled components, spillage/leakage can still occur. If work on these components is required, it should not be done without first draining fuel in an area specifically designed for this purpose (i.e. no ignition sources in immediate area, proper trouble lights, proper ventilation, readily accessible fire extinguishers, etc.), and should only be done under the constant supervision of a trained professional mechanic. Drained fuel should be stored in listed safety containers that are kept closed when not in use.

It is important to understand that these precautions are not exhaustive, because it is impossible to warn of all the hazardous consequences that might result from failure to follow all of the applicable safety and proper usage guidelines in the respective owner's manuals for tools and equipment, assembly, wiring, and tuning. You MUST research any and all components, equipment, tool, material, and shop safety requirements yourself to ensure that you and your property are safe at all times.