Kia Sephia Sporty

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I've been retrofitting LED illumination on instrument Clusters, from various cars, successfully (thanks to God) since year 2004, starting with my Subaru... Let me show you some examples:

 

 

From This:

 

To This:

Our "KiaStein" already with LED illumination:




My Subaru "BumbleBeast" already with LED illumination:


 

So, the Owner of this Hyundai Galloper, my Friend, asked me to do the LED background illumination retrofitting, on his car, and of course I did it, but such a retrofitting requires that the instrument Cluster, comes with a Dimmer control, in order to reduce the Bright from the LEDs after the Retrofitting, and the Hyundai Galloper doesn't have a Dimmer Knob for his instrument Cluster...

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

So, I faced two challenges in order to comply with this Commitment:


► To obtain enough T-6.5 LED bulbs.

► To find a way to Retrofit a Dimmer control on the Galloper.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

In the past, I obtained a couple of those LED bulbs in T-6.5 size, from an online supplier, because the Kia's instrument Cluster uses two of them, one for background illumination of the Odometer / Tripmeter, and the other is for the Low fuel Warning light. This last one I left with incandescent bulb, as the sensitivity of the LED will make it permantly Lit on that Spot.

So, I contacted again the online Supplier, and he sent me a Bunch of those rare T-6.5 LEDs in multi tip fashion, for better illumination pattern, see:

 

 

So, the First Challenge was sorted out! 

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The second challenge, was to retrofit a Dimmer control unit for the illumination of the instrument Cluster on the Hyundai Galloper, as it never came with such feature from Factory; I decided to go in the route of what I know the Most: Subaru.

Firstly, I obtained a Dimmer control unit, out from a Subaru Loyale from the early 1990's decade, it was like new and its three wire design, makes it easy to use. Then I searched for a suitable spot to place it on the Hyundai Galloper's dashboard, and I found it, easy to reach from the driver's seat, even while driving.

Here you can see the Subaru's Dimmer control unit, already placed on a Hyundai Galloper's plastic cover that came out from its dashboard:

 

Here you can see the Placement for it, already in Place, back on the Dashboard:

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The placement is low, next to the steering column, but works Good.

When I obtained the Subaru Loyale's Dimmer control unit, also I obtained its Plug with wiring; so next I had to search among the wires on the Hyundai Galloper, to find which ones delivers power 12V (+) for the background illumination, to cut and splice them, in order to Solder the Subaru's plug on them as a detour for that power, to the Dimmer control unit.

 

 

The Subaru's Dimmer control, has three wires, two are of the same colour and are the Power input (low and high) from the Car's wiring, and the other wire which has another colour, is the Power output, that goes to the instrument Cluster.

I simply connected Both same colour wires from the Dimmer control, to the power output wire that has the power for the instrument Cluster's illumination, on the Car; and the Output from the Dimmer control went connected to the instrument Cluster's input wire... Voilá! ...  ... Works Perfectly!

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The instrument Cluster went from looking like This:



To This Awesomeness!

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Despite that my camera is not good at taking Videos under low light conditions, I made one; but it is not Worth to be shared here as Video, so I've edited it, and turned it to an Animation, that shows you how the Subaru's Dimmer control, works Flawlessly on the Hyundai; See:

 

I hope these ideas be Helpful.
Greetings from the Caribbean, Honduras.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Back on the "KiaStein" topic.

 

 

This 2000 Kia Sephia was built in June / 1999 so, the thing already reached its eighteen birthday, Long ago, I changed the engine with a more modern one, But I used the same intake and exhaust manifolds from the old engine, on it.

 

Recently, the Fuel pressure regulator, that goes in the injector's Common Rail (which is the Fuel input from the Tank) started to Leak, just after reaching 18 years old, so I simply obtained another one, brand new from the Local Kia Dealer, and surprisingly, I found that the Old regulator was made with a yellowish metal, while the new Regulator came in a Shiny, silverish finish; the same happened with the Brake's proportioning valves, as you can see in previous posts.

 

As far as I Know, Kia improved the quiality from certain parts after the production, and this unit should be one of the improved ones.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Old Fuel Pressure Regulator:

 

 

 

Vs the New one:

 

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I changed it because we felt the Smell of Gasoline, despite that it leaked only a drop occasionally, but the car never Failed; however, the position of this thing is right above the alternator... you don't want any Fuel leaks, even less in that area, so I changed it immediately (only took me five minutes) and the car is working very well.

 

Kind Regards.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

No Comments?

Well, I'll continue with my monologue here,

Hoping that this information could be Helpful for other people...

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Blower Motor Woes!

 

 

The Blower on our "KiaStein" started to fail since a couple of months ago; sometimes it worked flawlessly, sometimes it didn't; always the rest of the A/C system worked as it should. Then one day, the Blower completely stopped working. 
 
There was a soft smell like burnt plastic, on the car everytime we used the A/C, since around six months ago...
 
The A/C is a must here in the Caribbean; not due to the warm climate, but due to our huge downpours: It lets us drive safely, by keeping clear the windshield; so, I had to fix it.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

After finding many threads in another websites, regarding same problem, all of them without the proper answer and lacking photos or explanations; like this threads:

~► http://www.kia-forums.com/2g-1998-2001-sephia/69948-2000-sephia-c-blower-motor-issues.html

~► http://www.kia-forums.com/2g-1998-2001-sephia/48073-blower-fan-does-not-work-01-a.html

~► http://www.kia-forums.com/2g-1998-2001-sephia/52048-blower-motor-issues-need-get-fuse.html

I decided to fix that issue, doing my own investigation, reverse engineering and takin' Photos of the process, in order to properly doccument it, and Share the proper answer here, with all you; maybe it is useful.

Also you shall note that the procedures I use, could be used to other cars as well; only being aware of their differences.

So, let me share here with you, all the info regarding how to definitively Solve that issue, in the proper way. Continue reading...

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Relay & Fuse Box Dissection → Repairing Electrical Gremlins
 

 
The purposes of the following posts, are: to Help you understanding the Relay & Fuse Box that came on the second generation of the Kia Sephia; how to find problems in its electrical distribution, and how to repair them in a safe and reliable way. This is an informative and illustrative writeup and I do not assume any responsibility for anything you might do with this information. Always be Careful before attempting any repairs.

If you don't have the Skills / Tools \ Knowledge, better let the professionals to do the repairs for you.

---

 

First Part: The Relay & Fuse Box

 

The Relay & Fuse Box on the second generation of the Kia Sephia, is made by DELPHI, is very compact and complex at the same time; an interesting characteristic of it, is that all the Power input 12V (+) is received on a single point of it, which is a bolt called the "B+" and then, the power is distributed inside the Box, from that point, using a short metal plate for the main outputs, and using a bunch of copper wires for the rest of Relays & Fuses.

Prior to Repair anything, you need to Understand it and how it works; so I share here with you, Photos of the eight layers that compose the Relay & Fuse Box that I dissected, which belonged to a 2000 Kia Sephia, similar to our "KiaStein" so, let's Start!

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The first layer is the upper Cover:



Notice the B+ symbol on the lower right area, this will be our Guide.

Then, it comes the second layer, which is the inner Surface:



Here is where all the Relays & Fuses are Located.

There is a Bolt that receives the Power input at the B+ location.

An average Driver only will access these two layers.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Then, after removing the inner Surface...



(the white squares are nuts, the box unscrews from upside down using a 7 mm socket)

...you will reach the third layer,

which is the "intermediate connections" complex.

Here you can see it, to the left of the inner surface upside down:

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The "intermediate connections" complex...



...goes between the inner surface (or upper base), and...



...the lower Base, where the wiring plugs goes.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Here it gets... "interesting"

 

The "intermediate connections" complex, is a three layer plate, that unites the connections that comes and goes from the car's wiring, with the different Relays and Fuses; it has three plastic layers.

The center one has a bunch of metal pins that goes up and down thru the other two plastic layers; but also, there is a group of various, Non-insulated copper wires hiding on it; that delivers Power 12V (+) to the Relays and Fuses, from the B+ terminal.

 

Also, said copper wires, delivers switching signals among relays:

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

The non-insulated copper wires hiding underneath the "intermediate connections" complex, are held in place by the plastic layer, sandwiched in place, and they makes the complex interconnections by placing its ends pressed in small "V" shaped openings at the base of each metal pin.

 

 

So, if any of these copper wires that are only "touching" the metal pins on the complex, gets dirty, gets moisture, or gets loose and develops an electrical false contact; you Must change the Whole Box, because once you open this, it becomes terribly damaged, and thus means that it is designed from factory to be unrepairable.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I really felt Dissapointed by DELPHI, the makers of these Boxes, because such level of Complexity, requires Better materials and Safer construction... I bet they wanted not only to save space, but also money, with these Boxes that always are working at High temperatures for prolongated periods of time, sometimes in hot humid weathers, and using A/C, Headlamps, Horn, etc... it is a Miracle that these old Kias are still on the Road... and the culprit of their electrical Gremlins, usually are these "Relay & Fuse" Boxes.

I've seen various Kia Sephias that already had lost their headlamp's Low beam, or the A/C's Blower, because the tiny Wiring working, heated the plastics enough to Melt he plugs and / or the plastic that holds the connecting pins, from the "intermediate connections" Complex; causing electrical false contacts and / or burning the connected ends of the Wires, making them to loose their hability to transfer the electrical current in the proper way...

Continue reading, I'll explain how to Fix those electrical issues, later.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

After the three layers that are the "intermediate connections" complex, comes the seventh layer, which is the Lower Base (or under base), it consists in a plastic plate where the aforementioned complex, sits above; and also it is where the four different Plugs with the car's wiring, comes to be attached below, on its underside.

 

 

Here you can see the Lower Base (or under base) with some Plugs still attached:

(The tiny pins comes thru it, from the "intermediate connections" Complex,
these screws are holding everything together; needs a 7mm socket wrench)


Here's the same Lower Base, without the four main Plugs:



(The remaining two plugs, comes directly from the "B+" terminal,
and delivers non-switched, fused Power from the main -big- fuses' line.)


Here you can see in detail, one of the wiring Plugs:



The wires and the metal contacts are tiny.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

After all the above, comes the eight layer: the Lower Cover:

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Everything that was Pictured above, is on this collage Photo:



The parts are aligned here, in the way they goes assembled.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Kia sells brand new Boxes, for these models:

 

And that could be the route to follow, for those lucky ones who has their cars with the wiring and plugs intact, where the electrical problem lies inside the mere Box.

It comes without the plugs as they are part of the Car's wiring, but it is Plug and Play.

However, to find a Sephia with intact wires and plugs is pretty Rare, because the main cause of electrical problems, is the Wiring that gets Hot and usually Melts the Plugs, then Burns the Wires...

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

Others might want to swap Boxes, the old used one from the Sephia with another used one from another Sephia, out from a Junk Yard's car... but who knows if the used one is Good?

The first generation of Kia Spectra, shares a lot with the second generation of the Kia Sephia, even their "Relay & Fuse" Boxes, looks alike, but they're Different; not only in the fact that the Sephia ones have a center bolt to hold the cover on, while the Spectra ones have plastic tabs...

 

 

...they are Wired Differently ... ... so, Dismiss the idea of using a Spectra Box.