Here is further review and explaination of the Racepak Smartwire System.
For those of you wanting a better way to wire your car.

Smartwire install Dec 2016...


During the start of the off season I decided to rewire the race car. Updating a 1968 Plymouth was a scary proposition given the fact that forty-nine years of adding deleting and modifying the factory wiring had taken place without the use of any plan or diagram. So the choice of what to do was pretty simple, remove every wire attached to an electrical component (fuel pump, fan, etc.). The only circuits that were left in the car was the stock lighting because nothing was touched in the forty-nine years that I’ve owned it (it all works perfect to this day).
After researching a replacement system it was clear that updating the wiring system to the 21st century was the way to go. All current automobile systems use power distribution modules with some high end manufactures using pure electronic systems that eliminate fuses, relays and various other components that are mechanical.

So choosing a totally programmable PDM (power distribution module) was the next task at hand and the three that are used in racing today are Motec PDM’s , Racepak Smartwire, and Syvecs PDM’s Since Motec and Syvecs are offshore based and mainly geared for sports and road race cars, parts pieces and support could be a problem. The choice then was Racepak Smartwire based in California and since I already have a Racepak V300sd and IQ3 digital dash the choice was easy. Smartwire is compact unit (a little over 1.5 lbs.) with one power stud to attach a 12 or 16volt battery wire to and two 23 pin connectors for input controls and current outputs.

I purchased a Drag Smartwire system that comes with a wiring harness that has labeled wires for each powered component and external switched input, a switch panel, and a cable to attach the switch panel to the Smartwire PDM. The bonus feature is that it’s pre-programmed from Racepak which makes it plug and play. It took longer to remove the spaghetti (old wiring) than it did to wire it up with Smartwire.

The absolute beauty of Smartwire is that it’s totally programmable meaning that you can wire any switch on the switch panel to any output or outputs. Combine two output wires (2x20amps=40amps) for high current applications. And you can test and program each wire channel for current demands right in the software itself. Also, if you have an IQ3 digital dash or data logger with VNET you can program each channel to start and stop current on conditions that you choose like don’t start the radiator fan until the water temp reaches 150 degrees. Hundreds of conditions are possible, for example on condition that the ignition switch is on and the oil pressure is above 10psi turn on the fuel pump (but you also have a physical pump switch for priming and testing).
So for any of you thinking about a wiring project and not afraid of computers it is amazing what is possible.

I know that the ARC 8000 is a great analog system and it works, BUT this is my replacement!