DIY: Tein EDFC Active Install
 

Before I get started I want everyone to know that there will be many different ways you can wire this in. I found this method worked really well for me, but you may install it in a different way.



First let’s make sure we have everything we need in the package. Does it all look complete and in good condition? Yep! Let’s get cracking!

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I decided to start with the EDFC motors as they are a breeze to install, and will be the same process on all 4 corners.

First we remove the rubber boot on top of the click wheel.

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Now use the supplied wrench to remove the click wheel itself to expose the inner screw.

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You can either use the click wheel itself or an allen key to remove the inner screw from the damper.

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Take the new supplied inner screw and give it a dab of grease and insert it into the top of the damper and spin it down until it is flush with the top of the damper.


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Use a small amount of the supplied thread locker around the male damper rod.

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Insert the EDFC motor down into the new small screw(without threading the motor onto the shaft) and make 3 full rotations of the motor using a flat head screwdriver, this will allow for the proper clearance of the EDFC motor and the small screw to prevent binding when the motor is maxed out in either direction.

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Once you confirm a full 3 rotations, you can thread the motor down onto the damper. Remember the front and rear motors will be a different size, so make sure you check before proceeding.
You will want to spin the motor down onto the damper until it stops, then make sure it is nice and snug.

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Test the motor by spinning it using a flat head screwdriver. You want to make sure there is no binding and that the motor spins freely. If you do experience resistance, remove the motor, check for any damage, and repeat the steps above.
The process will be identical for all 4 corners, but it should go much quicker now that you have some experience under your belt.



With the wiring and placement of the Controller, Drivers, and wiring looms, you may install it different than I have, but I found this to be fairly simple and clean. *Note, make sure you write down the Serial Number on the Drivers in the note section in the instruction manual, as you will need to reference this when programming the control unit.
With the Tein EDFC Active kit, you will receive the 2 Wireless Drivers, and the Control Unit which all need a power (12V accessory) and a Ground. After searching in the trunk and the engine bay, I deiced to hook all 3 up to the 12V Accessory Plug in the center console.

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Tein provides plenty of wire to run it up to the engine bay and to the back of the car, so I decided to mount the rear driver in the Styrofoam just behind the rear passenger seat. I did have to trim some of the foam out, but the end result looked fantastic and 100% hidden with the interior in the car.

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I was able to run the power wire under the rear seat, to the power source at the center console. I grounded it using the control unit located in the driver side of the trunk.

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For the front Driver, I located it on the driver side firewall just behind the fender and ran a single extension harness up along the plastic cowl and to the passenger side damper. I was able to run the power wire through the firewall grommet, under the foot well carpet and to the power source in the center console. I used the factory grounding point on the driver side front frame rail.

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Now for the control unit itself, I decided to mount it just above the HVAC knobs on the passenger side. I did have to drill a small hole to run the wires into the dash.
I did not want to make the hole too large, so I de-pinned the harness plug, ran the wires through the dash, and re-pinned it.
*Note Make sure you take good pictures of the wire orientation before you remove the pins, so you can reference this when plugging the pins back in.

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Use the supplied double sided sticky tape to secure the controller to the dash. Make sure you use alcohol swabs to clean off any dirt or grease.

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Now let’s mount the optional GPS sensor. We needed to make sure there was not anything significant blocking the signal to the satellites, but I also did not want to have a sensor stuck to our dash, or the rear deck lid. I decided to see if there was any room under the speaker grill on the dash, and sure enough, there is just enough room to squeeze it in there.

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This is also a great location for the GPS sensor as you can easily hide the wire by running it out of the side of the speaker grill, and down the side of the dash, eventually tucking the wire in between the dash and the door frame. Then run it up under the dash and to the control units wiring harness.

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Speaker with GPS installed, looks OEM!

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Now plug in the drivers, control unit and GPS and turn the key to "Accessory" to make sure the unit powers up and you can hear all 4 motors self-calibrating. Once you confirm everything is working, you can either use the pre-programmed settings, or you can dial in your own. We had to set ours up so that each driver was responding appropriately to the inputs on the control unit. It is very simple, but I would recommend following the instruction manual for a step by step walkthrough.

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End result is very clean, and you can only see the wires if you really look hard.

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We did have to trim the rear carpet for the EDFC motors to fit.

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I hope this was a helpful guide to get you started on installing your own EDFC Active Kit. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Thanks,
Rick

nice ive been waiting for this.. send me a quote please!!!

PM Sent :)

Thanks,
Rick

Pics of the controller mounted?!

I thought I had it in there, but nope! lol. :)


Here it is:
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Thanks,
Rick

Let me know if anyone has any questions! Always happy to help :)

Thanks,
Rick

This looks amazing. I am intrigued.

Are the new Tein Flex Z or Flex As EDFC compatible?

More pics of where you have the cable sin the engine bay would help me out. I had a lot of excess cable.. I ziptied it and put it in the top of the fender.

They use only one extender for the right side, I think, and route it on the cable on the firewall. The left side is directly plug on the receiver I guess : less cable to hide !

Watch out when you tune your front height, unplug your motors before or you might cut their cable because all of the upper parts will turn with the coil, including the motors !

On the rear I put a U shaped metal protection around the motors to avoid heavy stuff in the trunk to hurt bad the motors...

I don't like a little bit seeing "CAUTION HOT!" warning on something mounted in styrofoam (which probably has not too high melting temperature and is good heat insulator to accumulate it, no?). I'd think of rather mounting it via bolting onto some metallic surface. Even if somewhere in boot and it will require cutting out a bit from standart styrofoam bits (from below). For example mounting place - i replaced standard tyre repair kit with spacesaver 17" donut .. but even with it in boot there is place on it's sides in that recess for spare wheel.

Still, thanks for DIY, this is product that seems rather interesting to me.

Only the side marked "hot" is supposed to be really hot, styrofoam is cut from top to bottom so no styrofoam is in contact with the hot side. But the carpet is...

It's a hell of a product, worth every penny !

Did you have any binding issues?

My front passenger side doesn't turn freely and does not go past level 10. The weird thing is the hex screw turns like butter without the motor and the motor turns like butter when not screwed onto the strut. So, it seems like the strut rod outer thread is not parallel to the inner threads? Any suggestions?

I have the older Tein Monoflex coilovers.

No binding issue so far...
Did you preset the motor as described in the installation guide ? The motor may have reach its bottom limit when it is at 10.