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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 18, 2016, 6:59 pm 
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I'd been sending Horizenjob PM as I couldn't find this thread....

Just thought I'd bump it back up as I'm very interested in seeing how this works and if they are going to be available soon.

I have an EEC-IV L1C in my car right now and people are telling me I should get a A9L. Sounds good, but they are running $300 to $600 USD on ebay, so the cheap one, with the conversion, taxes, shipping, etc., it would likely be around $520.00 at my door. Ouch, all to possibly just have it run a bit smoother when idling and to get rid of the CEL.

Marcus said he should have an update it a couple days.

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 21, 2016, 1:59 pm 
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Well let's start working on some updates! Life has intervened a bit the last 2 months so some progress has been slower than hoped for. On the other hand progress is being made on updates and improvements I am already figuring out from having got this board this far. Updates are a little hard to write now because I am working on many fronts and am not sure where to begin or how to organize writing about what I am doing.

I suppose like many of our builds it can start with a picture of the build table. :) And here it is. In those boxes are the parts that have been ordered to put on the circuit boards. I took one of the parts reels out to show you. These reels are placed in a robot which will put them on the board accurately with solder in a paste form and then the boards are run thru an oven. The reel in the picture is 7" in diameter and is holding 5000 resistors. It turns out these particular resistors have no resistance, which I find sort of humorous.

Those boxes have everything needed for the automated assembly and it looks like the files for the robot to do placement are correct. There were 3 incorrect footprints for caps, but I think they will work or I will hand put in the alternates. Speaking of which I will also be getting a proper soldering setup for these boards along with a 14 MP USB microscope to see what I am doing. The soldering station has very accurate temperature control and heated tweezers so you can add / remove the little parts easily.

All of these parts are automotive rated which applies extended temperature service and also a great deal more testing of parts during production with lot control etc. to produce more reliable parts. They also cost more for the same part, sometimes 2 or 3 times as much. The modern ECU is not expensive to build though and there is no need to cut any corners. Si I am trying to buy the best parts available.

All OEM ECU's are built to high standards. I think the units we use are subject to more handling and potential wiring mishaps etc. so I think building in some additional protection is a sensible thing. The prototype boards have additional protection above what you probably find on an OEM ECU. For example sensor inputs with voltage clamps which react in 1/4 of one billionth of a second when hit with a static charge. If I remember, they cost a whole 9 cents per channel.

I'm willing to go into depth on almost anything about this and actually have a lot more to say about what I've learned the last year doing this project. Probably the best things to try to cover next would be some practical stuff about our little 302 buddies, wiring for these and what ever else you guys want.


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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 22, 2016, 8:15 am 
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Uhhh... Marcus... Maybe it's just me, but I don't see a picture... :(

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 22, 2016, 11:29 am 
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GonzoRacer wrote:
Uhhh... Marcus... Maybe it's just me, but I don't see a picture... :(


Its just you..... :D

So Marcus, my electrical knowledge is limited, please bear with me, but if I understand correctly what your attempting to do, I think I'm interested.

Is this basically a programmable replacement EEC/ECU or MegaSquirt alternative if you will? If your looking for input specific to the 302, I think my biggest concerns would be usability with either an auto or standard transmission, ability to bypass the EGR, and basic tunabilitly.

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 22, 2016, 2:04 pm 
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Actually I just forgot to hit the upload button after I picked the file. I fixed it after Gonzo noticed.

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So Marcus, my electrical knowledge is limited, please bear with me, but if I understand correctly


I think that works perfect, I need a basic test case. Since you are in Canada and Gonzo is in Florida that helps me to decide to buy the really good wiring with the -60C - 150C temperature rating.

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Is this basically a programmable replacement EEC/ECU or MegaSquirt alternative if you will?


This is a standalone ECU is a good description. It is completely programmable and is intended for simple V8 and more complicated 4's. You use TunerStudio to talk with the unit. If you need to use this soon that's hard to depend on. These are prototype units so I'm not going to charge you for it. I'll also update it with new hardware if this one has flaws that I'm fixing in the next boards. In return I need you to be a little patient as we get it going. The code already runs on a breadboard and appears to generate the signals to run the engine, so we're not starting from scratch.

So something we ( Trochu, Gonzo, Marcus and any helpful minions ) need to do is identify the Ford and other parts suitable to run these engines. Part of this is knowing where you guys are starting and where you want to end up. I'll start a thread about our little SBF 302 buddies. One issue we may have is that I don't think the ECU code supports distributors. I will run individual coils or wasted spark. The Ford Exploder V8's ran wasted spark, I think. We can put info about that in the 302 thread.
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18108&p=216198#p216198

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 24, 2016, 12:02 am 
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So Marcus, it won't work with a Ford V6? You only mentioned V8's and I4's.

Cheers,

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 24, 2016, 1:32 am 
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No problems with sixes, I don't know why I said it that way. It's not up to complicated engines yet though - things like valve timing etc.

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 24, 2016, 8:35 am 
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I have been watching this for quite some time, I am hoping to get my car on the road this summer so looking forward to an alternative to the the ford ecc4 for my turbo lima 2.3
Dale


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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 31, 2016, 2:11 pm 
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Marcus,

I was looking at the megasquirt V2 and thought back to this thread. I would rather support your venture then shell out money to some a hole I don't know.

I'd be a paying guinea pig if you think it'd work with a BMW I6! Currently uses a motronic 1.0 ECU, which uses a vaned AFM, as opposed to a MAF, and I would love to do a MAF conversion. Unfortunately, I'd be looking at ~$1k all said and done just to ditch the stupid flappy wheel intake thing.

Let me know how many doll hairs you'd be looking for - I may even be able to meet you in person. I live just shy of the Mass border anywho.

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: March 31, 2016, 6:17 pm 
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1055 wrote:
motronic 1.0 ECU, which uses a vaned AFM, as opposed to a MAF, and I would love to do a MAF conversion.

I believe you want MAP and not MAF. It's a bit of a jihad issue and some OEM actually uses a combination of MAF and MAP, but anyway.

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: April 1, 2016, 2:37 pm 
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1055 writes:
Quote:
I was looking at the megasquirt V2 and thought back to this thread. I would rather support your venture then shell out money to some a hole I don't know.


Sorry slow to get back to this. We can work something out.Keep in mind my ECU has not run a motor yet. So keep watching progress and well see what happens. :D

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: April 1, 2016, 3:52 pm 
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russian2 wrote:
1055 wrote:
motronic 1.0 ECU, which uses a vaned AFM, as opposed to a MAF, and I would love to do a MAF conversion.

I believe you want MAP and not MAF. It's a bit of a jihad issue and some OEM actually uses a combination of MAF and MAP, but anyway.



nope.. The BMW uses a vaned air flow meter and special program to judge the air mass entering the motor. its essentially an early early MAP sensor. I'm looking to drop the AFM and convert to a traditional mass air flow sensor. There is currently only one conversion kit on the market to the tune of $400 for a MAF!! :?

No thanks! I could buy a dissasembled mega squirt and turbo brick MAF for that money.

theoretically, I could make my own sheet metal intake and run a MAP in speed density as well, but the project is nowhere near that stage.


Marcus; I know it hasn't run a motor yet - But I've also seen the car9 and have more than a little faith in you. I'm nowhere near being able to start my car - so I've got time.

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: April 1, 2016, 4:42 pm 
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Quote:
But I've also seen the car9 and have more than a little faith in you.


Thank-you, that's nice to hear. I just spent a whole slogging thru Ford parts and feel like I don't know anything anymore. :rofl: Like the episode in "Married With Children" when they teach Kelly Bundy one thing too many and she forgets her name...

We're starting to get enough LocostUSA people in the NorthEast that we should get together once or twice this spring-summer-fall. We have 3 new tracks now in our area, or we could have a picnic at the Car Museum in Boston when they have an English car gathering or something...

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: April 1, 2016, 4:53 pm 
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I wanted to get the Miata out on Thomson before I sold it - that didn't happen. Part of my hopes for when I finish my car is one of those tracks... maybe with one of your ECU's in it!

I would like a group meeting - I think I've seen four people in CT alone that are fairly active.

Blake seems to have fallen off the face of the earth though, so maybe 3?

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 Post subject: Re: A locost EFI
PostPosted: April 5, 2016, 10:36 am 
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Marcus,

Keep thinking back to this. Skimmed through the thread and didn't see anything glaring about it. Maybe I missed it because I'm running on little sleep, or maybe it hasn't been discussed yet.

Are you designing this with the intention of speed density tuning? or will it have allocations for both a MAF and MAP?

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