megasquirt woes !
 

im still struggling to get an rpm signal to my megasquirt ! im really down in the dumps about it ! ive tried allsorts even bolted a vr sensor and a new 36-1 toothed wheel onto my crank pulley and still no joy the tooth logger doesnt see a signal of a passing tooth either !

anyone got any ideas

gotta sort it soon or im going to start considering the alternative !!! break it to get some cash back !!!! :eek:

what software , code and version are you using ?
I know it sound silly but have yopu 100000% checked your basic settings
engine constants and trigger settings

Michael

Ms2 extra and im frazzled on the rest i have tried uploading an msq and help file to the ms forum 3 days now and still waiting for a message to say the posts ok for going live !!

Been conversing with phil and ive sent an msq to him this evening the annoying thing is the tunerstudio tooth logger doesnt register teeth or trigger ? Ive tested the sensor the wiring for continuity adjusted the pots ???

Can a ford crank sensor magnet degrade ?? Im thinking as the sensor is second hand may be my issue ?? As ive tried everything else so far !!

it may sound like a daft question but what is your trigger wheel made of. i only ask because i went to help someone that has a similar issue and found the problem immediately. the trigger wheel was made out of ali.

who built the ecu? have you checked the ms board to make sure the correct input path path bridges are in place

Ive moved from the std vauxhall wheel as my original sensor was fubar ! The new sensor (oem. ) is no good as the ecu is set for vr not hall effect plus i couldnt find any documentation on the sensor wiring for oem.

Switched to trigger wheels universal trigger wheel ( bought the wideband from them too )and its steel ;-) and sourced x 2 ford sensors from a scrap yard. Both tested ok with the multimeter changing resistance upon waving metal.

I did try retro fitting a ford vr sensor down the old vaux sensor to see if that would work with the std wheel 60-2 and std 114 deg setting
. No joy !

The ecu was built by phil at extra efi and his aftersales is bob on but many thinkers find ye problem ! Ive got to do a data log of the ford sensor in both polaritys tomorrow but i know im not receiving any rpm in either wiring condition

Just really really getting me down now ive overcome some quite large challenges on my build now im being taunted by electronic gremlins !

Soo wish id found a sierra now in the first place ! Would have saved me at least 1k

If you have a multimeter, when cranking you shoul see 3-6v ac out the sensor

is it a redtop? their crank angle is 114deg and they have a vr sensor i have set a couple up now. if its a 3 wire sensor one of the three will be a shield wire. if you wasn't so far away i would pop round and get it running for you

Ive tested it with a multimeter and fet just over 1v ac when cranking ? Does that indicate a knackered sensor as thats the only thing thats second hand !!
Its an ecotec so rather ghan c20xe its an x20xev same thing basically but less hp by 16 which i think the itb,s should make up with a bloody crank signal !! The original sensor was hall effect new one is vr ford zetec

When I played with the mega jolt system I had to play around with the sensor bracket to get a good signal, mounted it as close to the pick up as possible
Are you using descent shielded cable? And earth the shield
Never seen a mega squirt system does it use a edis module to run the ignition or does the mega jolt box control the lot?

Sorry it's 0.3-0.6v ac out the sensor, my multimeter is auto range so use to looking at the numbers, so yours sounds in range

Ive got 0.3 mm between the sensor and wheel and using the shielded cable
Phil supplied in his loom. Ive checked the continuity of the cables and the earth still no joy :-(

Is the polarity of the cable correct? I know you get an error on Megajolt if the polarity of the crank sensor is incorrect. Then the next step is checking all the earths are good and without interference.

Its times like this that make a carb and a set points look very attractive:eek:

Bob

or using the OEM ECU! :)

ok lets ask a real dumb questions and go trough this one bit at a time and may i ask was it s/h, self built or pre built?

1. does your ecu all work ok on a stim? with a vr input running does your ecu get rpm's, sync and work ok if it dont its not going to work on a car! (recheck it)
also have a look at the tooth logger in tuner studio
2. on a ms v3 pcb there are 2 pots to ajust the vr circuit there is a bit in the build manual to pre set them before making running ajustments this may get it going on a stim or on the car
3. what restince do you get between the two signel pins of your pick up (not cranking)
4. with the vr sensor conected directly to a multimeater in V AC what voltage do you get (whip the plugs out to get it spinning better)

do thease bits and we can go from there :)

rob if your totally at your whit's end and feel like binning the lot send me the ecu and the sensor and i will check it out for you foc. having built/repaired quite a few ms's im pretty good at fault finding them now.

I don't normally offer my services out as it am pretty short on time these days but I hate to see someone struggling.

I am at a loss as to the benefits of these megasquirt systems. I was looking on the website and costwise they are not a country mile away from the emerald/dta prices. With that and all the apparent problems most people have getting them sorted is it a good move? The model numbers go on for ever without any explanation as to the functions . The ones I have seen that look any good that are in a decent case with proper plugs are not cheap. Just thoughts and a rant.:)
http://www.megasquirtuk.co.uk/index.html


Bob

Well like ash I don't like to see people struggle I also have a stim to test it if you want to send it to me but before you do anything I would do the bits in my last post first.
If you can. I sent you my number a few days ago to help you get to the bottom of your problems.

I think ms gets a lot of bad press from people who get problems or don't know how it works it is quiet complicated.

If its a pro built unit you could get them to test it for you

megasquirt is one of those things where if you understand it fully its very easy. if you dont understand it, you dont bother and get an omex etc. the issue is with all the people in-between. some get most of it an get by, some dont know how it works but are capable of following the manuals with a bit of outside help then there are people that just go for it because its cheep with no intention of learning anything.


here is the deal.... MEGASQUIRT IS AN EDUCATIONAL EXERCISE (its clearly stated on their website) the ecu at the end of the process is the result of what you have learnt, if you dont bother to learn or lack the intellectual capacity the output at the end wont work.

clearly rob wants to learn and for people like him there is huge network of people over on the ms forums. but keep in mind if you come across as someone that is not willing to learn or too lazy to read what is already in a manual there wont be any help.

and as for value an un assembled ms3 kit with the ms3 expansion board works out at £300. but you have to learn about it and build it!

an omex 710 which doesn't do quite as much but has all the main features like fully sequential, cop support, turbo control features etc will cost you £1000.

personally i would say if you want an off the shelf built ecu the omex is the better option but you will pay a bit more for it

"here here"
think you got it in a nut shell there ash:D

better still use the oem ecu ....they spent millions developing systems to work for 100's of thousands of miles, I kinda get the inkling they might just know what they are doing....oh and FREE with a donor:D

So what your saying is start at the at the beginning with a box of bits, read all the tutorials and by the time you have built it you would understand the whole thing inside out. Now that makes sense to me but to buy a second hand unit that a man in a shed practised his soldering and electronics education on doesn`t. Too many of these things out there up for grabs cheap that are an unknown quantity and potential mega ballache minus the squirt.

Bob

its a bit like building a car from nothing realy you know the thing inside out when its done but if you think its just the case of welding a few bits together anyold how you will get somthing that may not work right at the end.

i will point out one big thing! as you builld your ms pcb up you tailor its circuits to what your running and with the parts your using in your system.
that is why you have to be very careful what you buy prebuilt s/h or new

It really depends on what you want. If like me you were looking for an DIY tuneable engine management system that you can just plug in, get running and go drive the car, then Megasquirt is not the way to go. People see how cheap it appears to be and think they're getting an omex or emerald and its only cheap 'cos you have to build it. In fact its not as cheap to build as through solder components are now quite expensive relatively speaking.
Megasquirt is cheap because its 'prototype', 'educational', lacks the refinement of othe systems especially with regard to robustness and lacks the proving out that normally associates 'production' type systems.
Not only do you have to 'learn how to configure and build the megasquirt but you have to learn how to use it as well and how to 'map' your engine at t end of it.
In other words if the end result is to wind up with an engine management you can fit to a car and map then its an interesting learning experience, if you just want something to plug in and start mapping straight away then get something else, megasquirt I not for you.

I found it a real pita trying to get the hardware I had to work with megasuirt. Its easier to use the hardware and sensors Bowling and Grippo recomend. Trying to configure the system was the main headache for me, all I really wanted was an engine magangement I could plug in and get mapping - I abandoned megasquirt and went with omex as I didn't have the time to make it work. Also at that time few rolling road specialists had knowledge of megasquirt and didn't really want to get involved with the mapping.

Heh, well, considering everything said on this thread, I will get my car on the road with the stock ECU, and I'll bring an MS2 kit the next time I go to the States. I think I'll try to make an adapter out of a plug from another EEC-IV ECU so I can make the transition as painless as possible, and have an easy way to revert if it does not work for some reason.

I am a geek and I enjoy soldering and electronics.

well only today did i set up my own built ms2 to my own rebuilt zetec thats bolted into my own built chassis and ran up the engine and while it was idleing away happly up to temp could say i did all of that i could myself :p
very satisfying to know you did everything possible to do what you could within your abilities to build a car

the effort is all worth it come the end :cool:

Jeeze didnt know id started a bit of a debate but an update for you all.

Megasquirt went back to phil at extra efi who built it for me for the second time and for the second time tested fine on the stim however would not work On the bench with my loom and sensor ( sent it all back ) good job i did !! The amplifier circuit has been replaced and the issue has now been overcome .

Phil is bamboozled but totally great support at all times just hope it works when it gets back this time.

It is what it is !

As for the oem ecu i have used honda looms and ecus in projects past but ... The vauxhall x20xev from the omega wants to see doors and windows for the immobiliser and is notoriously poor in the omega as standard !! Too many sensors. And the wiring diagrams for the vaux are what my puppy keeps laying in my garden ! Dog 5h!¥

Hi Rob
Been watching your posts and feeling your pain. must have been sooooo frustrating.
Hope you soon get up and running:)

to be honest it has been but at least it wasnt me doing something wrong ;)
it should be sorted now so hopefully a startup video will be coming soon !

i havent had time for the project of late work and family commitments getting tattooed on my days off and the frustrations of the lecci gremlins have kept me away hopefully i can crack on again soon tattoo is nearly finished so no excuse now !
:D

good to hear your vr circuit is sorted now i knew it was something silly:confused: phill @ extraefi has a very good rep and i hear from others he is very helpful as is matt from diyautotune both offer support via the megasquirt forums.
this s why it pays to get your megasquirt from a proper dealer

you will have her running soon then:)