ECU project ?

[john1]

Hi,

Ive been asked to look into the possibility of making some sort of ECU project.
My first thought is that there might be some open source systems available.

It is possible that a laptop could be used along with suitable connectors,
if there are any open source programs along these lines.

Any suggestions ?

John

 

[KMoffett]

John,

"ECU" ????????

Assuming this not TXT SPCH, please elaborate.

Ken

 

[ericgibbs]

John,

"ECU" ????????

Assuming this not TXT SPCH, please elaborate.

Ken

hi Ken.

Engine Control Unit, for motor vehicles, also known as EMU, Engine Management Units.

Sounds a major project, I dont think I would like to tackle it, probably end up blowing up the car engine.

 

[3v0]

MegaSquirt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Chaerl]

Hi, if you mean ECU as Engine Control Unit, forget about it. In the automotive world, it takes 2 years to develop such system. The design stage would probably runs up to 6 months and 1 1/2 years for testings and redesign. Yes, you can connect ECU to a PC or Laptop using CANcards with CANoe software.

But if it is Electronic Control Unit, mainly controlling something, you can do PC interfacing for that.

 

[3v0]

Hi, if you mean ECU as Engine Control Unit, forget about it. In the automotive world, it takes 2 years to develop such system. The design stage would probably runs up to 6 months and 1 1/2 years for testings and redesign. Yes, you can connect ECU to a PC or Laptop using CANcards with CANoe software.

But if it is Electronic Control Unit, mainly controlling something, you can do PC interfacing for that.

The OP is looking for a open source project to start from. That does not mean starting from scratch. The link I provided is just that.

People have been doing DIY ECU's for over 10 years!

 

[Chaerl]

Don't rely on open source, simple bugs can be worst for your car, especially during driving. I'm not saying that the link you've given is bad, but we need to see the test results and analysis as well, such WCA, DFMEA and others... Somehow in automotive, safety first. We even had a hard time to present a power door and window design to our customers (Ford, VW, BMW, etc.), how much more for an ECU.

But then, if its just a project, its fine but don't use it directly to you're car.

 

[3v0]

@Chaerl
There is a huge differance between designing a product (been there) and constructing one for yourself.

What is the danger with a DIY fuel injection system. Maybe the car will not run, maybe it will ruin the motor. The people doing this sort of thing are willing to take these risks. I would be much more worried if they were designing a steering or brake system.

3v0

 

[DirtyLude]

MegaSquirt has been used on hundreds of cars, if not thousands. There's kits and everything for sale, but it's a seriously basic system.

It's not that hard to make your own speed density system if you have electronics/microcontroller experience, but it sounds like the original poster does not have. Obviously getting it accepted by an OEM is going to be difficult, but that's not what we are doing here.

If you are asking whether you can use your PC as an ECU, No. Oddly enough, the PC is not a real time device. An ECU requires real time timing calculation and triggering.

 

[Chaerl]

@Chaerl
There is a huge differance between designing a product (been there) and constructing one for yourself.

What is the danger with a DIY fuel injection system. Maybe the car will not run, maybe it will ruin the motor. The people doing this sort of thing are willing to take these risks. I would be much more worried if they were designing a steering or brake system.

3v0

I know the difference (I'm still here in the automotive design, and at the same time I mocking my car with electronics).

I just wanted for others to have caution in doing this, I almost had an accident while driving cause I modified something with my fuel injection pump. I drive at quite a high speed and suddenly, my engine just shuts down. Fortunately, I manage to stop the car without any injury or cause harm to other motorist. It could have been worst.

All I'm saying, and its my opinion, there are hidden dangers in doing this. Go for the risk, I myself is a risk taker for cars, but safety first. When I design something for my car, it normally takes me 6 months before put it in my car. I normally do analysis and simulations before I put for a test.

 

[3v0]

I understand where you are comming from and agree in principal if not in degree.

If loss of engine power is dangerous the car is poorly designed. It happens every time a car runs out of gas.

When power steering was new there were some problems with it when the engine was not running. That was over 50 years ago.

One would think (and in some cases be wrong) that anyone smart enough to get a DIY EFI engine to run would be smart enough to realize there is some danger.

The dergee of danger also depends on where you drive the car. In heavy traffic it would be more so then on a nearly deserted street.

 

[Chaerl]

I agree, definitely.

In my case, the car is not poorly designed, but poorly modified. a 1987 sedan box type with a kia besta 2.2 desiel engine and other part as collected from different car makers (toyota, honda, nissan, etc.). When I added the design, works fine for 3days, and then died. I was driving in Philippines with on speed limits but with lots of pot holes. In my case, lot of possible dangers. LOL

 

[john1]

Hi KMoffett, ericgibbs, 3v0, Chaerl, DirtyLude,
Thank you all for your replies.

This project would be to display on a PC screen, the information from the ECU outlet port on the car.

This project would not be for altering the engine management controls.

This project would be principally to assist in fault-finding.

*****************

I have visited a few 'Open source' type internet pages, but i am unclear about the program downloads offered.

They seem to be aimed at people wanting to alter the existing management controls.
All i am looking for is a display, to show the signals from the various sensors around the engine/car.

Such a display is a far more within the scope of a computer.

*****************

Altering parameters within the control unit would probably require a box of tricks to re-program settings that are not normally accessible.
And probably also a much deeper in depth knowledge of the particular unit used.
This is not the intention here, and probably could not be done using a computer alone.

*****************

This project is to help to get things running properly, not to alter them.
Mainly for engines that wont run properly, or not at all.

*****************

The guy that asked me to look into this has not been back yet, but he has told me that he has obtained some of the necessary leads to couple on to the 'port' on a vehicle, usually under the bonnet.

I am still reading through the stuff about 'Opendiag' and 'Freediag' and 'Scantool', but so far i dont think they are quite what i am looking for.

I just want a display from the engine 'port'.

John

 

[3v0]

For about $50 US you can buy a scanner designed to extract the info from the ECU of most cars. Does one exist for this car. Or is the person asking for more information that an off the shelf scanner provides ?

 

[john1]

Thats very interesting.
Could you tell me a bit more about that please.

John

 

[DirtyLude]

It's an OBD I or OBD II scanner. If you can't use that, then your best bet would be to get some already built datalogging peripheral out there, cuz it sounds like you really have no starting point on this. Just Google "Engine Datalogging".

 

[Chaerl]

So you're actually looking for a some sort of diagnoser. This actually depends on the system of the car used. You can to see about autosar. If the car is using this, maybe (i'm not sure) you may able to see the errors.

Normally, the diagnostic results are saved in a external eeprom of an ECU, but not at all case.

 

[edeca]

It depends what you want to spend. I have an inexpensive one, check any of these pages:

**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**

"OBD2 fault code reader" is a good search term. Some manufacturers have their own protocols so check it works with your vendor.

 

[3v0]

There are several different systems used by automakers and each needs its own scanner.

What make of car are we talking about.

 

[john1]

Hi, DirtyLude, Chaerl, edeca, 3v0,

Many thanks DirtyLude, i Googled "OBD2 software" and found a site called "OBD2 crazy" which is most informative on this subject.

Put simply, it seems i am looking to couple a PC to the 'On Board Diagnostics', and the vehicle connector needs what they call a 'Converter' to go between them.

Further, there is only partial standardising between manufacturers for the OBD2 system.

I will have to look at this further, and get back to the person who initiated these inquiries. It might be that he has a converter of sorts.

Cheers, John