what would you do? EFI conversion issues - Page 2

RickM · RickM's Garage

Perhaps you can overnight your laptop to the shop and ask them to bench test with the equipment they have at hand.
Also, I have a serial tester if you'd like to use.....

Vipergrün · 03-10-2006, 11:36 AM

Make sure your port is configured correctly. This is a cable/laptop issue, not an ECU issue, in my humble opinion, of course. You need to make sure the OS port settings match the settings in the MS software.

rfuerst911sc · 03-10-2006, 02:37 PM

bb80sc I agree I have a config problem, unfortunately I may not know enough about computers to fix this. Do any of you "IT" guys think I would get better/more stable communication useing the USB port with a DB9 adapter/converter?

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

Yes, and most of the USB versions have some debug software with them.

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

You know I forgot to post something last night, you may need to mach the flow control settings to the MSII, do this here:

and then right click on the COM port and select properties..

try setting it to Xon/Xof or see of Megasquit has a required com port setting and match your settings to it.

Vipergrün · 03-10-2006, 08:42 PM

Cool, between what Scott posted, and this from MS, should be able to get close. Also, in MS, under Communications menu, select the Diagnostic Log option and look in that log file after you make the attempt to communicate with the ECU. I don't know where the log location will be, but probably in the same as the MS install directory. I agree with Scott in testing the various flow control settings.

niner11 · 03-10-2006, 09:41 PM

All of this is good info. If you can't get megasquirt up and running in a few days consider finding someone in your area who is familar with ms and has experience configuring pc's.

Orlando is a big place and your best bet is to have a fellow ms'er help you out. This setup is anything but plug and play and there will be more problems down the road.

Maybe post something on the ms forums and see if anyone local responds.

rfuerst911sc · 03-11-2006, 04:07 AM

Thanks guys I really appreciate all the advice. Most of what has been suggested we have already tried but not all. As far as I'm concerned if it doesn't run by Sunday I'm changing something, either another brand of ECU or PMO's as 2 months of chasing this ghost has worn me out. To be honest I thought ( my error ) that the Megasquirt was much more plug and play than it is, not sure if it's the same for other ECU's? I'll post my weekend results.

Vipergrün · 03-11-2006, 04:14 AM

I really think you should stick it out and get it working. I cannot imagine how insane you will go if you buy another ECU and have the same issue

I'll be in Orlando in a couple of weeks and may have some free time if you want a hand.. Heck, you could even try calling Best Buy and have them send out a Geek Squad dood and work on it right there and have them bring a couple different DB9 cables as well.

dean · 03-11-2006, 04:39 AM

I don't think any EFI systems are plug and play if you DIY. You are going to have to fiddle with something. If one important check box or # is wrong your motor will not run or not run very well. My DTA system did run the first time I tried it and it has been running for 2 years. But it could use more fiddling with to get it to run better. So EFI can be very frustrating and very rewarding.

ssetek · 03-11-2006, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dean
I don't think any EFI systems are plug and play if you DIY. You are going to have to fiddle with something. If one important check box or # is wrong your motor will not run or not run very well. My DTA system did run the first time I tried it and it has been running for 2 years. But it could use more fiddling with to get it to run better. So EFI can be very frustrating and very rewarding.

verry true but most other efi sytems do not have any comm issues and as long as you have your trigger setups in the ecu right and sensor gaps right they will start, as far as getting your dta to run a little better thats a tuning issue not a ecu issue.

irnwill · 03-11-2006, 06:54 AM

I'll be in Davenport visiting Disney Sunday thru Wed.
I can pack my laptop, cables, stim and my backup
MS1 ECU if you want.
I don't have much experience working with MS2
but I have put together my own ECU and stim
and I've been running megasquirt for almost 2 years.

rfuerst911sc · 03-11-2006, 07:01 AM

irnwill that is a very generous offer, are you saying you will be in Orlando tomorrow ( Sunday ) or next week? You can PM me and we can work out details. Thank you very much.

Vipergrün · 03-11-2006, 07:09 AM

To good people!

WERK I · WERK I's Garage

It sounds like a comm issue, but that leaves a lot of options on the table.
I am assuming the motor has never been started since the ITB/MS conversion. If so, have you determined the board is wired up correctly to power? Check to make sure you don't have any "floating grounds" on your harness. Are those LED's on the chassis for diagnostics? Do they indicate the various CPU state level on power up?

911Mac · 03-11-2006, 07:13 AM

Ok, I'm a little confused. You had some earlier posts with questions about your TPS sensor. If you can't get your laptop communicating with MSII, how would you know what the TPS readings are? You need to carefully define what is going on so you're not trying to fix the wrong thing.

1. Do you have the Megatune software installed and configured correctly for MSII on your laptop? Megatune 2.25 is the current version. If it's configured for MSII you'll see 8 gauges on the display, one should be labeled Dwell and another is labeled Ignition Advance.

2. Is your laptop configured to use its external serial port? First check the Bios settings. Just after you power it on hold down the F12 key for a few sweconds. On my Dell laptop that gets you to a boot menu that has a menu option that will get you into the Bios settings. If this doesn't work for you, you'll have to go to Dell's web site and find out how to get to the Bios configuration settings for your laptop. Once you get into the Bios configuration, there should be a list of settings on the left, you use the up and down arrow keys to navigate. Choose the section titled "Onboard Devices". Highlight this enttry and hit "enter" and you should see sub entries under it. Look for the subentry with "IR" as part of the description. Select it, the panel on the right will now show the device settings. It needs to be off, if something else is selected change it to "off". Next use the down arrow key to highlight the "Serial Port" settings. It should show "COM1" as the setting. If it's not com1 change it to that.
My bios may not look exactly the same as yours, my PC is a little newer, just be sure to read the instructions that are displayed on how to navigate within the Bios settup.

3. Your DB9 cable should be straight through, as was mentioned in an earlier post, there are many variations of this sort of cable. If you have the wrong one, it will never work. If you have a meter that measures continuity, just make sure there's connectivity between the same pin on both ends of the DB9 cable. You could also check this easily using a flashlight bulb and battery with a little wire. You just want to make sure current flows from pin 1 on one side of the cable to pin one on the other end. The cable will have a male connection on one end and a female connection on the other end.

4. Is MSII getting power when you turn on the ignition key? The red leds on the front should at least flash briefly when you turn on the ignition switch.

5. Did the ECU come with the MS firmware loaded? Is the jumper on the MSII daughtercard connected, it should only be connected to load new firmware versions.

6. Now connect your laptop to the megasquirt ECU with the DB9 cable and start Megatune. Select "Communications" and then "settings" off the menu bar. The pop-up window should display COM1 as the port, 50 as the timer interval, and 115200 as the serial data rate. Now click the "Click to Test" button. The results will tell you if you are connected to the ECU.

Try this and post the results.

-Mac

irnwill · 03-11-2006, 07:42 AM

I'll be in town this Sunday (Tomorrow morning) I'll PM my number and we can work out details.

sammyg2 · 03-11-2006, 08:42 AM

I second the CIS re-install.

niner11 · 03-11-2006, 09:05 AM

Screw CIS, not only is it giving up but how would you like to buy a fuel distributer or aar, or warm up regulator when it fails. If it was motronic I'd say put if back on but CIS isn't a good enough alternative

rfuerst911sc · 03-11-2006, 12:49 PM

911mac you are correct in the first stages of this install it appeared we had communication but couldn't get a TPS signal. We thought it was a bad relay board so we replaced it. That didn't fix the issue so we tried different things with still no results. At some point in time we started getting the "can't communicate with ECU" message. I have checked my DB9 cable pin for pin and it is a straight thru type which I believe is what I want. I'm not sure if we ever had communication with the ECU. Today I purchased a USB to DB9 cable so I have that to try. I will NEVER go back to CIS as I hated that system. I do have the 8 gauges on my screen and I have had two "Megasquirt experts" confirm that the Megatune software is configured correctly. I am now in the process of figuring out if my DB9 port is configured correctly per the suggestions of others in this post. Yes my ECU came with the firmware loaded. I now have in my posession a Megasquirt stimulator which I hope will assist in the testing. I am encouraged by the support here and will keep going, failure is not a option!!!