RPM Input to Innovate LM-2 from XDi Igntion

[Gordo2]

Folks,

Recently bought and installed the Innovate LM-2 to help me tune my 3.2L engine that is equipped with a XDi single plug ignition.

Out of the box the LM-2 seems to be reading solid AFR however I can't seem to get a good RPM reading.

The XDi controller has a tachometer signal output (brown wire) that is connected to my vehicle's tach (black/purple wire). The vehicle tach works just fine.

I bought the LM-2 analog cable and connected the tach input wire (black/white) to the XDi tach signal output (brown).

Meanwhile I'm getting RPM readings on the LM-2 that remain constant as I rev the engine (like 1360 RPM) or jump to #'s that don't reflect the actual RPM (3650 RPM although I never rev'd it that high).

I called Innovate and they suggested I try adjusting some of the LM-2 RPM setting configurations - no joy.
- I tried trailing edge, jumping between each cylindar config/pulses and
- Tried the same for leading edge.
- Also tried grounding the Analog cable blue wire.

No impact, no idea - anyone care to make suggestions (short of buying a different sideband :roll eyes.

Thanks, Gordo

[T77911S]

connect it to the #3 plug wire at the plug. this helps to keep it away from the other wires.
it does not matter which plug it connects to, just keep the wire and connector for the LM away from other plug wires.

[Gordo2]

T77 - are you referring to the inductive RPM adapter that Innovate sells? I have the analog - which is just a wire harness and plug connector.

Thanks, Gordo

[Dr J]

Try disconnecting the car tach and only connect the LM2 tach. Does it work like that?

[Gordo2]

Originally Posted by Dr J

Try disconnecting the car tach and only connect the LM2 tach. Does it work like that?

Haven't tried that one yet Dr J - but willing to give it a go.

Thanks, Gordo

[T77911S]

inductive.

try what drj said. try the settings again too. i am thinking i had to set mine to something wierd to make it work. been quite a while.

[toddu]

Gordo, let me know how the LM2 works out. I need/want to get a wideband and I'm looking at either the LM2 or the Zeitronix. I've got MSD 6AL boxes that I should be able to grab the tach signal from (1 is running the tach, think I can use the other box to feed the wideband). Most interested in logging, not so much real time viewing.

Todd

[dicklague]

Originally Posted by toddu

Gordo, let me know how the LM2 works out. I need/want to get a wideband and I'm looking at either the LM2 or the Zeitronix. I've got MSD 6AL boxes that I should be able to grab the tach signal from (1 is running the tach, think I can use the other box to feed the wideband). Most interested in logging, not so much real time viewing.

Todd

I would take a look at the Daytona-Sensors that our host sells. I have had one for a couple of years and it works well, has 2 hours of data storage, and has AFR, RPM, MAP that all work well. Very high quality and all in one nice compact box.

Daytona Sensors LLC - WEGO IV Wide-Band Air/Fuel Ratio Tuning Aid

[304065]

Did you ground the tach adapter? You need both tach and signal.

[Lapkritis]

I have used the LM-2 with RPM input just fine both with and without the plug wire clamp. Have you been through the configuration steps yet?

[Gordo2]

Folks,

Sorry for the delay - got sidetracked for a bit addressing a few other items.

I tried all possible configuration settings on the LM-2 with no joy. Additionally tried grounding the blue wire with same results - crap signal

Meanwhile -Dr J's Suggestion Was Spot On... Thanks!

Tonight I went ahead and cut the tach lead off, leaving the LM-2 analog RPM wire connected to the XDI RPM output. This plus grounding the blue wire and configuring for leading edge and I have good RPM readings (finally).

It allowed me to make a few recorded runs and replays this evening - giving me a solid feel for my AFR's through the RPM range.

All good - but now what?

I would like to be able to run the LM-2 and still be able to use my tach - any ideas what I can do to provide both LM-2 and tach a RPM signal concurrently?

Thanks for the input folks.

For Todd - hard for me to make a call on the LM-2 just yet. Based on the difficulties I've had with getting it configured to read RPM's I would tend to give it a thumbs down, however I have no experience with other wideband systems - which may have their own or similar initial configuration issues...

[ozracer]

Have a look at a thread by scarceller on what he did with his 84 carrera when he was logging rpm but using a tec edge product he made a little unit that plugged into the rpm and that converted the signal properly this may be your issue?

[Dr J]

Awesome. Glad my suggestion worked. I asked you to just connect the LM 2 and disconnect the car tach as a test. I have an hpx from electromotive and the tach signal out was a 5V square wave. Ultimately I built a small adapter box with an NPN transistor to boost the tach signal closer to 12 volts for the Porsche tach. It has been working for years. Are you comfortable soldering electronics? The circuit is pretty simple. I will draw up a crude schematic and post later. If not let me know and I will wire one up for you.

[Gordo2]

Originally Posted by Dr J

I have an hpx from electromotive and the tach signal out was a 5V square wave. Ultimately I built a small adapter box with an NPN transistor to boost the tach signal closer to 12 volts for the Porsche tach.

Thanks again,

I'm comfortable with soldering, and would appreciate a rough schematic.

Not sure I understand the problem or solution though - are you tapping a different source for the Porsche tach input and leaving the Innovate LM-2 connected to the HPX RPM output as a separate circuit?

Gordo

[jwasbury]

I've got electomotive XDi2 ignition on my 930. I spliced directly off the tach signal wire to feed an innovate DL-32 data logger. Works perfectly on the dash tacho and the data logs I record for real-time or later viewing in logworks software. No "secret handshake" required that I recall in my case, was pretty much plug-n-play. Seems strange that yours would be different. There are some set up parameters that might need adjusting on the LM-2 for the rpm channel, have you checked those? No direct experience with the LM-2, but I have a bunch of innovate stuff, and while you can adjust many of the input parameters directly on their hardware, I think its much easier to adjust those settings using the software interface in logworks. Requires getting your laptop to "talk" with the innovate hardware, which generally means you need a USB--->serial adapter since you can't buy a PC with serial ports anymore.

[Dr J]

Gordo, in my case, I used two transistors because the 5 v square wave tach out form the HPX would sometimes cause my tach signal to intermittently go flat as though it reached a maximum. I documented that here: LM2-tach signal goes flat

In that case I boosted my signal to 12 V then took part of that signal for the LM-2 and part as the input to a second transistor to buffer the signal.

In your case, it seems that your LM-2 works fine, which may be due to improvements they did in software. So, the circuit I recommend for you is this one:



The "tach signal in"- is what comes out of the electromotive unit.

The transistor dissipates enough current that it won't need a heat sink. If you use a different NPN transistor, you may need to use a heat sink. My notes show that my tach would draw 1 amp of current. Let us know how it works out!

[jungspike]

Not to hijack the thread (as everyone says), but...

I just bought a LC-2 to monitor my AFR because my engine was running lean (15:1) after rebuild--reference my "Crappy Dyno Run" thread on the rebuild forum...

I'm installing it on a Carrera engine with Motronic and headers with O2 sensor. I would like to keep using the Motronic closed loop O2 circuit.

Can I use the supplied LC-2 wideband O2 sensor for both the Motronic ECU and the AFR gauge... Or will I need a second bung?

Thanks,
Tim

[jungspike]

OK, I just read the LC-2 manual... and yes there is an output for the ECU which mimics the stock narrowband O2 sensor.

[dicklague]

Why does Innovate stuff seem to be so difficult to get working? Seems to be a lot of posts.

[Gordo2]

Here's another oddity (or at least I thought so).

As I was checking for voltage on various wires left over from the old engine harness (I made my own engine harness), I'm fairly certain that the black/purple wire (coming from the Porsche tach) showed something like 4.5v (with the key on).

Seemed a bit odd, but I didn't give it much thought. Wonder if this has anything to do with my LM-2 not reading RPM when connected to the tach.

Gordo