Megasquirt and Injection upgrade project

[Haveacamper]

OK, so some of you know that I moved over to Australia for a couple of years and as a result have had to leave the camper behind in storage. having not that long finished a 5yr resto on my bus I obviously miss the hell out of not having the chance to drive or work on her.

Therefore, while I am over here I have decided to work on a project that I can upgrade when we return in a yr or two....yep a slow burn project.

So a bit of history...I am running a 3.0L Porsche 911 SC engine. This engine has a standard Bosch fuel injection system fitted - type k-jet. K-Jet stands for continuous injection. In other words fuel is injected constantly, whether the inlet valves are open or closed. as the valve opens the already pre atomised fuel is sucked into the combustion chamber until the valve closes again. This system works well when tuned, but is a bit of a nightmare when it doesn't run well. I have had a little bit of trouble keeping the engine tuned. so i have chosen to upgrade the fuel injection system.

I am going to be fitting a Porsche Carrera 3.2L fuel injection system with a bit of a twist. I am going to build my own Megasquirt 3 ECU.

it is possible to modify the CIS (Continuous Injection System) I have, but I want to do a swap out and possibly sell the original CIS system further down the line. Also, and most importantly, the 3.2L setup will look a hell of a lot better than a modified CIS system. to give you an idea this is the modifying option:

Standard CIS system:

Modified CIS system:

Rather than butchering up the original I have bought this:

The plan is to fit the Megasquirt ECU so I have sequential firing and injection

So what will I have to do on engine...briefly....
- Change fuel injectors to high impedence injectors
- Fit MAP sensor (manifold Absolute Pressure)
- Fit Manifold air temperature sensor
- TPS (Throttle position sensor)
- O2 sensor - wide or narrow band
- Crank trigger wheel
- Cam sensor - either direct from the cam or modify distributor
- may replace fuel pressure regulator with adjustable FPR

As for the ECU....
I have ordered the unassembled version MS3 with the MS3X (expansion) to allow me to build in what I want to build in (which will probably be everything!). I have bought the stimulator too, which will enable me to bench test along the way and make sure that its working ok before I put in on the engine.

For those interested I ordered it from http://www.diyautotune.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
MS3 - http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/megasquirtiii-wpcb-v30-unassembled-kit-with-black-case-p-419.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
MS3X - http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/megasquirtiii-ms3x-expansion-card-p-434.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
JimStim - http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/jimstim-v15-megasquirt-stimulator-wheel-simulator-unassembl-p-174.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
JimStimX - http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/jimstimx-expansion-board-unassembled-p-473.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Megasquirt parcel is due to arrive next week so I will update then

NaFe

 

[aogrady]

Hi!

Sounds like a great little ( :shock: ) project! Look forward to seeing the progress on this

At least the MS hasn't the Porsche scenetax......still not cheap though...

Good look, walk in the park for you really...!

Alistair

 

[K@rlos]

Gonna keep a close eye on this build, really interesting stuff. Can't beat the saying 'Built not brought'

Before I built my stroker I briefly thought about a Porsche motor, would have ditched the fuel injection for some triple throat Weber 40 IDA's BUT a Porsche swap is expensive and a tricky too. Plus 3 barrel IDA's are like rocking horse shit :lol:

Real good work man 8)

 

[Haveacamper]

Hehe thanks. Ye not so much a little project I suppose. In terms of cost, the one reason I went for the unassembled route was that its a fair bit cheaper, not to mention I can tailor it specifically to what I want. Also, here in Aus, you don't pay import duty on anything that is under $1000.

I also have a friend in work doing the Megasquirt assembly on his type 3 squareback if/when I get stuck.

Really quite excited to get this project on the go!

K@rlos, I know what you mean about the triple IDA's pretty pricey! Also, I don't believe they are the easiest to tune. I quite like the idea of building something that is to some extent self tuning control to try and keep the reliability up with minimal maintenance.

NaFe

 

[Haveacamper]

So this arrived yesterday

Time to get a wriggle on and read te megasquirt documentation on the website!

O ye and buy a soldering Iron

Nath

 

[Haveacamper]

So the jimstim (stimulator for basic testing of MS3) is complete. I followed these instructions:
http://jbperf.com/JimStim/JimStim_v1_5_assembly.html#assembly" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I chose to complete several steps and then solder severa components in one go.

Completed. Just needs testing...

Next up is to assemble the JimStimX-K. More of the same with the JimStimX-K predominently LEDs for check that the MS3X works with my assembled MS3

 

[Heebee_GB]

Amazing! :shock: I haven't the foggiest what is going on, but fair play to you. :shock:

I'll have to stop reading Razzle at the garage though, as I thought a Megasquirt was something else.

 

[Haveacamper]

Amazing! :shock: I haven't the foggiest what is going on, but fair play to you. :shock:

nor do I! just following the dot-to-dot!

I'll have to stop reading Razzle at the garage though, as I thought a Megasquirt was something else.

 

[john the horse]

i love razzle

jth

 

[Haveacamper]

i love razzle

jth

John I took this as a comment of encouragement so decide to crack on with building the second stimulator last night. There are a few tests that I can do to make sure that everything is connected properly.

I build the JimStimX using the following website: http://www.diyautotune.com/tech_articles/jimstimx_assembly.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Next on the list is to start building up the MS3!!! But not before I have another read of the step by step guide

 

[Haveacamper]

Ok,

so managed to make a fiar bit of progress in the evenings - when I havent had to be working!!!

probably about 80% completed in terms of the basic build of the MS3 now. still a few more components to fit but getting close to be being able to test. hoping to get the final transistors etc fitted by the end of the weekend:

not the most exciting of thread sorry guys, but in case someone else is looking to similar i thought i'd document it

 

[Haveacamper]

So a couple of weeks have past. I have made some progress, but not massive amounts in terms of customising of the board. I have however made some.

Got the Stimulatr plugged into the "basic built" board. to test a couple of connections as per instructions

Got the MS3 processor board fitted:

Involved re-connecting the stimulator and providing power. the test....turn on power - the CPU should warm up but not get too hot to touch....nervous moment, but passed

Then installing the MS3X board and ribbons.

The MS3X reduces the majority of customisation that will be required to the base board and enables sequential spark rather than wasted spark rather than wasted spark - one of the limitations of only using ms3. the MS3X will contol CAM sensor, spark and injectors while the MS3 board will control all other sensors like - MAP, air temp, engine temp, throttle, o2, crank sensor.

I then downloaded the Lite version of TunerStudio (which is free) and loaded up the firmware:

Thats as far as I got. it will probably be all i'll get done for a month or so as my parent are visiting us for 1month from UK while we are in Melbourne. Spent the evening playing with all of the pots on my stimulator with my dad watching the gauges on the tunerstudio moving hehe SAD I know

 

[68_early_bay]

Wow :shock:

 

[gas1man]

Mind boggling but cant wait for the end result!!!

J & P

 

[Haveacamper]

The so called end that we all talk about is some way in the future.

I'll be trying to source some coil on plugs and injectors and possibly some other sensors in the coming months while i try and find my way around the TunderSudio software and play with it. Hopefully, I wont be able to break it with the stimulators lol.

 

[easy]

Fair play dood, my brain hurts 8)

 

[wookie]

Wow totally beyond me :shock: the future of classic car modification ? 8)

 

[Haveacamper]

I dont fully understand it all by any means. so far its just dot-to-dot. need to make some decisions on types of sensors soon - depending on which type will mean different cutomising of board. But all are well documented on the megasquirt website.

Fortunate enough I haven't had to ask any questions on the megasquirt forum....but I have already registered pre-empting

 

[Haveacamper]

OK, time for a bit of an update. It is only a little update as I have been too busy....enjoying life and the beauty that Oz has to offer!

I have bought a few things from the states that should be arriving courtesy of my friend and colleugue visiting our US site for a couple of weeks. making the msot of the free postage i have ordered:

2x Innovate LC-2 Wideband sensors with controllers - 1 for each bank
1x knock sensor module to fit/modify onto my megasquirt build. Going to fit one sensor on each side of the engine
Cam sync sensor and mount kit so I can run fully sequential spark if i can ever get around to finding a coil-on-plug setup that my megaquirt will handle.
also picked up crankshaft sensor and Inlet air temp sensor

managed to find a place local that does shotblasting so stripped down my intake manifolds and sent them off. Unfortunately they didn't do glass bead blasting otherwise I would have opted for this, but they came up pretty good!

Before:

After:

the next thing to do is to clean up all of the reusable parts...fuel rails, throttle body, IACV (Idle Air Control Valve). I may need to get the fuel rails re-plated but will see what happens when I clean them up. I may have also tracked down a spare crank pulley to set about mounting a trigger wheel to...

Another thing I have been spending considerable time on is how I will wire this whole thing up. I have been given a massive head start courtesy of someone I have been in touch with on another forum. He provided an electronic copy of his hard work and I have modified for my slightly less demanding needs. One of the many things I love of this guys work is that he replaced his original Porsche engine bay relay panel with a custom panel that had been tailored for testing/tuning/development. He's even got a fuel pump switch, engine start, engine stop switch among other things. Again I modified this for my needs.

It's still a working progress, but this is where I have got to...

There is a limited amount of stuff I can do when I'm here and my camper/engine is in UK but i'm trying to get as much done as possible. Still some more parts that I can collect here and apparently I should be able to do some cool stuff on the tuning software for bench testing. Another very kind person who has an almost identical build to me (albeit in an actual Porsche) has given me a copy of his engine tune so when the time comes I can have a play with that too!

Just need to find the time - and with summer around the corner I'm not too sure how much time i'll get

In-laws visiting before Christmas, visiting friends in NZ and travelling around over x/mas and NY, then Brother visiting in Feb...

 

[gninnam]

Very impressive 8) - so when you back in the UK?