Engine Management & Data

Acquisition Systems
Formula SAE Seminar
May 2004
Detroit
Engine Management Systems

Basics
Spark Air - Fuel
 4 stroke cycle
Intake
Compression
Power
Exhaust

Requires 2 crankshaft revolutions for 1

cycle 720 degrees
 Intake Phase
Dependant on camshaft duration

Typically starts before piston reaches TDC on

Exhaust stroke

Typically ends well after BDC on Compression

stroke

Represents the 1st half of the cycle

 Compression Phase
Begins when Intake Valve closes

Typically begins about 40 degrees after

BDC

Ends at TDC

Represents the 1st half of the cycle

 Power Phase
Length depends on Exhaust valve opening

Begins at TDC

Ends typically 50 60 before BDC

Represents the 2nd half of the cycle

 Exhaust Phase
Begins on Power Stroke

Typically starts about 50 60 before BDC

Ends usually 0 30 ATDC Intake Stroke

Represents the 2nd half of the cycle

 Overlap Phase
Takes place as Exhaust Stroke changes to
Intake Stroke

Duration depends on Cam Lobe

Separation Angle and Intake and exhaust
valve duration

Can have a negative or positive effect

depending on operating conditions
 Characterizing Fuel Injection
We want to add fuel to the air in the right
proportion

We will be matching air mass to fuel mass

on each cycle

We need to know Air Mass per Cycle

Sensing the Engine
 Crankshaft Position
Indicates Crankshaft position (relative to
Top Dead Center and Bottom Dead
Center) and speed

May be derived from the crankshaft

directly (most accurate) or from the
camshaft (usually easiest installation)
 Camshaft Position
Indicates to the ECU where the crankshaft
is (relative to the cycle)

Must be a unique event (occurs only 1

time per cycle)

Required for Individual Cylinder Ignition

and Sequenced Injection
 Reference and Sync Sensors
3 typical types Hall Effect/Logic Level
and Magnetic

Hall Effect and Logic Level produce a

square wave type signal

Magnetic produces A/C sinusoid

 Hall Effect Advantages
Output waveform is always the same
independent of engine speed

Either edge of the waveform may be used

and easily changed in software

Tends to be less prone to pickup

interference
 Hall Effect Disadvantages
Needs to be powered by 8v to operate

Requires magnets to trigger the sensor

Sensor signal must be pulled up to 5v or 8v in

order to produce a pattern

Less tolerant of Heat than Magnetic Sensor

 Magnetic Sensor Advantages
2 wire sensor requires no power to
generate a signal

Triggers on ferrous material magnets

enhance sensor output

Usually better tolerance to high

temperature environments
 Magnetic Sensor Disadvantages
Signal output intensity is dependent on
Sensor, Mass of trigger tooth, Length of
trigger tooth/Sensor Pole diameter and
surface speed
Proper edge MUST BE DEFINED to ecu
or timing information will vary with engine
speed
Tends to be more prone to pick up
Interference
 MoTeC Requirements
Either sensor type may be used it must be
defined in software and physically connected to
the correct pin on the ECU. Ref and Sync do not
need to be the same type sensor.
Hall Effect inputs on M4/M48 are pins 5 and 7
for Ref and Sync respectively
Magnetic inputs are pins 6 and 8 for Ref and
Sync Sensor must produce .8v peak to peak
while cranking or ECU cannot trigger on it.
 Location, Location, Location
Trigger sensors should not be located near
sources of Electro Magnetic Interference nor
should their leads.

This includes Alternators, Generators, Starters,

Fuel Pumps and especially secondary ignition
components (Coils, Spark Plug Wires etc.)

For best timing accuracy, the position of the

trigger teeth on the crankshaft should be at the
cranking advance point of the engine.
 MoTeC Requirements
Determine and define to the ECU what
edge of the signals you want the ECU to
trigger from

For magnetic sensors, you must define the

correct trigger edge for the waveform
produced. Waveform is affected by wiring
polarity of sensor.
 Sinusoidal Waveform

Rising Edge Waveform (voltage rising across 0 volts)

Sinusoidal Waveform

Falling Edge Waveform (voltage falling across 0 volts)

 Determining Trigger Edge
Use a DVOM to measure trigger edge at
the ECU connector
Put the DVOM on DC Volts, Red lead to
sensor signal terminal, black lead to 0 volt
Place steel on sensor tip quickly remove
the steel while noting DVOM. If voltage is
negative sensor produces a falling edge.
If voltage is positive sensor produces a
rising edge.
 Check for errors
With sensors connected and defined
properly, crank the engine and check for
errors.
Check to see that the RPM looks realistic
and is stable

Check Sync Status it should say OK

Synchronizing the ECU with
the Engine

We have to tell the ECU where

the trigger signals are located in
relation to the cycle
Crank Reference Index Position
CRiP angular distance from reference tooth to
Top Dead Center Compression cylinder #1

Reference tooth varies with Ref/Sync Mode

All timing calculations are made from this value

IT ABSOLUTELY MUST BE ACCURATE
 Determining CRiP Value
Rotate crankshaft in normal direction of rotation until
reference tooth is aligned with sensor use this as a
zero point

Rotate crankshaft in direction of rotation noting how

many degrees you must turn until you arrive at TDC
Compression #1 cylinder

This number in degrees is the CRiP

Once the engine has started recheck the CRiP using a

timing light
Determining CRiP

Camshaft Sensor aligned with signal tooth

 Determining CRiP

Rotate crankshaft until Reference Tooth is aligned with Reference Sensor

 Determining CRiP

Finally, Rotate Crank until you arrive at TDC #1 Compression

 Efficiency Sensing

We have to let the ECU know

what the driver demand is on the
engine
 Mass Air Flow
Required to properly fuel the engine

Can be measured directly using Mass Air

Flow Sensor (usually difficult)

Can be calculated by knowing Volume Air

Flow and Air Density (usually easier)
 Volume Air Flow
Engine Volumetric Flow rate is non linear

Dependant on Engine RPM and pressure

differential across cylinder

Can be adjusted for in a 3 dimensional

table (RPM vs. Pressure Differential)
 Pressure Differential
May be measured directly (Intake Manifold
Absolute Pressure vs. Exhaust Manifold
Absolute Pressure)

May be represented by throttle angle

(Throttle Position Sensor)
 Air Density
Affected by changes in Altitude,
Temperature and Moisture
Calculated by knowing 3 properties of the
air

Air Pressure (Barometric Pressure)

Air Temperature (Intake Air Temperature)
Humidity
Why no Humidity Sensor?

Luckily Humidity only accounts for a small

change in Air Density. Usually its less than 6
percent from really dry to really wet. We can
make up this difference using feedback fuel
control if needed.
 Volumetric Efficiency
Calculation methods including Throttle
Position, MAP vs. EMAP, MAP vs. BAP or
MAP only

Throttle Position is simplest for all but

Turbocharged applications but is also less
tolerant of variances such as throttle body
flow rate changes
 Actual VE or Relative VE?
Actual VE refers to trapped volume in the
cylinder versus total cylinder volume

Relative VE refers to trapped volume in

the cylinder versus attainable trapped
volume in the cylinder at that RPM point

Our Efficiency calculation refers to

Relative VE
 Calculating Efficiency with TPS
TP sensor should be securely fastened to throttle blade

Sensor output voltage should be linear but calibration

should be non linear

Sensor Hi and Lo voltage settings should be set prior to

engine start up. Voltage output may be high to low or
vice versa with MoTeC

Volumetric Efficiency will be represented by 0 to 100%

throttle position
Calculating Efficiency with MAP vs.
EMAP
MAP sensor should be connected to the Intake
Manifold below the throttle blade
EMAP sensor should be connected to the
exhaust manifold before the catalyst or muffler
(upstream of the turbo if equipped)
When MAP = EMAP efficiency is 100% if MAP >
EMAP efficiency is >100% and vice versa
If exhaust system presents no restriction EMAP
sensor may be connected to Atmosphere
 Why use EMAP?
Without EMAP there is no reference to what
pressure on the MAP sensor is equivalent to
100% Efficiency

If altitude increases our Baro pressure

decreases. If we are in Denver we may have
only 82 KPA even at WOT. Without a reference
to local Baro pressure we would fuel the engine
from the 82% Efficiency line which is not correct.
The engine is at 100% Efficiency it just happens
to be running at a place where the Baro is only
82KPA.
 What about on a Turbo?
If the EMAP is 300 KPA and the MAP is 200 KPA, the
volumetric efficiency of the engine is only 66% because
of negative pressure across the cylinder. If we have no
reference to EMAP then we fuel the engine from the 200
% Efficiency line which is not correct
In practice, connecting the EMAP sensor to the exhaust
tends to make the Efficiency calculation very erratic
because of pulsations. It is usually easier to let EMAP
measure Barometric Pressure and let the fuel table
reflect this loss in VE but we lose Fuel Table
resolution in doing so
 What is MAP vs. BAP then?
MAP vs. BAP allows the tuner to manually
enter a local Baro value under sensor
defaults
This frees up an input on the ECU to be
used for a different type of sensor
measurement
Tuner must enter the BAP value before
engine is run each time by reading MAP
value with engine off
 What about using MAP only?
MAP only with no reference to current
Baro Pressure is inaccurate

MAP should only be used for Ignition

Calculation unless the engine is to be
operated at the same altitude at which it
was tuned (stationary engine)
 Monitoring Air Density
Air Temp measurement should be in a place
which has good airflow even at idle and should
as closely as possible reflect the temperature of
the air in the cylinder
Compensations should be done which allow the
changes in Air Temperature to be cancelled out
of the main fuel table
Correct compensation is derived from
calculation of standard atmosphere where sea
level standard temperature is 59F (15C)
Standard Air Temp Comp
 Monitoring Air Density Cont.
Air Pressure should be monitored either via the MAP
sensor or an EMAP connected to Atmosphere

Compensation should be done to allow changes in

pressure to be cancelled out of the main fuel table

Correct compensation is derived from calculation of

standard atmosphere where Sea Level Barometric
Pressure is 100 KPA and a 1 to 1 relationship exists
between KPA and Air Density
Standard MAP Comp
 Required Sensor List
Crankshaft Position Gives Speed (RPM)

Camshaft Position Indicates cycle position

Load/Efficiency Represents Vol. Eff.

Air Pressure Required for Density

Air Temperature Required for Density

 Other nice Sensors
Differential Fuel Pressure
Engine Temperature
Engine Oil Pressure
Engine Oil Temperature
Exhaust Gas Temperature
 Bringing it all Together
The RPM and Efficiency give us the two axes on
the main fuel table
The MAP comp and Air Temp comp work in the
background to effectively remove the engine
from its current operating environment
The main fuel table represents volumetric
efficiency which does not change due to
atmospheric conditions
Once the engine is tuned it will maintain this
state of tune no matter what the conditions are
 Fuel Supply System

Without an adequate fuel system the

best engine management system in
the world doesnt stand a chance
 Fuel System Components
Fuel Injectors
Fuel Rail
Fuel Feed line
Fuel Filter
Fuel Pressure Regulator
Fuel Return Line
Fuel Pump
 Fuel System Requirements
Must maintain a constant pressure drop
across the injector

Fuel injectors must be sized so that Duty

Cycle never exceeds about 85%

Fuel pump needs to be rated at pressure it

will be used
 Fuel Volume
Fuel Injector flow rate is typically increased with
increased pressure differential (not always)

Fuel Pump flow rate (volume) is typically decreased with

increased pressure

Fuel pumps should be chosen based on their measured

flow rate at the pressure head they will operate against

Standard flow requirements use estimated engine

crankshaft horsepower divided by 2 for gasoline and 1
for alcohol and is expressed in lbs/hr
 Injector Flow Rating
MoTeC injector flow rating is based on 50 PSI
differential pressure and 85% duty cycle

Requirements are calculated by dividing engine

crankshaft horsepower by 2 for gasoline and
then dividing that number by the number of total
injectors on the engine

4 Cylinder making 120 Horsepower 120/2 = 60

divided by 4 = 15 or 15 lb/hr injectors are
required for this engine on gasoline
 Why not just turn the pressure up?
Pressure increases flow rate through an orifice at the
square root of the change in pressure in order to
double flow at 50 PSI you require not 100 but 200 PSI!

Increasing pressure does not return a linear increase in

fuel flow

Depending on injector design, increasing pressure may

actually decrease injector flow rate!

Injector flow rate does usually go up with increased

differential pressure but pump volume goes down. A gain
at the injector may be a loss at the pump or total a zero!
 Factors affecting fuel flow

Injector Current must match injector type

Battery Voltage affects Injector Dead

Time and Fuel Pump output
 FAPW vs FEPW
Fuel Effective Pulsewidth is calculated
pulsewidth from fuel table plus all sensor
related compensations

Fuel Actual Pulsewidth is Effective

pulsewidth plus Battery Comp Pulsewidth

FAPW is what is actually delivered to the

Injectors
 How to determine Injector Current
Measure Injector Resistance

Divide into battery voltage

Enter this value for IJCU (Injector Current)

Watch for PEAK errors while running the

engine
 Injector Dead Time
Injector does not reach full flow rate instantaneously

Amount of time between when current begins flowing in

circuit and injector is at max flow rate is dead time

Dead time is inversely proportional to battery voltage

level

Dead time increases with increased fuel pressure and

with incorrect IJCU (Injector Current) setting
 Determining Battery Comp
Flow Injector at constant Duty Cycle at X battery
voltage - Measure Flow Rate

Vary battery voltage Measure Flow Rate

Percent change in flow must be trimmed back

using Injector Battery Comp

When Comp is correct a change in Battery

voltage will not change the Air Fuel Ratio
Getting the Fueling Right

We need some sort of

confirmation that we have properly
fueled the engine while we tune
 Methods of Measurement
2,4 or 5 Gas Analyzer Accurate but difficult

Exhaust Gas Temp Inaccurate but easy

Exhaust Gas Oxygen Accurate and easy if

Wide Band
Seat of the Accuracy and
pants/visual difficulty depend on
inspection experience
 Units of Measure
Air to Fuel Ratio dependent on type of
fuel used Stoichiometric on gasoline is
14.7:1 Methanol is 6.4:1

Lambda independent of fuel used

Stoichiometric is always Lambda=1
 Lambda
Lambda is percentage Air to Fuel Ratio

Since the value is in percent it is very easy to make a

quick trim to arrive at the required lambda

If the current lambda is .85 and we want .89 we remove

4 percent fuel to arrive at .89 the math is done on the
fly

This is the exact method that is used by the MoTeC ECU

when using the Quick Lambda or W Lambda keys
while tuning
 Lambda seems Perfect
Very accurate
Very rapid response to changes
Can be used over entire engine operating
range
Can be used to trim fuel system to achieve
optimum Air Fuel mixture under nearly all
conditions
Has a couple of pitfalls
 Lambda Pitfalls
Sensor measures oxygen only
Can be biased by air leaks near sensor (up or
downstream)
Can be biased by misfire (even rich misfire)
Can be biased by Camshaft Overlap especially
at low speeds or with a Supercharger
Sensor location varies readings
Signal has small delay from actual condition
 Using Lambda
Determine a safe Lambda goal
Populate the Lambda Goal Table
Adjust the values in the Fuel Table to
achieve the Lambda Goal
Begin at low RPM and Load and slowly
work the entire Fuel Table
Trim the entire table richer or leaner to
determine optimum Lambda based on
power
Matching the Fuel Table to the
Engine

A perfect match gives unparalleled

power and efficiency, a mismatchyou
might as well use a carburetor
 Fuel Main Table
Represents fuel used per cycle

Highest fuel use per cycle will occur at

highest VE

Fuel Table shape should match engine

torque curve if lambda is held constant
Fuel Table Shape
 Interpolation
Infinite operating points exist

Table consists of up to 840 sites

ECU must interpolate between sites

Smooth fuel tables produce the best

results
Main Fuel Table
 2 Types of sequenced injection
Semi-Sequential More than 1 injector fires at
the same time based on
firing order only 1 time
per cycle

Injector only fires 1 time per

Full Sequential cycle for each cylinder
timing can be completely
optimized
 Semi-Sequential
Injection timing is a trade off between the
two cylinders firing in the firing order

First cylinder receives fuel late Second

cylinder receives fuel early

Timing point is set to distance between

cylinders in degrees
 Full Sequential
Injection timing can be optimized since we
only fire one cylinder at a time

Optimization depends on duty cycle

there is more to gain at low duty cycles

MoTeC allows injection timing table to be

2 or 3 dimensional and includes
compensations
 Injection timing point
MoTeC allows you to choose whether your
table specifies Beginning or End of
injection

Table values are in Degrees Before Top

Dead Center Compression

Values in table should steadily increase or

decrease but not both
 Determining a starting point
Find when exhaust valve closes in
degrees BTDC Compression (330
degrees)
Find when Intake Valve closes in degrees
BTDC Compression (110)
Find point during intake stroke where peak
intake air velocity occurs in degrees BTDC
Compression (280)
 Effective Injection Window
Subtract the Intake valve closing point from the
Exhaust valve closing point 330-110 = 220

220 is the number of degrees we may inject fuel

without spraying it out the exhaust

Divide this number by 720 to get Injection Cycle

Length 220/720 = .305 or 30.5% duty

Once we have reached 30.5% duty we should

be at 330 degrees for start of injection
 Injection Timing
At low speeds and cranking start the injection
timing at 280

As Duty cycle increases, begin injection earlier

(increase Injection timing number) until you
reach exhaust valve closing point (330 BTDC
Compression)

Tune engine using these values then readjust as

needed to optimize torque
 Other Injection timing
considerations
As manifold pressure is decreased,
Injection timing should be modified

MoTeC allows injection timing to be

definable with a 3D table based on Load

MoTeC Allows other compensations for

Injection timing
 Other Fueling Considerations
First Injection/Cranking Enrichment more fuel
is required because of increased VE

Acceleration Enrichment/Deceleration
Enleanment changes in throttle angle add
other requirements to fuel system

Stopped Fuel allows wetting of intake manifold

particularly useful for tuning/diagnosis

Clear Flood
 3,2,1 Ignition!

We have to ignite this most

homogenous mixture of Air and
Fuel
 Types of Ignition
Capacitive Discharge/Inductive

Distributed Spark (mechanical distribution)

Waste Spark

Individual Coil
 Distributed Spark
Least Reliable

Additional Ignition load across rotor to cap

gap

Rotor to Cap Phasing is an issue

Limited spark advance range

 Waste Spark
Eliminates Rotor/Cap Phasing problems

Fires one plug in normal polarity and one in

reverse

Full range of timing and individual cylinder timing

Coil must fire once per revolution

 Individual Coil
Coil fires only 1 time per cycle

Maximum spark energy is available to

each cylinder

Coil can be mounted very near/on spark

plug for near 0 energy loss
 Inductive Type Coils
Energy output is dependant on:

- Electrical characteristics of the coil

- Battery Voltage Available

- Amount of time coil is allowed to charge

 Coil Charge Time (Dwell)
Dwell is amount of time coil is energized

Dwell time is expressed in Milliseconds in the

MoTeC ECU

Dwell number should reflect Coil Charge time

when 15 volts is supplied to the coil

MoTeC offers a standard Dwell compensation or

you can define your own curve
 Determining Dwell
Set coil voltage supply to 15 Volts

Observe amperage waveform while running the

ignition test with the MoTeC Software

Adjust dwell time in mS until an optimum pattern

is achieved

Enter this dwell value in mS into the Dwell

parameter in the MoTeC Software
Dwell Waveform
Over Dwell Pattern
 Over Dwell
Adds unnecessary heat to coil

Provides no additional Spark Energy

Overheats coil driver (module)

Causes premature coil failure

 Ignition Trigger Edge
Depends on Igniter/Module that is used

Typically Trigger edge is opposite of the dwell

edge (Rising Dwell Edge, Falling Trigger Edge)

Using the wrong edge will damage the igniter,

coil and maybe the engine because the ignition
timing will not be what it is supposed to be
 Capacitive Discharge
Extremely fast charge time usually less than 2
milliseconds

Excellent for High RPM applications

MoTeC offers 1,2,4 and 8 Channel Capacitive

Discharge units

Proven to withstand 3400 Horsepower Turbo

applications using Gasoline
 Ignition Delay Time
Delay from when igniter is triggered until
spark crosses plug gap

Delay time is fixed

Since it is fixed, the delay lasts for a larger

number of degrees at high speed
 Other Controls/Functions
Cooling Fan Gear Change Ign Cut
Fuel Pump Overrun Fuel Cut
Wastegate Anti-lag
Idle Control Dual RPM Limit
Nitrous Activation Ground Speed Limit
Warning Light Traction Control
Shift Light Launch Control
Tach Signal Gear Detection
A/C Clutch Lambda Control
 Wiring the System
The chain is only as strong as its weakest
link

The Wiring harness can make a great

system mediocre or less!
 Wiring Components
Tefzel Milspec wire twisted at 6 twists
per foot

Raychem Shrink to protect the integrity of

the harness

Raychem/Hellerman boots for transitions

Connectors, Boots and Labels
Teminals and Crimpers
MoTeC Electronic Systems