rusefi.com

This is an introduction as well as a request for help. I have a supercharged 95 (four pin coils) Miata with a lightweight flywheel that was using a FM Link ECU since 2005. It needed to be replaced and I considered Haltech, AEM and MSPNP but also knew that whatever ECU I got would only be as good as its tune. So I was very enthused when my Link tuner, Ken Hill, who is also a member, told me that he'd learned about the Beer Money Motorsports Rusefi ecu last August.

With Ken and Jesse, I figured out that I could do the physical swap (IAT, WBO2, MAP and knock sensors) and went ahead and made the purchase. The ECU is in and the car pulls hard but will not warm idle. My next goal is to get a constant idle so I can shoot the timing. I thought I'd done that by increasing the idle coolant multiplier to 1.10 from 9.44 through 110 and the open loop base position to 34 but the next day when I went to check the timing, I got this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mt7nMP3vrA

My tune is here. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=1067

I've read Blundar's idle tuning thread but am unsure of which idle corrections to turn off (or more precisely, where to turn them off) in order to get a solid base idle. At Jesse's suggestion, I tried significantly increasing the idle ignition advance but it wasn't successful and I wasn't comfortable running so much advance without knowing my base timing. Please take a look and let me know any thoughts, questions or comments. Thanks. Dan

I noticed that my fuel VE was a little funky in that first .msq upload so I fixed it to the extent I could. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=1075 Still have the problem with the idle, although now it just dies. It's fine, though a bit high, for about 15 or 20 seconds though, making me think there's some start up modifier that is shutting off. Very frustrating.

Logs might have some data would you consider uploading those?

Have you seen "view" menu with too much internal data points maybe it would help.

Thanks for replying AndreyB. I tried to make two logs this morning, both when fully warmed up. The first would idle while sitting there but would die when coasting to a stop. TunerStudio said there was a problem with the TPS so I did another after calibrating and the car reverted to the prior inability to idle. But, and this has been a pattern recently, only one log shows up and the folder and I can't tell which one it was. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=902. I also can't tell if it logged anything. All the data, except CLT, appears empty.

I also have been having to recalibrate the TPS before every drive. I get a different reading, by a number or two, based on whether the ignition is on or off. I've been calibrating with the ignition on. But the percent it's off can be sizable and I wonder how it will perform when TS is not attached.

As an aside, I was in Hamilton Park in Jersey City yesterday for a pre-father's day picnic with my son and his young family. It was cold! lol.

Okay, just did another log, which encapsulates the idle issue. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=903 The log doesn't appear to show RPM (at least to me in megalog viewer) so I don't know what is going on.

Not much we can do from a non running log, please try another more idling log

Also, AndreyB, I didn't take your point about, "seen "view" menu with too much internal data points maybe it would help." I see where "view" is in the TS options but I'm not sure what you mean about too much internal data points?

Okay, I did two logs today and I guess it looks like neither are good based on your comment. I had prior bad logs as well. I've already replaced the micro SD. Logging appears in TS and the file saves but the data is deficient. Is there a minimum amount of time for the log? I'll try again.

You never stated which of the three ways to take a log you use and I've assumed that you manually start and stop logs on your PC via TS.

It sounds like you might be using SD card logs which are sometimes behind in terms of total field set, and which have the tricky "the order in which you power on unit and connect PC affects if you WRITE sd card logs or READ sd card logs since you never do both"

I am hoping to try again later today. My noobness is showing since I only thought there was one way to log. With the car running and warmed up, I click on "Data Logging" and then "Start Logging." Then, without turning the ignition off, I click "Save" and the date and time show up in the Datalogs window. The SD card is in the ECU. I realized that I have not looked at the "SD logging" box at the bottom of the TS window so I will check that next time.

Oddly, I did 3 logs on 6/2/22 and the first two were good but the third didn't record. Since then I've tried logging on three different days, and used a new SD card, but none of them worked. If you recommend another proceedure to obtain the log, I will gladly give it a try. And thanks for your help with this. I really hope I can get it sorted out.

I've uploaded one of the last logs to work from 6/2. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=907

I will try again as soon as I can.

Please take a look at this idle log. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=908 I was making a critical error in the log sequence but have now figured it out.

Agh, your problem is probably the "offset" field in the closed loop idle section. Set that to 0 and see if the problem goes away.

If you're trying to get something stable and predictable, I would disable closed loop idle completely, and get that dialed in first. Closed loop should just be "icing on the cake" once the open loop is dialed in.

ridewhencan wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 20, 2022 9:24 pm

I was making a critical error in the log sequence

BTW, I just wrote a doc page on logging: https://wiki.rusefi.com/Logging-Guide/

Great suggestion, thanks. With the offset field set to 0, the idle, while sitting, went to about 1000-1050. With closed loop turned off, it went to around 800 (which should be good enough for me to use the timing light.) Issue is, that once I start driving, that consistency goes away and it returns to bad habits. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=912 I'm going to read your doc page on logging. Even though I have the sequence right, I'm still not able to consistently do back to back logs. Thanks again.

Great, concise explanation. Very helpful. Query, even though my ecu has a good SD card, I get "No SD card detected" regardless of when the USB is connected. If I take the SD out and plug it into my PC, it shows 0 data recorded?

What kind of SD card is it and how is it formated?

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Sandisk Ultra 64gb. I was using it straight from the package but when it wasn't being read I stuck it in my laptop and on the drive, clicked format. it's the second SD I've used, the first being a Lexar 64gb. Neither worked, making me think the issue might not be the SD. I've taken it out and put back in several times, but the process is straight forward, so not sure it's the installation of the SD either.

There are vague rumors about some of newer SD cards not supporting SPI hardware interface which we are usnig. Not all SD cards are equal.

On the other hand it either never works or always works.

Your SD card is probably fine (and compatible), we can't get it to work on that model ECU either. Pending whether it's a software or hardware issue...

Thanks. After reading your (mck1117's) brief paper, logging has become the easy task that it always should have been.

Working on sorting out the idle, I had abnormal TPS behavior in that the needle was bouncing about and the tps had to be recalibrated every time I started the car. On one of yesterdays logs, tps reading disappeared although the car was idling. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=914

At Jesse's suggestion, today I checked the 5v at the disconnected tps plug and 5v on the TS Sensors TPS raw data. I tried to take the tps off to "clean" the bottom but it is blocked on by the supercharger. I was having trouble duplicating the bouncing tps so I took two additional logs; one open and closed loop and one just open. Car dies in either scenario.
https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=915 closed/open loop
https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=916 open loop

I also just attempted to upload my current tune and noticed that I had to re-name the car and indicate true for the forced induction. I wonder if I have to reset that after my tuner sends a new tune?

As we discussed on the phone, the latest firmware snapshot has fixed the SD card logging. It is great to hear that you and Ken have the car idling well now after PID tuning on the idle.

Success, with the aforementioned PID tuning and some ign adv changes. Car is idling and we are actively tuning out richness up top. Here's the last tune and data log. https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?msq=1104 and https://rusefi.com/online/view.php?log=922. Ken's taken a little more fuel out above 4500 but I've not had a chance to log it yet. Still have a mysterious ign bounce, at times, between 0 and 17, at idle, which can be seen at the beginning of the log but the car idles, and that's what's important.

I learned A LOT in this thread. Thanks. Here's some pics of the car (this was, after all, a dual purpose intro and request for help thread.)

Happy 4th everyone.

Ha,ha,ha, looks like I'm going to be learning some more. Tried using Google Photo's as a link for the first time. Back to the drawing board.

Paid $19 for an annual membership to imageshack, which I'd used for more than 10 years as a free hosting site. It's worth it to me not to screw around with icloud or google whatever. Let's see if this works.

The broken line is from a dyno session with the Link ECU four years ago. There are some anomalies, like why more boost in the mid range, but over all, I'm Psyched.

Certainly have come a long way from my first post in this thread.

Also, for novices like me, and other's considering the swap, I put a thread up on MiataTurbo. https://www.miataturbo.net/ecus-tuning-54/fm-link-conversion-beer-money-motorsports-rusefi-review-107069/

wow, *really* appreciate you spreading the word