What about fancy output drivers?

[AndreyB]

For instance Infineon BTS4880R http://www.infineon.com/cms/de/product/automotive-ics/smart-high-and-low-side-switches/profet-tm-smart-high-side-switches/BTS4880-R/productType.html?productType=db3a304412fcb7bb011320570d261c41

The Diag feature, would it eliminate the problem of injector lag by letting me figure out the lag on the fly?

[erich]

Not enough drive current.
A saturated injector takes about an amp to drive. I peak/hold injector uses about 4A for a milisecond or so then 1A hold.
That driver can only do 625ma per driver.

[kb1gtt]

I would suggest a bit more generic approach. The specaillity chips are good for OEM's as they save a couple pennies per ECU design, or they can make the ECU slightly smaller. However I've been burnt by FreeScale. I once designed a board that used some really nice chips. Some where protected high side drives, with current feedback and lots of really nice features. However by the time I got to MFG, the chips were obsoleted and the design was buggered. I would suggest using DPAK2 footprints for drive chips and use the Allegro circuit to measure current. That will last much longer in terms of re-design, and you'll have several options for what drive chips to use.

[AndreyB]

Allegro circuit to measure current

What is allegro circuit in this context?

[kb1gtt]

The series of Allegro chip found on this breakout board. http://www.pololu.com/product/1185

[AndreyB]

I know it's a risky path with availability and such, but some of these custom chips are so sweet!

For instance, TLE6240GP

How comes Russians can but them in low quantities at http://www.megachip.ru/item.php?item_id=100701 and I only see them in packs of 800 here in the US?

[mobyfab]

It's a very specialized chip so I guess only big companies buy them in huge quantities... that's why.

It's the perfect chip (infineon has a few others) but it's almost impossible to buy at low quantities.

I had found that chip a while ago, but impossible to buy in europe...

[AndreyB]

It's a very specialized chip so I guess only big companies buy them in huge quantities... that's why.

It's the perfect chip (infineon has a few others) but it's almost impossible to buy at low quantities.

I had found that chip a while ago, but impossible to buy in europe...

As I said - @ just orders ONE of these and they have it in their brick and mortar store in St Petersburg two days later. How could that be?

[kb1gtt]

Often what happens with these chips is that an EOM doesn't need exactly what the MFG will ship as a min qty. So an OEM will order via 3rd party, who ends up with like 200 extra off the order. So it's common that as OEM's place these orders there are little windows of time when small quantity orders can be made. For example, I see mouser has some in qty 1 now http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Infineon/TLE6240GP/?qs=%2fha2pyFadug1ecik%2fBY4m5ysT5VcE88ZOI2vxow1N2RU7IbJdV%252b8JA%3d%3d However I don't expect that to be there in a month. After they are gone in a month, who knows when the next small order opportunity will arise. I got burnt on that in the past. I once found supply when designing a board, then when it came time to populate the board the parts were gone, and I couldn't get them for almost 6 months. That sucked.

A good way to track these kind of spot hit orders is with Octopart http://octopart.com/partsearch#search/requestData&q=TLE6240GP look for people with a qty of like 200 or some odd number like that. Finding these chips is a bit of magic at times.

[kb1gtt]

Is this chip really a sweet chip? I see it would save a couple bucks in overall costs, however that only applies if you need 16 channels of low side. It's likely nearly a wash in cost for a 8 cyl engine, when done in low qty. The key it offers is lower costs in high quantity production, and slightly smaller PCB layouts. The SPI stuff might offer some interesting options, but that's not really a huge thing. A quick look at the datasheet seems to indicate the the diagnostics offered over SPI are minimal / weak. I tend to think that in low QTY, this chip is more of a problem then a help. I would suggest using the standard DPAK or SO8 drivers and if diagnostics is desired use the ACS714 current sensor chip.

[AndreyB]

but impossible to buy in Europe...

eBay answers the call! http://www.ebay.com/itm//400413076059 and they ship worldwide

I think I know why this particular one is pretty available now and will be available for some time: they are putting them in 70% of the cars made in Russia. Looks like this one would be available for some time, hopefully same would be the case with the bigger brother TLE6244X

I've ordered myself a couple just to play with them, I will probably make myself a version of the injector module using one of these chips.

[kb1gtt]

I've seen these chips with SPI that can allow PWM with out the need for an external IO from an MCU. Can this chip do that? The function was intended for things like a cabin light that was to be dimmed where exact timing is not required. Also what kind of diag can you get from the SPI?

I have a footprint module in KICAD that is very similar to this, it might be the same. Let me know if you plan some kind of generic IO breakout board for this. I can probably fast track the effort.

[AndreyB]

I have a footprint module in KICAD that is very similar to this, it might be the same. Let me know if you plan some kind of generic IO breakout board for this. I can probably fast track the effort.

I went ahead and ordered two TLE6240GP just to have them on hand when/if I decide to play with them. If you have the module I would love to grab it