Road Tuning: Input Setup and Testing
Watch This Course
$229 USD
-OR-
Or
8 easy payments of only $28.63
Instant access. Easy checkout. No fees.
Learn more
Input Setup and Testing
04.50
| 00:00 | - To do its job properly, the ECU relies on signals from a range of inputs to tell it what the engine's doing. |
| 00:07 | These inputs may include airflow into the engine, throttle position, manifold pressure, and air temperature just to name a few. |
| 00:15 | We might also have some digital inputs configured for control such as air conditioning, power steering, or driver controlled switchers. |
| 00:23 | What we want to do is individually test each input to make sure it's functioning correctly, and the ECU is receiving the correct information. |
| 00:32 | We're going to go through this process now and check some of the inputs. |
| 00:37 | Let's start with the throttle position sensor. |
| 00:39 | This 3SGE engine is fitted with an electronic throttle body and we need to calibrate both the foot pedal and throttle butterfly sensors. |
| 00:49 | We can do this by going to the E-Throttle setup menu, and putting the ECU into Setup Mode. |
| 00:56 | Firstly, we'll need to have the throttle and foot pedal sensors wired to an appropriate analog voltage input, which we can see here. |
| 01:05 | The G4+ then has a special calibration mode for both the foot pedal and throttle butterfly. |
| 01:11 | All we need to do is go through both setup options and follow the onscreen prompts. |
| 01:17 | Once complete, we can test the system and watch the throttle positions increase smoothly as we move the throttle pedal. |
| 01:25 | When complete, we need to take the ECU back out of Setup Mode. |
| 01:31 | While there are a number of ways of calculating engine load, the speed density principle is still the most common in aftermarket ECUs and this requires a manifold pressure sensor, or MAP sensor for short. |
| 01:43 | If we go to the analog voltage input screen, we can see the MAP sensor is allocated to analog voltage input 11. |
| 01:51 | If we click on this, we can then select the sensor calibration to suit whatever sensor is fitted. |
| 01:57 | Predefined calibrations are available for many popular sensors. |
| 02:02 | Once the sensor is calibrated, the PCLink software requires us to perform a MAP sensor calibration that calibrates the sensor against the internal baro sensor. |
| 02:13 | We can do this from the ECU controls menu. |
| 02:16 | Once complete, we want to make sure the reading is sensible. |
| 02:21 | With the ECU powered up and the engine not running, we'd expect to see a MAP reading of around 100 kPa, plus or minus about five kPa. |
| 02:31 | Next we're going to look at setting up an analog temperature sensor. |
| 02:35 | Normally, an intake air temperature sensor and engine coolant temp sensor will be fitted to your engine. |
| 02:42 | For our example, we're going to look at setting up the engine coolant temp sensor. |
| 02:47 | We can enter engine coolant temp in the Settings menu, and this will bring up the relevant input. |
| 02:53 | We can see here that the engine temp sensor is connected to the analog temp 1 input. |
| 02:59 | If we click on this, we can select the calibration to suit the sensor. |
| 03:04 | Again, predefined calibrations are available for most common sensors. |
| 03:09 | As usual, after configuring the sensor, it's time to check that the reading we're seeing is actually reasonable. |
| 03:16 | The coolant temp and air temp on an engine that hasn't been running should read approximately the same as your ambient temperature. |
| 03:24 | If there's a difference of more than a couple of degrees, it's time to check your calibration. |
| 03:29 | With a complicated ECU installation, you may also have a range of digital or switched inputs to perform certain functions. |
| 03:37 | These inputs are quite simple and are generally either switched to ground or a high voltage when active. |
| 03:43 | The important point here is to make sure that you have configured the polarity of these inputs correctly in the ECU and to test they become active when you expect them to be. |
| 03:54 | For an example, we're going to look at the power steer input on the Link G4+. |
| 04:00 | If we type digital into the Settings menu search box, we can see all of the digital inputs are shown, and power steer is on digital input 1. |
| 04:09 | If we click on this, we can see all the relevant settings. |
| 04:13 | We can select if the power steer input will be active on a high voltage or low voltage, and also turn the internal pullup resistor on or off. |
| 04:23 | The correct setting is going to depend on whether your power steer input goes to a high voltage or low voltage when it's active. |
| 04:30 | Lastly, we can run the engine and test the power steer input as we turn the steering wheel. |
| 04:36 | We'd repeat the same basic procedure for each different input. |
| 04:41 | Once we've configured and tested the inputs, we can move onto the outputs. |
