Lambda practical (7)

Lousy weather ... still.
The MTX-L lambda controller with integrated gauge now works and is connected to the Emerald ECU. I searched the web for an alternative gauge, but no find. But I found a circuit to build one, so out I went to buy the parts. Compared with the original circuit, I only left out the two supplementary diodes on top. I replaced the individual diodes with arrays to simplify. Now I have to find a suitable enclosure and a place to mount it somewhere in my car.
Cheers.

Lambda practical (6)

Still waiting for the weekend to come, I surf the web and learn how to map. Some people recommend to extend the number of speed sites to get a more accurate and continious control. A right-click on the column cell allows to enter a different value. You have to do this for the whole range i.e. add as much columns as you want to until you reach the system limit. Now comes the great feature: you have to do it only once and all the other tables are updated. The values are interpolated automatically.
In above example I altered the table from 500RPM to 250RPM steps.
Cheers.

Lambda practical (5)

Good weather, cabling all done, timing checked ... here we go !

The AFR target map, as the name suggests, is needed to define which level is expected relative to load (throttle position) and engine speed (RPM). The control mode is set by selecting the cells, the + and - keys are needed to switch between open/closed loop and adaptive. Save this map on your desktop and then transfer it to the ECU.

Requirements to be met are set in the closed loop dialogue. While driving, the live adjustments screen displays all the data on one screen. You see in which mode the ECU operates and can compare the AFR target with the real AFR actually measured by the lambda sensor.
A short drive proved that the ECU now controls the injection timing relative to the AFR target. Next time I want to check whether the fuel consumption is better now.
Cheers.

Washer

The yearly technical vehicle control gets trickier from year to year. Fella drivers report that you have to prove the screen washer is operational. Well ... I didn't have one. My car has no roof and I rarely drive with diving goggles. But the car got to have one so I bought one during the Techno-Classica in Essen (Germany). It is a repro from Lucas and has a big advantage: the pump is mounted on top of the receptacle and the whole thing can be removed with the bespoke bracket staying in the car. This means I can drive around without it all year and only mount it for the tech test. Just a little electrics to be done and a small water hose from the pump to the jet.
Cheers.

Techno-Classica Essen (Germany)

As every year, I'll be at the Techno-Classica in Essen (Germany) tomorrow. The german forum Seven-IG will have a stand in hall 1A (place 130) and display several cars. See you there.
Cheers.

Fusebox inlay

While working on the car, I became aware that I didn't tag the fuses. The relays are large enough to put a sticker on, but how to do with the small blades? I made this simple inlay with Microsoft Paint to cut out and next time I will put it inside the fusebox.
Cheers.

Lambda practical (4)

As Karl from Emerald predicted, the settings were all over the place ... for whatever reason. To exclude one possible troublemaker, I inserted a 100 Ohm resistor in line with the lambda signal from the Innovate controller. The Hella timing light didn't work anymore, after a quick jump to one of my favourite tool providers I came back with this Gunson Xenon Timing Light. Works!

Then I started to reconfigure all the settings. Some of them are easily made, others have to be calculated, like the distance in degrees between crank position sensor, missing tooth and 0° timing mark.

This value is then entered into the 'crank sensor options' menu. Once the engine was running with the correct data, I checked the timing with the timing light. The 80° setting gave 0° on tickover.

To do the settings, I use a Terra Windows tablet with a Keysonic keyboard. This gives me the flexibility to display the live readings when I drive around combined with a keyboard to enter data comfortably. One of the disadvantages of the Emerald is that values have to be altered in different ways (arrows, keys or directly through a keyboard). This makes a keyboard almost essential. The 9pin connector now feeds data to the tablet through an angled metal housing.
Lambda reading works, but I have to wait for better weather to drive around and do some more settings.
Cheers.

Lambda practical (3)

More preparation for the weekend to come with this pin out chart and links to the manuals.
(please refer to the official site for the most recent manuals and software)
The following are manuals I downloaded to my private webspace in March 2013 for personal use:
Emerald manual
Emerald manual trigger wheel install & config.(page 43)
Emerald configuration guide
Emerald loom color chart
Innovate MTX-L lambda controller
Note that only those connections have been highlighted that I use in my car.
I also decided to add that 100 Ohm resistor inline with the lambda controller signal.
Cheers.

Navigation

With the disastrous turn my efforts took to configure the lambda sensor, I had to have a little success with an easier task - installing a navigation device. Last weekend wasn't all that amusing when we started to run out of gas and didn't even have a map to find our way home ... well, the shortest way in that case.

The goal was to fix it in a way it doesn't restrict the view out of the narrow windshield. Second goal was to leave the cockpit as clean as possible when the navi is not used. I cut off a part of the original bracket and screwed it to the dashboard. Came out nicely I think.
Cheers.

Lambda practical (2)

This weekend was planned to connect the lambda sensor and configure the ECU to operate in closed loop modus. While setting everything up, something went wrong ... don't ask me what. Out of the blue, the fan came on and the live reading displayed an engine water temp of 120°C! ... the engine wasn't running. Was it my fault? I don't even know. The engine will not start even with an older map. Mail has been sent to Karl at Emerald and I hope he can help. I'm a little depressed.
Cheers.

Lambda - practical (1)

After some theory about lambda, there was this very sunny early March day (yesterday) and the urge to take that car for a long drive out. Although the settings have not been finished yet, I just had to drive! The car works fine and the injection system gives the engine more grunt and drivability. Unfortunately, the consumption is very high (around 14 liter/km). Time to connect that lambda sensor!

Since older cars didn't have a lambda sensor, I had to add a bung somewhere in the exhaust system to screw the sensor in. When there is no lambda sensor, the hole can be closed with an appropriate screw.

Routing of cables always is an issue in a small car, but after some fiddling, I managed to place that big connector near the fusebox and made the cable disappear under the dashboard. A quick check with the provisionally connected gauge showed that the engine is running quite rich (around lambda 11). This explains the high fuel consumption. Next: connect the lambda sensor controller to the ECU.
Cheers.

Lambda (λ)

Lambda (λ) , 11^th letter of the greek alphabet, symbol for many more than one thing… but here we are interested in what is said about exhaust gases, or more precisely the air-fuel ratio. In a few words I will try to explain why it is important to have a certain amount of air mixed with a certain amount of fuel to get it all burned in an engine. If this is the case, exactly enough air is provided to completely burn all of the fuel, then the ratio is known as stoichiometric. Although I tried to have a lot of information in one picture, some explanations may be usefull.

Related to an automobile engine, we can use an oxygen sensor, more commonly known as lambda sensor to measure how much oxygen is left in the exhaust gases. If we return this data to the engine management system, the ECU can adjust the quantity of injected fuel.

The use of the engine determines what is done with that data.

Starting from the middle, this means that 14.7 parts of air will burn together with 1.0 part of fuel. This means lambda = 1 (λ=1). More air means a leaner mixture, less air (or more fuel) means a richer mixture. So next time you’re sitting together with those petrolheads talking about their engine running a little bit too rich or lean, you at least know what they are talking about!
There are advantages to run an engine lean or rich, but extreme values for too much time may damage the engine. Management systems can be run to take in account lambda values more or less. You decide wether you want the best power or the best fuel economy or a compromise of both.

Modern systems use a large band oxygen sensor. They have to be connected to a controller to have a usable signal for the ECU. The pic shows how it is connected to an Emerald ECU only for example. Other ECUs and controllers may have different pin-outs. The showed pin (35) can be configured internally to be used with a lambda sensor.

Cheers.

Rocker cover

Almost every engine builder, tuner or parts reseller had a rocker cover made for the Kent engine. Here is what I found, but there may be more...
Cheers.