Another GL1100 Megasquirt EFI project

[thesteve]

There are "lite" versions of the tuning software (Tunerstudio MS and MegaLogViewer) which have the core functions for free. Unfortunately the full-featured free software Megatune isn't supported for any of the newer firmware versions, so if you want things like autotune you'll probably want to shell out the money for Tunerstudio at a minumum. MegaLogViewer's full version is certainly nice to have, but the autotune feature is good enough that you don't really need the extra features it provides. Tunerstudio's full version is $60 and MegaLogViewer is $30. The free versions won't restrict the ECU itself, but the auto tuning feature is worth the money in saved time.

MS1 and MS2 have serial ports, so you either need an old laptop with a serial port or a generic USB-serial adapter. I'm using a USB-serial adapter, I think with a Prolific chipset. It's pretty old and the new recommendation is one with an FTDI chip instead. They're cheap and not at all specific to Megasquirt. I was having bad disconnect issues that I think stemmed from the low speed of the Prolific chip. The disconnects ceased when I limited it to 25 reads/second down from 50, though I also switched serial cables at the same time. The issue is fortunately fixed and I was able to get a few 50,000+ record logs recorded today.

Tomorrow morning I'll be working on my brakes more than tuning so I should be able to get some full bike shots and take some time to post screenshots of the tuning software and some of the settings I've used. While the bike was stripped apart I took the opportunity to unlink the front and rear brakes and run steel braided lines to the front calipers. I don't think it bled fully because they still feel awful.

 

[thesteve]

It looks like there are a few others out there now. Megatunix has always been around as an open source one, but I don't know if it's still supported. The forums for it look pretty dead.

There is apparently an Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... om.msdroid
I've never used it so I can't vouch for it. You'd probably need a serial->bluetooth adapter to really get the most out of it. I might give it a try.

 

[joedrum]

this is the best FI thread ive ever read ...thanks steve ...it is greatly welcome here ....

 

[slabghost]

joedrum » Sun Nov 08, 2015 8:06 am[/url]":2alhqazh]
this is the best FI thread ive ever read ...thanks steve ...it is greatly welcome here ....

Best I've ever read too. Even has me thinking I could do it some day. :thanks: :BigGrin:

 

[thesteve]

Thanks guys! The hardest part of the whole thing was probably finding the 1200 plenum for a good price. Other than that it's really not a terribly difficult project if you don't mind not having the bike for a few weeks. It'd be neat to see more people doing these conversions.

 

[Sugs]

Wow, pretty impressive. Not sure I have the guts to try something like this.

 

[Terry]

Wow,
awesome post.

 

[thesteve]

Video coming soon. It's uploading to Youtube right now. They usually take some time to process it, but I'll post the link as soon as it's viewable.

 

[joedrum]

great

 

[thesteve]

[video]https://youtu.be/q0SIHqiLyOE[/video]

Here we go. It may take a few more minutes for Youtube to make it available in HD so that you can read what's on the laptop display. It's my first narrated video and I didn't really have any talking points planned out, so go easy on me.

 

[dan filipi]

Good video and narration.

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I get started so I hope you stick around awhile!

 

[thesteve]

Watching the video, I mention the connector for the injectors. That's actually not a standard MS thing. Normally the injectors go right to the DB37 connector. Since the GL1200 injectors are low impedance, I chose to use a special injector driver board to handle them. Normally, with Low-Z injectors, you'd use PWM current limiting build into the Megasquirt to drive them. I was having electrical noise issues on the car that this MS was originally installed in, so I bought the JBPerf injector driver board. This is nice because it uses current detection to automatically clamp down the voltage on the injectors with no tuning required.

Board is available here: https://jbperf.com/p&h_board/index.html

You'll also see in the video that the EGO Correction gauge is locked at 100%. I have EGO correction disabled below 1200 RPM, so it doesn't cause a wandering idle.

 

[thesteve]

dan filipi » 3 minutes ago[/url]":2ayqq2yr]
Good video and narration.

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I get started so I hope you stick around awhile!

Thanks! I'll be here. Explaining my projects and getting others interested in them is almost as fun as the projects themselves!

 

[joedrum]

great vid

 

[Ansimp]

thesteve » Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:09 am[/url]":2xmtanma]

dan filipi » 3 minutes ago[/url]":2xmtanma]
Good video and narration.

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I get started so I hope you stick around awhile!

Thanks! I'll be here. Explaining my projects and getting others interested in them is almost as fun as the projects themselves!

:good:

 

[mcgovern61]

Real nice work and great video!! :clapping: :yes:

 

[thesteve]

I just found this in the manuals for the Megasquirt system: https://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/MS2 ... 4-153.html

The factory pulse generator of the Goldwings (single tooth, dual pickup) is supported by the MS Devs! That means full spark control couldn't be easier to do. Lock the advances out so the top-dead-center to trigger angle never changes, and let the Megasquirt handle all of your timing adjustments. I might switch over to this in the future; might be able to squeeze a bit more power by cranking the timing a bit.

 

[thesteve]

Someone asked a good question via PM about the special injector driver board I'm running. It's worth posting the answer for everyone to see, since these bikes do use low impedance injectors.

The question was: "Is that injector driver board actually needed?"

Here's some more info on why that extra board for the injectors exists: https://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/MS2 ... .4-52.html

Long story short: no, you don't actually need it.

So there are two classes of injectors, high and low impedance. For the sake of discussion impedance can be considered resistance. High impedance injectors are about 12-14 ohms, low impedance are usually less than 3 ohms.

High impedance injectors pull about 1 amp at 12 volts and can be driven at that level with no issues.

Low impedance injectors pull over 4 amps at 12 volts. They snap open very quickly, but will burn out if held at 12 volts. These are sometimes desired because they can open faster than high impedance injectors, but they're more complicated to drive.

There are a few ways to fix this, listed in order from least advanced to most:

1. Injector resistors. These are simply high wattage resistors which bring the total resistance up to 12-14 ohms allowing them to be driven identically to high impedance injectors. You lose the bonus to opening time, but it works just fine. Some cars actually use this method from the factory.

2. Megasquirt's built in PWM drivers. PWM is Pulse Width Modulation, or a fancy term for switching things on and off very quickly. So quickly that a 12 volt signal can look like 3 or 4 volts. The MS will snap the injectors open at 12 volts, then lower the voltage to 3-4 volts to hold them open without burning them out. Works well, but sometimes can create electrical noise. You also have to tune these times, though it doesn't have to be exact.

3. The "peak and hold" board which I have. This is using special chips which are designed to measure current draw and react accordingly. Basically, they're able to tell when the injectors are fully open and clamp the voltage at that time. It's neat because it's self adjusting and it's not reliant on PWM. My megasquirt doesn't need to know if the injectors are high or low impedance, and I don't need to tune PWM settings.

I went with #3 because the previous car I ran this Megasquirt in was seeing strange electrical noise issues when running option #2. There are benefits to opening time as well, but for the most part they're not worth worrying about for the extra $60ish it'd cost. I'd go with #2 myself if I didn't already have the board. If for some reason #2 gives you issues, fall back to #1.

 

[Denver]

Sounds more & more doable the more that i read & understand. :read: Am very fortunate to have had very few fuel performance problems over the years, but availability & cost of parts can become a problem. Single carburetor conversions seem to have their own set of issues to deal with, so have not ventured there yet. Having seen your post & video, when fine tuned, we will have a list of plug & play parts set up for our bikes fuel, & ignition improvements, NICE WORK! :good: :salute:

 

[thesteve]

In case you were concerned that this project didn't have enough electronics in it, I found this online:

It's an Arduino (Teensy, to be more accurate) powered gauge cluster. It uses the Megasquirts onboard CAN communication system to get data. I'm thinking about building a weather resistant one to use on the bike. I have a GPS module laying around to power the speedometer, and the MS provides pretty much all of the needed info except for fuel level, indicator lights, etc.

I'll start playing around with my arduino and the basic screen I have. If I can get something neat working I'll see if I can find a bright full color LCD and fit it to the bike.