Technical Megasquirt construction project

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Technical Megasquirt construction project

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Just thought I'd mention I have finally made my choice, and after 2500 miles on the 1.1 8v fiat ecu, have decided to go megasquirt, probably rack up a few thousahnd more before its ready though :D

I am buying parts and PCB, and doing the soldering, assembly and loom myself (y)

The motivating factors are:

Cost
Customisability
Knowing my car inside out and having a lot of fun and troubles to look back on :)

I will be buying the parts from Bill, and hopefully receive them soon, just awaiting his reply.

I already have an LC1 WB lambda and and handy with a soldering iron, so hopefully it will go ok!

Wish me luck :slayer:

Kristian
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

good luck with it mate. i was tempted to build mine, then changed my mind as it'd just throw something else into the mix that might not work!
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

Cheers guys!

Hopefully it will go ok, and obviously this thread isn't just a wish me luck. It will be updated on all my progress, problems and successes!! Just like the engine swap thread.

I think it will be quite an easy job, and man, do i miss the smell of lead/solder, flux, burning flesh, insulation, and boggle eyes from soldering with microscopes (hopefully not on this job ;) )

Kristian
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

I will be buying the parts from Bill, and hopefully receive them soon, just awaiting his reply.

I already have an LC1 WB lambda and and handy with a soldering iron, so hopefully it will go ok!

Wish me luck :slayer:

Kristian

Hey man, if you can make brakes look that good whats a wire or two?

Beware cutting the Lambda wires (I wanted a custom fit:bang: ) Those Lambda wires are steel and a pig to solder :eek:

Are you creating your own sub loom to connect? Or going the relay route?
You'll need a stimulator to test during the build and afterward. You going megasquirt 2?
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

hehe, lambda wires :eek: thats what the LC-1 is for (y)

The loom is already hacked from fitting the engine, so I'm going to source the correct connectors, and go direct from the MS plug, custom loom, to connectors with no joins in between.

No relay box as I don't see the need tbh.

I will have the "stock" MS box with the kit, but may swap it for a more durable unit and keep it in the bay :)

@Alex, If its easy enough, just give a shout :D Judge by this thread whether its worth asking :p

Kristian
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

Well its all time you feared my amazing photoshop skills!!!!! (not the fact i wanted to hide the other bits on my desk :p )

P1010922.JPG

The parcel arrived today! I still need a second coil driver, which Bill has on back order, but this is 99% of it excluding me making a loom.

£165 gets the PCB, casing, and all the required components delivered (y)

I plan to uprate the IC socket holder to a heavy duty one with clips, but generally it's all there :)

I am going MS1 (v3) for now, but can do an exchange in the future with my IC for the MS2 board which works out no difference in the long run :slayer:

Sadly I can't start until the weekend, but I plan a few weeks for the job as it is.

I am going to run MS with a ford idle valve, LC-1 wideband lambda, and a base map from Phil, and tune up from there. However I'm sure there are some n/a punto's and cento's out there that I can work from.... part of the reason i chose MS, the open community (y) .



At present I'm unsure where to mount it? i guess it the bay, but I may need better housing, or should I move it into the cabin?


All in all, i'm excited and also daunted at the ££ outlayed and major learning curve ahead and reading ahead.

If only I could find my Fischer Price (TM) Soldering for School Kids set I could have started tonight :D


Kristian
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

If you buy a kit like me, no instructions at all :D but the MegaManual is where its all at, and the forums (y)

If you have never soldered before, it will be a bit tricky, and prob best to start on a cheaper project/kit, but if you've done even the slightest soldering before, you should be fine (y)

Kristian
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

Just an update, I got the kit about a week ago and promptly started assembling :) however it soon became apparent that a stimulator was required to power and test the board during the build, queue another wait and a further £37 and the stim arrived tonight.

I got the stimulator built earlier, and carried on MS assembly, and am please to say, it now communicates with the laptop (y) :slayer:

I have a LOT more soldering to do, all the inputs etc, but it's coming along nicely :D

Pics to follow in a day or two!

Kristian
 
Re: I'm 'squirting

Well, 7000 miles later on the stock ecu and it still no where near done lol

Here is the stimulator I built, it works fine and as advertised (y)

03092007(001).jpg

Here's where I'm at with the MS itself:

03092007.jpg

As my car runs, I don't have the drive to make a big push and get it done ASAP, however it talks to the PC, the inputs are all working. At present i have wired the dual coil outputs. I just needs some of the regulator and damping circuits and its all done excluding the wireing warness that I have to make (I may have a big help from Dave on that front though)

It looks a MESS at the moment with wires hanging off everywhere lol

For anyone contemplating doing this, be aware that due to all the projects branches, options etc that you can take, there are LOTS of changes, some messy, bridges, wires, and nasty hacks to get everything to the spec you need....I just hope it all works.

Nice thing about buying pre built, your not exposed to all of this, and just get a nice shiny product.

The MicoSquirt looks like a great product if your not after the DIY approach.

Hopefully a week or two and it will be finished and running, but knowing my pace so far, it will probably be longer ;)

Kristian
 
Right, its been a while....but there really has been no rush as the 1.1 ecu was working so well, but now its time.

MS is built, loom is made. It still needs linking up with connectors and tidying, but the connector end is ok.

This afternoon, i started junking stuff.

I removed the ECU, one of the two wiring loom, the filter and inlet/TB for some room to work, the firewall, the battery, the emission solenoid and some other bits and bobs.

DSC00051.JPG

It is now dawning it may take a few days or weeks to get this up and running lol

I'm not using the existing loom, as some of the stuff I don't need ad i want to keep it in case worse comes to worst.

I need to add a fuel pump relay as the car doesn't have one, and drill the bulkhead as well :eek:

Kristian


//EDIT - whats the deal with the tags, can anyone add them? Can I find out which funny peeps have been typing them :D

Its also so tempting to swap the engine and box now i'm here :D
 
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Cheers James (y)

To be honest im just doing it for the learning and fun of it. I could have quite happily kept the old ecu as there was nothing really wrong with it. This is just another thing to mess about with :D

I'm not using the existing loom, as some of the stuff I don't need ad i want to keep it in case worse comes to worst.

Scrap that!

Loom one (smaller connector) : Injectors, coils, oil pressure, crank sensor, knock sensor, alternator, starter

I'm sure i could replace that with a total rewire

Loom two (larger connector) : all kinds of stuff i'd like to keep. Headlamp adjusters, horn, heater/fan, speedo sensor, reverse light sensor, rad fan, relays, fuses.......pretty much everything else in the car lol.....forget remowiring pretty much all the electronics.

Now I have to bring myself to cutting off both connectors and passing the point of no return :eek: Not liking the feeling of this lol


Kristian
 
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