MA09ERT crank/cam sensors? (Speeduino for an ECU?)

[Xird]

I recently bought a Superturbo, and it has a problem where the turbo doesn't kick in at higher revs like it should. Probably something wrong with the vacuum lines. I could try fixing that, but I was intrigued by smidge's idea of replacing the whole vacuum system with an electronic one.

I don't feel like paying for a Haltech, and being an open source kind of guy, I'm thinking of using a Speeduino(https://speeduino.com). I'm reasonably familiar with electronics, and I write code for a living, so I'm confident I could make it work.

However, I'm not that familiar with cars, and the Speeduino hardware requirements have these bits in it:

Crank sensor / Camshaft Sensor

This is arguably the most important sensor for Speeduino to function correctly. The signal going to the Arduino must be a 0v-5v square wave series of pulses (shown below) representing teeth on a wheel running at crank (or cam) speed. Many Hall and 'opto' sensors meet this digital square-wave spec. If only a crankshaft trigger wheel is used (no cam signal), the crank wheel must have a 'missing' tooth in order to provide position information as well as the engine RPM. Tested missing-tooth wheels currently are 4-1, 12-1, 36-1 and 60-2.

[...]

Alternatively (and necessary for full-sequential injection) an added cam signal with or without crank wheel missing teeth. These setups are indicated by the added "/x", such as 60-2/1, for a 60-tooth crank wheel, with 2 missing teeth, and a 1-tooth cam signal per cycle. Cam-speed missing-tooth wheels can also support semi and full-sequential.

What kind of sensors are there on the MA09ERT? Would they match the described hardware requirements?

I could just use an Arduino with all custom software to run the boost control system only, but it would seem like a waste if I can have a fully programmable ECU as well.

 

[.Maarten]

Id start with fixing the issue before messing with converting to that kind of stuff. A speeduino needs to be programmed/mapped. And you dont want to do that kind of stuff with a engine that isnt running well.

 

[frank]

ufo valve problem maybe ?
praps the speeduino deletes it

 

[Xird]

Id start with fixing the issue before messing with converting to that kind of stuff. A speeduino needs to be programmed/mapped. And you dont want to do that kind of stuff with a engine that isnt running well.

That is a really good point. And now that I think about it, I should probably try the Speeduino mod on the regular K10 Micra that I also own. If I have to blow up an engine, I'd rather it wasn't the ST one...

frank, that was my initial idea; get rid of all the vacuum stuff and hopefully fix the issue, but Maarten has a very valid point.

So, any idea about the crank/cam sensors? Is it even possible to use a Speeduino with an MA09ERT or MA12?

 

[burkey0013]

That is a really good point. And now that I think about it, I should probably try the Speeduino mod on the regular K10 Micra that I also own. If I have to blow up an engine, I'd rather it wasn't the ST one...

frank, that was my initial idea; get rid of all the vacuum stuff and hopefully fix the issue, but Maarten has a very valid point.

So, any idea about the crank/cam sensors? Is it even possible to use a Speeduino with an MA09ERT or MA12?

I'm currently in the middle of running mine electronically

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[Jorge_EETC]

I'm also thinking of fitting a speeduino on my k11, and also struggling on the cam sensor

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[Xird]

@burkey0013 what's your plan for the cam sensor? I'm thinking of replacing the distributor with a custom made mounting for a hall effect sensor, a bit like the Project Binky guys did:

As an aside, my turbo works fine after all. I just don't normally rev the engine enough to get any use of it. The turbo kicks in at 4200 RPM. Does that sound about right?

 

[Christopher Andrews]

I recently bought a Superturbo, and it has a problem where the turbo doesn't kick in at higher revs like it should. Probably something wrong with the vacuum lines. I could try fixing that, but I was intrigued by smidge's idea of replacing the whole vacuum system with an electronic one.

I don't feel like paying for a Haltech, and being an open source kind of guy, I'm thinking of using a Speeduino(https://speeduino.com). I'm reasonably familiar with electronics, and I write code for a living, so I'm confident I could make it work.

However, I'm not that familiar with cars, and the Speeduino hardware requirements have these bits in it:

Crank sensor / Camshaft Sensor

This is arguably the most important sensor for Speeduino to function correctly. The signal going to the Arduino must be a 0v-5v square wave series of pulses (shown below) representing teeth on a wheel running at crank (or cam) speed. Many Hall and 'opto' sensors meet this digital square-wave spec. If only a crankshaft trigger wheel is used (no cam signal), the crank wheel must have a 'missing' tooth in order to provide position information as well as the engine RPM. Tested missing-tooth wheels currently are 4-1, 12-1, 36-1 and 60-2.

[...]

Alternatively (and necessary for full-sequential injection) an added cam signal with or without crank wheel missing teeth. These setups are indicated by the added "/x", such as 60-2/1, for a 60-tooth crank wheel, with 2 missing teeth, and a 1-tooth cam signal per cycle. Cam-speed missing-tooth wheels can also support semi and full-sequential.

What kind of sensors are there on the MA09ERT? Would they match the described hardware requirements?

I could just use an Arduino with all custom software to run the boost control system only, but it would seem like a waste if I can have a fully programmable ECU as well.

The MA09ERT uses a dual optical sensor for both the RPM and the Cam sensor. There should be four wires coming out of the sensor, (Green/yellow, Green/black, Black/white and black).
Black/white (44A/1)-12 Power
Green/yellow (10/2)-1 degree signal (speed sensor)
Black (45A/3)- 180 degree signal (cam sensor)
Green/black (9/4)- signal ground

I've attached a picture of the trigger wheel so you can see how it looks. The inner slits are for the cam and I believe the bigger one is probably for TDC on cylinder 1 but I haven't actually checked it. It should be a square wave. I know you can also buy different trigger arrangements for the wheels from the Megasquirt guys but you'll have to set the offset for the slits since it will not be the same cam phasing as the MA90ERT. There should be no reason you can use those signals to capture the cam position and the RPM.

I was going to piggy back megasquirt on the OEM engine but I was also running into boost issues for my turbo as well, now my engine is in pieces.

-Christopher

 

[Xird]

You're a legend! This is exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks!

Work on my ST needs to wait for a bit, as my garage is currently occupied with a regular 1.2 litre K10. Need to put some new metal on the lower rear seat belt attachments...

I think my turbo works fine after all. I just don't normally rev the engine enough to get any use out of it. The supercharger light switches off at about 4200 RPM, and I'm not losing power at that stage. Does 4200 RPM sound about right?

 

[Christopher Andrews]

You're a legend! This is exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks!

Work on my ST needs to wait for a bit, as my garage is currently occupied with a regular 1.2 litre K10. Need to put some new metal on the lower rear seat belt attachments...

I think my turbo works fine after all. I just don't normally rev the engine enough to get any use out of it. The supercharger light switches off at about 4200 RPM, and I'm not losing power at that stage. Does 4200 RPM sound about right?

No problem, DM me if you need anything else, I have all of the shop manuals and wiring diagrams handy at home. The Supercharger turns off above 4,000 RPM so that sounds perfect. Good luck and let me know how the speeduino comes along, my dad is putting one together for one of his cars as well.