3.0L MegaSquirt w/ EDIS, starts and idles... what next?

[Josh]

It would work the same series or parallel so long as the same cylinders are paired together. It is hardwired, so if there is an error in the firing order you cannot simply swap around plug wires. It does not take much power to drive the coils.

Its looking like this is a tuning issue, the engine is running lean.

I will get you the tune file tonight, but it will require work for the bigger injectors. For simplicity's sake if you have the original injectors that were in the lost package, I would use them. The tune will need adjustments still though.

[jangell]

Thanks. I’m sure I have the 19 lb injectors around somewhere... I’m willing to go through the tuning process from scratch, just to learn it and understand the conditions that require tuning which properties, but I’m also curious how your tune works with my engine, and to be able to compare the two. And I might just be lazy and use your tune and then auto-tune on top of that anyway.

— Joe

[Josh]

Thanks. I’m sure I have the 19 lb injectors around somewhere... I’m willing to go through the tuning process from scratch, just to learn it and understand the conditions that require tuning which properties, but I’m also curious how your tune works with my engine, and to be able to compare the two. And I might just be lazy and use your tune and then auto-tune on top of that anyway.

— Joe

Honestly that will probably get you 90% of the way there. Check your email, I sent you the tune.

[Drive Stainless]

Which injectors do you have in there now?

[Josh]

Which injectors do you have in there now?

the tune was based on 19s, he has 21s (ford pink tops)

[Drive Stainless]

the tune was based on 19s, he has 21s (ford pink tops)

Ah, OK. I am using 24s currently.

[Josh]

Ah, OK. I am using 24s currently.

Thats a lot of injector!

Something i learned from LS-land. The stock LS1 Injectors drop right in (same plug and everything) and are rated at 29#

[opethmike]

Thanks. I’m sure I have the 19 lb injectors around somewhere... I’m willing to go through the tuning process from scratch, just to learn it and understand the conditions that require tuning which properties, but I’m also curious how your tune works with my engine, and to be able to compare the two. And I might just be lazy and use your tune and then auto-tune on top of that anyway.

— Joe

Be very sure to not let autotune adjust more than one step either lean or rich. It has a habit of going bonkers and going far too lean or far too rich. Don't expect it to get it perfect either, just close. Once close, turn on EGO correction.

[FABombjoy]

I usually use autotune with cell change resistance on "hard" or "very hard" to limit excessive table massaging. I know some of y'all don't like AT but I find it a useful solo cruise-state fine-tuning option. But usage is definitely more complex than the street name implies and is only a companion to common sense. That's partially my own fault due to scheduling, I might only be able to squeeze in 30 minutes of tuning & data capture here and there.

One comical autotune situation: if you have an excessive peak or valley in the VE table, you will create a cell that cannot exist functionally, and this will confound AT.

For example, if somehow your 2800 RPM @ 85KPa has a number that's 10 points lower than the surrounding cells, the engine will never be able to operate at that point and you'll orbit the cell instead of passing through it. In this case, AT will never gather proper data for that region. If you try to drive around in "very easy" mode these peaks can happen and can exacerbate themselves. It's like trying trying to iron flat a piece of tinfoil with a rock under it. Or, I once put a stalactite in my table through some combo of the Tuner Studio interface, trying to wrangle a laptop in the car, and a sensitive touchpad.

Realistically a VE table for a 2.8 or 3.0 will be pretty pedestrian. Get a helper, hit the back roads, gather data at a few steady states, then interpolate. There will be a bump near peak torque. IMHO you'll probably spend more time trying to get WUE / ASE / AE correct.

Just as a funny aside, on the return trip of the maiden voyage, I would occasionally encounter these oscillations on the highway. I thought for sure I had some goof-up in either the fuel or timing tables. But it would come and go, it was very strange. My wife was watching the laptop and relaying the numbers to me but it just didn't add up as to why I could feel this pulsing, and the indicator was doing laps around a section of VE and timing with reasonably similar numbers so it didn't seem to be fuel or spark. It would go away under load so it wasn't a mechanical or injector issue. Looking at the data afterward I discovered that I had engine states misconfigured (TPS-low calibration was too high) and it was going into idle mode at 80MPH. I was feeling the effects of the idle valve opening and closing. Sitting on my workbench now is a set of round-head axle bolts and geartooth sensor for VSS, which will put a permanent stop to any such misconfigurations

[jangell]

Quick update: I'm pretty sure I found my problem -- EDIS channels B and C weren't firing at all, which I traced to the wires at the bulkhead connector no longer being attached to the bulkhead connector. I'm going to fix this tomorrows and hopefully get the car idling properly after that. To be honest, I'm surprised the car even tried to run on only two cylinders, much less that it could actually sort of idle.

I also figured out why my oil sender wasn't working (forgot to plug it in, basically), put back together some of the interior, went through the MegaSquirt Setup Guide to make sure the injectors are firing, tested the IAC (pretty sure it's working, although I imaged to fire a pintle across the garage...), sensors are working, compared my tune to Josh's, watched some videos about MS to get a better understanding of how to set things up and use the VE table, tried to relocate my fuel pressure gauge (just wound up spraying fuel all over the engine), and completely screwed up my turn signals (which I'll start another thread about). But I'm making progress.

Tomorrow (Christmas Day) is likely the last time I'll be able to work on the car for 1-2 weeks, as it's going to be below freezing for as far out as the forecasts will predict, and there's no heat in the cheap garage I rent. Hopefully I'll get a few warm weekends so I do more work and start tuning.

I'll report back tomorrow evening. Thanks again everyone!

-- Joe