John Vine Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I've figured it's about time I understood more about the electronics on my R400D. I've heard of Easimap but that's about as far as my very limited knowledge extends. Perhaps some kind soul could steer me in the right direction? What do I need to peek into the ECU, check sensors, and interpret diagnostics? All advice welcome.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titanium7 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Not sure which ECU is on the Duratec but if it's an MBE you might first need to get a connection lead into the ECU or you may have some other connection on the unit. The Easymap is a free download. Caterham tend to 'lock' the ECU's with a pin code. ( All this is from my experience with a K series) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted January 11, 2015 Member Share Posted January 11, 2015 You're not the only one who'd like definitive advice on this. I've tried to understand the options but I get lost with the problems with the serial data cables and the precise version of Windows needed to run the software. I tried to get my mind round it in this thread.The ideal solution for me would work across multiple types of vehicle, probably use Bluetooth (obviating the serial cable) and preferably run on an iPhone rather than needing another single-purpose device.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 You basically need the MBE-MAP-KIT-3-CAN cable listed here: http://www.sbdev.co.uk/Engine_Management_Systems/ECU/Programming.htmI'm running the Easimap 6 software on an old Windows Vista Netbook at the moment for data acquisition and real time sensor info viewing, but have run it on a Windows XP laptop, too. From a data analysis perspective I normally transfer the data capture files to a Windows 8.1 virtual machine that runs in my Linux Fedora 21 desktop system, allowing faster analysis and viewing on a 23" screen. Any Windows machine able to run 32-bit mode with a standard USB port should work, but it may be better from a USB driver perspective to run XP, Vista or Windows 7. I followed the MBE instructions exactly and it worked first time: http://www.sbdev.co.uk/Engine_Management_Systems/ECU/Easimap6_Download.htmCheck the location of the 16-pin CAN bus connector, on my 2012 R400D it was covered by a large round rubber cap below and under the edge of the dash against the top of the kick panel. As my car is left hand drive, this is on the left side of the car, I expect it will be on the right for UK cars. This connector is a standard OBD II compliant connector, but from a software perspective it only implements the CAN protocol, so any standard OBD software / app is unlikely to work (I tried a standard OBD II code reader, it saw the CAN protocol, but couldn't communicate).The data acquisition worked perfectly with the standard R400D MBE 992 ECU once I worked out that about 20 sensor inputs was about the maximum the laptop and USB link speed could handle without starting to miss data points (at one point I had about 120 parameters configured for data acquisition, even though some of them weren't reported by the 992, anyway). Basically you can set up multiple nice dashboards with about 20 dial or digital displays on your laptop and strap it in to the passenger seat, or take a "diagnostictitian" with you to look at the outputs in real time. One thing to bear in mind is that you need to save the diagnostic info to a file before switching display screen (if you configure multiple dashboards), otherwise all collected data is lost, as it does a collection reset (I've had several flat-out data acquisition runs that were perfect, that I lost the data capture from by forgetting this).After I worked out that the car didn't have altitude correction using the standard Caterham/MBE 992 ECU, I tried every combination of unlock code using a script that ran for 2 days, the ECU wouldn't unlock, so I think that it requires custom software beyond Easimap that only Caterham has to re-map it. Consequently I bought a new MBE 9A4 ECU and barometric sensor to allow the car to run much more optimally at my 1250 metre (4000 feet) or so altitude, the Caterham map default barometric pressure is 1040mBar, it is normally about 870mBar where I live, so the almost 20% over fuelling was destroying spark plugs every 3,000 kilometres or so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted January 12, 2015 Member Share Posted January 12, 2015 Great detail: many thanks.Is there a simple answer about the models of 7 and/ or ECUs to which that would apply?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 This should apply to all Duratec engined 7s and I believe Sigma, too. The key is to having either an MBE 99x or 9Ax ECU that is CAN bus compatible, Caterhams typically will use the 992 most commonly or may have been upgraded to the fully pluggable 9A4. If in doubt, take a photo of the ECU and connector and contact SBD Motorsports for them to identify it (I found them to be quite responsive over email).992 and 9A4 ECUs will use this connector, which has the OBD2 connector for the CAN bus connected on pins 8 and 9: http://www.sbdev.co.uk/Info_sheets/Wiring_Harness/LM9A4-OBD-COMMS%20Connection%20information.pdf This is the pin-out list http://www.sbdev.co.uk/Info_sheets/MBE/9A4-PinoutIssue%20F.pdfIf for some reason the OBD2 port is not fitted, either Caterham or MBE have the adapter: http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_product=2788 It is in the SBD MBE parts list as LM9A4-OBD-COMMS: http://www.sbdev.co.uk/Price_List/Duratec%20Price%20list.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted January 12, 2015 Member Share Posted January 12, 2015 ThanksJonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revilla Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 The MEMS3 unit on standard K-Series is programmable, although any attempts to probe it and tinker on my part have left me with a completely bricked unit! Older MEMS units used on EU2 and before were not programmable. Z&F tuning remap MEMS3 units but I have no idea what protocols they use. Some "chip tuning" units like the Galletto 1260 do apparently let you download and upload the mapping data, but the file you get (16KB) is a lot smaller than the capacity of the 29F200 flash memory chip they contain (256KB) so it is obviously only a partial download. Attempting to upload the file to the same unit seems to succeed but attempting to upload it to another unit results in a bricked ECU that won't even communicate to allow you to put it back again. I'd love to be able to understand the process of programming one of these, firstly for personal satisfaction and secondly because I don't like the idea of having a custom Z&F map that I can't even back up. I'm not interested in ripping anyone off, just want to play and learn for my own benefit. The only way I know of at the moment is to desolder the flash memory and copy it using a standard programmer, but it's not cheap and not for the faint hearted! Even then there's still the whole job of reverse engineering the downloaded file if you want to make any changes.If anyone feels like letting me on secrets please feel free to PM me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Thanks, chaps (Aerobod especially). Plenty of food for thought there!JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NedK Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hi allFor those of you with a 160, the OBD2 works perfectly. The port is tucked just by the driver's right knee.I bought a cheap OBD2 Bluetooth adapter from Amazon and downloaded Torque Pro from Android for my Samsung Galaxy. The two devices paired, and immediately I was getting live data from the ECU. The throttle position reads about 21% when 'idle', and doesn't reach 100% at full push. But I imagine I can tweak that somehow.Other than that, all the telemetry worked perfectly (air temp, mass air flow, boost etc etc). No manual set up by me needed at all.The app has a bewildering set of options to play with. It'll even do 0-60 automatically :-)Ned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmaster Flatcap Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Can anyone point to a serial / USB cable that works with Emerald/K-series? I've bought two of fleabay and neither did squat.(might be my fault for going for cheap *tightwad*) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmaster Flatcap Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 hmmm - jsut re-read Aerobod's post. My lappy runs Windaz 7 64bit. Is that just not going to work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I tried Easimap 6 on Windows 8.1 (64-bit), it worked without a problem. Should work with Windows 7 64-bit, but if there are any issues with the MBE USB driver in 64-bit mode, then it should work if run in 32-bit compatibility mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team 700newtons Posted May 11, 2015 Leadership Team Share Posted May 11, 2015 That is interesting Ned - there were no codes needed to get into the ECU then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NedK Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 HiI just put in '1234', but that was the Bluetooth pairing code. The Torque app then immediately starting reading data. With the engine in 'II' position (but not running), the throttle position, air temp, air density, etc etc all showed up. I'm not exactly sure why I'm interested in the data... but it's nice to have all the same!Ned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team 700newtons Posted May 11, 2015 Leadership Team Share Posted May 11, 2015 Yes, kind of nerdy in a good way. I'll see if I can pick up one that works with iOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 You should be able to read the ECU data, just not alter it. To do that you need the appropriate code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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