DIY_EFI Digest V4 #461

[ARoss10661 at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/10/99 2:29:46 PM Central Daylight Time, 
DIY_EFI-Digest-Owner at efi332.eng.ohio-state.edu writes:

<< From: JMACKENZ at uk.ibm.com
 Subject: PC based engine management system
 
 Hi, I'm new to the digest and have joined because I've set myself a long
 term project to design and build a road legal drag car (ie nothing too
 stupid or expensive) for which the engine is fully managed from a laptop
 computer. I'm doing this mainly as a challenge for fun and will share all
 my results / code etc when I have anything worthwhile. I've never attempted
 anything like this before and any cars which I have built previously have
 always used carbs rather than EFI but I will put the effort in to make sure
 I succeed. My knowledge of the workings of common engine management systems
 is very limited and this is the first area which I need to learn about.
 Does anyone have a good document or website which describes basics /
 details of the engine management system including the fuel maps? I'm also
 looking for a description of the what is sensed from the engine (ie airflow
 / MAP / oil / water temperature / crank position  etc) and what effect this
 has on the fuel delivery volume / timing  and the ignition timing? Also I
 need to figure out or buy an input / output device for the laptop (PCMCIA /
 Parallel / RS232 ?) which will allow me to sample all the inputs and output
 to fuel injectors etc. Any advice on this would be most appreciated!
 
 What I'm looking to achieve initially is to have an engine (very probably a
 Rover V8 from a 1984 Rovertec Vitesse) for which the fuel delivery is
 managed via a hardware interface to a laptop which runs custom written
 software. I would then like to add in the ignition timing then a
 supercharger or Janspeed twin turbo setup (or both). Eventually my goal
 would be to include servo throttle control and other stuff to basically
 allow the car to drag a 1/4 mile based on an optimised program without any
 driver intervention except for steering!
 
 I know this is a huge never-ending project but it'll keep me entertained
 for a long while and it'll be worth it in the long term. I know I'll
 destroy numerous engine parts. I'm lucky that I have a lot of technical
 support and enthusiasm from friends. I'm aware that the first year will be
 spent in the garage but this is no different to most of my projects! In
 addition to standard tools, the equipment I have (or have access to)
 includes the following;
 
 Emmisions meter
 Numerous volt / current etc meters
 Digital oscilloscope
 EEPROM programmer
 
 My background - I'm a degree qualified Electronic / Mechanical engineer
 with a great interest in cars. I work in IBM as a senior WW test engineer
 for Thinkpad (Laptops) manufacturing which means that I can program in C /
 Turbo Pascal and Rexx and have a pretty good understanding of computers.
 Working in IBM also gives me access to the skills required for ciircuit
 design etc which I'm a bit rusty on myself. I will be working closely with
 a friend who has a lot of experience with building strange cars and engines
 but he also has little knowledge of EFI systems.
 
 If anyone can offer me any initial (and hopefully ongoing) help and support
 then I would be most appreciative. I am a complete novice in this field
 just now but I'm a fast learner if I get the help I need.
 
 Best Regards
 James MacKenzie
 
 ------------------------------ >>
  James,

This sounds like a fantastic project let me know if I can be of help (similar 
interests lesser credentials)

Al