EFI control

[Eric Bryant]

> From: Bruce Plecan [mailto:nacelp at bright.net]
> Subject: Re: EFI control
> 
> Ugh, well here we go again, from accel to GM PCMs.  OK, took 
> GM almost 20
> years to evolve this far.   GM sells what about 18 trillion 
> pcms a year?.
> If the new stuff was still a ecm it probably would be in the 
> same box as in
> 82, just the newer stuff has that much more heat, and 
> enironment to deal
> with.   Things get to where they are also over engineered, 
> and KISS gets
> completely lost.
> Bruce

Well, I'm an automotive electrical engineer, and I do understand why the
requirements have evolved to the point where they're at right now.  If
you're only driving your car on the strip and it's being operated from temps
ranging from, oh, 40 F to 100 F, and only on dry days, then I can see where
you don't need the level of engineering that an OEM part provides.

However, if your car is a daily driver, and you want a module that will last
many years and work in all sessons, and all conditions, then you really,
really do need the level of engineering that the OEMs perform.  Sorry, but
if I'm dropping $3000 on a aftermarket ECU, then I want something that's
going to work within the stated operating parameters.  If the vendor claims
that the part is good for fair-weather use only and shouldn't be used on a
daily driver, fine.  If the vendor is claiming that I can bolt his XYZ ECU
into my car for use as a daily driver, then he had better comprehend the
environment and its effects on his module.

So, is the average aftermarket part tested for EMC behavior?  No?  So what
happens when I drive past a cell phone tower?  How about thermal shock
testing?  No?  Oops, better not go through the car wash on a hot summer day.
Shock and vibration testing?  Here in Michigan we have huge potholes.  

I know that I'm going to come off as yet another young engineer who wants to
make everything more complex just for the sake of doing so.  It's just that
I've seen some stuff that doesn't belong in an alarm clock, much less in a
automotive environment where I'm trusting my equipment (and maybe even my
safety) to a piece of junk that wasn't properly engineered.

End of rant.  I don't have the right to tell anyone what parts to run in
their car - all I can do is set standards for my own stuff.

Eric Bryant
mailto:bryante at ghsp.com
http://www.novagate.com/~bryante 

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