I saw something about this a few days ago but I can't find the post again. can I run my car with a usb or serial port on my laptop to eliminate ecm and prom burning. is the software and hardware available? It's also a good excuse to install a computer in the car

 

It's not really feasable. What would you connect the laptop to? You'd still need inputs for all your sensors, drivers for your injection and ignition systems, and outputs for transmission and other stuff. It would be really expensive to do it with a computer and the I/O card(s) that would be needed to talk to all of the above. The fast and furious stuff was more like a programmable ecm setup -- like a DFI or equivalent.

 

I actually meant something to replace the prom and or ecm with programable software versus fixed hardware just to make it easier to tune. no burning chips, no getting out of the car. Just stop, change what you want and go. I looked around and found what I need, I think. http://www.xtronics.com/memory/romutator.htm
costs about that same as the stuff to burn proms. You would have to have a computer in the car to run it but I don't think that would be too hard.
For less than 200 bucks I can build a PC with a 6" lcd that will mount in the dash. Thats 400 bucks for on the fly tuning capability. And tuning is something I'll be doing alot of, adding parts one at a time. I can only afford about a hundred a month for this car so it's gonna be a couple years to get it where I want it. That's why I'm so interested in how to make my own parts and do as much myself as I can.

Has anyone here tried this? Any input, positive or negative is appreciated.

 

Sounds cool. Good luck.

 

I've been using a Romulator for months.
You still need to get an editor for the code your working on.

Stop take notes, edit file, load Romulator, start car and go. I can do a dozen changes in an hour now.

Easy for the new guy to get lost with thou. It takes discipline not to try and make more then one change at a time. The instant you try the 2-3 changes at a time, you can get really lost on your tune.

It's also excellent for code developement when using an ecm bench.

 

What is the best software to use with it? what is an ecm bench?

 

The Romulator takes the place of the programable memory part of the ecm. You can use any editor to edit the code, and then load that into the Romulator. Tunercat is working on a direct edit, but it's not ready yet.

An ECM bench is a way of running an ecm without having it plugged into the car. That way you can test changes without risking the engine to see if they work. If you got to the WWW.DIY-EFI.ORG site and poke around, there's pics of me set up there.

 

hate to see what happens when windows crashes at 100 MPH, heh heh heh

 

hehe yeah, that would really suck!

 

romulator works indepently of the pc. when you make a change you flash the romulators memory. as long as the ECM is powered up it will hold the last info loaded. in fact i do it periodically is load romulator disconnect from pc stich to aldl line read info go back to romulator make changes. it time consuming but much easier then walking in and out of the house 500 times

what i need to do is get another laptop. or get a data switch. this way ittl save me the hassle of finding the plug laptops tyically have just one com. but if your setup where to use a typical pc board with 2 or more coms then you could have the aldl info on one prot the emulator on another and the editor open. could work out nicely.

 

That is exactly what I was thinking of. laptops are expensive but a pcboard with everything built in and processor is only about $100 then you just need a monitor.I found a source for a 6.5" lcd for $112.

 

The laptop that I use in the car was $50. That's replacing my B+W 486 that I think was $30. For about $200 you can be doing on the fly with off the self hardware.

 

You'd need some sort of external module for all the plugs that go to the ECM to go to, then convert it all into a single bitstream, and connect to the computer. It would probably have to be USB, I doubt serial ports would be enough bandwidth for everything. Also, you would need a very reliable OS running the software, like Linux, Unix, or DOS. I wouldnt trust windows to run my engine. Although it would be funny to see a 'Warning: Your car has performed an illegal operation and will now be shut down" message :P

 

I can see it now, your driven down the road and your windows laptop crashes...


(A)bort, (R)etry, (D)eploy Air Bags

 

Now there's a quote!

 

Ward, not meaning to be critical, but I think you have WAY to much time on your hands.
Either that or I am just stupid. I am just trying to get my car running. All that stuff you are talking about is the LAST thing I would think of, but it sounds kind of cool.
If you master it let me know. I would be interested to see if it works.:lala:

 

LS1 edit is a Romulator type of program. Any OBDII car is programmable, I believe. My friend's LS1 Firehawk needed to be retuned after the headders, loud-mouth, lo-temp thermostat and MAF sensor upgrades.

It sounds like it's really interesting. I'd love to set something up for adapting the v6 batch fire system to a v8, kinda like a home-brewed TPI set-up, but using a gutted carb as the TB and have a fully programmable ECM. I dunno, just a thought I was kicking around...

 

Wait a minute. I am not much of a computer savvy individual, I am happy enough to have installed the TC program and hooked up the PP2. It sounds to me like you guys are saying this Romulator (wasn't that from Star Trek) thing will take the place of an eprom and allow on the fly adjustment?!

I am sure I have the wrong impression. If someone how knows about this stuff very well, Grumpy, Funstick, whoever will either tell me whats up or tell me where to read about it, I would be grateful. I have done innumerable searches on the boards and read alot over at the DIY ECM site. I just don't understand alot about what those guys do. It sounds interesting to me and I am very interested in a way to speed up tuning!!

 

commander 950 is an easy to use windows-based software that enabled you to control your MPFI or TBI setup using a laptop. yes it lets you tune "on the fly" and its not really expensive either. you just need the ECU of course, it replaces your current one, (duh), and there you go.

it can even use a Wide band 02 with the right software upgrade.

 

Or you could get the Haltech E6GM. Direct replacement for a lot of the GM ECMs.

That's what I would like to do, but the price is just a tad out of my scope at the moment.

 

How much does that Haltech E6GM cost? Is it a direct replacement or does the wiring harness need to be changed or modified? I don't have a problem with my OEM ECM and burning chips, but one day I may want to go to the aftermarket.

 

Don't quote me on this, but a Haltech is about $700 for the computer alone. I know a guy who runs them on his dragster. They work well, but the software is crude, he still uses a DOS version, I forget if the windows version for Haltech is still in beta stages or if it is out yet.

If you don't mind working with the wiring, a complete Holley 950 costs ~900; nice software, comes with a harness, software, O2 sensor, and depending on the kit, comes with other sensors too.

 

windoze is a dying os. Has anyone played with a MAC to do tuning? Os X is unix and very stable. Built in USB & firewire. With the firewire you can have your digital camcorder sitting over your shoulder recording your run and edit it in iMovie.

 

Oh no! The engine quits... big disaster!!