Instead of being limited to the aldl speed, why not make scan software that runs directly off the same input the ECM gets? I Realize it would be much more complicated, but there would be incredible benefits from it.

Unfortunately I'm better at the programming side of things versus the engineering side. What would be needed to convert voltage (sensor signal) into something a laptop could use? Is it possible for serial and lpt1 ports to accept straight voltage (not much higher than 12) without some form of converter?

I would like to start small if any of this were possible and make a speedometer/tachometer that had a fast update, and slowly add features if things go right.

Any comments are greatly appreciated

Ryan

 

Seems like a good thought at first. I know when I first wanted to learn about programming I went out and bought a bunch of books about it. I figured the 'more information' I had the better. It turns out that I bought a bunch of useless extra junk that I don't need and never look at.
One feature of the Craig Moates software is that you can slow down the update rate. I use it cause I think the ECM is just giving me too much information sometimes. Maybe it is cause I am a simple person and get confused real easy.
What parameters would you like to have updated at a faster rate? If it is only a few, you could try replacing some of the existing parameters with the ones you would like to see more often.
J

 

Well, currently the software I use is limited at 1.5 seconds per refresh. I havent used Craig's software as i dont have a camaro/firebird.

With Grand Nationals, it is very important to know if your motor is knocking. with 1.5 intervals, it is easy to miss this knock, or not see how fast its climbing. With these cars tuning is literally everything. I would like faster readings on just about everything because of this.


My car came equipped with a digital dash. The things tell you nearly nothing other than your fuel sending unit doesnt work right, your speed, and your odometer numbers. For some strange reason the speedo has a slow update rate. For instance, were i to accelerate fairly strong up to 30 on my speedo and then stop, my next reading would be about 38. It's just really annoying.

 

You are right. That is pretty slow. I would want something faster too. I was thinking of the 8192 and not the 160. I don't know what to tell you. I remember seeing a post about someone wanting to work on a tool that would allow faster updates. I think the post is only a few days old now. Maybe they figured something out there.
J

 

From the software end, you CAN get faster logging than the 8192 rate reading all 64 data bytes. What you have to do is specify particular memory locations or byte numbers in a short list for the request string rather than requesting all 64. If you do this, the ECM can 'refresh' the ALDL more often, giving a higher data rate. For instance, if you're only interested in timing advance, TPS, RPM, and speed, then you could request only those four bytes of data. Uses less bandwidth 'per request'. There's some overhead from the request strings and echoes, but you still save some bandwidth over the full 64-byte request.

This is one way to get at it, but not for the 160-baud application. And it wouldn't be a step-change, maybe 2-3x faster is all.

If someone wants to try this, it should be pretty 'easy' to add a 'fast-read mode' into my program. All the routines are there for the PROM dump and such.

 

If you are hard-pressed on getting the actual voltage signals into the computer directly from the sensors instead of through the data stream, look into DAQ (data acquisition). You run a voltage to a DAQ card, it patches into your laptop, and then from there it uses a software package that configures the inputs.

www.dataq.com used to have a starter kit listed on their main page (pn DI-194) that had 4 inputs avail. Once you get into the mass amounts of sensor inputs that you could end up with, you will realize cost is a major concern.

 

There's also directscan from Chu Engineering at http://www.chuengineering.com/; it's $250 and should hook you GN owners right up. Mucho faster data updates.

 

I don't leave home without it.

A scanmaster, and Bailey chip are other options. Bailey double reads the O2 for the scanmaster.

Yes,
yes, I own a black ol coupe. hehehehe