Starting my Megasquirt journey

[tractioncircle]

Hello Folks,

I will be starting my Megasquirt journey soon. I have decided to go with the MS3X kit to run full sequential injection and coil near plug conversion.

I would like to thank Chris for the awesome work he has done on the documentation of the MS3X wiring using the M50NV harness. I will be going the same route.

Here's my list of things to buy. Would love to hear your thoughts on what should be changed or added.

1.> MSIII V3.0 kit
2.> MS3X expansion board
3.> JimStim
4.> 1992-93 BMW 325i harness
5.> D585 coils
6.> Bosch 4 hole HighZ injectors ( Whats the best size for NA application)
7.>DB37 Male and Female connectors
8.>Pins/Sockets for the connectors (I am trying to locate crimp type rather than solder)
9.> E46 Cam sensor
10.> Cam Cover Plate (Still undecided)
11.> Cam trigger wheel (Still undecided)
12.> Wide Band controller : Innovate LC2
13.> GM IAT sensor

I am specifically not going in for a PNP setup as this is my EFI learning project.

I will use this thread to post my updates.

Thanks
TC

[e30experiment]

I am going to go with a m3x soon also but, I am going turbo'd.
I believe you missed the coolant temp sensor.

what about,
mapdaddy?
knock module/sensor?
real time clock module?

(does ms3x use the oem crank wheel/sensor?)

[tractioncircle]

I am hoping to utilize the stock coolant temp sensor. Also, The MS3X can be configured to work with the stock crank shaft sensor.

I wont be adding mapdaddy, the MS3X has a built in sensor that should suffice for NA application.

I still haven't read up on the clock module so don't know if I will be needing it or not.

[Q5Quint]

So this is for a m50 going into a e30? hence the harness?

Neat. I only know about m20 stuff but other than the wiring it should be close to the same. Maybe.

The 2nd e30 I megasquirted I cheated and used the plug and play whodwho unit. The wiring from the first one still gives me nightmares~ the DB37 should only live in a glovebox, never in your engine bay.

I wouldnt hesitate to splice a harness now but the time savings from plug and play make it worth it if you can do it.

That expansion board is neato- the knock and clock stuff is neat but unneeded. You can add knock for less than $200 if you really want to though.

Technically you dont even need the jimstim once you have the thing working. I used mine twice then sold it after it sat for 2 years doing nothing.

Goodluck with the journey!

[tractioncircle]

for M20

So this is for a m50 going into a e30? hence the harness?

Neat. I only know about m20 stuff but other than the wiring it should be close to the same. Maybe.

The 2nd e30 I megasquirted I cheated and used the plug and play whodwho unit. The wiring from the first one still gives me nightmares~ the DB37 should only live in a glovebox, never in your engine bay.

I wouldnt hesitate to splice a harness now but the time savings from plug and play make it worth it if you can do it.

That expansion board is neato- the knock and clock stuff is neat but unneeded. You can add knock for less than $200 if you really want to though.

Technically you dont even need the jimstim once you have the thing working. I used mine twice then sold it after it sat for 2 years doing nothing.

Goodluck with the journey!

This is for a M20, The M50NV harness is something that will allow me to run sequential without needing extra wires.

But I am still debating this option in my head. I am thinking of retaining the stock harness and make a M55 to DB37 adapter with an extra harness (couple of wires really) to run the sequential injectors.

This is going to be excruciatingly slow progress, just found out I owe the IRS :(

[Q5Quint]

I used to be into the wasted spark and sequential ideas.... but the car ran just fine with the single coil dizzy and a turbo.

Maybe I am just getting old, but being able to plug it in and work was more of a benefit than the +5hp +1mpg and stronger sparks to prevent spark blowout from the turbo I wasn't having with proper plug gap. Extra cost extra hassle and minimal benefit. It is neat for sure.... coil on plug and sequential injection is will certainly let you squeeze out a bit more and tune for better emissions.

But you could always add that in later, which is the glory of megasquirt.

Are you soldering it all yourself to stay on the cheap? I was able to find a used working unit for nearly the same price as the new kit which save me time. Time = money sometimes.

[tractioncircle]

Learning Project

I used to be into the wasted spark and sequential ideas.... but the car ran just fine with the single coil dizzy and a turbo.

Maybe I am just getting old, but being able to plug it in and work was more of a benefit than the +5hp +1mpg and stronger sparks to prevent spark blowout from the turbo I wasn't having with proper plug gap. Extra cost extra hassle and minimal benefit. It is neat for sure.... coil on plug and sequential injection is will certainly let you squeeze out a bit more and tune for better emissions.

But you could always add that in later, which is the glory of megasquirt.

Are you soldering it all yourself to stay on the cheap? I was able to find a used working unit for nearly the same price as the new kit which save me time. Time = money sometimes.

I would have definitely gone the Plug and Play direction with maybe 'WhoDWho's plug in if all I wanted was a bit of control and a platform for more power. But this is a learning project for me. So going sequential is a must.

I am not good at soldering, have not done it for 10 years now. I might just end up getting the built MS3X with the V3.57 SMD board.

[gath]

Good to see you going for it. I have been running this for about two years now on my m20 without issues. It is a good upgrade using MAF, COP, eliminating the need to change the cap, rotor and the lead cables. I am running m50 NV ECUs and Ostrich 2.0. I have not tuned it but it still works well as it is.

[tractioncircle]

Cam Sensor, TPS

Gath,

What did you do for cam sensor. I am thinking of epoxying a magnet on the distributor rotor arm and use a VR sensor pointing radially inwards. Something like this

http://www.digitalmee.net/mmedia/project-cars/e30-eip-racecar/

Also do I need to have a Variable TPS to run with the MS3X? I will be running speed-density and not N-Alpha.

[ZenitramNaes]

Serial to USB cable?

[gath]

Gath,

What did you do for cam sensor. I am thinking of epoxying a magnet on the distributor rotor arm and use a VR sensor pointing radially inwards. Something like this

http://www.digitalmee.net/mmedia/project-cars/e30-eip-racecar/

Also do I need to have a Variable TPS to run with the MS3X? I will be running speed-density and not N-Alpha.

Sorry I haven't looked at this thread in a while, actually I epoxied a small neodymium magnet to the metal piece that I bolted to the rotor mounting. I have used a VR and a Hall sensor, but even without the sensor connected the car still runs fine

[Ether-D]

Also do I need to have a Variable TPS to run with the MS3X? I will be running speed-density and not N-Alpha.

I think you will want a variable tps.

[tractioncircle]

Sorry I haven't looked at this thread in a while, actually I epoxied a small neodymium magnet to the metal piece that I bolted to the rotor mounting. I have used a VR and a Hall sensor, but even without the sensor connected the car still runs fine

Thanks. Thats probably what I will do, epoxy a magnet to the rotor arm.

Well the M50 ECU you might have a fail safe for the cam sensor. You are probably running in batch or semi-sequential mode.

[Northern]

Also do I need to have a Variable TPS to run with the MS3X? I will be running speed-density and not N-Alpha.

The M50 uses a potentiometer style TPS, its a common choice, uses the same connector, and is cheap.
Nigel/Einstein57 makes an adapter plate to fit it: http://www.german-engineering.net/1_6_Products.html

[tractioncircle]

I've finally got the funds to get this project going. But I've decided to go PNP with Whodowho's EMS. It should allow me to run semi-sequential with maybe a little extra wiring.

I will eventually graduate to full-sequential once I am comfortable with the whole MS deal and setup and tuning.