Megasquirt (spark) died on me. How to test?

[Chuckcruzin1986]

My E30 project with turbo was running great but all of a sudden I do not have spark. I checked #27 and there is power (12 volts). I am really lost how to test the system. I have no idea if it is the Megasquirt II or an other electrical problem with the car.

I have wasted spark with 3 GM coils. The 3 led lights on the Megasquirt do not flicker as they do when the system is running right.

I am really in a bind and any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chuck

[nando]

buy a stim, that's the best way to test things.

does this build by change have the old coil drivers? I can't even remember the name, but they were known to fail and were replaced with BIP373s.

[Chuckcruzin1986]

Coil drivers?

buy a stim, that's the best way to test things.

does this build by change have the old coil drivers? I can't even remember the name, but they were known to fail and were replaced with BIP373s.

Thanks for your tips and I am buying the Stim.

I noted the upgrade but was wondering if one failed, would the whole system go down?

Chuck

[nando]

they would fail individually (each spark channel) but it's plausible they could all fail in a close timeframe.

if the LEDs aren't lighting then either there's a hardware failure or a software misconfiguration.

[Chuckcruzin1986]

Testing with the Stim

buy a stim, that's the best way to test things.

does this build by change have the old coil drivers? I can't even remember the name, but they were known to fail and were replaced with BIP373s.

Thanks for your ideas Nando.

My friend took my board to his friend who has a Stimulator. They checked it and found the board defective............. BUT, now I heard that you need the board set to the Stim mode..... They did not know such a setting.

Is there a special setting on the board for the test?

Thanks,
Chuck

[Chuckcruzin1986]

So Sorry............ the board is good

Thanks for your ideas Nando.

My friend took my board to his friend who has a Stimulator. They checked it and found the board defective............. BUT, now I heard that you need the board set to the Stim mode..... They did not know such a setting.

Is there a special setting on the board for the test?

Thanks,
Chuck

My friend did a little more digging and testing and found the board is GOOD!

So, my problem seems to be on the car side of Megasquirt. Any ideas out there?
Chuck

[whodwho]

Hopefully they had a JimStim, the regular stim wont exercise the tach circuit and you can test it thoroughly.

Have you connected up to the PC and do you get an RPM signal? You can do tooth logging and also test outputs from TS

Do you hear the fuel pump prime? If not make sure it is getting power and ground to the controller. With the LEDs not blinking could be the controller is not powered or not getting a tach signal from the CPS or corrupt firmware.

[Chuckcruzin1986]

More testing needed

Hopefully they had a JimStim, the regular stim wont exercise the tach circuit and you can test it thoroughly.

Have you connected up to the PC and do you get an RPM signal? You can do tooth logging and also test outputs from TS

Do you hear the fuel pump prime? If not make sure it is getting power and ground to the controller. With the LEDs not blinking could be the controller is not powered or not getting a tach signal from the CPS or corrupt firmware.

Thanks for your thoughts. The board was tested in Kalamazoo (150 miles from here and I was not there). I will pass your comments on.
The pump works good. I have power to #27.

My friend is shipping it back Monday............. we will try your idea with the laptop to see if there is a RPM signal.

Thanks again,
Chuck

[whodwho]

Hopefully they had a JimStim, the regular stim wont exercise the tach circuit and you can't test it thoroughly.

Seen a bit of a typo, let us know how it goes

[ColdAsLife]

What kind of CPS are you running? A stock VR or a hall effect?

Post up your tooth logs when you can.

[Chuckcruzin1986]

e30 and Megasquirt ........ not good

What kind of CPS are you running? A stock VR or a hall effect?

Post up your tooth logs when you can.

I am using an original engine speed sensor.

We checked the ground connections and they seem good. We pulled the wiring harness and replaced with a known, working harness. Went back to cap and rotor, stock ecu and the one standard coil. The car started right up.

I am wondering if I could send the computers (boards) to someone who can bench test everything that I have?


Chuck

[ColdAsLife]

What you should do if you want the most comprehensive and reliable solution then I would highly recommend just liquidating what you have and using the proceeds to get one of whodwho's MS PNP set ups. You wont regret it.

[Chuckcruzin1986]

Sell off what i have?

What you should do if you want the most comprehensive and reliable solution then I would highly recommend just liquidating what you have and using the proceeds to get one of whodwho's MS PNP set ups. You wont regret it.

That is exactly what I am doing.

I will buy the plug and play assembled unit ;)

Thanks,
Chuck

[Chuckcruzin1986]

problem solved

That is exactly what I am doing.

I will buy the plug and play assembled unit ;)

Thanks,
Chuck

I received my new Plug and Play unit and it runs like a top.
My nightmare is over. Thank you to those that helped.

Chuck