EPM configuration in EMS

[neoxaero]

Okay, So I'm at the part in this whole thing where I need to setup my EPM in the computer its self..

Of course I didn't think to set the motor at TDC _BEFORE_ i removed the stock distrib.. whoops..

Oh well

So I downloaded the new wizard file that has the EPM listed under the Cam/Crank sensor wizard...
Setup the Injector/Coil phasing as per this image on the AEM forums:

Thanks to Blacksaleen95

So how do i check for sync from the EPM now... Whats the next step from here? ... Seriously when I'm all done with this I'm writing a bad ass how-to on this entire process (I've taken lots of pics)

[94cobra2615]

Do the TPS test on the coils to make sure they are paired correctly and that they spark.

Set engine at TDC

Watch the cam parameter.....spin the epm until it just registers "ON" stab it in.

Go into options and turn OFF all 8 injectors and turn ON coils.
Have your laptop sitting out in the engine compartment (dont have to do this but if you are alone it is easier this way)
Go to configure, ECU setup, set ignition
Click "fixed timing check box" and enter 0 to make it easy
Crank engine over and use the "+" "-" buttons until the balancer reads 0
Turn injectors on
Start car

[neoxaero]

where do you find the cam parameter to see when it registers on?

another side question (about to search for it) ... my "engine load" is showing 100+ kPa when the car is just sitting.. any ideas on that one??

[94cobra2615]

Go to "View" and then "parameters"

All viewable parameters are listed alphabetically there

[neoxaero]

thanks a ton man!!

Now I need to carry my computer out to the garage and finish this up...

My laptop got dropped last night and broke.. damn it

[neoxaero]

Okay so I double checked all my wiring...

I ran the 12v wire from PIN 37 @ the harness..
Ground wire goes to pin 40 or 60 (i dont remember honestly)
Crank was ran to pin 56
Cam was run to pin 66

When I rotate the EPM (already stabbed it in) i can watch on the parameter screen and it'll show RPM and I can watch on the little graph (i assume its tooth count or something?) the little marker moves down the line and back up..

Where is says Sync on the parameters menu it always says "OFF" so I assume I'm not getting a sync?

Should the wires I ran for the CAM/CRANK have been shielded wires? they are just regular 18ga wires atm..

I'm pretty much at a loss at this point... wanna get the car fired up so i can solder all my connections and get the damn thing back over to the tuner

[gray86hatch]

A tooth is one thing you will nee to look at.
cam pick up I think is what will tell you on or off. get it to 0-1 and drop it in. then turn the EPM clockwise 1/8 turn it should be close. I could not get the motor to crank fast enough for the timing light to work.

I didn't run my grounds back to the AEM I just grounded it to the head.

Also got my power for the coils from the stock coil wire.

I used the stock TFI wiring for the EPM wiring.

Tim

[neoxaero]

so should the parameter "sync" say ON when its sync'd?

One other issue.. when I'm turning the EPM the fuel pump cycles... like i turned the key off and turned it back on?

If i keep turning the epm the fuel pump stays on

So frustrated

[gray86hatch]

The pump is going to come on. that is normal

The stat sync will come on when you are cranking the car. takes a rev or 2 over 50 rpm

it is dosn't come on you have issues

Tim

[neoxaero]

sweet.. went down and gave it a shot (finally got my wireless to work on my mac in my garage)

noticed the sync came on while i was cranking it (with the injectors off)

Everything seems good so i turned on the 1 and 6 injectors and it tried to start... turned on the other 6 and it tried to fire up.. but something is still wrong with the configuration...

Going to save my config file that i have on the ecm right now and try uploading it ...

maybe someone could take a look at it and tell me what i'm doing wrong...

car was tuned up to around 3500 rpm or so (ignition started cutting out)

So with the timing set right the car theoretically should run great up to that point once i get this crap figured out

[gray86hatch]

willing to bet it is in the timing.

Mine was way off and would do what you are saying.

it had to be within 15 or so to start.

Tim

[94cobra2615]

The way I done mine:

With the EPM in hand not stabbed in.....I spun the cam gear at the bottom until it just registered "ON" looking at the cam parameter. It will only flash on briefly and then go back off, so you have to spin it real slow....otherwise you will miss it if you spin it too fast.

Stab it in.

Then turn all 8 injectors off.

Now you need to sync the timing. Go to the set ignition menu. Click "set fixed timing" and put 0 in for the number. You will have to have someone crank the engine over while you have the timing light on the balancer. Click the + or - buttons until the balancer reads 0 btdc. This works best when the laptop is in the engine compartment with you. It's good to have a charger on the battery when doing this since you will be cranking the engine over for longer than normal.

I didn't have anyone helping me to crank the engine over. I had to run a wire with alligator clips on each end from a 12 volt power source and then down to the starter, so the engine would crank over without anyone in the cabin.

Did you sync the timing this way? I didn't see where you mentioned that you did.

Then turn all injectors back on and start it.

[neoxaero]

I didn't try spining it with the EPM out to check sync..

I does show "stat sync" when i'm cranking it over now though..

I think at this point its just a matter of getting the motor to TDC and then setting the timing up correctly i suppose..

The balancer on my motor is all rusted up and #### .. so I think I may just go buy a stock replacement from autozone tomorrow and throw it on there so I can see the timing marks...

The super charger bracket is obscuring the little timing marker too.. so i may have to drop the bracket off to get the timing setup..

I will say i'm glad i did all this work myself instead of letting the shop do it... that would have been one HELL of a bill

[neoxaero]

Well, I got everything setup.. set the motor to TDC put the EPM in and set it to tooth 0

At this point it seems to be a configuration issue within the software..

Not really sure what to change at this point..

[94cobra2615]

Did you do it the way I posted above?

I'll say it again......Set engine @ TDC, then take the EPM and spin the gear until it just registers --"ON"-- all this does is get the EPM --CLOSE-- to timing sync. You will have to crank the engine over (injectors off) and set the software timing equal to the engine timing to get it exact.

Stab it in

Now you sync the software timing with the engine timing. Turn injectors off and go to "set ignition timing" Set fixed timing to 0. Crank engine over and use the plus/minus buttons to make the balancer read 0.

Did you do the above and it didn't work?

[neoxaero]

thats what i did..

I'll try it again tomorrow when its a little warmer and brighter

theres a good possibility that i didn't do something right in the process..

[94cobra2615]

Post up your cal file or email it to me and I'll take a look at it. We'll figure it out...

r94cobra2615 @ hotmail

[crazycoupe351]

how are the coils wired, paired.....


software settings above should work. Post the cal up.

[neoxaero]

Heres my Cal file....

I followed 94cobra2615's directions on setting the motor to TDC and everything

still not working.. maybe i missed something stupid in the calibration..

Cal file

No matter what changes i made to the timing in the software I couldn't get the timing light (its an older inductive light) to even come close to showing 0º timing

Starting to wish I would have just went a carb/distrib setup at this point.. LOL

[crazycoupe351]

got nowhere to upload the file, so I posted it on the aem forums....

http://forum.aempower.com/forum/inde...html#msg126486

injector phasing was incorrect, and you had coils 1-8 active, it needed to be 1,2,3,4/6,7,8,9

give that a try.

[neoxaero]

thanks a ton bro! gonna toss it on the flash drive and give it a shot

[crazycoupe351]

Also....

setup your internal logger so it has these settings...

then crank the car, try to start and dl the internal log and post....

just want to make sure eveyrthing else is in order..

[neoxaero]

Didn't work.. its close.. very close.. if i give it a bit of throttle while cranking it over it wants to start.. tried advancing the timing to 20º and still couldn't get it to start..

didn't see the logging post.. will go do that right now

[neoxaero]

Originally Posted by crazycoupe351

Also....

setup your internal logger so it has these settings...

then crank the car, try to start and dl the internal log and post....

just want to make sure eveyrthing else is in order..
[/IMG]

Here ya go

Logfile - Clicky

[crazycoupe351]

that's a pc log, but it looks alright except:

your tps should not be 0%, adjust your tps min volts so tps is between 1-2%... if the tps is at 0 for some reason the aem goes fubar on idle/start...

Also try adding some to your idle vs target% table...that will keep you from having to crack the pedal...

make sure when you're trying to sync the timing you have timing fixed @ 0....

click the +/- until the light matches on the balencer. Once this is right the car should fire right up...don't keep adding random timing as it prob wont help...

make sure you have the injectors disabled when you do this so you're not washing the cylinders down

also...not to to be a wise ass... but you're sure you had it at TDC on the compression stroke?

[94cobra2615]

If you get the timing synced with the injectors off.....it'll start

What does the balancer read when you are trying to sync the timing?

[neoxaero]

Originally Posted by crazycoupe351

that's a pc log, but it looks alright except:

your tps should not be 0%, adjust your tps min volts so tps is between 1-2%... if the tps is at 0 for some reason the aem goes fubar on idle/start...

Also try adding some to your idle vs target% table...that will keep you from having to crack the pedal...

make sure when you're trying to sync the timing you have timing fixed @ 0....

click the +/- until the light matches on the balencer. Once this is right the car should fire right up...don't keep adding random timing as it prob wont help...

make sure you have the injectors disabled when you do this so you're not washing the cylinders down

also...not to to be a wise ass... but you're sure you had it at TDC on the compression stroke?

I assumed it was on the compression stroke since it showed it on the balancer at TDC and i was using the pencil method (pencil through the sparkplug hole to tell when the piston was at the top)

"click the +/- until the light matches on the balencer. Once this is right the car should fire right up...don't keep adding random timing as it prob wont help..." -- wheres the +/- at to set the timing to zero?

Can I disable coil 6 so that way the light only comes on once (presumably at TDC)

[crazycoupe351]

Originally Posted by neoxaero

I assumed it was on the compression stroke since it showed it on the balancer at TDC and i was using the pencil method (pencil through the sparkplug hole to tell when the piston was at the top)

"click the +/- until the light matches on the balencer. Once this is right the car should fire right up...don't keep adding random timing as it prob wont help..." -- wheres the +/- at to set the timing to zero?

Can I disable coil 6 so that way the light only comes on once (presumably at TDC)

no you cannot....

it will mess the firing order up if you do so.

take out spark plug 1, put your finger in the hole (ha ha) and roate the engine by hand until you feel compression coming up... if you have a flash light and can see into the hole you can get it pretty close...pencil would also work. just make sure you have air coming out of the spark plug hole this way you know it's compression stroke. After you have it where you think 0 is, mark the balencer.

In the software... go to configure, ecu setup, set ign

a box will come up...check the box for fixed ign... set fixed to 0 then crank teh car over with the light on it and press + and - in the ign box until you have the timing light matching the mark you made. Once that's done your timing will be sync'd

[94cobra2615]

If you dont have a baffle in your oil fill spout of the valve cover, you can look to see when both valves are closed and put the balancer on 0

You probably have the baffle from the looks of the pics you posted.

[neoxaero]

Heres what I did tonight..

I set the motor to TDC on the compression stroke (had my wife stick her finger in the hole... the jokes were endless)
I pulled the EPM and spun it till it registered "ON" and set it to tooth 0
Reinstalled EPM (careful to keep it on "tooth 0")

Went to configure -> ECU -> Ignition.. Clicked "set fixed ignition" and put it on 0

Setup the TPS voltage to show between 1% and 2%

I'm wondering if the timing light i have (actron inductive light) is working right for this..

When I turn the motor over it works every now and then and seems quite a bit off for me having set the ignition correctly (assuming I still didn't miss a step some were)

I've pretty much decided tonight that I'm just taking the car to a tuner with AEM experience and let him take care of it.. Damn car is going to drive me to drink...more

[crazycoupe351]

what do you mean when you turn it over it works every so often? are you talking about the light working intermitten?

sounds like the timing light you have won't work.....

You're close don't give up!!!!

do you know anyone that has a timing light that will work with dis ignitions?

it sounds like you got everything right.... if you can get the timing light situation setup you should be in the clear.

if you get the car to tdc....
and you loosen epm...if you rotate it slightly do you hear the fuel pump kick on and a coil spark? this is key on....

You'll feel much better once the car is running after YOU get it going

trust me I've been in the same situation, it's easy to get discouraged...but you'll get it.

[94cobra2615]

Originally Posted by crazycoupe351

trust me I've been in the same situation, it's easy to get discouraged...but you'll get it.

Exactly.

I beat my head against the wall over this swap for about 4 months. One problem after another. I'd get fed up with it and not work on it if for a few weeks.

I went through the whole intermittent timing light thing. In the beginning it was happening because I didn't have a spark plug connected to the wire. The plug WIRE would intermittently ground to something and flash the timing light. So you need a grounded spark plug on the wire the light is clamped on to energize the timing light (I didn't know this )

Then I found out that I needed a DIS compatible timing light. Bought one on ebay. Got a great deal on an Equus #3551. You can get them for about $30 shipped on ebay. They sell locally for about $50

[neoxaero]

i'll stop by autozone tomorrow before i head into work and see if they have one compatible with DIS ... might check napa or something too...

as a little side note -- when i was messing with the software in the ignition setup.. i tried clicking the +/- buttons and it wouldn't change the value..

any thoughts there?

I wish i had more time to mess with the car more -- but its supposed to be my daily driver so I gotta get it done asap

This is the light i'm using btw http://www.actron.com/product_detail.php?pid=16313

[crazycoupe351]

when you click the +/- its an "automated" way of changing the ign sync value under ign phase options.... You won't visually see anything change on the screen when you press those buttons...

Once you're done...the ign sync value is the "offset" in order for the ign to be sync'd.

you theoretically could be out to lunch with the epm.....but if the light was working correct, and the timing mark is correct...you should be able to use the +/- to get the timing synced even if its way off. off course this is not ideal...but it would still work

[94cobra2615]

So your saying that your balancer wouldn't move with the +/- keys? Just trying to make sure you are understanding what we are telling you.

The +/- keys move the balancer (technically it doesn't.....it just changes when the timing light flashes) but it is an easy way to think of it.