FT Tuning Guide

Version 1.0

FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0 Table of Contents: Page No:

DIGITAL DATA SYSTEMS - FUEL TUNER TUINING GUIDE V1.0

3/7/2007

LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

1. INTRODUCTION AND AUTHORISATION ............................................................... 1 2. INSTALLATION .................................................................................................... 1 2.1. MINIMUM INSTALLATION .................................................................................... 1 3. INJECTOR POLARITY ........................................................................................... 1 4. COMPLETE UNIT CONNECTIONS........................................................................... 3 5. POWERING THE FT WITHOUT THE ENGINE RUNNING .......................................... 4 6. RECOMMENDED THROTTLE POSITION (TPS) INPUT (PIN 4 OF 10) ...................... 4 7. OPTIONAL MANIFOLD PRESSURE INPUT (PIN 8 OF 10)....................................... 5 8. OPTIONAL ENGINE TEMPERATURE INPUT (PIN 9 OF 10)..................................... 5 9. OPTIONAL AIR TEMPERATURE INPUT (PIN 3 OF 10) ........................................... 5 10. OPTIONAL MAP SWITCHING INPUT (PIN 2 OF 10)........................................... 5 11. OPTIONAL ON/OFF SWITCHING INPUT (PIN 1 OF 10) ..................................... 5 12. CALIBRATION................................................................................................... 5 12.1. TPS CALIBRATION FOR TWO DIMENSIONAL TUNING ......................................... 5 12.2. MANIFOLD PRESSURE CALIBRATION THREE DIMENSIONAL TUNING .................... 6 12.3. OPTIONAL ENGINE TEMPERATURE CALIBRATION................................................. 6 12.4. OPTIONAL AIR TEMPERATURE CALIBRATION....................................................... 6 13. TUNING ............................................................................................................ 6 14. FUEL MAP ENTRIES, AND THEIR EFFECT ........................................................... 6 15. DISPLAYING THE RIGHT ITEMS........................................................................ 6 16. AFR, POWER AND FUEL ECONOMY .................................................................... 7 17. TUNING WITHOUT AFR..................................................................................... 7 18. ON THE ROAD TUNING FOR FUEL ECONOMY ..................................................... 7 19. PROVIDING TWO MAPS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES ........................................ 7 20. EXTENDING THE RPM LIMIT ............................................................................. 7 21. IMPOSING A NEW RPM LIMIT........................................................................... 8 22. TWO UNITS WORKING TOGETHER .................................................................... 8 23. RPM EXTENSION FOR MASTER/SLAVE .............................................................. 8

1.

INTRODUCTION AND AUTHORISATION

The entire range of LetRipp products needs to be authorized, including the Fuel Tuners, before they can be used. This authorization can be done BEFORE shipment in the factory or you can do it yourself. It is a simple process: while the unit is on your desk, plug in the USB cable from the unit to the PC and read the serial number. Then access our website, type in the serial number and obtain a four letter Authorization code. Type this code via the PC into unit. Because our website is not up to it as yet, we will be shipping units as AUTHORIZED. You can check this by plugging the unit to your PC using the USB cable and check the upper right hand corner of the display. 2. INSTALLATION

2.1.

MINIMUM INSTALLATION

This installation is the absolute minimum and will provide you with a One Dimensional map with 24-RPM sites spread over the calibrated RPM range. Find a suitable location for the unit: Away (or shielded) from hot surfaces Within harness reach of the injectors Protected from water, water spray, or high pressure water cleaning If possible, in a ventilated area The unit does not have to be clamped down, but should not rattle. The housing is insulated, but should not touch any live wires, except the chassis. Once the tuning is complete, the unit can be packaged into a plastic bag and sealed, and placed in a cool, dry area. Connect the injector harness provided, to the injectors and the GROUND wires to a metallic chassis point.

3.

INJECTOR POLARITY

We have strived to provide the correct polarity in the injector harness, however some engines have a different polarity than others. Connecting to an engine with the wrong polarity will not do any harm and the engine will still run. However this will make the FT unit useless and it will not tune. It will however talk to your PC or Laptop. The wrong polarity is indicated when the
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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

A Minimum Installation is fast and requires virtually no tools. But It does not do any justice to the product. The FT can do so much more, and its power and the benefits to you are unleashed when you connect a view more wires. In any event, the Minimum installation is a good way to start.

engine is idling, and the GREEN LED on the FT unit does not blink. If your engine injector wiring is incorrect (changes the polarity) then you can connect one cylinder at a time, and check that the LED is blinking when the engine idles. In order to change the polarity we have provided two inline connections in each cylinder harness, as illustrated below:

If a cylinder is missing, or the injections seen by the unit are irregular, then the red LED will blink.

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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

Once you have connected all cylinders, and the engine is idling, you should see a regular blinking pattern: one blink for each cylinder injection. If the pattern is irregular then disconnect all cylinders until you find the offending cylinder with the wrong polarity and correct it. NOTE: Do not reverse the in-line connections while the engine is running.

4.

COMPLETE UNIT CONNECTIONS

10 9 5 4 8 3 7 2 6 1 2 1 12 11 10 9 6 5 4 3 8 2 7 1

Optional Main Connector

USB

LIN Connector

2 Cylinder Injection

LED Red

LED Green

Connector pin assignment:

PIN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Function On/Off Map Switch Air Temperature TPS Input GND +BAT (12V) SYN Input AMP (MAP) Input Eng Temp Input GND

Explanation Short to Switch OFF Short to Activate MAP B 0 5V 0 5V Chassis Supply (Needed with RPM sync) Required to extend RPM Limit 0 5V 0 5V Chassis

Wire Colour Brown Pink Orange Yellow Black Red Purple Grey White Black

LIN Connector: PIN 1 2 Function GND RX/TX

2 Cylinder Injection (Repeated up to 6 Cylinders): PIN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Function GND ECU INJ #2 GND ECU INJ #1 BAT #2 INJECTOR #2(A) INJECTOR #2(B) BAT #1 INJECTOR #1(A) INJECTOR #1(B) Explanation Chassis NC ECU Injection Chassis NC ECU Injection Common supply to injectors To Injector #2 To Injector #2 Common supply to injectors To Injector #1 To Injector #1

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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

Main Connector:

5.

POWERING THE FT WITHOUT THE ENGINE RUNNING

The FT can get operating power from three sources: 1) From the injectors The injector power may be switched off when the engine is not running. 2) From the 10way connector pin 6 This wire can be connected to any fused 12V power point, which is switched off when the key is removed. 3) From the USB port This is the preferred method when operating the unit outside the car. The unit will use power sources #1,#2 if available. This is useful when you would like to connect to the PC, but dont want to run the engine. Connect to the USB port and the PC or Laptop will provide the power to the unit. When you connect in this way, you are not powering the engine bay, or activating injectors, you are just running the electronics. 6. RECOMMENDED THROTTLE POSITION (TPS) INPUT (PIN 4 OF 10)

This is a little difficult, but highly recommended. It provides a Two Dimensional map. The difficulty is to find the throttle position signal wire amongst virtually hundreds of wires. The definition of the throttle position signal is: It changes its voltage in unison to the gas pedal. This can be measured with an ordinary multi-meter, or with the FT unit. There are many ways to go about finding this wire: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Trace the wire (color) from the TPS sensor to the ECU Poke a needle into each wire and measure the signal in response to moving the gas pedal. Locate an ECU connector layout from the manufacturers service manual. Ask a friend Get help from a vehicle electrician

Once the TPS wire is found then TEE the FT wire into it with the provided TEE-CONNECTOR. If you prefer to do the connection yourself follow the diagram below:
Insulation tape
To FT unit

Insulation Solder joint From engine

To ECU

Try the installation of the TPS wire connection: Once the unit is powered up, the TPS cursor must move in unison with the gas pedal. You can change the direction and calibration later. See the LetRipp User Guide for computer operations. Note: If you havent got a multi-meter, you can use the FT input and display the result on a PC. The FT input can be connected to any voltage except the IGNITION without causing any harm.

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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

7.

OPTIONAL MANIFOLD PRESSURE INPUT (PIN 8 OF 10)

If a manifold pressure sensor is not used, then a MAF signal will be sufficient. In any event, you need to wire this option only if you would like to change the tuning of the engine by the manifold pressure. This is advised after a turbo installation, or with superchargers. Find the MAP (or MAF) wires the same way as the TPS wire (explained above) and connect to it with the provided TEE-JUNCTION. 8. OPTIONAL ENGINE TEMPERATURE INPUT (PIN 9 OF 10)

This is for the very concerned tuner, and when you would like to change the COLD behavior of the engine. Locate the engine temperature wire (best done by tracing) and TEE into it. If you dont need the engine temperature, then leave the wire open.

Recommended with inter-cooled engines and a must with turbo charged installations. Find the wire and connect via a TEE as before. The wire can be left open if not needed. 10. OPTIONAL MAP SWITCHING INPUT (PIN 2 OF 10)

The unit has two complete tuning maps. The second map (B) is activated by shorting the MAPSWITCH wire (Pin 2 of 10) to ground. If left open, then map A is active. This is indicated in the right upper corner of the display in the LETRIPP PC software. This feature is recommended when you experiment with the tuning. It gives you two different choices of tuning while driving the car on the road. An absolute must if you do economy tuning! 11. OPTIONAL ON/OFF SWITCHING INPUT (PIN 1 OF 10)

The units have an ON/OFF function. If the pin is left open, then the unit is ON and performs its logical function: it tunes the fuel. If the wire is shorted to chassis then the unit does not tune the engine. The OFF state is the same as entering zeros into all the map points in the software. 12. CALIBRATION

This is the process to adapt the unit to your engine. It requires that you have the respective input wired to the engine and that you can exercise or use the input. The unit comes with PRESET calibration maps, and you may use them. But the display they provide may be wrong. It is very easy to calibrate the inputs you use. 12.1. TPS CALIBRATION FOR TWO DIMENSIONAL TUNING Locate the TPS calibration feature on the software (under Config, select TPS calibration) and type in a lower and upper value and then press Enter. The values you enter should present the CLOSED (lower) and OPEN (upper) butterfly positions. Switch the car on, but dont start it. Then press the gas pedal all the way down and observe that the cursor enters the last field.

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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

9.

OPTIONAL AIR TEMPERATURE INPUT (PIN 3 OF 10)

12.2. MANIFOLD PRESSURE CALIBRATION THREE DIMENSIONAL TUNING In the software, locate the AMP Calibration feature (under Config). Start the engine and let it idle. Without measuring the ACTUAL manifold pressure, assume 0.25 Bar. Enter the voltage and pressure in the lower field, position #2. Then stop the engine, but leave the power on. Depending on your altitude, this should be 1.02 BAR. If your engine is normally aspirated, then enter the voltage, 1.02 and position 22 in the top field and apply. Start the engine and observe that the cursor goes to position #2 (counting from 0) and when you blip the engine it should move upwards. 12.3. OPTIONAL ENGINE TEMPERATURE CALIBRATION This is best done in the morning with a cold (ambient) engine. In the software, go to Config and select Engine Temp. Calibration. In the Low Calibration section, guess the temperature (or measure it) and enter this, the voltage, and 2 in Position. Then warm up the engine until it reaches thermostat temperature and enter the temperature, voltage and position. The accuracy is not that important, but it is pleasant to see a reasonable (+-2 deg) reading while operating the engine at full load. 12.4. OPTIONAL AIR TEMPERATURE CALIBRATION Do this together with the engine temperature calibration, but consider that air can reach 160 degree C in adverse circumstances, and make the 90 Degree C point at position 15. 13. TUNING

This is the process of changing the amount of fuel your engine gets with the same amount of air. Some or most engines run a closed loop system: it measures the exhaust fumes and adjusts the fuel accordingly. Changing the fuel with the FT will not help: what you put in extra, the stock ECU will take out. But, and this is important, most closed loop systems stop at 2500RPM or there about. 14. FUEL MAP ENTRIES, AND THEIR EFFECT

A positive number adds and a negative number subtracts fuel. A number of 100 means 1.00 MS (Milli Seconds = 0.001 Second) and is at idle - approx. 50% of your fuel injection. At full power it may be as little as 10% or less. Of course, the numbers change according to your engine. You can display the stock injection length and judge for yourself. 15. DISPLAYING THE RIGHT ITEMS Open the Data Display section on your screen and choose some items for display. For now we suggest that you put: #1 RPM #18 ECU INJ #21 Injector Utilization #22 Inj#1 output length Select LN for a large display and arrange the display to your liking. The ECU INJ shows what the stock ECU injects, and Injector Inj#1 output length (#22) shows the actual injection length. The injector utilization shows in percent (%) the time the injector is used (or injects) fuel. If the utilization is 100% at full power, then no more fuel can be added. If you are not sure what a display item does: RIGHT CLICK HOLD on any item and read the provided HELP.

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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

16.

AFR, POWER AND FUEL ECONOMY

The AFR (Air Fuel Ratio) is the most important measurement. The FT unit cannot perform it directly, but can get it from a WBI unit. The subject is further complicated by the fact that normal engines use a NARROW BAND sensor, which has an effective range from 14.2 to 14.8. Some people claim otherwise. For those of you who work in LAMBDA: 1.00LAMBDA = 14.7AFR. Here are some important AFR numbers: 14.7 12.5 10.5 16.5 AFR: AFR: AFR: AFR: NORMAL OPERATING MAXIMUM POWER MAXIMUM POWER FOR SUPERCHARGED/TURBO ENGINES POINT OF MINIMUM FUEL CONSUMPTION, LEAN!

Modern engine technology can change the AFR numbers somewhat, but the principle remains: you can run the engine LEAN, but not on full power. Or in the words of our chief mechanic: If you want strong horses, you must feed them. 17. TUNING WITHOUT AFR

This is possible, but just a little more difficult. Lets say from the start that a RICH engine is safe: you may waste fuel, but you need not worry. Do not run the engine at full power lean; however, try to lean the engine at cruising: there comes a point where the engine hunts, then make it richer again. Try this setting for a while. 18. ON THE ROAD TUNING FOR FUEL ECONOMY

Run the engine for a while and record through the HISTORY your driving style. The history shows where and how long you used the engine at the various operating points. Then tune the spots where you have spent most of the time. 19. PROVIDING TWO MAPS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES

You will need to install a MAP SWITCH (not provided). Operating the switch brings in a different map (B), which you can now tune for a different purpose. The general settings are retained, but the tune maps are ZERO, unless you have loaded a map down to the unit. This can only be done with the MAP SWITCH installed. 20. EXTENDING THE RPM LIMIT

For this feature to operate you need to wire the SYNC input (PIN 7 of 10) to a suitable crank or RPM signal. Then you need to have the TPS input wired up, because this feature works only at WIDE OPEN THROTTLE. Of course, if you are interested in this feature, you must understand that the RPM limit has its purpose, and extending it has a risk, but you are doing it only in special circumstances, and when absolute necessary. You will need to set two points on the PC: RPM from SYNC enable Extended RPM enable Once set, and you are on full throttle, then the FT will measure the ECU injection, and when it stops it will inject the last measured fuel plus any tuning you may have done until the stock ECU injects again, or you take the foot off the gas pedal. It is normal for engine manufacturers to run the ignition well beyond the RPM (Fuel) limit.

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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0

21.

IMPOSING A NEW RPM LIMIT

The RPM limit of the FT unit is settable on the software, under Config then Parameter Screen. The RPM limit is active BELOW the stock ECU limit, and when you have extended the RPM it is active as well (ABOVE the stock ECU limit). 22. TWO UNITS WORKING TOGETHER

Two or more units can work together on a single engine. This is important when tuning an eight-cylinder engine (or a 12 Cylinder!), because presently we make only 2, 4 and 6 cylinder units. In this setup each unit works independent from each other, but receives the tuning information from the ASSIGNED MASTER unit. All other units must be slaves. Plug the USB cable in to one unit and tell it to be the MASTER, by: Click CONFIG, choose SYSTEM DEF, and click MASTER Plug the USB cable in to the other unit(s) and tell them to be SLAVES, by: Click CONFIG, choose SYSTEM DEF, and click SLAVE Then connect both units via the LIN jumper cable. You can now TUNE both units from the master. The slaves do not need a map, or any calibration. They simply repeat the master operation. The master, however, requires a map and calibration. Detail: Ticking the MASTER setup forces Item 65 (Fuel modification) on to the LIN bus (LO). Ticking the SLAVE setup clears all LIN outputs (LO) and sets item 65 for LIN input (LI). 23. RPM EXTENSION FOR MASTER/SLAVE

Two or more units in a Master/Slave relationship can be used to EXTEND the RPM. However, the SLAVES require additional wiring: The TPS signal must be wired to the Slaves. The SYNCIN signal must be wired to the Slaves. The Slaves must have a TPS calibration similar to the Master. The Slave TPS input must be ON (Data Acquisition: Tick Unit input). Both Master/Slave must have the RPM from Sync enabled. Both Master/Slave must have the EXTEND RPM ticked. In essence, both Master/Slave must follow the rules of extending the RPM range. Only the TUNE INFO is transmitted from the Master to the Slave via the LIN bus.

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LETRIPP FUEL TUNER TUNING GUIDE V1.0