Uprated single coil - hot or not?

[S2central.net]

Well thats easy if you aren't afraid of some wiring (or source an ABY loom to make life easier)... You will need the ABY ECU of course and the means to add/move pins in the 55-pin connector otherwise - it can be done but IMO an ABY loom is much cleaner.

You'll need all the right AMP connectors in the engine to provide connections in/out of the 2xPOS units as well.

Seriously - leave your 3B loom alone and go with an ABY or ADU one for a much cleaner install. Only mod on the loom you will need is to extend 3-pin connection from CMP sensor in your dissy (unless you graft on ABY style CMP to the head).

[Jonas_R]

Paul:

What is this estimated time of this, and what how many interested people do you need for this?

I'm thinking that 034motorsport high output coil kit could be use, then 3B owners dont need to change valve cover:

http://www.034motorsport.com/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=466

[Jonas_R]

I have completed the high level design for a low tension distributor (LTD) that will provide a 5-coil direct ignition (DI) system for the WR, MB, RR and 3B engines. I also cooked up some failsafe logic as well to ensure that only coil can be fired at a time.

I'm going to need some time to build a prototype and I'll need to get expert inputs from some hardware guys I know locally on the best/cheapest/simplest way to construct the thing.

Physically it will be a small sealed black box that uses a number of inputs from the Motronic sensors (CPS, RPM & CPM) and will steer the ECUs primary trigger voltage into the right coil. This will NOT make any timing adjustments - it simply opens the right window to steer the spark to the correct destination.

I need to do some homework first to measure the important inputs, understand how best to get reliable clock edges from them and gradually build up a test harness that I can use to verify its operation.

In order to install the finished item I would like to get some form 'piggyback' AMP connectors so that it can hook into the sensor wiring in a non intrusive manner (and that it can be removed easily if required). Does anyone know of such a thing ?

The 5 x coils can come from AAN/ABY/ADU or go with external 034 or whatever items. I'll need to work on how best to cover those options. Something else I need to verify is if the existing single channel POS unit can be retained or whether it needs the 2 x 3 channel POS units from the DI engines to prepare a suitable signal for those kinds of coils.

I can do a lot of this work on a breakout box with my ABY to examine the signals, but I'd love an 8-channel scope to view everything on the same screen and make absolutely certain I have the sequencing right.

Failure / disconnection of input sensors is going to disable all outputs so there will be no more sparks. This is same as factory Motronic with exception that it can cater for CMP failure after the engine is running - I don't intend to add that complexity.

If there is sufficient interest in this gizmo I will seek out a suitable partner to build them and sell them - I simply wont have time to hand craft them in any numbers.

Does anyone thing there would be wider market appeal for a 4-cyl version of this on turbo cars that carry a traditional HT dissy ?

There will be some customisation required for different engine types due to timing reference points, but in theory it could be adapted for use on many engines.

Would there be general appeal in the 5-cyl community for the non-turbo applications ? AFAIK the reference points are all the same so you could have the concept of a DI powered KV, NG, NM or 7A engine.

This black-box will NOT interact with the ECU in anyway nor require any other hardware or software tweaks - its a stand-alone thing.... Oh it could also be bolted onto an aftermarket single coil ECU system such as Emerald for a DI application. Cool or what ?

The dissy will need to be retained on order to get the hall-effect CMP signal - unless an ABY/RS2 style CMP sensor is grafted onto the head. Alternatively an early AAN dissy without the HT gubbins could be used instead of the original item.

Paul

Paul,

Think there is a chance you are gonna finish this?

I would like to know otherwise I will look on ebay for ecu loom, ecu etc. However it would be so much more easy with your system,

If you have a parts list, then I dont mind making my own pcb etc. and wiring loom. I think I would go with the 034motorsport Hi-Output coils so I dont need new valve cover.

[S2central.net]

Jonas - I've barely started here...

I have a high level design so far that appears to meet the objective. I aint close to a parts list. With me having a real job, then reckon on this project taking a year at least... and then I'll need a local 3B guinea pig to verify it on.



Paul

[S2central.net]

Amazingly, I have progessed this one a little bit... Had to go thru the 4-stroke cycle 101 on the 5-pot engine to make sure I had all the tooth counting right but I think I have a nice way to implement this quite simply.

Conditioning the input signals might be a bit tricky, but I also found a suitable looking switch device after much searching. Price is about 10 quid on those and I'll need five... Raw parts on this thing will be like 130-150GBP I reckon - havent any quotes yet for a PCB.

There might be a decent general market for this device if I can make it work on 4-6-8 cyl engines as well for a neat aftermarket DI package but building one that generic is just gonna be more complex and time consuming.

What I might end up doing is getting a prototype lashed up and tested on some 5-pots, then I'll see what interest I can muster from the aftermarket tuners to build something suitably sturdy, packaged robustly and priced right for wider consumption.

Paul

[Acidburn]

Sounds like a good idea paul, look forward to updates when you have time. Price does not sound too bad for better reliability etc