Consult Software

[Kennedy]

Hey Guys,

Just picked up datascan and cable last night and been playing with it this morning with my laptop. After being mesmerized by pretty blue and black gauges for about 3 mins I got bored and started to play around. So far I've...

Checked Error Codes - None WooHoo!!

Active Test Cylinders - They're all working

Speed Trial - <6 sec for 0-100 Nooooiice.

Now I wanna get to drawing the most out of the analogue displayed data. I've come across a couple of things and just wanted to know what was normal..

Water Temp is between 75-84 deg C

Idle Timing - Peak number is 15 but the gauge sticks at ten and then flashed to 15 once every second. Does this mean I'm running 10 or 15 or something else for timing?

Air Flow - Think I read somewhere that this ranges up to around 5V? Mine peaked at 4.9. Is this the sensor that instigates R&R? If so then at what point/voltage from the AFM does R&R kick in? If R&R does kick in does it generate an Error code?

02 Sensor - This appears to be reading the same as my autogauge air/fuel gauge which is cool...They are completely in synch. But is this linked to Closed TPS? Is the 02 gauge meant to be going back and forth crazily whilst closed TPS is off? Can someone please explain what closed TPS is?

Thermo Fan - I've probably got it wrong but isn’t the thermo fan supposed to kick in when the water temp reaches a particular point? If so what is that point? I tried to do an active test today by increasing the Engine Temp to 150 but the Thermo Fan stayed off according to the data display.

Any other help or pointers in getting the most value of this software would be great. I've searched heaps and heap of threads but cant really find specific info on how the product is used and explanation of the data.

Cheers in advance

[RANDY]

Umm.... Your timing will fluctuate with revs, that's normal. It doesn't jump too wildly at idle for me.

closed TPS. Closed Throttle Body Position Sensor. The sensor knows when the throttle body is closed, but closed loop should probably operate up to 2000rpms anyway. When driving over that, the 02 sensor still reads and sees the ratios, but the ECU doesn't use them.. it switches to the fuel maps.

Thermo fan... haven't tried tricking it on, but with hot weather and the A/C running, it will eventually come on. Hold out for a few days until it's REALLY hot.

The rest, depending on which software you're using, is just good for checking your motor now and then. Injector timing and pulse width, water temps and stuff like that.

GTR's have an intake air temp sensor, which is nice to look at. We don't have it though. The rest is self-explanatory, and mostly for diagnosing.

A/C relay on/off

Fuel pump on/off

Power steering on/off

etc etc.

You can stuff around with the timing too... although that could be risky biz without having some kind of knock-sensor readout. (we have knock sensors, but consult doesn't display them)

[Duncan]

the ECU runs out of maps once the AFM hits 5v, so if you are only getting to 4.9 you are close but safe

The 02 sensor should move around heaps in closed loop running (ie when you aren't flooring it). The rest of the time it should just read rich (ie under 14:1)

[Kennedy]

Umm.... Your timing will fluctuate with revs, that's normal. It doesn't jump too wildly at idle for me.

What points does yours fluctuate between ? If I start my car and don’t touch the throttle the gauge skips between 10 and 15. So what is my actual timing? 10, 15 or somewhere in between?

Thermo fan... haven't tried tricking it on, but with hot weather and the A/C running, it will eventually come on. Hold out for a few days until it's REALLY hot.

Do you know at what point in degrees C it kicks in?

A/C relay on/off

What the A/C relay?

Power steering on/off

Is this supposed to always be on or does it turn on at certain point? Because mine says its off at idle but haven’t looked at it whilst boostn

we have knock sensors, but consult doesn't display them

That’s a shame......is there any consult software out there that does display some sort of knock reading from the stock microphone?

Thanks for the info about the AFM Duncan Will it show a +5V figure on the consult if it go's over or will the display just stick at 5...also Does the ECU generate an ECU error code when the AFM gets pushed over 5V?

Also, probably wrong thread but will excessive knocking also instigate R&R?

[Duncan]

Well I can only answer 1 one of those questions, the afm records over 5v but the ecu doesnt know wtf that means so it goes rich and safe. I've never actually checked the error code after going over 5v, must do that some time.

The only peopel I know of that cracked the standard knock sensors are apexi with the PFC, they turn knock reading into a number which they display on the hand set....presumably the sound to listen for is different from engine to engine so its too hard/not worth it.

[Kennedy]

Well I can only answer 1 one of those questions, the afm records over 5v but the ecu doesnt know wtf that means so it goes rich and safe. I've never actually checked the error code after going over 5v, must do that some time.

Cheers Duncan.

Slightly off topic but do GTR's have R&R too?

[Scratch]

Slightly off topic as well, where can i pickup one of these datascan cables and software? Do they make the cables for the r32 GTR's ?

[Godzilla32]

Sounds kinda handly. We have a scan tool at work but it'd be nice to have my own alternative..

[RANDY]

What points does yours fluctuate between ? If I start my car and don’t touch the throttle the gauge skips between 10 and 15. So what is my actual timing? 10, 15 or somewhere in between?

>well.. it's variable inlet cam timing, so it's both, and intbetween. Mine does average around the 10 mark from memory. I'll have to plug the laptop back in and check.

Do you know at what point in degrees C it kicks in?

Nope, like I said, you'd probably have to wait for a hot day to see it come on.

What the A/C relay?

>Air Conditioning. Turn your A/C on, and consult should know about it. It's just a good diagnostic thing to check if your A/C stops working suddenly.

Is this supposed to always be on or does it turn on at certain point? Because mine says its off at idle but haven’t looked at it whilst boostn

>Power Steering? Turn the wheel a little bit on the spot, and it should show as "on". The engine may rev up a little.. that's what the sensor is for. Same with A/C... should rev up a bit to account for the extra load. My first car (VK Commy) worked all that off vacuum lines. One day that particular line had a split in it, so when I used A/C it would stall. I thought it was very strange how that worked.

That’s a shame......is there any consult software out there that does display some sort of knock reading from the stock microphone?

No, the ECU doesn't spit the info back out to the consult port, so no software can drag it out via consult. SAFC2's can be wired in to display knock.

[NewKleer]

The only peopel I know of that cracked the standard knock sensors are apexi with the PFC, they turn knock reading into a number which they display on the hand set....presumably the sound to listen for is different from engine to engine so its too hard/not worth it.

they are just allowing the knock sensor reading to be displayed. (theres 2 knock sensors or something? i think you can find them on the ecu pinout)

its quite possible there is still a way to read the knock sensor (or at least "is the ecu using knock maps?" flag), whether or not there is one, and whether itd be found is another thing. i have a few ideas to try out at some point. only thing is theyd be hard to test, given you dont actually want ur engine knocking...

Edited September 25, 2006 by NewKleer

[Duncan]

Yeah 2 knock sensors but the sensor itself is just a sort of microphone. The trick is working out which frequencies mean knock.

And since the ECU doesn't output the signal - how can you get it out of the puter thingy?

[NewKleer]

the ecu may store its last read knock value somewhere in ram (which is readable via consult). so if it does anything useful with the knock sensor reading (ie convert it to digital form and store it in ram somewhere) its possible to read it (where or if its stored is likely to be specific to given ecu)

tricky bt is making up a circuit the ecu will interpret as a knock sensor (ie is knock sensor itself record/output a resistance, or a voltage?) so u can work out which ram address if any is responsible

Edited September 26, 2006 by NewKleer

[RANDY]

lol... if someone could write it into their consult software, i'd pay for it!

Was it you or Mearcat that was working on the software? One of you terribly smart guys were!

Three things I want to see, but my car doesn't allow me to:

Knock

Intake air temp

AFR's (wideband)

I'm working on the air temp thing, with a thermocouple and compression gland, then i'll get an SAFC2 for knock readouts... the wideband part is just expensive. Dunno.

[NewKleer]

yep, thats ecutalk, and when i get time i might see if the above is possible

maybe u add this as a favourite to keep your memory in gear:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...t&p=2347753

Edited September 26, 2006 by NewKleer

[RANDY]

lol! Yes, i've gotten it wrong twice now. But you can be flattered that you and Mearcat are the only two names that I remember on SAU. ;o)

[NewKleer]

yeh im printing ur post out now so i can stick it on my fridge

kennedy - you mentioned your timing flashign from 10 to 15 - can u check ur closed TPS switch with datascan and see its on when ur foot is off the pedal (and stays that way). a 300zx i tested my consult lcd display on had a loose tps switch which sent idle timing back and forth from 19 to 35 (and sounded like something was up)

Edited September 27, 2006 by NewKleer

[Kennedy]

yeh im printing ur post out now so i can stick it on my fridge

kennedy - you mentioned your timing flashign from 10 to 15 - can u check ur closed TPS switch with datascan and see its on when ur foot is off the pedal (and stays that way). a 300zx i tested my consult lcd display on had a loose tps switch which sent idle timing back and forth from 19 to 35 (and sounded like something was up)

NK, I'm pertty sure that when i take my foot off the gas the TPS switch go's to off.

[NewKleer]

or the other way around (its a closed tps switch, so its "on" when ur off gas, and "off" when ur on gas). but yeh, if thats fine then ur timing thing is most likely just the ecu on the border between two different parts in the ign timing map.