ECU for an automatc

[666DAN]

Are they willing to refund if it doesn't?

[predator]

I also have a aotomatic turbo R33 and was looking at buying a after market ecu like the apexi pfc and been shopping around 4 a good price and doing sum research about them 4 my car and i was speaking to a company on brisbane southside called fist performance and audio and he said u can use the pfc on the auto and it will work but he has to order it from japan if wanted it .

I think he was just trying to sell you a PowerFC - unless of course there is a specifcally reprogrammed "auto" version around?

[Sydneykid]

I have seen Power FC for Toyota autos, but never Nissan autos. I have no doubt the manual Power FC will run the engine, I have driven an auto R33 GTST with a Power FC. The engine runs perfectly, exactly the same as a manual R33 GTST. But the gearchange quality was crap in my opinion. It flared on up changes, swapped between gears under even load and the kick down was eaither lethargic (sometimes) or viscious (most times). All of these symptons are logical in light of the manual Power FC not having the programming logic for ignition retard and cut during gearchanges.

I should point out that the owner was completely happy and was quite willing to sacrifice a "small amount" (his words, not mine) of gearbox niceness for the power he got from the Power FC and its tuning. So until the gearbox eventually fails from this excess loading, it comes down to personal opinion. I don't know that I would want to try and claim warranty on "personal opinion".

Since I want to keep the standard gearbox niceness and life, retaining the standard ECU auto programming logic is a must. Unitil I find a guaranteed replacement ECU that is.

[David Kemps]

has anyone tried using a power fc on a converted automatic to manual? does this work ok.

[Abo Bob]

It would work fine.

[David Kemps]

my mates car is a converted automatic, we installed the power fc and its not working.

aside from that, does anyone know the rough voltage of the water temp sensor on an r33 or r32, its reading about 4 volts at cold and seems a bit high.

Dave

[paulr33]

david kemps: is it an r33? whats the problem with the powerfc "not working".

[David Kemps]

its actually on a s13 with sr20det but think it would be similar.

the problem is the fuel pump i think, its not priming when you turn the key on, and not running at all.

even when you directly wire it into 12volts and it runs still is not starting, my friend seems to think the power fc has to "see" the fuel pump.

anyone know the water temp sensor voltage when cold?

[Sydneykid]

its actually on a s13 with sr20det but think it would be similar.

the problem is the fuel pump i think, its not priming when you turn the key on, and not running at all.

even when you directly wire it into 12volts and it runs still is not starting, my friend seems to think the power fc has to "see" the fuel pump.

anyone know the water temp sensor voltage when cold?

What have you done about the Park/Neutral switch from the auto? If you don't switch it on or bridge it out, the car will not start.

[paulr33]

water temp of 16deg gives value of 3.6 volts and 1.6 when its 79deg

[David Kemps]

ok, a little background info to help you.

the car is a 180sx s13 1991.

it was manual, converted to automatic - working fine with stock ecu for about 1.5 years.

when you plug in the power fc, the car will not start and the fuel pump won't prime or run.

we believe it is because the power fc thinks the water temperature sensor is faulty.

in the menu it shows that the Water temperature sensor has a voltage or 4.88volts when cold.

so i plug in the standard ecu and my consult board, the water temperature sensor is working fine, showing the correct temperature.

ok so now the car is heated up with the water temperature around 60degrees.

we plug back in the power fc and sure enough still 4.88 volts for the water temperature sensor. obvously the power is not even reading it properly.

the power fc shows this voltage as an incorrect voltage, meaning it thinks the sensor is broken, it definately is not.

my guesses:

-power fc is faulty

-power fc is wrong model (there are 3 or 4 models for the s13 alone)

-standard ecu was the wrong one for the model and sensor have been changed to match.

(the sensors were changed in later models)

NOPE looked on fast and websites and it is the right ecu for the car.

also checked the model of the power fc out and it is the correct model.

we are stumped.

also when we plugged in the power fc the first time, even when we pushed the throttle the TPS voltage would not change, the second time it was working fine, which makes me lean towards faulty power fc.

this power fc has been bought new ordered from apexi japan.

[steven]

I just wonder could PFC fits R34 GTT auto? The reason i'm asking is because even i shifting it manually,i felt the gearbox is not shifting/response fast enough in the high RMP.

Is any GTT auto mates has the same feeling as mine?

cheers

steven

[predator]

More than likely you have either not plugged it in fully...or you need to run thicker gauge wiring to the battery for the 12v source.. anyhow, i'm just regurgitating..

It's all here in the very excellent PowerFC FAQ by paulr33

http://members.dodo.com.au/paul/skylinesau...erfc-faq.htm#18

[Firefrog]

I suppose this issue would only be made even more interesting for a 34 auto, with tiptronic?

[Sydneykid]

I just wonder could PFC fits R34 GTT auto? The reason i'm asking is because even i shifting it manually,i felt the gearbox is not shifting/response fast enough in the high RMP.  

Is any GTT auto mates has the same feeling as mine?  

cheers

steven

Hi Steven, no it won't work, not even close. Nissan automatic ECU's have shift logic (eg; they cut ignition on gearchanges to smooth them out and help the gearbox to last longer). This extensive amount of logic is not programmed into Power FC's, I guess Apexi figured they would have to charge too much or they don't want to get into auto gearbox programming.

[David Kemps]

More than likely you have either not plugged it in fully...or you need to run thicker gauge wiring to the battery for the 12v source.. anyhow, i'm just regurgitating..  

It's all here in the very excellent PowerFC FAQ by paulr33

http://members.dodo.com.au/paul/skylinesau...erfc-faq.htm#18

10 points to predator, yep my friend didn't use a socket set each time and it wasn't all the way in on the plugs.

sorry for wasting your time!

[Silver'sR33]

Was looking around for an ECU for the auto too. Like Sydneykid I'm not keen on sacrificing long-term durability though. At this stage I'm looking at getting either an e-manage or SAFC, maybe SAFC because it looks easier to tune. Obviously it won't give the performance kick of a full chip replacement but I guess that's just life hey

[666DAN]

As far as quick shifting goes, there was a member on here called Dragon, who bought an upgrade chip which shortened the lag time between shits, not sure who made it though?

Most of the guys with the autos can run the e-manage with no problems, my one has been serving me fine.

[4door_Sleeper]

Nissan automatic ECU's have shift logic (eg; they cut ignition on gearchanges to smooth them out and help the gearbox to last longer).  This extensive amount of logic is not programmed into Power FC's, I guess Apexi figured they would have to charge too much or they don't want to get into auto gearbox programming.

Just a thought -

the big killer of Autos is heat, and the slower the shift the more heat they produce. (but the smoother the ride for the general public)

The shift kits that are being sold through the group buys section seem to be a hit, and they too give quick shifts, and reportly wont harm the longevity of the auto.

SK, are you comming down to Malalar soon? the offer is still there if you want to try out my auto R33 with the PFC.

[nedb]

SK - where is the Shift Logic kept on Nissan Automatics? Is it on the Main ECU or the second Auto ECU?

I wonder if you were to swap the Main ECU's from an Manual into an Auto from a same model car if it would work?

If the Shift Logic is kept on the Auto ECU i see no reason why it wouldn't work.

If that is the case then the guys doing remaps dont have to worry if the ECU they're working on is from an Auto or a Manual car. Right?