Look Ma!! No hands!

[red95gts]

Errr...No Wires!! :)

As some of you know, I've been working (and I use that term loosely) on a stand-alone EFI system for my car called Megasquirt ( http://www.megasquirt.info ). It's a complete DIY approach in that you buy a kit that includes a bare circuit board and hundreds of little components that you get the honor of soldering to the board. Then, you load the software, etc.

One of the great things about it (aside from the cost) is that the firmware and software is all open source. So, it can be modified by anyone with the know-how (I don't fall into that category, BTW) and it is, quite frequently.

The system is set up to communicate to a laptop via an old-school 9-pin RS-232 Serial Port. While that works great, there now exist RS-232 to Bluetooth adapters ("wireless" for the non-techies in the group).

After getting some help from the MS forums ( http://www.msefi.com ) and making some mods to the communication portion of the code, it finally WORKS! I have a wireless link to the ECU for tuning, datalogging, loading new code...etc. While the range is nothing spectacular and standard fare for Bluetooth (about 20-30 feet), it should be more than enough to stand near the car and tune/log. Or even to sit the laptop in the car without the worries of fucking up the USB connector on the laptop!

Just had to share my triumph. Getting this working properly has taken A LOT of trial and error, but I'm glad it's 100% now! :) Now I can move on to other things, like continuing to talk about wiring the car up, but in reality - not actually doing it! LOL!

You can see the MS in the pics (upper right)...notice the only wire is the 12V power to the unit...

[Otis!]

Good deal D! Now get to wiring it up, LOL!

[HoustonLX]

Very nice. Now spend some of that time to the actual car. :blue:

[Saleen91]

Very cool! I've been using a USB to RS232 adapter. My laptop has bluetooth built in...got a link on the bluetooth adapter you're using?

[red95gts]

This is the one I'm using, although there are other brands/models out there. What I like about this one is that I'm able to power it using the onboard 5V through pin 9, so there's no need for an external power supply. It was around $100, although from what I understand, there are some cheaper alternatives out there now...

The one thing I found is that the BT adapters in most laptops allow very LITTLE control over settings with the Virtual Serial Port. Things like Flow Control, RTS/CTS (Handshaking), etc are locked down. So, it forces you to make the changes on the other end of the "wire", which is why the open source nature of MS was a godsend in this instance.

http://www.socketcom.com/product/CS0400-479.asp

As far as wiring up the car, it's coming! I'm leaving on Sunday for 3 weeks in balmy North Carolina and by the time I come home, I plan on having a fully functional MS, completed wiring diagrams in MS Paint, and any additional parts/supplies on order. At that point, it's just "connect the dots" and she should be really close to firing up... :)

[red95gts]

I decided to go ahead and change my signature and the name of my project from:

Project Never

to

Project Forever

since it might actually run in 2007... hahaha

[maveRick]

So, an evil 1337hax0r could DE-tune your car while you're at the staring line? :D

Cool on your accomplishment!

[Chad82GT]

That'd be funny! "Hmmm... D's too quick for me... let's add some fuel... take out some timing.... DONE!" :blue:

Hopefully he's not TOO evil and doesn't do the opposite! :eek:

[red95gts]

LOL!

The evil 1337hax0r would have to crack the BT security code...all the while staying 20-30 feet from me... Sounds like something out of mission impossible.

:)

[Otis!]

Queue music: "Dunt, dunt, dunt, dunt duna dunt..."

[Blue91]

I'll upload Paris Hilton's cell phonebook to your cars "eec", haha. ;)

D, you might do a quick search for some wiring diagram creation/drawing software out on the net. I'm pretty sure some freeware can be found that will make it easier and neater to do than MS Paint, hehe.

[89LX306]

LOL!

The evil 1337hax0r would have to crack the BT security code...all the while staying 20-30 feet from me... Sounds like something out of mission impossible.

:)


So... if you are at the starting line and someone rappels down from the unknown in a black skin tight suit and stops with their body parallel to the ground and then catches a drip of sweat in their palm...that's your cue to shut the car down.

I'm jealous of you guys that have cars. I've resorted to adding horsepower to a 7500 lb truck. Good job on the car...now get 'r running so you can sell it like I did...lol!

[red95gts]

someone rappels down from the unknown in a black skin tight suit

Sounds like a Saturday night at Otis' house! :)

[gt350mustang]

I'll upload Paris Hilton's cell phonebook to your cars "eec", haha. ;)

D, you might do a quick search for some wiring diagram creation/drawing software out on the net. I'm pretty sure some freeware can be found that will make it easier and neater to do than MS Paint, hehe.


:ity:

[red95gts]

WTF is that? hahaha

Fred, I did originally find something, but it ended up being far too complicated for what I need and was more cumbersome than Paint (although that is hard to imagine). On top of that, it was one of those limited trial things, which doesn't make it a good choice for keeping track of wiring changes as the year(s) go by.

I'll have to do some more searching and see what's out there now, and if nothing looks promising, MS Paint will always work! Seems to work ok for a certain 93 GT I know of.. :)