As far as I can tell, the engine harness of this car is standard. For instance, it has a plug which connects to the reverse switch on the gearbox, even though there is no power to it or even any wiring to supply it in the fusebox.
5k resistance plugs seem to fix the problem completely, but I can't find any information which shows the actual resistance of the internal plug resistors, nor anywhere with pictures of the firing end of the plugs. My paper spark plug catalogues (remember real books?) are apparently now all obsolete.
http://www.ngk-sparkplugs.jp/english/ra ... index.html is as good a site as any, but the "confirm shape" buttons don't work...
Doesn't anybody care about keeping their websites up to date anymore?
Champion 9770 RC6WYPB3? - But most likely not available in NZ and we are seriously running out of time.
The Champion website does seem to be the most user-friendly.
The corollary to Murphy's law, stating that when you finally find the product which perfectly suits your requirements, it went out of production last year, seems to be working well here...
Old Installation new laptop
Re: Old Installation new laptop
I've located some good old Champion RC6YC (would you believe 11 of them!) at less than $4 each I've bought the lot. I'll see what happens when I get them tomorrow...
Re: Old Installation new laptop
This is doing my head in. A motley, well used collection of 3 old, unproven Splitfire plugs with an unknown heat range and one Champion RC7YCC lets the K-Pro work perfectly. The "new" RC6YCs don't. Can't datalog.
The theory of a damaged wiring harness is a very expensive theory, and anyway there is no possible way of obtaining a new one to try in time for the next event. We only have 5 days and the car isn't even repaired from the last rally, a job we would like to take a couple of week to complete properly. Do we stop trying to find the electronic problems, and instead patch up all the underbody damage, and simply hope that the new K-Pro board might work?
It's hard to withdraw from a series half-way through, with all the many thousands of dollars already spent and all the good results recorded. But to risk another poor performance and possible serious engine damage is not sensible.
I spent all day today trying to make sense of the various voltages and signals. The 4 coils and all the ECU plug wiring bundles now have ferrite toroids on them, likewise the main battery cable.
All I proved conclusively was that if you take a big, copper, many-hundred-Amp jumper lead, hook one end to the ground lead of the digital oscilloscope probe, and the other to the signal pickup, then while the engine is running you get a beautiful spark signal induced in the lead of around a whole volt amplitude. A similar signal can be found imposed on virtually every terminal of the ECU.
The theory of a damaged wiring harness is a very expensive theory, and anyway there is no possible way of obtaining a new one to try in time for the next event. We only have 5 days and the car isn't even repaired from the last rally, a job we would like to take a couple of week to complete properly. Do we stop trying to find the electronic problems, and instead patch up all the underbody damage, and simply hope that the new K-Pro board might work?
It's hard to withdraw from a series half-way through, with all the many thousands of dollars already spent and all the good results recorded. But to risk another poor performance and possible serious engine damage is not sensible.
I spent all day today trying to make sense of the various voltages and signals. The 4 coils and all the ECU plug wiring bundles now have ferrite toroids on them, likewise the main battery cable.
All I proved conclusively was that if you take a big, copper, many-hundred-Amp jumper lead, hook one end to the ground lead of the digital oscilloscope probe, and the other to the signal pickup, then while the engine is running you get a beautiful spark signal induced in the lead of around a whole volt amplitude. A similar signal can be found imposed on virtually every terminal of the ECU.
Re: Old Installation new laptop
Put in some new resistor type spark plugs and then ignore them - they always cause a voltage ripple on the vehicle wiring, but it usually is a very short pulse of only a volt or so.
If you case there is a bad / poor / missing ground path somewhere on the vehicle. Remove & clean the main engine grounds (transmission, engine mount, battery to chassis). Check the engine harness wiring ground is on the end of the cylinder head or on one of the valve cover studs. Then use the multimeter to measure the voltage between the battery negative and sensor grounds with the engine running. It should be 0V difference, otherwise the ground is bad. You can also measure to the shield of the USB connector, which should also be 0V potential.
I replace the engine harness in my race car about every three years. The wires work harden, then the copper breaks inside without any indication of a problem.
If you case there is a bad / poor / missing ground path somewhere on the vehicle. Remove & clean the main engine grounds (transmission, engine mount, battery to chassis). Check the engine harness wiring ground is on the end of the cylinder head or on one of the valve cover studs. Then use the multimeter to measure the voltage between the battery negative and sensor grounds with the engine running. It should be 0V difference, otherwise the ground is bad. You can also measure to the shield of the USB connector, which should also be 0V potential.
I replace the engine harness in my race car about every three years. The wires work harden, then the copper breaks inside without any indication of a problem.
Hondata
Re: Old Installation new laptop
Ok, thanks. All those ground points measure between .01 and .03 V.
Re: Old Installation new laptop
A set of NGK IRIWAY 8 plugs has fixed the datalog issue -even with the ECU case hanging free and ungrounded. Just the same as the un-matched set of Splitfire SF392Bs with one Champion RCY7CC.
I note that the internal resistance of the IRIWAYs is around 6k, whereas the new PFR8Bs are closer to 4k. The Splitfires are 5k and the Champions (both the used RC7YCC and the new but obsolete RC6YCs) measure 30k - 50k although they use some sort of semi-conductor resistor.
We can now do a dyno run and datalog it!
I note that the internal resistance of the IRIWAYs is around 6k, whereas the new PFR8Bs are closer to 4k. The Splitfires are 5k and the Champions (both the used RC7YCC and the new but obsolete RC6YCs) measure 30k - 50k although they use some sort of semi-conductor resistor.
We can now do a dyno run and datalog it!