MPGuino install 98 civic hx (pictures)

[LeanBurninating]

hooray for people that can answer their own questions.

I found this thread using the lovely search function: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-off-7025.html to find out that the backlight only times out but the display itself stays on continuously. I don't expect this to cause any problems, someone says that it draws about 20 milliamps... don't know how much that really is.

I also re read the release one workspace http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...pace-2115.htmlto find more info on the values that I need to calibrate and also the ones that are unimportant.

[LeanBurninating]

No comments on the install??

Its working well, my mpg is a bit off I can tell already, it says I am averaging 67. haha. But my speed is working well. When my speedo says I am going 37, the MPGuino says 34.5 or something. I think this might be because manufacturers sometimes make the dash show a little higher speed than actual? Or am I wrong?

Also, my car from the factory has 185/65 tires on it, but the previous owner put 185/60s... how much will this effect my odometer and speed readings?

Thanks
John

[skelly]

Originally Posted by LeanBurninating

Update, update update.

3. micro sec/gallon ... I dunno what this is all about. I don't remember if I changed it or what but right now it is set to 500,000,000

This is the second most important variable you need to calibrate after you've calibrated the speed (VSS Pulses/Mile). I would check the table here:

MPGuino - EcoModder

And find an engine and vehicle that is similar to yours in size. Use that value as a 'reasonable' starting point. This number tells you exactly what it says -- the number of microseconds that the MPGuino will measure for each gallon of fuel that is squirted into the intake manifold.

If either this or the VSS Pulses/Mile are not correct, your mileage will not be correct. The VSS Pulses/Mile is the easiest to calibrate first, as you can just drive 10-20 miles or so and get a rough, but decent, calibration on this one.

Originally Posted by LeanBurninating

4. pulses/2 revs ... same story as #3... its now set to 3.

I don't think this one is being used by the software currently.

Originally Posted by LeanBurninating

5. timeout (ms) This confuses me.. I read up on it and so I decided to set this to 300,000,000 cause google tells me that is equivalent to 5 minutes. But this thing doesnt shut off. lol. Will the screen always stay on?

With the released software, the screen will always stay on. Only the backlight will turn off after your timeout in us. The default is 420000000, which should be 7 minutes.

[mobythevan]

I did the calculations with what I believe is the correct injector size for the HX and came up with: usec/gal = 315451000

I figured I would start with that and see which way I need to adjust it. You box looks good. I am not sure what I would do with the wires to be more discrete. Did you connect to the VSS signal in the engine compartment at the transaxle connector? I haven't had time to work on my install yet, hopefully soon. Good luck on the calibration, looks like you'll be having some fun now.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by LeanBurninating

I am pretty pleased with how it all turned out, except for the wire insulator deal I used... looks like it belongs on a robot.

That's funny: I saw that picture and thought: COOL! What a neat looking way to encase those wires.

There's no point debating aesthetics.

[Nevyn]

Pulses/rev isn't being used yet. It was/is there as a hopeful for using the MPGuino for RPMs, I think, for those that don't have a tach.

[LeanBurninating]

Thank you for all of the input and answers. I have been re reading over stuff, now I have printouts of the calibration procedure and screen descriptions in my car, haha.

I just got gas yesterday to start the first calibration trip, although I forgot to reset "tank" on the MPGuino till I was 80 miles in. Doh! So I just reset the trip odometer on my car and the "tank" data on the MPGuino at the same time on the highway. haha. My actual MPG calculation wont be accurate but who cares.

MetroMPG thank you for the compliments, I am not sure what I am going to do but at some point I want something smaller and less noticeable to cover up those wires. I actually for a second thought about going back down through the vents near the base of the dash but no no no...

Moby, thanks for the calculation results, as soon as I get my vss number dialed in I will try that one first. Sorry you havent had time, must be frustrating, just keep us posted!! I hope your original idea works out well.

Thank you especially to skelly for the useful info!

[LeanBurninating]

A little mishap today.

I parked my car in the sun, not thinking, and left the guino on the dash. It got pretty hot today. Around 2pm I went out to get something outta my car, I noticed the green lcd screen was colored blue and the case was hot to the touch, too hot to hold in my hands. The velcro tape adhesive turned to goo.

I pulled it off the dash and let it hang down under the steering column in the shade.

Later this evening it worked great, no problems that I could tell. Except on my drive home I pressed the center button to toggle through the brightness, the first time I pressed it, going from brightness "3" to "0" the thing just froze. I unplugged it after a minute and plugged it right back in, while I was driving, drove another 60 miles and it seems to be just fine.

I had been toggling through the different screens and stuff since it cooked earlier today and it seems like its working fine.

What are the chances I screwed something up? And would I know it by now?

On a different note, using 8204 for the vss pulses per mile seems to be dead on. First try! I will wait till I get more than 100 miles in to really calibrate it though. The miles seem perfect although the vehicle speed displayed on the guino shows a couple mph less than whats on the dash... is this normal?

Thanks people.

[dcb]

The regulator has to dissapate about 1/4 of a watt. putting it in a box means some thought has to go into ventilation. Putting it in a black box in the sun is really challenging it.

But if its working now it is working. An occasional freeze isn't that unusual, I've witnessed a couple but they were few and far inbetween, so wasn't anything I could effectively troubleshoot.

edit: I did notice some verbiage in the latest datasheet about a built in cpu temperature sensor. I may have to look into that, if only for display purposes. The sheet lists 85C as the peak temp for the cpu.

edit #2, the crystal lists a max operating temp of +70C, 158F

[brucepick]

Nice installation!

You asked about mph display vs. the odometer.
For what it's worth, my ScanGauge also shows a bit less speed than my HX's speedometer shows. I think the speedo's are probably set to read a bit higher than actual.

For a nice tire size calculator, go here. Will show you the % correction and dimensional differences between various tire sizes. A very handy tool.
http://www.wickedbodies.net/Tire-Size-Calculator.htm