MPGuino install 98 civic hx (pictures)
 

Ok here we go!

I have it coming in the mail, excited for it to arrive. I plan to post lots of good pictures in here throughout the install and setup. I don't know if anyone has used one of these on a obdii lean burn car, but I am hopeful that this will read instant mpg accurately in and out of lean burn no prob.

Thanks to open gauge for putting together a fairly priced product, lots of good info here, and fast shipping!

For now, I am thinking about using the cigarette lighter for a constant 12v power source. Good? Bad?

Also, check out one of my favorite websites All Electronics | Electronic and Electro-Mechanical Parts and Supplies at Discount Prices for cheap electronics and cheap tools. I will probably be purchasing one of their cases for the unit.

More updates to come soon.
Thanks!

Did you get it through DCB? Good stuff, looking forward to your install. I get my power from the fuse box.

This is great news. I just joined the forum and got my MPGuino in the mail on Monday. I will also be connecting it to my 98 civic hx so it will be nice to have another person to compare calibration setup with. I may get time to install mine this weekend and see if it works. I was going to use the battery wire for the stereo but it doesn't work on my car, I have an aftermarket stereo installed by the previous owner and I think when they removed the keyless unit it affected this wire. I will be interested to see your installation pictures. :thumbup:

Yes, I ordered through DCB, super cool guy.

Is there a good or bad place to get constant 12v?

And sweet! Great to hear I am not in on this one alone! You have me beat so far, I don't even have mine yet. But by all means, consider this your thread as well. Please post up what details and pics you can also!

Alllright!:thumbup:

I have a couple ideas for mounting solutions.... I think I might try to put it on a small metal bracket to mount it over the center console vents.. On top of the dash in the center is probably some of the best visibility there is, I think. For me anyways.

Cheers my brutha and happy hunting!

I think the fuse box is the best place for power just since it's made to have places for that sort of thing and if you're like me and have 5 different things drawing random power, then it's nice to consolidate.

The cigarette lighter is a no go. I checked it last night while fixing my stereo battery wire and it does not have power all the time. I think I will go with the fuse box like SVOboy recommends. I am still trying to decide what to do with mounting. I would like to have a decent looking install.

My MPGuino arrived today!!!!!

And.. I have a final in the morning... boo.

I don't expect to make any significant progress on this for the next week until I am done with finals and school for the summer. Sorry fellas.

Ok time to get some photos up. These are for all of you potential buyers out there. I am so glad I got it pre-assembled from DCB. Im not completely worthless with electrical stuff but lets just say I am not an electrician.

http://i43.tinypic.com/1075pc3.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/futj6p.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/2pqw0lz.jpg

Now while I am working on finals I won't mind waiting for my case to arrive. I just ordered this box, I think its going to be a little bit of a squeeze but I think it will work out fine.

ABS PROJECT BOX, 3.97" X 2.12" X 1.72" | AllElectronics.com

And three (just in case) of these dudes for connecting to my car, and I think to a USB cable too... I am still new at how to get this connected to a computer so for those of you who share in my cluelessness, I will be posting up where I find more info.

4-PIN CONNECTOR W/HEADER, .10" | AllElectronics.com

Getting close!

Wow all this time I thought that the MPGuino had to have software uploaded to it from a computer and be calibrated by a computer!

I just read through this thread a bit (DUH!) http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...pace-2115.html

And this page: Mpguino calibration - EcoModder

And I see that the unit can be calibrated while plugged into the car, using the three buttons on it? This thing just keeps getting better!

Also, I don't want to steal mobythevan's thunder but I think he has a cool mounting solution, I am looking forward to see where his goes next.

MPGuino, for great justice!!

Update, update update.

It is ALIVE!!!!

Initially I tried to mount this little guy to one of the climate control vents so that I could secure him to the dash without drilling holes in the dash... I figured I could make a bracket that would screw into the roof of one of those vents and then snake around to the top of the dash. It was rather frustrating taking this whole assembly out only to put it right back in.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2v2h2ir.jpg

yikes! Luckily my girlfriends father saved me from my stupidity and advised me to just stick him onto the dash with mounting tape. I am studying engineering in school, and since engineers are really gifted with making things complicated I guess I am well on my way!

The install took me longer than I thought, but it went smoothly. Overall I got most of my install info from this page: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...pace-2115.html

To find the VSS sensor wire on my ecu I used this page:1996 - 1998 Honda Civic ECU Diagram as referred by the previous link. As far as I can tell, it works great.

I also used the release one page to get my fuel injector hooked up. The only difference for me was that both of the wires to my injector were both reading 12v, so I had to unplug it and then one of them went to zero. Perfect.

I searched the intar webs for the most common place to find constant 12 volts in the cabin in my particular car. I decided to hook up to a white wire coming out of the fuse box under the drivers dash. This wire has 0v when unplugged from the fuse box while the car is turned off... and 12v when it is plugged in while its still off. Im pretty sure this means I get constant 12v and this wire also goes through the appropriate fuse(s) so I won't blow anything up.

I grounded to the chassis right next to my compy. Since the other wires were there already.

Aaaanyways. Here are some pictures I just took. What you have been waiting for!

http://i41.tinypic.com/7119bs.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/1zbx94p.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/2njyg08.jpg

I am pretty pleased with how it all turned out, except for the wire insulator deal I used... it looks better than four naked wires but it still looks like it belongs on a robot. haha. Any ideas on how I can cover up those wires more discreetly?

The MPGuino fit nicely into the case I got with the addition of a small spacer thing I made out of balsa wood. I mounted the case to that metal bracket with velcro tape so I can remove it easily. The metal bracket is on the dash via mounting tape. Noice.

I drove around the neighborhood like a little school girl, I was soo excited. It seems like it works pretty well.

Here are the setup screens I went through and what I set things to.

1. Contrast (55) default I think

2. VSS pulses / mile - I read that asian cars will be most likely a multiple of 8204... so I just set it to 8204 for now.

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

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

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?

6. Tank Gal * 1000 - I think I will mess with this later. Right now its 10,300

7. Inj DelayuS - same story as #3, right now its at 500

8. weight - 2200

9. Scratchpad (odo?) ... dunno what this is about. Set to 0.

10. USS delay ms .. same story as #3, set at 2.

11. Inj Trg 0-Dn 1-Up - wtf? Its at zero. Dont have a clue.

I am in the middle of a gas tank right now, so please help me out to get it ready to calibrate! And thank you DCB!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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. :thumbup:

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. :)

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.

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! :)

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.

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

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

Thank you for the help.

Almost done dialing it in.

Right now my calibration values are:

VSS pulse / mile
8208

Microsec / Gallon
287696156

And with those I think it is reasonably accurate. Time will tell. For reference, my car is currently running 185/60/14s instead of the factory sized 185/65/14s.

Thank you for bearing with me on all my dumb questions, hopefully you will find this one slightly more intelligent:

My current values for "injector delay us" is 500, for "Inj Trg 0-Dn 1-up" is 0, and for "VSS delay ms" is 2.

Are these values having any effect?

I also forgot.. about cooling. My options are putting the guino in a white box, and moving the whole thing out of direct sunlight. I don't plan on doing either of those.

I will drill more holes, but other than that any ideas?

Thanks again.

I wanted to post a follow up even though this was not my thread. I used the white wire from the fuse box for 12 volts like the original poster and I suffered from a lot of resets. I have now changed to a fused wire directly from the battery and no longer have any resets for several tanks of gas with MPGuino. Just in case any one else tries using the white wire from the fuse box, it appears to be too noisy for MPGuino.

About setting VSS pulses -

When you can, borrow a GPS from a friend and calibrate the Guino to that. Drive it for a few hundred miles if you can borrow it for that long. I did that in preparation for the Green Grand Prix rally and it was an eye opener. With stock size tires (185/65-14) I need to multiply odo readings by 1.009xx to get GPS readings.


Also get a correction factor so you can get GPS/Guino miles from your trip odometer. That one has saved my backside a couple times already, when the Guino had a reset for one reason or another.

Great thread, I will be bookmarking and referencing soon. Thank you to all the HX owners and other members who have responded.

How did you ever get it to fit so nicely into that box? There is like zero gap between the screen and the box. I just put mine together yesterday and it looks like crap compared to yours. Maybe my dremmel skills aren't like yours. :P

LeanBurninating -- do you still have pictures of your MPGuino wiring? I got my 1999 Honda Civic HX and am looking for ideas on where to put MPGuino and to wire them.

Thanks.

Thanks for the link to the pin connector. It is a life saver.

Nice install and very helpful. Saving funds for an MPGuino now.

I'm also wondering how you got such an awesome fit in the enclosure, did you you a dremel?

Abadoned Mpguino for scangauge II --

Still in calibration stage -- so far 66.2 MPG 8.4 miles segment.

LinuxGold, please post your calibration results once you are happy with them.

I am running 13" tires from a hatchback on my civic so my VSS calibration is different, but my fuel is set to 290000000 right now.

I abandoned mpguino for ScanGauge II, there were no calibration needed for ScanGauge II, there are always small variations.

So far I am currently on Tank of 62.5 mpg 183 miles (2.93 gallons) so far with 568 miles/9.1 gallons remaining.

My high segment is 76.8 mpg @ 2.2 miles

Hey I just read through this thread,and wow it's just what I've been trying to find. I have a 99 civic hx and want to put a guage in to monitor the lean burn. I'm on a work computer so the pics must be blocked because I cant see any of them. I'll look at home this evening. Do you guys like the MPGuino or ScanGuage? How well do they work with the lean burn engine?

I would recommend MPGuino for the best MPG readout because scangauge is set to fixed 17:1 air to gas mixture ratio. The VTEC-E uses 22:1 air to gas mixture on the first stage which gives scangauge incorrect read-out. Scangauge reads the Fuel Injection timing, not scangauge.

I have both mpguino and scan gauge 2. I like both, but I like having the mpguino in my hx all the time. I keep the scan gauge in my truck to monitor timing and temps mostly.