First look & impressions - AEM software

I started looking at the AEM software tonight. Wow! No doubt a lot of potential here. Of course, ultimate power and flexibility typically means ultimate complexity and this is no exception. Although there is probably a lot to learn from their forums, perhaps we should start sharing questions, observations, solutions etc. here.

My first problem was that it seems I didn’t get the help file. Attempts to access Help from the application produces a message that it can’t find the AEMPro.hlp file. I’ve searched my drives and the CD without luck. Did anyone have it install successfully? I did find the user guide, manual, and EFI Basics pdf files at AEMPro\Instructions\, but regular application help, especially context sensitive, would still be nice.

I haven’t read through the manuals yet, I was too anxious to check out the delivered base maps. A few things look odd, such as a rev limiter settings of 7000 and 7500. Just playing it safe I guess. The VTEC setup has parameters for load, RPM, and TPS but all are still zero as if it wasn’t configured at all. Perhaps I’m just looking in the wrong place. The user interface won’t win any awards, but it looks functional and should serve well enough with some practice. Although I’ve never been a fan of “hot keys” I can see where they will be useful when running this, especially on a laptop, and AEM has provided a floating context sensitive cheat sheet so you don’t need to remember them all. Nice job! Overall I’m extremely optimistic about this being the answer to my wishes, but it will take a lot of work. That’s OK with me.

Well, I guess it’s time to start reading the manuals.

Hmmm... it seems that ignition coil spark control is limited to 4 cylinders without resorting to a wasted spark approach where one signal fires two coils on opposing strokes. No big deal I guess except for working the coils and plugs harder, but still a bit surprising. A very minor issue I think.

Oh no! The instructions say that using a USB - serial port adapter cause communications problems. Much to my surprise when it arrived, my notebook does not have a standard serial port. The adapter I bought seems to work well enough for other things but they are comparatively simple. Anyone have a beater notebook they'd like to sell?

[This message has been edited by sjs (edited 09 January 2003).]

Reading the AEM documentation reminded me why the “wasted spark” approach may not be so minor after all. A coil that must fire twice as often has only half the time to recover and charge for the next shot. That wouldn’t sound too bad on a car with one coil per cylinder except that they are appropriately small given their anticipated demand, so at 8k RPM those shots are now pretty close together. Add boost to the equation and the higher combustion pressures increase the need for a strong spark. So it sounds like we’re asking more from the stock system at both ends.

As I recall, David was “blowing out” his spark at high RPM and needed to enhance it. I don’t know if his system uses the wasted spark approach but I doubt it. So this may become a point f concern for anyone running more than modest boost levels. Something to be aware of at least.

Are you sure there's nowhere on your laptop where you can plug in some kind of external "box" that will have serial and parallel port connections? I've seen some laptops like that, especially newer, smaller ones. Or maybe there's a little panel you need to flip down that you're missing? Check your BIOS and device manager to see if the motherboard has serial ports and if they're configured in windows. If it does, then I'm betting there's some way to use them.

Or you could always just get on EBay and pick up an old laptop.

-Mike

Originally posted by sjs:
Oh no! The instructions say that using a USB - serial port adapter cause communications problems. Much to my surprise when it arrived, my notebook does not have a standard serial port.

Click to expand...

http://www.quatech.com/shopquatech/products/prod347.asp

This is example, first one I came across - do a search on Google or similar for PCMCIA Serial Port adapter - note the example is single port, but can also get up to 4 if required

P.S. Look what I just found on AEM BBS - http://www.aempower.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=2213
Appears that he found the same one & confirms it works!


[This message has been edited by D'Ecosse (edited 10 January 2003).]

Originally posted by sjs:
Hmmm... it seems that ignition coil spark control is limited to 4 cylinders without resorting to a wasted spark approach where one signal fires two coils on opposing strokes. No big deal I guess except for working the coils and plugs harder, but still a bit surprising.

Click to expand...

Are you sure about this? The wiring diagram http://www.aempower.com/bbs/download.php?id=284 specifically shows 6 seperate outputs, one for each coil - wasted sparks usually work where there is one coil shared between 2 cylinders & thus triggered & fired simultaneously.
Since the wiring is the same whether, for the ECU or the PEMS, they would surely operate identically with a seperate output depending upon the CKP/CYP input?
Regardless I know that Gerry has been running the Electromotive TECII with 3 coils & wasted spark with no problems at 15lbs boost. He has just installed TECIII howver, which drives the initial Honda coils (not because of issues).

Unfortunately yes, I'm sure. If you look at the middle column of the pin-out you'll notice that 1 & 5 share a connection as do 2 & 6 and 3 & 4.

You are correct about the common application of the term "wasted spark", but I don't know of one for this and it is effectively the same in that each coil fires twice as often as needed with half of them wasted on the exhaust stroke.

I'm sure Gerry had three coils that were designed to handle it. Ours were "right sized" for their purpose with reasonable headroom yet without undue size and weight. But asking them to do double duty then throwing boost at them as well is less than optimal. Critical? I couldn’t say, but I’ll be a bit nervous especially with old coils. I’ve got two sets of the later coils, one of them virtually new. I wonder if they can be adapted.

Thanks for the tip on the PCMCIA - serial adapter. I may just need that.

Originally posted by sjs:
Unfortunately yes, I'm sure. If you look at the middle column of the pin-out you'll notice that 1 & 5 share a connection as do 2 & 6 and 3 & 4.

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I think the diagram is confusing - yes, there is still a dedicated output for each coil, but appears they are being driven by a common driver for each pair. Presumably they had some reason for doing this as I think they already have spare outputs anyway.

Direct fire is the term for a dedicated coil for each plug - here is how AEM's generic manual describes operation:

Direct Fire
Direct fire systems employ one coil on each spark plug and is the most reliable system used today, (this type of system is used on most modern cars). Each coil fires sequentially in the cylinder firing order. The charge time for each coil is twice as long as those of a wasted spark system, which allows direct-fire, coil manufacturers to build compact, lightweight coils that retain sufficient spark energy. There are no moving parts to wear out and no HT leads that will deteriorate. The lack of HT leads in direct fire systems is a
major advantage for an EFI-equipped car because there is a very low incidence of noise due to leaking or improperly routed wires.

Amplifying Spark Energy
There are several ways to amplify the spark. This can be accomplished either by making the spark
duration longer or by increasing the intensity of the spark. Firing the plugs multiple times on each cycle increases Spark duration. Spark intensity is increased by shortening the duration of the spark and increasing voltage at the plug. It is necessary to amplify the spark on engines with high cylinder pressures, such as forced-induction or nitrous oxide applications. On engines that utilize bolt-on modifications with no internal engine modifications, an enhanced ignition system is rarely needed. The AEM system is compatible with most stock and aftermarket ignition systems.

Two things of note here: they do state the advantage of the additional charge time so their dual fire would be considered contradictory to that; however they also recommend amplification for FI systems.
Fortunately the NSX has an ignition coil amplifier (its called the ICM module) - hopefully they have done the math to determine the appropriateness (?) of the coil under these conditions.

Originally posted by D'Ecosse:
...Direct fire is the term for a dedicated coil for each plug - here is how AEM's generic manual describes operation...

Click to expand...

That's what we have stock, and in part what we have with the AEM since there really is still one coil per cylinder. But since it fires every revolution it has the same downside of the wasted spark. That's the part with no name.

I'd be interested to hear why that design was necessary.

Meanwhile, I pulled the ECU out of my '93 and plugged in the AEM. At first it looked like my USB-serial adapter would work. I connected fine and it downloaded the configuration file. But soon it disconnected and after that it kept displaying error messages with garbage for file name and version numbers. Oh well, more time to read the manuals.

There is an error in the delivered configuration file. To fix it:

From the main AEMPro application, open the NSX base calibration file 1002.AEM15GEN.V0.94.gdf.

From the Setup menu go to Basic System Setup / Options - Injector Firing Locations
You should get a small popup dialog with a list of injector tooth numbers. The first six should read as follows:

#1 10.4
#2 18.4
#3 2.4
#4 14.4
#5 22.4
#6 6.4

This was discussed in their forum: http://www.aempower.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=2014&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Tonight I hooked up a different notebook and loaded the corrected base calibration file. The car fired up immediately so I shut it down and prepared to take a drive. In theory it should be very similar to the original at this point and all my other stuff is still in place. When I fired it back up to back it out of the garage it sounded rough and by the time I got to the street it was running on 5 cylinders and getting worse. Hmmm... Too late to mess with it so I left it. Tomorrow I'll have more time to try again.

One thing that's a bit hokey is the separate sub-harness for the VTEC solenoids. But I guess I can understand not wanting to change their standard chassis and boards. If you install the harness yourself you may need to re-crimp the two pins before inserting them into the stock harness. Mine were crimped flat which made them too wide to press all the way into the harness. If that happens they won't make up with the AEM. Also be careful at the connector end. Look inside to be sure all the pins are straight. On mine one whole row was leaned over and would have bent flat if I had just pressed it in without looking.

Got it running today and drove around for awhile at modest loads with the logs running but haven't reviewed them yet.

Drivability is similar to the original ECU with a few minor glitches I'll need to tune out. Idle hunts a bit, and sudden rev drop in neutral tends to overshoot and staLl. Similarly a quick but light blip of the throttle from neutral can cause it to die. There are a multitude of idle, accel ,and decel settings so it's probably just a matter of minor tweaks to match my particular car. Next step will be to pull out advance with load similar to the way my original did based on RPM so I can run it a bit harder.

The more I see the more I think this is going to be just what I’ve been asking for


[This message has been edited by sjs (edited 12 January 2003).]

Originally posted by sjs:
The more I see the more I think this is going to be just what I’ve been asking for

Click to expand...

Don't you just love that feeling?

-Mike

For smaller laptops like mine that lack the serial port, you can use a device like USB->DB9 I use. Belkin is a pretty reputable name:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/pcsound/972597.html

Cheers,
-- Chris

Originally posted by ScienceofSpeed:
For smaller laptops like mine that lack the serial port, you can use a device like USB->DB9 I use. Belkin is a pretty reputable name:...

Click to expand...

It worked? AEM states that they "may experience communications problems". I tried mine anyway and at first it seemed to work but soon it started random disconnects and corrupted data files. I don't have problems when using it with other things such as a Palm or my G-Cube.

I wish they had used a USB port to begin with, pulling down the onboard log is a drag.

Which connector do you have? It seems that people have had problems with lower quality ones. However, AEM does recommend using a PC card instead of USB...

Originally posted by ScienceofSpeed:
Which connector do you have? It seems that people have had problems with lower quality ones. However, AEM does recommend using a PC card instead of USB...

Click to expand...

I have the Belkin F5U109, using it with an HP notebook. Perhaps I'll try again. The errors may have been something else.