Megasquirt, let's hear some recommendations
mr henderson - 15/10/08 at 06:55 AM
Most of the topics about Megasquirt are about various problems people have trying to set it up properly.
As I am considering buying a system myself, I thought I would provide an opportunity for people to say what they like about it (apart from the price),
some of the more positive aspects.
All contributions welcome
John
[Edited on 15/10/08 by mr henderson]
BenB - 15/10/08 at 07:35 AM
I think the open source aspect is very attractive as it means DIY modifications can be made (at least for those with uProcessor programming
knowledge.
My main issue is the fact that few rolling roads are used to using it, so you have to rely on DIY tuning...
JAG - 15/10/08 at 10:08 AM
I think Ben's right. It is the open source nature of the ECU/software/engine management system.
I have modified the board to drive the ignitors from my MX-5 engine based upon info' I researched from other MX-5 owners and there are loads of
options for making it work just about any engine/management system and you can change/add them as you develop the engine.
Shift lights/Electronic boost control/different ignition set-ups/traction control/inlet air valve control etc...... can all be added either when you
build it or as you develop the car.
It's kinda like your Locost - it can be whatever you need it to be (within reason!) and you have full control!
(that also makes it your fault if/when it goes wrong - but I like that idea too 
)
Jenko - 15/10/08 at 10:28 AM
Agree with everything that has been said here.....
Basically, you batter through the problems, and when you finish you have a fantastic user adjustable car...It really teaches you so much about fuel
injection....
Spec wise, it does everything the other ECU's do.....
MkIndy7 - 15/10/08 at 03:54 PM
Well i'll go on the contary...
I'd like to think i'm quite clued up on electronics and computers etc but at times i've struggled.
We bought out Megasquirt fully built and there was/has been problems with it.
The Megasquirt manual can also be very confusing and even contains miscalculations for extra features such as staged injection and there are many
other opinions on how to go about tuining it.
I'd guess that its easier to tune a bought system as there a known entity with a more user friendly manual, i.e "to get it to do X do
Y".
Saying that we've got a TB setup we've made ourselfs wich adds another variable, should we have MS'd a standard injection system it
would no doubt have been alot easier. It now appears ours is so difficut to tune as the TB's are too big, we can tune for performance but recieve
no real economy.. the whole idea of injection for us was to get a bit of both! .
martyn_16v - 15/10/08 at 04:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MkIndy7
We bought out Megasquirt fully built
And there's the problem. If you had bought a car fully built by someone else you wouldn't be surprised if it takes you longer to fix than
one you'd built yourself and know inside and out.
I agree the documentation is far from perfect, MS (and particularly Extra) went through a long phase of developing faster than the manual could be
written, and it's one of those things that sadly just never gets done once they've moved on to new projects. In it's defence, it's
way better than many other open source projects i've had experience with.
At the end of the day this is the internet, you'll never see a balanced view of anything because people just don't post 'another day
and nothing went wrong'. If anything i'd take it as a good point that you do see so much discussion about MS, it means that there are people
who can help all over the place. People asking questions about setting it up isn't a bad reflection on the hardware, at the end of the day
it's a complicated system and there is a lot you need to learn to get the best out of it. I'd worry if I saw significantly more stories of
people giving up completely and buying something else, but you rarely do, and generally it's very clear that the people who do are McDonalds
drive-thru types who can barely tie their own shoelaces and bought it expecting to be able to just plug it in and brag about their custom ecu. You
don't see much about other management systems because on the whole there isn't the support available other than taking it back to the shop
and paying for it.
I really think the sale of pre-built units has harmed the reputation of MS (although it is making Bruce, Al and the distributors a killing). When you
had to put it together yourself it weeded out more of the people looking for a quick fix without realising that it is in essence an educational
project not a quick fix, it's cheap because you need to supply the thinking yourself rather than paying someone else to do the thinking for
you.
I started playing with MS back when it just did fuel I can't say it's all been plain sailing, there's been some real challenges
along the way, but each time I've been able to work through it, usually with the help of the community, and have come out of it with a much
better understanding of how engine management (and engines) works, which is why I chose MS in the first place 
paulf - 15/10/08 at 04:43 PM
I agree with all of the above, I built my system about 3 years ago and have had few problems either installing it or reliability, although was worried
when it wouldnt start when out in the dark recently but that turned out to be due to a cheap fuse box I had used.
I studied the system a lot before building it and built my ECU from just a PCB and main proccesor kit and sourced the other parts myself.
There is a lot of info available and some is conflicting, so you do need to do plenty of research but I find that part of the fun.It has given me
something to do after building the car other than just driving it but that is also a problem for some people as they want a fit and forget system
etc.
Paul.
MkIndy7 - 15/10/08 at 04:48 PM
I never expected it to be that easy to sort out, and we bough a MS unit from a very reputable supplier so it wasn't another variable that could
or should go wrong.
Imagine building one up and fitting it to a new engine, and it runs the ignition and fuling... if it didn't go first time how would you know
which was at fault to get it working again.
I know its developing stuff, but you don't expect there to be faults in the coding that allow conflicting settings etc to be selected, on a more
polished retail system i'd expect you'd not to be able to select these conflicting settings. Its little things like that, where it could be
made so much better.
Saying that i've never seen or experienced the software of a "retail ECU" to know if its any better or clearer. I'd just expect
that when its a retail version there is 1 tried and tested way of doing something, when its open source there's lots of people all coming at
different angles trying to solve a problem so its easy to get confused (it can also develop very quickly and cheeply like this I know).
martyn_16v - 15/10/08 at 08:09 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MkIndy7
Imagine building one up and fitting it to a new engine, and it runs the ignition and fuling... if it didn't go first time how would you know
which was at fault to get it working again.
The same way as you'd work it out if you'd fitted a retail system. There are no guarantees it's going to work just because someone else
built it, no matter what it is.
It's a fair point about getting conflicting settings, but again on the flip side this only arises because MS is so versatile in the range of
ignition components and other features it supports. If you buy a retail system you're often very limited as to what it can actually drive (i.e.
the manufacturers own ignition drivers only). If you get it majorly wrong MS will warn you about it by flashing the fuel pump on and off.
Jenko - 16/10/08 at 03:47 PM
I would second the comments about conflicting information...I spent age trying to figure out exactly what internal mods I need to do to run EDIS....I
eventually realised there was two totally different was of doing it, and a mixture of both would not work....Very frustrating, and ony found because I
sat down with a DVM and buzzed through the entire input path from the VR sensor. to the o/p to EDIS.....
I also found the forum for MSextra increasingly unhelpful.....However, I still stand by comments that although there were obvious frustrations during
the install, the knowledge and understanding I now have of fuel injection is priceless.
mr henderson - 17/10/08 at 07:48 AM
Well, it would seem that if one is happy to spend some time learning the in and outs of it, then the Megasquirt system is a good solution.
Trouble is, I'm not sure if I have the time or the mentala energy needed to do that. I think I'm going to have to think about this a bit
more.
I need to find a solution to running a post '95 Zetec, and it may be that finding a way of using the original Ford ecu might be the answer.
I'll know more when I've dismantled the donor.
Thanks for the info
John
Jenko - 17/10/08 at 08:13 AM
The only problem using the ford ECU, is that you basically cannot perform any upgrades to the engine...If you move to ITB's, then you will need a
different ECU....
There are plenty of MS'ed Zetecs out there...
Take a look at http://www.fatbaldbloke.co.uk/
mr henderson - 17/10/08 at 11:20 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Jenko
The only problem using the ford ECU, is that you basically cannot perform any upgrades to the engine...If you move to ITB's, then you will need a
different ECU....
There are plenty of MS'ed Zetecs out there...
Take a look at http://www.fatbaldbloke.co.uk/
I hear what you are saying there, and thanks for the link, I had a read of that.
Fortunately, though, in this particular application (on/off road vehicle) engine upgrades and especially TB's are not required. I did have some
concerns about the PATS but have found a couple of firms that can remove the immobiliser from the ECU so that shouldn't prove to be a problem
(which will make the wiring a lot easier!)
John