Introducing ElanLogger

[matts1972]

I'm leaving the below comment in the hope it helps others - Don't buy the 12 pin Connector DO BUY THE 10 PIN CONNECTOR - as per the instructions.. DOH!


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Agggh, maybe I bought the wrong cable but I have no continuity between pin f and any of the leads coming out the cable.
I guess I can tap into pin F in the car and connect to the Arduino, we’ll see.
My plug supports A, B, G and M

That's a shame - that odb1 adapter is not the most common item. I will highlite the "10" in the original post.
As you only require three PINs you could solder a connector of your choice directly to the lines on the car. I would get another adapter, though, to leave the car original.

[RonR]

I also had a connector from Ebay that didn't have a wire fitted to the "F" pin. I cut the "G" pin flush to the plastic then soldered a piece of wire from it to the "F" pin. Worked a treat.

Another option is to use these connectors from Mouser. The pins come separately so you can wire it how you want:
Plug Shell - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12045808
Cable Clamp - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12124264
Pins - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12045773
Seals - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12089678-B

I think these are what's used on Elanscan cables.

[CalElan]

Ooh that site is a great resource - TY

I also had a connector from Ebay that didn't have a wire fitted to the "F" pin. I cut the "G" pin flush to the plastic then soldered a piece of wire from it to the "F" pin. Worked a treat.

Another option is to use these connectors from Mouser. The pins come separately so you can wire it how you want:
Plug Shell - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12045808
Cable Clamp - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12124264
Pins - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12045773
Seals - https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/829-12089678-B

I think these are what's used on Elanscan cables.

[RonR]

One of my projects in lockdown has been automatic recording of every journey using the original Arduino Uno hardware and a few extra components.

The Logger is left permanently connected to the ECM. The total current consumption when ignition is off is measured in micro-amps, which shouldn't drain the battery. A diode isolated sensor wire is taken from terminal 6 of my unused AirCon switch connector (Ignition feed). If your car has A/C you may have to take the ignition feed from elsewhere. There's an Ignition feed to the ECU which could be tapped.

There is 1 changed and 1 extra circuit used:

Changed:
A 2-transistor gated interface circuit between the ECM and Arduino - allows the logger to control when it listens to the ECM.
Also allows the logger software to be downloaded with it assembled.

2-Transistor-Interface.jpg

Extra:
An automatic turn-on and delayed turn-off circuit.
Turns the logger on with the ignition and when the ignition is turned off delays around 7 seconds before power is removed.
There's also an override to switch on manually.

Delay-Circuit-2.jpg

The only non-standard component is a small 12V relay like this one.

The main change to Matts' original software is to continuously poll the ECM whilst listening for Flag 40 Bit 3, which is the "Engine Running" Flag. The presence of the flag dictates opening, recording data and closing the ecm file on the SD card.

There are 4 possible states when an ECM packet is examined:

1. Logger file not open and Flag not set:
Do nothing, the engine's not running and we're not recording.

2. Logger file not open and Flag is set:
Engine just started -
Open a new Logger file and start recording ECM data to it.

3. Logger file is open and Flag is set:
Engine is running -
Continue recording ECM data to the file.

4. Logger file is open and Flag not set:
The Engine is stopped so update the file header and close the logger file.
The Logger is now ready to start recording the next journey.

If the ignition is turned off so fast that the Logger doesn't see the flag cleared (within 1/4 second), the file closing routine is invoked after 12 missed ECM packets (Approx. 3 seconds).

List of enhancements made in version 1.2.X:
.1 Added code to set file creation and update dates on SD card files
.2 Changed filename to use Duodecimal Month: A=Oct, B=Nov, C=Dec
.3 Changed SD Card SPI frequency to high speed to support SDHC Class 10 cards
.4 Used pin 5 (RXD-Enable) to enable & disable receiving from the ECM so that sent data is not reflected back to the Arduino
.5 Polling frequency set to 250ms using reasonably accurate time calculation
.6 Main loop re-written for Multiple File generation based on "Engine Running" Flag (Byte 40 Bit 3)

ElanLogger12.6.zip

[matts1972]

Bravo, Ron
You really took this to the next level. Quite safe to say that you have the first Elan that keeps a complete track of all ECU states for any mile driven. Actually, I know of no other car, modern or old, that has this feature.
Cheers
Matthias

[matts1972]

Quick update for anyone compiling ElanLogger in 2021: I have just updated my original post with a caveat to stick with an old version of SDFat when compiling ElanLogger for Arduino. New versions like SDFat v2.1 can lead to corrupt .ecu-files, that cannot be opened in ElanScan ("Invalid floating point operation" error). Install SDFat v1.0.3 instead, which runs 100% stable.
Cheers,
Matthias

[muley]

This looks like a brilliant idea / project.

Thank you

Stop him, someone! He's got a soldering iron and a few days in quarantine to kill. Assembled all the bits for a version 1 logger.

Just checking pins ~ I believe top rhs on this connector is A and bottom lhs are F and G

IMG_20220101_145425802_HDR.jpg

Comments, please

[matts1972]

Just checking pins ~ I believe top rhs on this connector is A and bottom lhs are F and G
Comments, please

You are correct. You have the premium connector with all pins populated. Mine came with only 4 pins which makes life easier.

IMG_20220101_145425802_HDR.jpg

Happy new year and please let us know after you have recorded your first trip.

[matts1972]

Assembled all the bits for a version 1 logger.
Comments, please

And you deserve credit for working on this on New Year's Day at 4am
Most people would have not been able to pull this off

[muley]

Hi

Thank you for the feedback.

Now the numbty questions start .

What wattage should the 100 ohm resisors be?

I have bought 0.25w ones - are these man enough?

Thanks


p s. I am doing this in New Zealand Quarantine hence the odd times

[Blaster]

Hi

Thank you for the feedback.

Now the numbty questions start .

What wattage should the 100 ohm resisors be?

I have bought 0.25w ones - are these man enough?

Thanks


p s. I am doing this in New Zealand Quarantine hence the odd times

They will do as it is only a high impedance signal input so no power is being dissipated.

[muley]

...more numptyness.

Can't find Arduino 1.0.1.

I did download 1.0.x. but USBAPI does not contain serial buffer size?

[matts1972]

...more numptyness.

Can't find Arduino 1.0.1.

I did download 1.0.x. but USBAPI does not contain serial buffer size?

Yes - changing the buffer size can be tricky as it is not identical for all IDE versions.

You can use the latest Arduino IDE (currently 1.8.19).
For this IDE version the buffer size needs to be increased from 64 to 128 in HardwareSerial.h at "[install-dir]\hardware\arduino\avr\cores\arduino" and should then look similar to this:

#if !defined(SERIAL_RX_BUFFER_SIZE)
#if ((RAMEND - RAMSTART) < 1023)
#define SERIAL_RX_BUFFER_SIZE 16
#else
#define SERIAL_RX_BUFFER_SIZE 128
#endif
#endif

BR
Matthias

[muley]

IMG20220107112404.jpg

Hardware. Prior to insulating. Feel free to take the p155 out my soldering. (I used to be a welder on the Titanic)

Used Notepad + + to edit the .h file

All I need now is an Elan to hook it up to


Jim

[matts1972]

IMG20220107112404.jpg

Hardware. Prior to insulating. Feel free to take the p155 out my soldering. (I used to be a welder on the Titanic)

Used Notepad + + to edit the .h file

All I need now is an Elan to hook it up to

Jim

Looks like a winner
You should be good to go (after insulating the leads).

Cheers
Matthias

[RonR]

Here's something I've been working on over the winter:

A compact all-in-one Elanscan Logger based on a custom PCB.
When I ordered the PCB I found that it was the same price for 1 or 10, so once it's fully sorted I'll be able to offer some units here if there's any interest.

The idea is it can be used as a fit-and-forget item until there's a problem with the car, when all journeys can be analysed with Elanscan.
It's currently at the prototype stage, but as my car is in bits at the moment I've had it working on the bench using a spare ECM.

All-in-one-logger.jpg

Changes from previous loggers:

Based on an Arduino Nano processor board, total size is approx. 95 x 77 x 30 mm.
Uses a Micro-SD card, 32 Gigabyte Maximum size.
Long file names are used (YYMMDD-HHMMSS.ecu).
An activity LED flashes when data is being transferred between ECM and Logger, giving visual confirmation of operation.
A "buck" type power supply is used which supplies the logger when the Ignition is switched on (No relays). When off the current consumption is a few micro-amps, so there's no worries about flattened batteries when left permanently connected.
A sensor is used to check when the ignition is switched off, the power supply is then kept active by the arduino until the ecu file is finalised and closed.
2-digit error codes are flashed in a similar way to those generated by the ECM.
Provision for an On-Off switch on the PCB for manual operation, overriding the Ignition sensor.
Provision for a "Service Mode" switch on the PCB.

The software still needs a few tweaks but is mostly there and is very similar to previous versions on here.

[matts1972]

Here's something I've been working on over the winter

[Blaster]

This is my work in progress.

IMG20220210193643.jpg

I 3D printed the mount to fit in the ash tray location. It needs cleaning up and painting.

[Grosbard]

When I ordered the PCB I found that it was the same price for 1 or 10, so once it's fully sorted I'll be able to offer some units here if there's any interest.

I'm going to guess that there will be interest! (Including from me!)