New ECU add-on boards available - Form an orderly queue!

[Bella91]

Thanks RonR

Just read your reply. I will be on the look out for you PM. Thanks for the heads up on not needing a manual boost controller. Btw, when you mention dump valve is that the same as a blow off valve? New to this, trying to learn all the different terminology, Top End Performance offers a turbosmart blow off valve. Is that brand just as good as HKS model?

[MPx]

if you drive it fast. some will tell you the PMN front brake conversion is a "must".

Ha! Is that me?? I think the brakes need upgrading even if you do nothing else to the car! IMO the brakes are the one weak part of the original car dynamics. Even in standard S2 form with only 155bhp the brakes didn't inspire much confidence in me. I like to drive it briskly - but I'm no hooligan. The HiSpec based replacements I have give me a completely different feel and level of confidence. The fact that the car goes and handles so well with another 50 or more BHP but no other mods just shows how good the original set up was.

I did port my wastegate to 21mm and have the 2.25 Piper exhaust with just one sports cat and the pre-cat eliminator....and when its on song it flies.

[dapinky]

I think that the 'special kit' you mention is not what you need at all...... you should NEVER fit a MBC to an Elan without a decent (matched and calibrated) Fuel Cut Defender.... and good luck finding one of those these days.
Basically, that "technology" became obsolete when the Mountain chips were developed, and it all became software based tuning - not 'make an air leak and hope that you add enough extra fuel to stop it blowing up' mechanical tuning.

As previously mentioned, the air filter under the bonnet will potentially make things worse as warm air is less dense than the cool air it requires for maximum efficiency.

I would just get an adapter tube for a 1/2" dump valve (I think it's 76mm diameter, but can't remember now....... you'll need to measure the intake pipe from the front inner wing to the throttle body - but it isn't a parallel tube, so measure where you want to cut... and only cut once you have the adapter tube in hand. These sell for about £25 in the UK - no idea in USA.

Then you need a recirculating dump valve - I use Forge DV008, but there are cheaper versions out there to do the same job.... the Forge is a 'motorsport quality' item, NOT a McDonalds car park on a Sunday evening quality item..... it will last forever, is serviceable, and comes with a range of springs so you can set it up right..... I use the green spring and it seems okay with that.

Bailey DV30 used to be the one to go for, but they haven't been made for many years now...... there may well be good units for a cheaper price these days - but be careful if you are looking at a cheap Greddy unit on Ebay - many are cheap knock-offs.

[Bella91]

Thanks for the info, Dave! I’m guessing the dump valve is the same as the blow off value, right? I did find a site called ECS tuning that offers a dump value. The model you suggested was DV008 this one is 008 Premium Diverter Valve - *Limited Edition* Red*
Smaller, tougher and tuneable! *Limited edition red finish*
Limited Editions ONLY at ECS Tuning : Limited Stock so Act Fast
Forge
Mfg #FMDV008R ECS #ES#4001248

Thanks again, Dave

[dapinky]

To clarify, a dump valve is the same as a blow-off valve (as far as this thread goes, anyway - before someone starts to tell me that they are technically different, and one relies on positive pressure whilst the other works on negative (vacuum) pressure)......

There are probably lots of things on your side of the pond as good or better than the Forge units - I use them because I have used them for 40 years, and know a lot of guys at the factory from when I used to 'drop in' whilst working back in the 90's. They have never caused me a problem, and I like to "shop local" where possible.....

[oz2]

Hi Ron

Are you still doing the chips with the everest upgrade?
I have a S1 turbo non catalyst, and because of the emissions wanting to convert it to a closed loop system and have been trying to find a suitable memcal chip and then I came across your post and wondering if it is still something you are working on?

Fingers crossed
Austen

[Neil.G]

Hi,
I have the updated board on my 1992 SE which opens up the potentiometer window to allow further adjustment for emissions come MOT time 9929??. Would one of these new boards future proof me? I have the harness breakouts in place for o2 sensor due to the late build of my car but what's the general consensus, stick with my memcal or go for new board and o2 sensor............and which board should it be?
Thanks,
Neil.

[Tuga2112]

i will strongly advice changing to close loop. my emissions are on par with 2000's cars as a result.

[RonR]

Austen,

I can make you a closed loop Everest board, please see the first post of this thread for the latest info. I'll contact you by PM with further details.

Neil,

The 9929 prom ID was changed to 9930 when the emissions change was made. To use an O2 sensor you need the 1499 (S2) prom, and as your wiring's already in place it's fairly simple to do (apart from removing the exhaust bung, which always seems to cause problems). I can supply any versions of 1499 prom: Standard, Kilimanjaro or Everest. Most people go for a switchable Standard and Everest.
BTW the blue Memcal is retained in the ECU just for the get-you-home circuitry, which is the same for all versions of prom.

Both:

One thing to check when going closed loop is that your alternator can deliver enough power on the WL circuit to power the O2 sensor heater. Original alternators will work, but some recently supplied alternators can't support this, notably some of the ones from SJ. If you have one of these your alternator warning light will stay on and the O2 sensor's heater will take much longer to reach the correct temperature, if at all. The fix is to replace the alternator's regulator with an equivalent part but with more power on the WL terminal. Here's some examples on Eb*y

[Neil.G]

Austen,

I can make you a closed loop Everest board, please see the first post of this thread for the latest info. I'll contact you by PM with further details.

Neil,

The 9929 prom ID was changed to 9930 when the emissions change was made. To use an O2 sensor you need the 1499 (S2) prom, and as your wiring's already in place it's fairly simple to do (apart from removing the exhaust bung, which always seems to cause problems). I can supply any versions of 1499 prom: Standard, Kilimanjaro or Everest. Most people go for a switchable Standard and Everest.
BTW the blue Memcal is retained in the ECU just for the get-you-home circuitry, which is the same for all versions of prom.

Both:

One thing to check when going closed loop is that your alternator can deliver enough power on the WL circuit to power the O2 sensor heater. Original alternators will work, but some recently supplied alternators can't support this, notably some of the ones from SJ. If you have one of these your alternator warning light will stay on and the O2 sensor's heater will take much longer to reach the correct temperature, if at all. The fix is to replace the alternator's regulator with an equivalent part but with more power on the WL terminal. Here's some examples on Eb*y

Hello Ron,
Thanks for the info.......I've just had a new alternator fitted a couple of months back.......from SJ's
Is there a method to establish if my new alternator can cope?
Thanks
Neil.

[Tuga2112]

Thanks for the info.......I've just had a new alternator fitted a couple of months back.......from SJ's
Is there a method to establish if my new alternator can cope?
Thanks
Neil.

do not expect it to work
mine didnt a few years ago.

[RonR]

Neil,

The regulators look identical so there's no physical way to tell.

You could try asking SJs if they now include a regulator capable of running an S2 O2 sensor, hopefully they'll know.
Elanscan will display a graph of the O2 sensor voltage on a 'closed loop' converted ECU which will give the warm up time.

Not tried this, but it should work - Check the voltage on the heater pins at the plug in the engine bay with the car running to make sure your wiring's OK, then fit an O2 sensor and see if the warning light stays on, you don't have to alter the ECU as the heater circuit is separate.

If you do need to change the regulator it's quite straightforward - after wrestling the alternator from the car! I think Tuga has made a video of it.

[Tuga2112]

after wrestling the alternator from the car! I think Tuga has made a video of it.

yes. the alternator topic has been covered in enough detail that i have no intention to revisit it.

i also have an SJ alternator with 14 months use (about 4k miles) with the upgraded regulator from SimonsP's kit (which is probably a 8 year old post these days) that i been trying to pass on for how much it set me back...

unfortunately. "how much it set me back" is a lot more than what will cost you to buy one from rockauto and upgrade it with the same regulator (which from Dave Pink's experience is not even needed)

effectively that alternator is a shelf ornament which will be used whenever my (now fully refurbished) alternator ever fails

for recerence heres a few links.

and apologies Ron for encoraging the theme

when i do the alternator i remove the subframe. i find the 20 minutes it takes is quicker than the time wasted faffing about under the wheel arch. but you will find very competent DIYers in here who disagree.

[chrism]

This from SJ's w/site that I just visited:-

"Please let us know if your car has an oxygen sensor fitted or is a S2 so we can send the correct part to you. To go with this part, Steve suggests SJ100E0005 £11.89SJ100E0010 alternator"

It looks like this problem has been fully realised (now) and covered by selling and sending the upgraded regulator part that can be replaced, if needed, before the alternator can be installed.

In an attempted 'explanation':- The upgraded regulator now provides enough current required to 'heat' the O2 sensor and get it up-and-running for the sensor to scan the fuel:air ratio successfully. Original SE alternators had sufficient to cope and the S2 benefitted from this. Many of the new after-market alternators would fit the space but hadn't a 'beefy-enough' regulator, meaning the red ign light would stay on - indicating that there wasn't enough charge being supplied by the regulator to fully heat up the sensor heating circuit. I gather the sensor 'might' be able to heat up enough by itself since it's in the exhaust flow but...Early solutions were to cover up the red light with a strip of black insulating tape... I remember comparing the resistance of a few O2 sensors to find that a Denso sensor was 13ohms needing ~11watts to run it and a Walker sensor was 3.5ohms needing ~41watts so I stuck with the Denso and kept the Walker 'on the shelf' thinking that it might put less of a strain on the alternator. That's probably unimportant tho'...I found the Bosch 15701 to be almost exactly the same resistance as the Walker - expected since the build was physically identical.

As a consequence the higherR Denso took a bit over 120s to start scanning whereas the lowerR Walker started scanning around 80s (both from overnight cold). Expected but not earth-shattering... However it made me start thinking since I, unfortunately, experienced a multiplug failure in the O2 sensor wiring behind the wheel-arch cover (which I didn't notice performance-wise) that showed up glaringly obvious at the next MoT emission test. It stll passed (just) but in my opinion the exhaust heat couldn't have been sufficient to fire it up at MoT time. (After I fixed it I was curious enough to start making measurments - I'd naively bought a new sensor thinking that my original had failed and then another 'cos the original was on the slowest postage from RA - but incredibly cheap...)

Just sharing...

(Just another thought: I wonder if some of those early misunderstood/'badly-regulated' after-market alternators ever provided enough 'juice' for S2s and closed-loop-converted SEs like mine... Perhaps it depended on the make of the O2 sensor and its subsequent resistance: It's a pity the manufacturers don't seem to list these values.)

So Neil.G imo your alternator isn't coping if the red ign light is staying on...and, as per RonR, an ElanScan will verify it with an O2 volts scan/graph

[Neil.G]

Morning,
And thanks for all the replies, that's a good list of things to check and relatively straight forward to do, just wish we weren't in the middle of this cold snap......-4 this morning in Oxfordshire. One thing I've never got around to but should definitely would benefit from is elan scan, I'll dig out the post on how to build a cable, that's a nice warm inside job.
Love the videos Tuga, much appreciated you taking the time to make them.
Thanks again all,
Neil.

[chrism]

Yep ElanScan can help with loadsa trouble-shooting: At the very least it'll enable you to compare engine parameters with 'known good' examples. (If I recall correctly quite recently one of our US pals spectacularly used an Escan comparison to trace a tricky over-revving problem to a 'bad' power-steering sensor after EScan data was posted on LEC.)

Some really wizzo LEC gurus refreshed it in 2024 ('cos its old technology faded away in later versions of win10 and all versions of win11) and there's an up-to-date sticky in the LEC ElanScan section - so be sure to download ElanScan_beta_USB and its new protocol file when you get your cable 'sorted'.

[SimonW]

Hi Ron,

I've only just seen your thread about the new ECU add on boards.

Please could you let me know if these are still available?

Kind regards,
Simon

[RonR]

PM coming your way Simon.

[Twayblade]

Hi Ron,
I was a beta tester for your MK1 board, originally open loop and I have since converted to Closed Loop- everything has worked flawlessly!
Can you add me in for the MK3 1499 and Everest please
regards Ant

[RonR]

No Problem at all Ant,

You have a PM incoming.