Ok. Car is a Datsun 240Z, N/A L-28 6 cylinder engine. MS is a V-3.0 MS-I built by RS Autosport, (they did a fantastic job by the way), MSnS-E o29q controlling EDIS-6 is the current firm ware burned in this MS controller, and my Win 95 lap top with the latest MT 225 release is the MSnS-E editing software.
Originally I had the engine running on MSnS-E 025, with approx 4 hours run time and the engine ran great. The engine still is responding great to the 029q burn. More details of this project can be seen here.. http://www.msefi.com/viewtopic.php?t=15436
With the lap top and serial cable “unplugged” from the MS controller, the engine runs GREAT, and NO resets! With the engine “off”, but MS powered up, the Lap Top communicates with the MS controller with no issues or errors, and allows me to burn new changes to the MS controller, and the changes stay and engine responds to these changes beautifully, again with no errors. So, based on this, I am assuming the serial cable, Lap top, and MS controller are all communicating fantastically with each other, (or so I would like to think).
Now here is where the issue lies… (if this issue should be addressed in another section of the forum, please let me know…)
With the lap top connected to the MS controller, the engine will start, barely, and run on its own, again barely, as MS will reset randomly and VERY frequent, approx 1-3 times per second for the first minute or so, and as time goes on with the engine running, the resets will happen with less frequency. After approx 1-2 minutes of run time, MS will reset randomly once every 5-40 seconds or so, no pattern to the resets or how often, i.e. these quick resets happen at any throttle position, any RPM, any engine temp, etc, MS just resets once in a while, sometimes a couple-few times in a row. (My Autometer tach registers each reset with a sudden drop to zero, then right back on, exactly in time with the gauges on the PC screen which all turn red for a split second, then come right back online, and the “reset” count goes up in the little box in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. The tach lets me know when MS resets when the lap top isn’t connected). With only the serial cable itself connected to the MS controller, (i.e. the lap top is NOT connected), the engine will not run on its own, it will pop and sputter while cranking and the tach will jump up when it does fire which is maybe 10% of the time that it should. Unplug the serial cable from the MS controller and the engine runs GREAT, then plug the serial cable by itself back into the controller with the engine running, and it pops-sputters for approx ½ a second and dies. I then grabbed a friends Serial cable, verified that the lap top communicated with MS through this different cable, (yes it did), and that cable acted exactly the same. In short, my MS controller does NOT like to have a serial cable connected with the engine running, and especially doesn’t like it if the serial cable isn’t connected to the lap top.
What could cause this? Almost sounds like a grounding issue to me, maybe a ground connection in the MS controller for the serial connector?
RESET issue, but ONLY with the serial cable connected….
Moderators: jsmcortina, muythaibxr
Reset issue, the cause was found...
The cause of the dreaded RESET issue has been identified. The cause ultimately boils down to negligence from yours truly…
Ok guys, NOT so new info here that ALL of you running or planning to run MS should be aware of….
When I started this thread, I was confused as to why these resets were happening. Only under certain specific conditions would this take place. Those conditions were, Serial cable plugged into the MS controller, and the engine running. With the serial cable hooked up to the MS controller and lap top plugged in, engine OFF, I could communicate, fetch and burn back and forth with the MS controller just fine, no resets. As soon as I fired up the engine with serial cable plugged in it was “reset” city. If the serial cable wasn’t connected to the MS controller, the engine would run great with no resets. Kind of points to the serial cable connection, but only when the engine is running? Hmmm… that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Well I did solder a ground wire within the MS linking the Serial connector outer shield to pin 19 of the DB-37. Hooked everything back up and…. Now it would reset no matter what! Ok, so apparently I was barking up the wrong tree with that serial connector ground thing…
Now with no direction to follow, I knew I had to start thinking outside box, you know, like go back and check the very BASICS. With the serial cable connected, cranking the engine, MS goes through these resets. Just for giggles, I unplugged the coil pack. Cranked on the engine , NO resets, the lap top display showed the engine cranking, but of course it didn’t start up or even sputter, but it did NOT reset. Hmmm… So I plugged in the coil pack, cranked on it again, resets like crazy, pops and sputters. I disconnected the plug wires from the coil pack but left the power and trigger wires plugged into the coil pack and cranked on it again, (probably not good for the coil pack or EDIS module, but I needed to try it any how). It cranked fine, NO resets.. Hmmmmm…. This is starting to look like EMF interference from the cheesy high tension leads causing the resets with the serial cable plugged in, (serial cable acting like an antenna picking up that EMF? Who knows…) Now we all know that MS is hyper sensitive to electronic noise, and as such, resistor plugs and quality plug wires are a MUST! My Magnecor wires for this car are on still on order, so I’m still using old plug wires from my ’91 Chev pickup. So I thought some Jacobs wires would be a good test as they are supposed to be a quality performance wire. Hooked them up, cranked on the engine and no change, they still cause the resets just the same. My partner Ron Tyler then suggested I try a set of his used Magnecor KV-85 wires that he ran on his OE Dizzy powered L-28 last year. So we cobbled them on to the coil pack as the connectors are wrong, cranked on the engine with serial cable plugged in and WA LAAA… the engine fired right up and NO resets. I swapped plug wires back and forth several times not believing the results, and every time, the Magnecor wires did NOT reset, but the cheesy wires did! Then for giggles, I thought I’d check my spark plugs just to verify they were in deed resistor type as I had assumed I installed resistor plugs just prior to starting the MS conversion. and… OOOpps.. must of overlooked that.. No they are not. Okie dokie So I grabbed a new set of resistor plugs in the proper heat range off the shelf, installed them, and wa la, no more resets even with the crappy wires.
What we discovered, Magnecor wires subdue EM noise enough that non resistor plugs can be run even with the Hyper sensitive MS controller, and those wires when ran with resistor plugs, helps keep the high tension EM noise to a minimum.
Lesson to be learned here?.. YOUBET!!!!!
Don’t skimp on plug wires! What I mean by that is only use high QUALITY performance plug wires that are shielded for sensitive electronics, not some willy-nilly nifty wires because they are a particular color… I mean wires like Magnecor. Also, MAKE DARN SURE you are also using a RESISTOR spark plug for a daily driver!
Now I can get on with the tuning phase. All I need now is to find a way to get a +5v source from MS to power my Innovate MAP sensor for data logging. I would prefer to pull another +5v source from MS, but I may just tap into the +5v TPS ref source…
Ok guys, NOT so new info here that ALL of you running or planning to run MS should be aware of….
When I started this thread, I was confused as to why these resets were happening. Only under certain specific conditions would this take place. Those conditions were, Serial cable plugged into the MS controller, and the engine running. With the serial cable hooked up to the MS controller and lap top plugged in, engine OFF, I could communicate, fetch and burn back and forth with the MS controller just fine, no resets. As soon as I fired up the engine with serial cable plugged in it was “reset” city. If the serial cable wasn’t connected to the MS controller, the engine would run great with no resets. Kind of points to the serial cable connection, but only when the engine is running? Hmmm… that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Well I did solder a ground wire within the MS linking the Serial connector outer shield to pin 19 of the DB-37. Hooked everything back up and…. Now it would reset no matter what! Ok, so apparently I was barking up the wrong tree with that serial connector ground thing…
Now with no direction to follow, I knew I had to start thinking outside box, you know, like go back and check the very BASICS. With the serial cable connected, cranking the engine, MS goes through these resets. Just for giggles, I unplugged the coil pack. Cranked on the engine , NO resets, the lap top display showed the engine cranking, but of course it didn’t start up or even sputter, but it did NOT reset. Hmmm… So I plugged in the coil pack, cranked on it again, resets like crazy, pops and sputters. I disconnected the plug wires from the coil pack but left the power and trigger wires plugged into the coil pack and cranked on it again, (probably not good for the coil pack or EDIS module, but I needed to try it any how). It cranked fine, NO resets.. Hmmmmm…. This is starting to look like EMF interference from the cheesy high tension leads causing the resets with the serial cable plugged in, (serial cable acting like an antenna picking up that EMF? Who knows…) Now we all know that MS is hyper sensitive to electronic noise, and as such, resistor plugs and quality plug wires are a MUST! My Magnecor wires for this car are on still on order, so I’m still using old plug wires from my ’91 Chev pickup. So I thought some Jacobs wires would be a good test as they are supposed to be a quality performance wire. Hooked them up, cranked on the engine and no change, they still cause the resets just the same. My partner Ron Tyler then suggested I try a set of his used Magnecor KV-85 wires that he ran on his OE Dizzy powered L-28 last year. So we cobbled them on to the coil pack as the connectors are wrong, cranked on the engine with serial cable plugged in and WA LAAA… the engine fired right up and NO resets. I swapped plug wires back and forth several times not believing the results, and every time, the Magnecor wires did NOT reset, but the cheesy wires did! Then for giggles, I thought I’d check my spark plugs just to verify they were in deed resistor type as I had assumed I installed resistor plugs just prior to starting the MS conversion. and… OOOpps.. must of overlooked that.. No they are not. Okie dokie So I grabbed a new set of resistor plugs in the proper heat range off the shelf, installed them, and wa la, no more resets even with the crappy wires.
What we discovered, Magnecor wires subdue EM noise enough that non resistor plugs can be run even with the Hyper sensitive MS controller, and those wires when ran with resistor plugs, helps keep the high tension EM noise to a minimum.
Lesson to be learned here?.. YOUBET!!!!!
Don’t skimp on plug wires! What I mean by that is only use high QUALITY performance plug wires that are shielded for sensitive electronics, not some willy-nilly nifty wires because they are a particular color… I mean wires like Magnecor. Also, MAKE DARN SURE you are also using a RESISTOR spark plug for a daily driver!
Now I can get on with the tuning phase. All I need now is to find a way to get a +5v source from MS to power my Innovate MAP sensor for data logging. I would prefer to pull another +5v source from MS, but I may just tap into the +5v TPS ref source…