Aftermarket computers

Does anybody have any recommended or preferred aftermarket computer brands or models? I'm currently considering one because right now my car's harness is all kinds of crazy, seems like i change the oil and have wiring problems. anyways I would like to see it cleaned up, with a possibility of a diagnostics tool.

I'm not set on buying one, and i know little to nothing about them. Just looking for some input.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2013 11:56AM by WTFestiva.

Yes Motec M800 or M880 is the preferred. But if you give us a bit more info we can be a bit less vague with the replies.

Well given your current setup is giving you wiring problems, running a standalone setup may NOT be the right ideal?

Quote
WTFestiva
Does anybody have any recommended or preferred aftermarket computer brands or models? I'm currently considering one because right now my car's harness is all kinds of crazy, seems like i change the oil and have wiring problems. anyways I would like to see it cleaned up, with a possibility of a diagnostics tool.

I'm not set on buying one, and i know little to nothing about them. Just looking for some input.

What kind of car is it? The right one will be the one that fits your budget while providing the features you want. It will also be one that is supported by someone you trust and hopefully is close to you. As was said before more information will be helpful in providing guidance.

---

John Reed
John Reed Racing
www.johnreedracing.com
johnreedracing@gmail.com

He made a post in Rally Teams with more info, but I'll copy some of the important bits here.

Quote

Our "team" is new to the sport as of 2012. We're A "budget" family team based out of Salem Missouri playing this weird game of, how can we pull of this rally racing stuff for as cheap as possible.
...
Car: G2 Classed Rally America
Started off as a 1992 Ford Festiva L. Ran stock for a year and is now upgraded.

Motor: 1.8L Mazda BP05 DOHC out of a Ford Escort GT
Suspension: Upgraded Stock (best you can get from autozone/oreily's/etc with 250lb Eibach Springs...
Wheels/Tires: 14" BMW bottlecaps with DMacks 160/70/r14s (I think)
Safety: Speed-daddy ebay seats, GForce 5 point harness.
Brakes: Ford Aspire swapped rear beam and front hubs
...

Kyle, I assume the car is running the ECU out of the Ford Escort GT? Do you have any reason to believe that the ECU is not working correctly? If not, I'd say that you don't need a new ECU, but a complete rewire of the engine and maybe the chassis harness, and probably an order of magnitude cheaper. Seriously, I see a wire nut in that photo, I have a feeling that you should thank your god of choice that it hasn't caught fire yet.

Now if you want a new ECU and it would be the motivation to get the rest of the car cleaned up and in good working order, answer the previously asked questions.

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egdinger
He made a post in Rally Teams with more info, but I'll copy some of the important bits here.

Quote

Our "team" is new to the sport as of 2012. We're A "budget" family team based out of Salem Missouri playing this weird game of, how can we pull of this rally racing stuff for as cheap as possible.
...
Car: G2 Classed Rally America
Started off as a 1992 Ford Festiva L. Ran stock for a year and is now upgraded.

Motor: 1.8L Mazda BP05 DOHC out of a Ford Escort GT
Suspension: Upgraded Stock (best you can get from autozone/oreily's/etc with 250lb Eibach Springs...
Wheels/Tires: 14" BMW bottlecaps with DMacks 160/70/r14s (I think)
Safety: Speed-daddy ebay seats, GForce 5 point harness.
Brakes: Ford Aspire swapped rear beam and front hubs
...

Kyle, I assume the car is running the ECU out of the Ford Escort GT? Do you have any reason to believe that the ECU is not working correctly? If not, I'd say that you don't need a new ECU, but a complete rewire of the engine and maybe the chassis harness, and probably an order of magnitude cheaper. Seriously, I see a wire nut in that photo, I have a feeling that you should thank your god of choice that it hasn't caught fire yet.

Now if you want a new ECU and it would be the motivation to get the rest of the car cleaned up and in good working order, answer the previously asked questions.

I think he has somewhere indicated that the motor has high comp and some actual cams and my crusty ol memory says that the management used on those is a form of Bosch LE Jetronic, and I don't think those are particularly tolerant of much mods before the poor ECU is corn-fused all to hell...

If loom is the problem then its a problem but wires can be repaired...
Proper crims are good things to know how to do---yet few can crimp to save their lives.

More info is needed, as always.
But $2000 or more bucks for a ECU and custom loom is an awful lotta dough..

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Ground wires on the radiator mount should be dirctly to the shell or engine, not on top of a bracket. Bailing wire on steel strap holding intake ? Those ends can tear a hand or wrist to hell in short order.

Old Dirty Racing used a Megasquirt on their 1.8l BP engine. Can be had for $300 if you search around. Lots of OTS maps on the web, too.

The motec stuff is sweet! If money is no object...

but for 80% of the capability (including no lift, antilag, launch control, gear based boost settings, and very user friendly interface) I just bought VEMS for the rally car. (second car on this system)

Base ecu is roughly 700 something. Pre built wiring harnes (universal, but works really well) for 300 bones. Plug and play systems are available for 15-1600.

Sorry I only have internet on the weekends so I couldn't keep up the last few days. As you can somewhat see from the picture, our harness and engine layout is anything but desirable. I'd like to fix this, and I believe a new harness would help

The Build is a 1.8L Mazda BP motor which has been transplanted into a Festiva Which had a 1.3L initially. I tried cheating on the 1.3 harness and couldn't get fire like the people before me who have done this swap. So I had a friend do it who got it running but used pieces from both wiring harnesses. The Motor has no upgrades, turbo, high comp, cams or anything really done internally.

I'm asking this because I am likely to replace the wiring loom. anytime something does go out i am looking at wires, running them back and they lead nowhere, or are spliced into the other harness and run somewhere else. With this kind of set up It's hard to diagnose which wire is giving bad input, and I cannot obtain any engine codes to confirm what's wrong most of the time.

What I've researched so far are the megasquirts work pretty well (advice from the FordFestiva.com guys). But I'd also like the rally communities perspective on it because those guys are drag racing or maybe road racing their cars, not shaking, jumping, and rattling the hell out of their car, (I've heard MegaSquirts dont hold up well with shaking)

Thanks for the input so far, it's given me some more leads on what to do.

OK if the motor is stock just get a stock harness and plug it in. You see the "friend" who hacked the 2 together, shoot him...

Don't think about what any given wire is doing, the principle is---it just needs a good clean connection...

And you're right, you need to KNOW that the troubleshooting guide in some book can help you and to do that you need a clear wiring diagram..

One thing I've done on the wiring diagram front to make it easier for me and whoever I'd draft into helping is I colored in the wire colors on the diagram and highlighted the critical consumer/conponents, this after I blew up the diagram at Kinkos to make it easier to read.

I like colors.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I just installed two Vi-Pec systems in customer cars. Good basic systems with good value.

---

Robert.

"You are way too normal to be on Rally Anarchy." Eddie Fiorelli.

Quote
WTFestiva
Sorry I only have internet on the weekends so I couldn't keep up the last few days. As you can somewhat see from the picture, our harness and engine layout is anything but desirable. I'd like to fix this, and I believe a new harness would help

The Build is a 1.8L Mazda BP motor which has been transplanted into a Festiva Which had a 1.3L initially. I tried cheating on the 1.3 harness and couldn't get fire like the people before me who have done this swap. So I had a friend do it who got it running but used pieces from both wiring harnesses. The Motor has no upgrades, turbo, high comp, cams or anything really done internally.

I'm asking this because I am likely to replace the wiring loom. anytime something does go out i am looking at wires, running them back and they lead nowhere, or are spliced into the other harness and run somewhere else. With this kind of set up It's hard to diagnose which wire is giving bad input, and I cannot obtain any engine codes to confirm what's wrong most of the time.

What I've researched so far are the megasquirts work pretty well (advice from the FordFestiva.com guys). But I'd also like the rally communities perspective on it because those guys are drag racing or maybe road racing their cars, not shaking, jumping, and rattling the hell out of their car, (I've heard MegaSquirts dont hold up well with shaking)

Thanks for the input so far, it's given me some more leads on what to do.

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but why not just get a high quality, heavy duty wiring harness made up by a company that does that sort of thing? They aren't too expensive, and it's an item that I'd gladly pay somebody else to do. 'Tis tough to beat OEM engineering when it comes to things like engine management.

Quote
john vanlandingham
OK if the motor is stock just get a stock harness and plug it in. You see the "friend" who hacked the 2 together, shoot him...

Don't think about what any given wire is doing, the principle is---it just needs a good clean connection...

And you're right, you need to KNOW that the troubleshooting guide in some book can help you and to do that you need a clear wiring diagram..

One thing I've done on the wiring diagram front to make it easier for me and whoever I'd draft into helping is I colored in the wire colors on the diagram and highlighted the critical consumer/conponents, this after I blew up the diagram at Kinkos to make it easier to read.

I like colors.

I don't agree with John on everything - but this is one that I DO stand firmly in his corner on - at least on this application.

Obtain a good manual on the vehicle the engine came from (or similar), round up a harness from a breaker (concentrating primarily on everything under the hood); and using your newfound book-learnin' - collate the harness and your car.

You are going to have to "lern yer some wirin' " whether you go "semi-stock", or "full-blown aftermarket ECU with the servo-powered gewgaws and superconducting watzinjammitzez".

This way is a heluva lot more inexpensive.

Remember: You DO NOT need to know WFT that wire and sensor DOES (not at first, anyway) - merely that you need it, and it requires "these two wires/three wires/etc." to work.

Clean, solid connections (learn to crimp well. or learn to crimp passably, THEN solder decently [ in that order - NEVER solder and then crimp - solder cold-flows under pressure and the connection will loosen-up over time ] and utilize good heatshrink). OEM-style weather-resistant-typee connectors are The Bomb, and the cheapest way to obtain them is..... the OEM.....

---

Parfois, on fait pas semblant!

I am:
I know:
I am from:

Nobody.
Nothing.
Nowhere.

I'll spare the details but the slow and steady with the book has had me ripping my hair out by the roots 2 separate times now. I can crimp and solder decently. I figured if there is an Engine management system which could help me out when something is wrong, it would be worth the money. I haven't been able to get the Diagnosis to work on the Escort/Mazda motor, and the festiva never came with an easy way to get trouble codes besides an analog voltmeter, or so the book (haynes) says.

From the advice I'm getting (to sum things up). 1st) Try to re-wire with another stock engine harness again ... If that doesn't work 2nd) I'll try HiTempGuys idea to find a heavy duty harness. If I am unable to find them, then 3rd) I'll look into Megasquirt, Vi-pek, Vems, then Motec to see what fits my needs/budget.