MicroSquirt ETA

[larrycavan]

Has a price been set yet?

thanks

Hmmmmm.....no answer...

Could we have some kind of a ballpark price? and / or availability date?

[newtyres1]

http://www.microsquirt.com/viewtopic.ph ... 341#144341

[Bruce Bowling]

I am back with an update on MicroSquirt. I have a few alpha units deployed in the field (more to come) and all are going well except for one. This install, on a dyno with an MSD ignition (SBC engine) works well for a a few hours then the unit experiences a wierd lockup mode where the serial is locked out and the injectors stay closed, except for a brief pulse every 15 seconds. This occurs after a few hours running with MT running. It appears that the code and/or parameters are getting scrambled in flash, but with a new code download everything springs back to life.

My suspicion is that the code is getting into the bootloader mode during a run, or there is a dropped comm during a variable upload procesure from MT. The hardware checks out on both of them. But, I do notice that on the design I have the bootloader wire coming out of the connector, without any external pullup resistor. The HCS12 has an internal 50K pullup (using a weak current source) which is fine for board-level jumpers. But with the signal coming right out, without any series resistance, protection diodes, and pullup, there is the chance that the signal is drifting or picking up noise from the MSD, etc.

I have modded a board with a 4.7K pullup and sending it back for more testing. First test will be with just the pullup added. If this still fails then I will have them tie the signal direct to Vref and/or move the wiring away from the MSD. I will also have them run without a serial connection or MT running, to attempt to eliminate a fault with MT. Finally I will have them invest in a oscope and start looking at noise issues.

The good thing about this is that this is the install that was running four 2.4 ohm injectors per bank without series resistance, and with this large load there was no damage to the drivers, or at least any apparant damage. They probably did not operate in this manner for very long which saved the drivers.

I have several MicroSquirt units ready to send out to the distributors and a few side people but I want to resolve this issue first before sending out the units, in case I have to perform the pullup resistor or other mods.

Like I told the person who is testing the unit, I kinda like it when things fail because this is how we can address and correct. It is when everything works well that you get this uneasy feeling that something hidden will catch up later. There could always be somthing hidden to come back later to bite us, but it is goos to have issue bubble up early on. This is why alpha-testing exists, to flush out any potential issues before deployment.

- Bruce

[Bruce Bowling]

OK - I have a few MicroSquirt units available for Beta Testing, this is for final hardware checkout. See the post over at:

http://www.msefi.com/viewtopic.php?t=24123

(sorry for the crosspost, but I am looking for people with MS-II experience but it is relevant here as well). Once the beta testing is finialized, general ordering of the MicroSquirt will begin.


- Bruce

[coldfusiontechnology]

any update on the ETA for the first batch ?

[grippo]

It is still in beta testing. There is a problem in the VR circuit that is being worked out, plus there needs to be more testing. We can't afford to make 500 units and then find there is a problem. So my guess is it is at least a month, maybe two from general release.

[coldfusiontechnology]

hmm . just keep us inform ... thanks ! keep up the good work !

[coilmscoyle]

The holdup with microsquirt now is that we are trying to work out how to implement a second spark output. This will require changes to the hardware and software, neither of which are trivial. Nevertheless, we hope to limit the delay to about 1 month, so a May release seems doable at this time.

MY 70 degree Yamaha XZ550 will be ready to use R1 throttle bodies by then, the R1 carbs are just getting the manifolds done.

Riders of Vision members will be building several, we have two AC ignition signals.

Gratefully,

coilMScoyle

[IL8APEX]

Man, I'm getting impatient!

My project came back from media blasting last night, so now I've got a car body and a motor but no management.

Please keep us updated on this. MICROsquirt's small size and waterproof packaging are just what this rallycross car ordered!

-Tom

[grippo]

The only thing holding up microsquirt now is time. Bruce has been totally tied up in getting the SMD board done and making arrangements and writing presentations for the MS meeting next week, so he hasn't had time to finalize the production microsquirt board, which has to be panelized, as it is much more efficient to run large panels and cut them up into individual boards. Once the meeting is over that will be the priority. So we are talking another month or two. It takes about 2 weeks to get the boards back, then another 2 weeks to get the boards populated and shoved into cases and harnesses made. Then there is shipping time between these places and shipping to us and shipping to dealers.

But the good news is that there is little risk now as the board has been tested in many vehicles with many different configurations.