1993 F-150, 4.9L, 5-speed, 4X4
Had the ECU go out; and I'd been wanting to do this for a while anyhow. In the pictures you see I had to cut out the connector for the stock computer. This is for the adapter board that goes in the old ecu case. The adapter makes the installation much faster-and no modifications are needed for the wiring harness on the truck: you just put the computer back in it's spot and run the attached cable to the Megasquirt.




This is a close-up of the epic fail on the stock ECU.




The aforementioned adapter board is assembled and ready to go into the ford ECU case. You can pretty much throw away the stock computer board.




It goes right back in the stock location. The cable goes to the Megasquirt-wherever you want to mount that.


The 'stimulator' sends fake signals to the Megasquirt so it can be bench tested in "real-time" mode.







Been running for almost two weeks now with no problems. Still tuning all of the tables, but am getting 16mpg running mostly rich. Gonna see how much mileage I can tune out of this. When I get the tuning pretty good I will take it to a dyno and post the numbers.

 

Nice! So did you buy a MS to Ford ECU adapter for the connection from the new box to the truck harness or re-solder the MS outputs onto the connector from your stock ECU?

 

Very nice indeed! Could the MS fit inside the factory ford computer case?

 

looks like someone paid attention in school.

very impressive.

 

that is awesome man! wish i had the patience to fool around with computers like that

 

The adapter board has a spot in it for the stock eec-iv connector to be installed.
Adapter board info: http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/e...v20-p-151.html

And I'm sure that there is enough space left over in the stock ecu to put the MS-would need to cut up the MS case.

 

very cool indeed-keep us abreast of how things go-inquiring minds need to know!

 

Pretty bada$$ - can you store different tunes and then easily load them when you want? Say a fuel economy tune for back and forth to work and a more aggressive tune for offroading?

Also, have you noticed any improvements over the factory settings with respect to fuel economy based on your settings? I would have thought the OEM settings would have been optimized around mileage but you never know.

Thanks for a great post! I'm as or more comfortable with a computer as I am a wrench, this looks like a pretty cool modification.

 

Mary-Kate - Looks like a USB to Serial converter you are using to talk to the ECU.

What software on the PC are you using?

My whole career has been in IT. Have always been interested in the SW tools for engine diagnostics / computer interfaces.


Looks like you have a geek desk - coke/mountain dew, peanut butter. All the necessary tools. Thought I might see Monster or other but....


Very nice post.

/Ricache

 

Putting different tunes on the MS is as easy as connecting the computer, opening a file, and telling the laptop software to "Burn to ECU". The general consensus is to tune the table for all around driving(low throttle=a little lean, then richer as you step into it)but I do see value in having a more aggressive map when you dont care how much fuel you are using. Here is a picture of a random tuning table. These numbers are 'VE' or volumetric efficiency numbers: basically the actual amount of air entering the cylinder versus calculated displacement. These are not the actual VE numbers for the engine, but close and skewed to produce different air:fuel ratios.



It is a serial to usb converter, as I have access to four laptops, none with rs232 ports. For the MS it just mimics a strait through cable, as only Tx and Rx lines are needed for communication. Software is Megatune 2.89

 

hi there, i have no clue about what is happening but it seems that the MS adapter made the truck able to be tuned with a laptop... could some give me a hand cuz i would love to be able to tune my engine like that!!! p.s. sorry its such an old thread but i have the same truck and engine and am very curious thanks

 

WOW! I'm lost but the end result is awsome!!!

 

Even though this is an old thread this is amazing. I wish I could do stuff like that. play around with megasquirt. Just think a 4.9 with a turbo could be in reach at last without a super rich tune.

 

nice little project, enjoyed the post

 

SO- coming into the thread late, but what is this gizmo, what's it do, will it fit a 91 5.8l E4OD F150, and where does one get one if it does?

Thanks for helping alleviate my ignorance!
Scott