AIM & Electromotive.

M

mcfoo

Well-known member
I've been having problems with my Electromotive TEC 3r ignition system going on almost two (2) years now with no concrete diagnosis as to the problem.
Electromotive says they can't replicate my conditions so they have not been much help.

I'm on my 3rd ECU, the most recent being a brand new unit(as of 11/2020) costing me BIG $$$$$.

This past weekend at a regional @ NJMP I once again lost the majority of my track time on Saturday.

To make a long story short, the system kept losing the BIN file which is what runs the car and the car will not start without it. I probably had to re-install it a 1/2 dozen times .

Finally on Sunday just by chance and for no particular reason I decided to disconnect the AIM Solo2 and Smarty Cam from the Electromotive ECU.

From that point on, through a 15 lap qual race and a 20 lap "trophy race" the car ran perfectly....and restarted with no problem following impound.

So my question is : Has anybody experienced interference from an AIM product with any of their car's electrical systems?

I will be calling AIM to ask them about this. I can only hope they would be completely honest with me about the possibility of their product playing a roll in my problem.

Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated.

Tom Burdge.
 
I'm not familiar with the ECU itself, but have had my own challenges recently with AIM and similar issues on the CAN bus on my car.
What data protocol is the TEC 3r using to talk to the AIM? And is the SmartyCam also connected to the ECU, or is it connected only to the SOLO 2? I would assume all that stuff works "on a good day" ??

Is the AIM on the same physical data port/wires as you would use to program the ECU?

In my case, I simply have too many CAN devices connected to the same bus. I have a traction control disable unit, the AIM logger itself, and an ECU --> bluetooth dongle so I can log engine data.
I can use any two of the three, but when I plug in #3, it shuts down all the others. (And it's real hard to drive well on track and log engine data when I have to turn off the AIM and can't see my factory gauges!)
There's a "listen only" mode on the AIM and a 120ohm CAN bus termination which I can turn on and off in the settings. I've flipped all the switches and the behavior is the same no matter what.

I wonder if the AIM itself is dragging down the read or write pin on the ECU's com port, which is putting it into a restart or reset mode.

If this were my car, I'd recheck the wiring diagrams to make sure everything's correct on it, and then get both AIM and Electromotive tech support on the phone together and see if they can sort it out. My experience and reading online is that AIM has been very helpful in instances like these..
 
I reached out to AIM and described my problem.

Their response has been very pro active and transparent , once again displaying some top notch customer support.

They are not sure if their devices could be causing the problem but they have referred the matter to their
ECU testing dept on the west coast. I have already received an e-mail telling me they are working on it and should draw a conclusion shortly.

If they conclude it is not the fault of their devices they indicated there may be some steps I can take to try and mitigate the problem. Exactly what that might be I'm not sure.

I'll keep you posted.

Tom B.
 
Good luck.
Any chance there's a wayward ground wire somewhere in the system? i.e. the ECU or AIM's ground is insufficient and it's using the data connection between the two as a ground path? That could drag the ECU down and cause nasty things to happen...
Again, just throwing out ideas. I looked at the TEC 3r's manual, and it's cryptic how the data even leaves the ECU to go to the AIM other than an RPM signal output. is there a CAN or RS232 connection I'm not seeing?
 
I run Race Technology USA so am in the data business. AIM is a competitor so I can't support their stuff and won't try to run them down OR praise them, but can share some thoughts.

We also interface to the Electromotive ECUs. Different Electromotive ECUs variously use either CAN, RS232, or both.

The Tec3r afaik uses serial / RS232 to export data to an external data system. I think but am not sure that the AIM logger and Smartycam communicate via CANbus, so on the surface I would not expect a problem from that link, it should be completely separate.

In general, though, it is critical to NOT send any data into an ECU that the ECU is not expecting to see, either via CAN or RS232. If nothing else, the Murphy's law / monkeys with typewriters random thing will hit, and the ECU may receive what it interprets as a command to do something that you don't want.

Our data systems are configurable as to whether or not to transmit data on either CAN or RS232. And if a given line is connected to an ECU (OEM or aftermarket) you DON'T want to be sending anything on that line. (Aside from valid OBD2 queries to an OBD2-enabled OEM ECU, and we've even seen that give problems on occasion)
 
I had an Electromotive Tech3 on the Rospit we did with GRM. When I bought the car back a few years ago it would randomly shut off injectors. Then randomly shut off spark output to one set of coils. Had to reload BIN file multiple times and still no resolution. Unit had been shipped back to them a few times before I got it. The Tech3 seems to be very picky on ground signals and shared voltage lines. Just an FYI.
 
Al,Matt,Steve

Thanks you guys for trying to educate and guide me.
I am definately tech challenged so I am trying to digest what you are describing.
What I do know (I think) is that the RS232 is used and not CAN.
A DB9 cable is used to interface between the devices which was made up by AIM to connect to their device.
There are no shared grounds here with all going directly to chassis.
I do not believe any data is transmitted from the AIM SoloDL to the ECU.

The Smartycam connects directly to the SoloDL.
I don't know if the DB9 cable is shielded but it is not remotely close to coil paks, plug wires, starter motors or anything else of that nature.
I have taken extra precaution to shield the crank sensor trigger wire which must travel near some potential EMF emitting devices.
So, there is a lot I know I don't know.
I can tell you this though, after last weekend I can almost down load a BIN file while fully suited and belted in the car with my helmet on ... not fun but doable in a pinch. My biggest obstacle is sun glare on the lap top screen.

Tom B.
 
We've had issues with ECU interference through the ODBII port on a couple of our BSpec cars. Turned out that the protocol we were using wasn't compatible to the car and it would kill the car until we unplugged the AiM. You would think it wouldn't cause an issue. For instance the Honda 9-13 doesn't like the 14-nn protocol and the Mazda2 sure doesn't like the Honda setup.

Look at the channel interpretations and see if everything really matches.

James R
 
In the past, I would have intermittent problems with the Electromotive systems. I ran the ground wire directly to the battery terminal, single wire with nothing else on it and issues went away.
 
Steve Eckerich":a1q91n5p said:
Float test fixed my Electromotive problem. :D
Click to expand...

I just had an XDi box repaired at electromotive. The tech was mentioning fried components & dislodged chips, then says "oh, you use this for racing? You should always carry a spare box just in case, they're only $600..."

That being said, back to the issue - does the TEC3r have CAN? Ah, I see it has CAN output, which means its one way. I would suspect that something is pulling the TEC to ground enough to clear the bin file. that's totally weird if that's happening through the can line.
 
Kendall Jones":8g3hc7uz said:
Steve Eckerich":8g3hc7uz said:
Float test fixed my Electromotive problem. :D
Click to expand...

I just had an XDi box repaired at electromotive. The tech was mentioning fried components & dislodged chips, then says "oh, you use this for racing? You should always carry a spare box just in case, they're only $600..."

That being said, back to the issue - does the TEC3r have CAN? Ah, I see it has CAN output, which means its one way. I would suspect that something is pulling the TEC to ground enough to clear the bin file. that's totally weird if that's happening through the can line.
Click to expand...

Similar experience. Motec bought from 1996-2012 still perfect. My biggest issue with Electromotive is if you have a computer crash and lose .bin file you can never hook back to the car and make adjustments without it. That is the most insane way to password protect ever.
 
Is Electromotive still in business?

Website is old.
Facebook is old.
Can't find any distributers on their website.
Can't find new systems on google.

If they are in business, where can I get the latest XDi?
 
throw the tec unit away! I blew up 2 FP motors with it - ran great for a season then just randomly it stutters like its out of fuel and a lap later boom! eats a piston and takes the head out as well. did it exactly the same way both times. im running an infinity box now and couldn't be happier - yes it was steep learning curve but the stuff it can do still amazes me. I also had great help from one of the programmers setting it up and making changes. Looked at motec and some others as well. All better choices than the damn tec unit.
 
That's bad news. Sorry for your troubles.

I just need spark. Have an old XDi unit. Looking for the newer one.

Thanks,
 
I have a Spare XDi unit, but I would like to keep it. I searched eBay for the spare and found one pretty local and pretty reasonable.
 
For a simple and cheap way to control fuel or ignition. Use a Microsquirt. under 400$ for the ECU and harness. I have replaced a couple of Electromotive systems with Micros.
The Micro does not like the Electromotive 60 tooth wheel or trigger.
I now have a simple template that I use for all ofthe 4 cyl cars. Microsquirt with harness. 400$,maybe 380$??
Ford 36 tooth crank wheel, 25$ ish
Nissan Crank trigger . 25ish
VW 4 post waste spark coil 40$ ish
VW plug wires.
I stock all of this and can install the firmware. You will have to fab the crank wheel on, a bracket for the trigger, set the trigger offset in the ECU. This allows any timing you desire.
I use the timing map to stabilize the idle . IE. the idle target rpm is 1600rpm, set the 1200rpm timing at 40 , the 1600 at 24 or so. etc.
 
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