Better Door Lock Controller

[Bitsyncmaster]

Here is the now working in my car door lock controller. Very happy with results. This unit should work with either solenoids or the actuators but I have not tested with the solenoids yet.

The relays in this unit switch with full voltage so you should not ever have the burning stuck relay problem that occurs with the original or lockzilla units.
The standby current is 116 ua. which should eliminate the need to charge your battery when long storage times exist.

Note my placement (still in the Lockzilla case) that moves the DLC and cleans up the relay compartment.

[Elvis]

Hey Dave,

haven't been here for a while. Again - nice job.

hope to see more of your stuff here, great to see that
somebody improves things even more instead of reinventing
the wheel again and again. you reduced current again down
to 1/10 ??? great :-)

have you ever thought about the wiper module ?
replace the LUCAS IC with a PIC and somehow install an adjustable
timer ?

I also do have a preliminary version of the ignition ECU that I
never finished...idle speed ECU - people didn't want to have
improvements so I never published anything...

or replacing the internal fan with a brushless version ?

Elvis & 6548

[Ozzie]

Originally Posted by Elvis

d...idle speed ECU - people didn't want to have
improvements so I never published anything...

Huh!? What people?

Dave dropped a teaser for us a few weeks ago, that he could design a modern idle speed ECU, that would not only use modern and more efficient components, but that it could also be adjustable for performance, and have quicker response time to minimize hunting.

As long as it was reasonably priced, and a direct swap, who couldn't benefit from an improved idle speed ECU?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Elvis, Were you able to get a MOSFET driver working on the ignition ECU? I bench tested with a resistor load (not the coil) and it looks great. Try it in the car and nothing. It looks like I need to get a coil set up on the bench so I can scope it an see whats going on.

[Elvis]

I offered it to manipulate the original ECU to react faster, but some guys
on the DML wanted to stick with it and thought it was a stupid idea.

Well, most of them still don't understand how that idle circuit works anyway,
but I stopped that project as I got bored of it.

I am no friend of building new PCBs as long as the old ones still work great
and can be improved easily. Simply by changing the P and I factors
of the control loop did make a great change. All it needs are two resistors,
preferably potentiometers for less than $1.

The original circuit works pretty good for its age, failure rate is very low.
All the work a new unit would require, the software, testing, costs - way
too much work for my taste.

[Ozzie]

Originally Posted by Elvis

I offered it to manipulate the original ECU to react faster, but some guys
on the DML wanted to stick with it and thought it was a stupid idea..

Oh that explains it.

I found out very quick in my first few weeks of DeLorean ownership that the DML has some hard core, don't mess with the original design, type of people there. Knowledgeable people, and friendly people when you meet them, but since I didn't buy a concourse car, and I like to upgrade (especially with modern upgrades) that wasn't the place for me.

I've found that DMCTalk is a much more open forum to mods, mods that are either crazy, functional improvements, or cosmetic, or all three.

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster

Elvis, Were you able to get a MOSFET driver working on the ignition ECU? I bench tested with a resistor load (not the coil) and it looks great. Try it in the car and nothing. It looks like I need to get a coil set up on the bench so I can scope it an see whats going on.

Why doing it ?

how many of these ECUs failed so far ?

Why change a system that has proved to be very reliable ?
I just wanted to know how it works, wanted to be able to fix them, but
so far - no failures.
If this ECU fails - car stops !!!!

What MOSFET did you use ?

[DCUK Martin]

The idle control module is no "dumb" device, but very much tuned. To replace with a microcontroller means nightmareish PID tuning across all possible temperature ranges.

...anyone who's set up an aftermarket ECU with idle control would wish for the DeLorean's standalone system

[Bitsyncmaster]

Originally Posted by Elvis

Why doing it ?

how many of these ECUs failed so far ?

Why change a system that has proved to be very reliable ?
I just wanted to know how it works, wanted to be able to fix them, but
so far - no failures.
If this ECU fails - car stops !!!!

What MOSFET did you use ?

Just to save the wasted power of the base current. I agree these things never fail which is why this is the last FET change I have yet to do. I did the Idle ECU and Lambda drivers long ago.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Originally Posted by Stunned Monkey

The idle control module is no "dumb" device, but very much tuned. To replace with a microcontroller means nightmareish PID tuning across all possible temperature ranges.

...anyone who's set up an aftermarket ECU with idle control would wish for the DeLorean's standalone system

I agree this is another module that never fails. Only thing I would like is the ability to set the idle RPM. I like a higher idle RPM when driving my 5 speed. It makes my down shifting much smother but when sitting at a stop light you would want a slower idle to save gas.