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EEC Tuner: Introduction and Installation
Introduction
Back in the day of the 5.0's infancy,
one of the popular modifications was 'a chip'. These strange little boxes
promised power increases by changing values in the car's electronic engine
control (EEC) module. But they were mainly cookie cutter programs specific
only to the car model and sometimes the year. The drawbacks to this is
that what might work well in one car might not work in another. Not all
cars are created equal, and with every modification done to a car it becomes
more important to ensure the chip's program is applicable and beneficial
to the combination of the vehicle it is being applied to. Auto enthusiasts
realized that in order to reap the benefits of a chip, there had to be
a way to customize the settings in the program to ensure improved performance.
Vehicles factory equipped with electric
cooling fans and/or electronically controlled transmission could also benefit
from chips. Shift points and firmness could be altered, and the vehicle
could run cooler by turning the fans on earlier, at lower temperatures.
That being said, several companies
emerged with more 'custom programming' and many tuners started utilizing
their dynos to burn programs. Watching air fuel ratios and comparing hp
gains and losses, they were able to dial in a vehicle's eec parameters
to provide performance based on the person's specific wants and needs.
This worked very well and produced very fast street cars, providing better
driveability and more power throughout the powerband. It also produced
mega power at the track, with many racers dipping into the 9 second zone
with the factory EEC system.
I have been running a JMS programmed
Autologic chip in my 1988 Vortech supercharged GT for about 3 years now,
and it has provided a safe tune, very good driveability and proven track
performance. Current best is 11.40@122.02 with a 1.72 60ft. Vehicle race
weight is approximately 3500# with driver and car has all smog equipment
and is emissions legal. Vehicle is driven to and from the track, sometimes
as much as 4 hours, so a safe tune on pump gas is very much preferred.
In those 3 years, I have changed/upgraded
my combo a few times and each time I had to send the EPROMs back to be
reprogrammed for the combo changes. Whether you want changes in timing,
injector size or fuel tables, there was little you could do by yourself.
Those who are fortunate to have a chip burned during a dyno session could
maximize the settings and check the results of each change. Those of us
(me included) purchasing a chip mail order had to see if the chip worked
by either seat of the pants, or a seperate dyno session. Nevertheless,
a reburn was necessary when making an dramatic changes to the powerplant.
Enter the EEC Tuner. Essentially
a reprogrammable chip, the EEC Tuner allows the user to modify the values
within the stock EEC using either a DOS program or a more user friendly
Windows version. Users are able to make changes almost instantly to their
car's computer, eliminate the need for costly reburns. This article will
detail the installation, configuration and results of the EEC Tuner.
What you get
The tuner arrives in a small appropriately
labeled white box containing everything you need.
Included is:
| EEC Tuner Board |
This is the actual EEC tuner itself which will plug into the J3 port on the EEC module |
| EEC Tuner software |
To be loaded into your desktop/laptop PC. Supplied on 3.5" disk |
| DC Power Adapter |
Used to power your EEC tuner for use when not connected to the car's EEC |
| EEC Tuner RJ45 to 9pin modular cable |
Connects EEC Tuner board to desktop or laptop PC via serial port |
| Edge Guard Strip (for early processors) |
Protects EEC Tuner J3 connector strip from contacting EEC cover |
| Instruction Booklet |
Documentation and release notes |
Comparatively, the EEC tuner itself
is only slightly larger than the Autologic chip and harness I am replacing it with:
Installation
Those of you who have installed
a chip in your Ford will find much of the eec tuner installation familiar.
The tuner board itself plugs into the J3 test port of the EEC. Usually
you will find an adhesive cover over it, remove if so equipped.
Board installation can be performed
with the EEC in the car, but for first timers, I would recommend pulling the EEC out.
Begin by removing the passenger
side kick panel. This is accomplished by removing the front most screw
on the door sill plate and the plastic push pin on the lower part where
the passenger's feet would rest.
Remove the plastic trim cover and you will see the EEC harness.
On my car, I had to remove one bolt
which retains part of the harness to the body of the car. If your computer
has never been out, you will see a white plastic retaining clip inside
on the right that holds the eec to the inner fender. Remove the retaining
bolt and the eec should slide out. It may take some wiggling, be patient
and try not to damage anything.
If you would like to remove the
EEC from the vehicle, loosen the bolt head on the top of the EEC where
the 60pin connector meets the EEC module. A 10mm socket will work fine
for this. Keep in mind the bolt will not come out of the harness, rather
when it has disengaged itself from the EEC module it will freewheel. Simply
pull the EEC from the 60pin connector. I opted to leave the EEC connected
to the vehicle.
At this point it is necessary to
remove the cover from the EEC module. There are four torx retaining screws
on the top center and two more at the rear corners. Once these are out,
you can remove the cover.
At the service port we spoke of earlier
you will see a flat board which mates to the J3 connector on the end of
the EEC Tuner board. If you have never before opened your EEC up, you will
no doubt see a film over the contacts. It is imperative that you
clean these contacts. If there isn't good contact in this area, you wil
have problems using the tuner. Super fine sandpaper and/or spray electronics
cleaner work very well for this.
Insert the J3 connector from the EEC
Tuner onto the part of the board that is behind the service port. The cover
should still be off at this point. Lay the EEC tuner down onto the vehicle
EEC's circuit board. The tuner is supplied with four extension "legs" which
help insulate it from the vehicles EEC underneath. The instructions say
that you may trim these to account for components on the vehicle's EEC
board. I had to trim one leg about 1/8th inch. On top you will find a foam
pad for the same purpose. The RJ45 ended cable is premade with a 180^ bend
to facilitate install inside the EEC module. Route this lead out of the
EEC Module through the service port to the right of the J3 connector
Now we are ready to reinstall the cover.
Push the Edge Guard Strip onto the service port area on the cover. This
protects the EEC Tuner ribbon cord from fontacting the cover body. As you
push the cover down, you wil feel resistance from the foam padding underneath.
This is normal. Reinstall the four torx screws on top, and the two on the
side near the service port.
Cover the area with electrical tape as shown.
Reinstall the EEC module onto the 60pin
connector from the vehicle's harness (if it was removed). Taking great
care not to pinch or kink the serial connector coming out of the EEC module,
replace the EEC into the inner fender. Replace the kick panel trim.
I opted to route the serial cable behind
the glovebox and sip tie for a clean and safe appearance. The serial cable
will run behind that and come out on the passenger side of the center console.
This makes it easy enough for quick laptop hookup and easy to keep out
of the way.
 
Turn the key to on but don't start the
car. The fuel pump should energize for a few seconds then shut off. If
the pump continues to run there is a problem with the tuner and board connection,
most likely you didn't clean the areas well enough. Remove EEC, clean and
try again.
The tuner is now installed and ready for use.
PC Requirements
Pretty much any pc or laptop can
run the eec tuner software. There is both a DOS and windows version. I
am running the 32 bit EEC Tuner software on an IBM 486-25 thinkpad 20MB
RAM running Win98. The software is not memory intensive and thusfar has
had zero problems.
Software Installation
Installation of the software is
as easy as inserting the supplied diskette and running the "a:/setup.exe"
from the start menu. If you would like to take a look at the latest EEC-Tuner
software, you can download V2.05
here
Once you have successfully installed
the software, plug the serial cable from the eec tuner to any available
serial port on your desktop/laptop and you are ready to tune.
Note: The default port for
the eec tuner in the software is COM1. If you wish to use a different port,
simply edit the 'EECTuner.ini' file and change the port here:
[EEC Tuner]
PORT=COM1
For technical questions regarding the EEC-Tuner or any kind of tuner,
click
here.
Stay Tuned for Part Two: What do those values mean and how do I change them?
Source
Shiftmaster Enterprises
http://www.eec-tuner.com
PO Box 404
Hudson, MA 01749
sales@eec-tuner.com
978-568-1496
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