2013 Caterham Seven 480 ECU Question

[mcrusa]

Hi Guys, We have a 2013 Caterham Seven 480 here with an EFI Technology ECU (Caterham #30L135 (Similar to EFI Euro 8) (Italy)). We would like to view live data on our laptop (O2 sensors, trim, etc.) Have been looking around for a cable to gain access to this data either through the OBDII or the ECU directly and have had no luck. According a senior tech from Caterham Cars there is no way to access with this specific ECU and that they can't even get in to it -- we only learned this after being led around through sbdev.co.uk products (which only work for an alternative ECU this vehicle came with?) I see there are a lot of products / software available for the EFI Euro 8 ECU, through SBD, etc. ... anyone had any luck? Any help or leads would be appreciated. Thanks!

[1turbofocus]

There is a lot of standalone ECU out there these days some good , some bad , some you can datalog and some you cant , To me a ECU that cannot be datalogged is worthless and who ever bought it and installed it should be ashamed , if you cannot log you cant tell if your engine is safe or making the best performance it can One , A one Tune fit all mentality is moronic in this day and time

 

What I would look for is ease of use for Tuning , any company that wont allow you a free download of the Tuning software and datalogging stay away from ,

 

I would look for a ECU that has the ability to adjust and datalog the knock sensor , In my opinion this is a must but most dont have

 

Call the company , see how easy they are to get by phone and email as well , if you cant reach them easy and having an issue what good is it

 

Do this and it will narrow down the list quickly

 

Tom

[Croc]

I agree wholeheartedly with Tom - I have never liked Caterham's practice of locked ECUs in the US market. I can understand in the UK where you have a critical mass of service infrastructure to help customers manage without tinkering themselves and blowing up an engine, but that just does not work in the USA where my closest reputable dealer is 3000 miles away either in the pacific north west or at Caterham UK themselves.

 

Have you chatted with Bruce Beachman to see if he has come across the ECU before?

 

Looking at the website for the closest visual match unit

http://www.efitechnology.it/main_eng.html

...shows the specs for the ECU. Its got CAN output and configuration tools online for download so it must be accessible in its standard guise. However, the critical quote on that page is that it can be "fully encrypted." which is just the thing that Caterham would usually do. The question you are needing to ask EFI Tech is whether your unit is fully encrypted at the request of the manufacturer? I bet yes....

 

 

If you dont need to change/alter/remap the ECU right now and just want to see what is happening then a long shot logging option might be the AIM Solo. If you refer post #3 of this thread you can see how I monitor my engine real time while driving (I also can use the SBD kit in the garage if needed).

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11000-GPS-Lap-Timer-system&highlight=AIM+solo

My post is on the MBE ECU (which is still locked by Caterham) but if you can find out which car manufacturers use the EFI Technology Euro 8 as original equipment in which specific cars, then the AIM Solo may be configurable for your Caterham. For example, I set the AIM Solo to operate in a Noble and then it will read my Caterham ECU. I suggest you find out from EFI Technology then ping me on here and I will check the vehicle configuration on an AIM Solo to see if it is possible before you buy one. You will still need to sort out a connection solution as I use a J1962 plug (looks like OBDII but is not) but your ECU seems to have a different output plug? Are you anywhere around me in the NE/MidAtlantic regions?

 

Ultimately in the longer run you will probably need a new ECU so it may be easier to changeover now.

[mcrusa]

Thanks for the replies.

 

... the critical quote on that page is that it can be "fully encrypted." which is just the thing that Caterham would usually do. The question you are needing to ask EFI Tech is whether your unit is fully encrypted at the request of the manufacturer? I bet yes....

I asked our contact at Caterham Cars and he replied "the people that make the ECU won't lets us get in to the ECU so lock it. There is no software available not even in basic view." I guess the "so lock it" means encrypted.

 

... if you can find out which car manufacturers use the EFI Technology Euro 8 as original equipment in which specific cars, then the AIM Solo may be configurable for your Caterham.

While searching for that I came across this document on the AIM website:

http://www.aim-sportline.com/download/ecu/racing/EFI_euro8_101_eng.pdf

It appears that ECU manufacturer “EFI_EUROPE” / ECU Model “Euro_8” is selectable in to their software -- so that should simplify things and at this point we do only want to see what is going on.

 

You will still need to sort out a connection solution as I use a J1962 plug (looks like OBDII but is not) but your ECU seems to have a different output plug?

Will have to investigate this further. Assumed it was an OBDII cable on the column.

 

Are you anywhere around me in the NE/MidAtlantic regions?

We are in Wisconsin

[1turbofocus]

If people would stop buying Caterhams that use the “EFI_EUROPE” / ECU Model “Euro_8” or any locked ECU/PCM either the builders would stop using that ECU/PCM or EFI_Europe would stop locking them

 

For the people running MAF , HANDS DOWN the best ECU is the Ford ECU that your year engine came with if Zetec , SVT , Duratec , If you run a MAP sensor what I do is get the EURO Ford Focus ECU that runs MAP and I change them over , Im not a big fan of the MBE either

 

Stock Focus ECU has more speed and way better tuning / datalogging abilities then any Standalone I have ever used short of some of the $3000.00 + ECU

 

Many people worry about the PATS Security on the Focus ECU but the Focus Mexico ECU/PCM does have PATS turned on and no chips in the Keys

 

Tom

[Croc]

Sorry MCRUSA for the delay - Just saw your response. I will dig out the AIM this weekend at the garage and see what it says on the unit for selection and take a photo of the input plug you would need to connect with so you can compare to your output plug.

 

 

 

Tom - I agree with your comments. For a specialist car like the Caterham where they are individually modified for performance, a locked down single ECU black box solution is absurd, especially when they don't support outside the UK.

[Croc]

I confirmed you can configure an EFI_Europe for an AIM Solo. The Solo is configured by connecting to a pc and running AIM Race Studio. You enter the "Device Configuration" option. Then you select the ECU Manufacturer - in this case EFI_Europe

 

 

 

Then you select the ECU model

 

 

 

 

Then you transmit the new settings in an upload to the AIM Solo. You then go out and log a session driving or on track (configure the AIM appropriately).

 

Depending on what I am trying to diagnose then I will overlay the data onto a video so I can use the video/GPS data to help me understand what the data might be trying to tell me.

 

Otherwise you can use AIM Race Studio Analysis to review the data as follows:

 

 

I will point out some of these ECU data labels are clearly wrong - I dont have a turbo for example - but most are correct.

Edited October 29, 2017 by Croc

[Croc]

The AIM Solo connects into my ECU using the following plug - it looks like what you would use to get OBDII data but it is not. The data is CAN but not OBDII format.

 

 

 

Assuming that your ECU was not locked to prevent CAN output then this solution should work to allow you to log data while driving. A sample of how I get data out of my Caterham MBE locked ECU after a drive is below:

 

 

 

I suggest if you decide to go this road then get the DL model as this adds GPS capability which gives you extra data with which to contextualize the ECU data. The AIM unit will not allow you to change anything and only allow a passive review of the data. Longer term you may just want to skip this process and just buy a new unlocked ECU.