General

  • Home
  • Category Archives: "General"

How to Evaluate an ECU for Suitability to My System: Diagnostic Needs

The difficulty with diagnostics is in the definition.
  • Do the diagnostics report simple wire harness shorts and opens checks?
  • Do the diagnostics report ECU pin function checks and possible intermediate stuck at voltage checks?
  • Do the diagnostics perform initial checks at power-on, or real-time and run-time checks of the internal ECU health and function?
  • Are the diagnostics the complex rationality and long-term diagnostics of system (not just ECU)... View More

Misfire detection with OpenECU

Misfire detection with OpenECU
An engine misfire can be defined as a combustion event where the air fuel mixture within a cylinder fails to ignite properly. The most common causes of misfire are:
  • Incorrect air/fuel ratio, generally caused by a lean mixture
  • Weak/missing spark due to wear of ignition system components
  • Mechanical damage to the engine such as leaking gaskets, piston rings, etc, causing a loss in compression
Misfire has a number of undesirable effects, including
  • Loss of power
  • Increased fuel consumption
  • Increased hydrocarbon emissions from the unburnt fuel
  • Catalytic converter damage

Misfire... View More

BLDC Control Architecture – Part One

This article provides an overview of the hardware and software architecture of a sinusoidal field oriented controller for a brushless DC motor (BLDC).  Brushless DC motors are becoming much more common in automotive applications due to their improvements in performance, efficiency, and reliability over brushed motors. A brushless motor has to be commutated electronically, meaning that power must be applied to each of the 3 phase windings at just the right time as the rotor spins.  This requires an inverter which... View More

CANopen Reference Design

CANopen is a CAN-based communication protocol. It comprises higher-layer protocols and profile specifications to exchange data between multiple devices on a network. Today it is used in various applications, such as medical equipment, off-road vehicles, maritime electronics, railway applications, and building automation.

OpenECU provides a reference design containing six blocks to implement a CANopen communication network. These blocks are used to configure the CAN bus, monitor CAN bus status, transmit, and receive CAN messages. The CANopen reference design is... View More