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Got quite a bit done this weekend. All the individual parts are working, rpm, speed, pressure, RTC, logging, and solenoid control. Now just have to complete the integration. Had to switch to the Arduino Uno as the Leonardo does not have an 8 bit timer and I needed it to set PWM low enough to control the solenoid properly.
Making great progress! Is the clicking noise in the video from pulsing the MAC valve? Do all MAC valves make that noise? For a short time I used an apex'i boost controller and -- among the many things I didn't like about it -- it made an annoyingly loud clicking sound when modulating. Part of that may have been the way I mounted it to the firewall, but curious how loud yours is in real life?
Are you going to incorporate a fail-safe of some kind so that if the circuit fails or loses power, the wastegate will revert to spring pressure? I learned the hard way how good of an idea that is...
Making great progress! Is the clicking noise in the video from pulsing the MAC valve? Do all MAC valves make that noise? For a short time I used an apex'i boost controller and -- among the many things I didn't like about it -- it made an annoyingly loud clicking sound when modulating. Part of that may have been the way I mounted it to the firewall, but curious how loud yours is in real life?
Are you going to incorporate a fail-safe of some kind so that if the circuit fails or loses power, the wastegate will revert to spring pressure? I learned the hard way how good of an idea that is...
The clicking is the MAC valve duty cycle. Normal behavior, my Prospec2b valve did the same thing. I never heard it as it is in the engine compartment mounted to the firewall with a rubber washer/dampner.
I will definitely have software fail-safes. Fail-safe in the event of power failures I have not thought much about. I believe the MAC valve defaults to a vented state at power loss (I will confirm this) but in the event of say 5V loss, the valve could get stuck in a certain position due to the loss of control but still itself be powered. Would need some way to cut the power to the valve itself. I will have to take a look...
The clicking is the MAC valve duty cycle. Normal behavior, my Prospec2b valve did the same thing. I never heard it as it is in the engine compartment mounted to the firewall with a rubber washer/dampner.
I will definitely have software fail-safes. Fail-safe in the event of power failures I have not thought much about. I believe the MAC valve defaults to a vented state at power loss (I will confirm this) but in the event of say 5V loss, the valve could get stuck in a certain position due to the loss of control but still itself be powered. Would need some way to cut the power to the valve itself. I will have to take a look...
As long as no power to the valve means the wastegate goes to spring pressure, you can have the main power or ground to the valve run through a relay (or mosfet) that is off unless the arduino powers it up. I had solder joints fail on my profec head unit, which were supplying 12v to it, and the solenoid defaulted to closing the wastegate tight. Broke the tires loose on the freeway at 30+psi, which was interesting, and of course blew the head gasket...
As long as no power to the valve means the wastegate goes to spring pressure, you can have the main power or ground to the valve run through a relay (or mosfet) that is off unless the arduino powers it up. I had solder joints fail on my profec head unit, which were supplying 12v to it, and the solenoid defaulted to closing the wastegate tight. Broke the tires loose on the freeway at 30+psi, which was interesting, and of course blew the head gasket...
Nothing like learning the hard way Great input however. The profec unit is junk in my opinion. I had to ditch it for an MBC because I could not trust it.
I have the original profec b with the big black box solenoid. The later versions used a cheap solenoid but used a head unit with the same appearance as the original so they could say it was a remake of the original. Not sure which one you had, but I wasn't impressed with the remake. That said, mine still had a cracked solder joint for no apparent reason, so I dunno... I just like it because it's easy to use and gives very stable results... But I'm feeling your project here and may have to jump on board at some point. I may see if I can use the factor cycling valve or the big profec solenoid...
I have the original profec b with the big black box solenoid. The later versions used a cheap solenoid but used a head unit with the same appearance as the original so they could say it was a remake of the original. Not sure which one you had, but I wasn't impressed with the remake. That said, mine still had a cracked solder joint for no apparent reason, so I dunno... I just like it because it's easy to use and gives very stable results... But I'm feeling your project here and may have to jump on board at some point. I may see if I can use the factor cycling valve or the big profec solenoid...
I just ran some tests and the MAC valve definitely defaults to a vented position wrt the WG. So if the Solenoid looses power, it is spring pressure only. I had the Prospec2B. Not sure if it is broken or not programmed correctly. Spent hours and hours trying to get it set up reliably and never could get it done. The MAC valve I am using is used by most of the well known EBC manufactures and it was just over $30.
I just ran some tests and the MAC valve definitely defaults to a vented position wrt the WG. So if the Solenoid looses power, it is spring pressure only. I had the Prospec2B. Not sure if it is broken or not programmed correctly. Spent hours and hours trying to get it set up reliably and never could get it done. The MAC valve I am using is used by most of the well known EBC manufactures and it was just over $30.
That 2nd gen version is the one that "looks" like the original (but isn't). The MAC valve indeed has proven itself over time -- lots of them in use for sure. I just tried one I had from a prior project and it is a lot quieter than the apexi I had...almost makes me wonder if the apexi was defective...
My Apexi solenoid is loud too. Its mounted in the cowl area, between the fuse box and climate control air intake, so the clicking noise emits from behind the instrument cluster. Very annoying...
The setup Bob Boyer made for me uses two MAC solenoids, but I never looked into why he used two. The are mounted to rubber isolators as Shawn mentioned. I would relocate them to where I mounted my HVC-II to eliminate any kind of noise issue.
Shawn:
I have all kinds of really cool pneumatic stuff at work. I will send you anything you need to plumb it up nice and pretty.
The profec b always had issues with solder joints or wires fraying.
The new profec looks really nice, Maybe a little flashy in our cars, but damn its cool!
The solenoid should be mounted with the rubber dampener (usually supplied)
Mine is mounted onto the firewall on the drivers side. no noise.
I had solder joints fail on my profec head unit, which were supplying 12v to it, and the solenoid defaulted to closing the wastegate tight. Broke the tires loose on the freeway at 30+psi, which was interesting, and of course blew the head gasket...
Did some live testing today and had an issue with overboost. Spiked to 22 psi and I hit the Rogue Tuner overboost protection. What setup were you running Tom? No overboost protection?
Did my first live testing today. Several small problems at this point. The rpm signal is getting noise from the solenoid and occasionally gives a bad rpm reading. This caused some issues. With out the solenoid attached rpm was rock solid. Speed and gear calculations worked great when the rpm readings were correct. Going to have to figure out how to add isolation the rpm signal. I am waiting on my oscilloscope to arrive. Also, when the EBC in not on and the rpm signal is hooked up, the car will not start. Finally, this MAC valve is loud, much louder than my Prospec solenoid. Might have to look at some other solenoid options.
08-28-2014, 10:30 PM
Broke the tires loose on the freeway at 30+psi, which was interesting, and of course blew the head gasket...
Great input however. The profec unit is junk in my opinion. I had to ditch it for an MBC because I could not trust it.
