c



 

Today's OBD II ECU utilizes flash memory technology for easy software updating. This ECU
utilizes the Flash Memory to hold the Software Program and Engine Data Maps. There are
generally over 300 maps in the data in order to provide a good management of the engine
and driveability.

 

India does not go compliant by law until 2010 for OBDI and 2013 for OBDII, although many
manufacturers are offerring OBDII standards. In EU its called the EOBD.

c

`  
c 

h



The On-Board Diagnostic system keeps tabs on a vehicle¶s performance through the use of
³Monitors.´ A monitor is a specific type of test that the OBDII system performs on a certain
component or subsystem of the vehicle.

There are two types of monitors:

 These monitors run all the time as long as the key is turned on and/or the
engine is running. There are three continuous monitors that every OBDII equipped vehicle
has, they are the Comprehensive Component Monitor, The Fuel Monitor and the Misfire
Monitor.
 These monitors require certain conditions such as speed,
acceleration/deceleration, fuel level, ambient and other conditions to be met in order for the
monitor to run its testing sequence. If the specific conditions are not met, then the monitor
will not perform its tests and cannot report as to whether or not there are any problems.
Non-continuous monitors include the Catalyst, Heated Catalyst, Evaporative System,
Secondary Air System, Air Conditioning (A/C) System, Oxygen (O2) Sensor, Heated O2
Sensor and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) System.
Not all vehicles have all of these monitors. If a vehicle is not equipped or not designed with
a certain monitor, that monitor is known as ³Unsupported.´
c 
 
  

In order for a monitor to perform its testing function, specific conditions must be met. These
conditions are collectively called a ³Drive Cycle´ and can include starting the vehicle when it
is cold, running it until it is at normal operating temperature, driving at different speeds,
and then turning the vehicle off and possibly repeating these sequences. Some monitors
only need one complete Drive Cycle to perform their test; some monitors may require more
than one Drive Cycle.
If the Drive Cycle¶s requirements are not met, then the monitor cannot run its test. If the
monitor cannot run its test, then it cannot provide a determination as to whether or not
there is a problem with the components or subsystems that are tested by that monitor. In
addition, there may be a malfunction(s) that could prevent the monitors from running to
completion even if the drive cycle procedures are followed. In this case, the cause(s) must
be identified and corrected in order for the monitor tests to be successfully completed.
Each supported monitor can be either ³ready´ or ³not ready.´

Ready Indicates that the required Drive Cycle has been completed and the associated tests
have been performed.

Not Ready Indicates that the required Drive Cycle has not been run to completion; therefore
the monitor has not tested the associated system(s).
     

Below are the basic OBDII monitors and the components and subsystems that they monitor.
Not all vehicles have all of these monitors. If a vehicle is not equipped with or not designed
to have a certain monitor, that monitor is ³Unsupported.´
  This monitor looks for any engine misfires. A misfire is when the air/fuel mixture in
the engine¶s cylinder does not ignite. This condition can cause damage to the vehicle¶s
engine and/or catalytic converter.
In the case of a severe misfire condition, the OBDII system will cause the Malfunction
Indicator Lamp to flash indicating a serious threat of damage to the catalytic converter. In
the case of a flashing Malfunction Indicator Lamp, the driver should reduce speed and seek
diagnostic and repair services as soon as possible.
 This monitor constantly checks the amount of fuel that is used by the engine.
Through the use of an oxygen sensor(s), the OBDII system can determine if more or less
fuel is needed. This fuel adjustment is performed many times a second and helps to
maximize fuel economy and minimizes harmful emissions.
   This monitor is looking at all of the various switches and
sensors that are involved with engine management. It looks for voltage readings, resistance
readings, and other conditions. The monitor records readings from the vehicle¶s components
and compares them with programmed values that reflect what the readings should be. If
they differ by a certain amount, then that component is determined to be suspect.


   This monitor uses the readings from oxygen sensors located before
and after the catalyst(s) to determine the efficiency of the catalyst.



 Some vehicles may have an electrically heated catalyst. This heater
helps warm up a cold catalyst faster so that it can start working sooner which leads to
earlier reduction of harmful emissions. This monitor will check to make sure that the
catalyst heater is working.


 This monitor works to ensure that the Evaporative System is kept in
a condition to minimize the release of fuel vapors.

  Some vehicles are equipped with a secondary air system, or Turbo
systems. The air injection system is designed to place extra oxygen into the exhaust stream
to reduce exhaust pollutants. This monitor checks the components, switches, and solenoids
that are part of the air injection system.
 !"# The O2 Sensor Monitor watches for the performance of the vehicle¶s
oxygen sensors. Oxygen sensors are used to fine tune the amount of fuel that is used by
the engine. These adjustments are made several times a second and have a direct impact
on fuel economy and emissions reductions. When an oxygen sensor goes bad, the vehicle
will usually begin to use more fuel than it needs to, thereby increasing the amount of
harmful emissions.

 !"# Some oxygen sensors include an electric heater to help
them warm up quicker and to begin operating faster. This monitor ensures that the heater
circuit of the oxygen sensor is working properly.
$% !
$
% 
# Many vehicles are equipped with an EGR
system. This emissions control system is designed to reduce nitric oxide tailpipe emissions
by reducing the temperature inside the engine¶s combustion chamber. This monitor checks
the components of the EGR system to ensure that it is working properly and that there is
sufficient flow of exhaust gas through the system.

` 
 


"&

 

Analogue parameters are continuously varying data values that may be retrieved from the
ECU. These values generally represent pressures, voltages and temperatures.
 
& 
'
 
Wastegate solenoid valve duty cycles. Primary and secondary refers to whether it is the
wastegate duty for the first or second turbo charger. If the vehicle only has one turbo, this
will be primary control.
The higher the duty cycle the more pressurised air is bled away from the diaphragm of the
wastegate actuator. The spring opposing the diaphragm forces the wastegate to close. This
forces more exhaust gases to pass through the turbine - more duty encourages higher boost
pressures.
Low duty restricts boost by allowing the pressurised air to act on the diaphragm, pushing
open the wastegate, allowing exhaust gases to bypass the turbine.
If the duty cycle is 0%, do not expect that the boost pressure will be 0 PSI. Under light
loads, the boost will be negative (partial vacumm). Also at heavy loads, even if the duty
cycle is zero, the boost pressure must overcome the spring tension actin on the wastegate
diaphragm before any exhaust gases can pass around the turbo (through the wastegate). In
practice, this means that you may see several PSI of boost (perhaps 8-10PSI) even with no
solenoid activity.
  &  
At sea level, this should be around a bar or 14.5 PSI. On some vehicles, the value is not
updated continuously, since a single pressure sensor is shared for reading both manifold
and atmospheric pressures, a solenoid being using to switch the input to the sensor.

('%
&  
This is boost pressure, and may be represented as absolute or relative, depending on the
ECU - some ECUs report both parameters, whilst some only report one. Absolute pressure in
the manifold is relative to a vacuum. Subtract approx 14.5 PSI to get relative pressure.
When boost pressure in the manifold is shown as relative to atmospheric pressure, negative
values represent partial vacuums in the manifold.
)
* +
 
Temperature of air drawn into the engine for combustion. Generally measured at the point
of entry to the air filter. This will not give an indication of charge temperature. However
intake temperature is useful to the ECU for determination of the wastegate duty cycle
required to produce a given boost pressure. High boost pressures may be attained with
lower wastegate duty cycles when the IAT is low.
When people discuss boost pressures, they are generally referring to manifold relative
pressure. For vehicles running high boost, it is better to view manifold absolute pressure
due to the way in which the data is reported: for eg in Subaru vehicles the manifold relative
pressure parameter can only report pressures up to around 19 PSI. Beyond this pressure,
the ECU will just report 19 PSI.

To get around this limitation, the manifold absolute pressure is read instead. This parameter
will read up to approx 37PSI. Subtracting 14.5 PSI for atmospheric pressure shows that this
parameter can convey boost pressures of up to approx. 22 PSI.

As an example... If a car is said to be running 16 PSI of boost, this would be a 'manifold

relative pressure' of 16 PSI, or a 'manifold absolute pressure' of 16 + 14.5 = 30.7 PSI.
That's 16 PSI relative to the atmosphere, or 30.7 PSI relative to a complete vacuum.

¢
 
¢ 

¢  

ë

), 
Number of milliseconds that each injector is open for for each cylinder cycle (2 revolutions
of the crank). To calculate injector duty cycle: Duty Cycle % = RPM * 'Injector ms' / 1200.
If you are regularly seeing over 90% duty, you may need bigger injectors. The injectors
must have enough 'head room' too cope with unexpectedly high air flows - these may be
caused by overboost, faults and particularly cold weather.
- ./ '%

These parameters show the current passing through the front air/fuel sensor and the
sensor's resistance. These are inputs used to calculate front sensor air/fuel ratio.
- ./
Displays the air fuel ratio as determined by the front air/fuel sensor. This sensor is in close
proximity to the engine exhaust ports and is before any catalytic converters. When running
on closed loop fuelling control, this sensor provides the main feedback for optimizing
fuelling. This parameter reports an air/fuel ratio as opposed to a simple rich/lean signal.
- ./
Short term correction percentage applied to fuelling based on the output of the front air/fuel
sensor.
- .0
Short term correction percentage applied to fuelling based on the output of the rear O2
sensor. This sensor is after any catalytic converters and helps to fine tune the fuel mixture
to minimise emissions.
-1
"./
Long term correction percentage applied to fuelling based on feedback from front and rear
sensors.
 '%
 
These parameters report the output voltage of the O2 sensors. Early vehicles tend to have a
single 'Front O2 Sensor', whereas newer vehicles have both a 'Front A/F Sensor' and a 'Rear
O2 Sensor'. These sensors do not report an accurate air/fuel ratio, but instead provide a
rich/lean signal to the ECU.
Their output voltages switches sharply as the AFR crosses the stoichiometric ratio. Values of
approx 0 to 0.9 Volts are normal. 0 being lean, 0.9 being very rich. The sensor voltage will
oscillate between these extremes when under closed loop control. Under high loads, the
voltage should never drop below 0.7 Volts. If it does, this means that the fuel mixture is too
lean when on boost. Quite possibly there is a fault with the air flow sensor.
The addition of cone style induction kits, whilst improving top end power and throttle
response is known to upset air/fuel ratios. Alteration of the ecu calibration (AKA a remap) is
the solution.
!
$
+
 
Reports the temperature of exhaust gases on more recent cars. Some sensors are not
capable of low temperature readings, so it is normal to see a value of 200 degrees with the
engine off. This is not a fault. The EGT sensor is placed after the up-pipe catalytic converter
and allows the ECU to monitor the temperature of this 'cat'.
It is important for the ECU to regulate the temperature of the cat: If the temperature is too
low, the cat will not perform efficiently. If the temperature is too high, the cat may be
damaged, pieces may break away potentially destroying the turbo in the process. This is the
reason for the EGT sensor and trouble code display.
1
Reports the output voltage of the fuel level sensor.
+
*&  "

Reports the pressure present in the fuel tank.
  
When the fuelling is under closed loop control by the lambda sensor(s), this refers to the
amount of fuel added or subtracted from the value retrieved from the fuel map. -5% would
mean that the ecu is fuelling 5% less than the map says in order to achieve the ideal
air/fuel ratio.

Under high loads, the ECU switches off closed loop control, and uses values from the map.
At this point, you will see AFC drop to 0%. This is why it is important that the fuelling
mapping is accurate (or at least rich) at high loads - the ECU does not compensate for
errors here.


   !
)"+"
Overall ignition timing that the engine is currently running, incorporating the knock
correction component described below.
2* 
The number of degrees added or subtracted from the ignition timing based on the amount
of knock detected. Positive values are ignition advance (due to the absence of knock).
Negative values are ignition retard (due to the presence of knock). These ECUs run active
knock correction, and it is quite normal to see -3 to + 12 degrees of correction.
Maximum power is produced on the point of knock beginning, and the sensor is there to
keep the timing 'on the edge'. Some ECUs run more aggressive knock correction than
others. E.g. 1999/2000 model year turbo ECUs only run 1-2 degree positive values,
whereas 2001-2003 ECUs may run much more than this.
  !

+
"1'%" 
Reports the amount of intake cam advance applied. There are two parameters - left & right
- because two separate mechanical systems control the valve timing for the left & right
sides of the flat-four engine.
The higher the advance angle, the earlier the intake valves open - this causes more
intake/exhaust valve overlap which can help the engine to breath more efficiently at
particular RPMs and loads. It is normal to see small differences between left and right sides
of the engine. Large, continuous differences may indicate a fault.
 
31'%" 
The oil control valves control the VVT advance angles. The values are a duty percentage,
indicating the proportion of time that the valves are energised.
 
3 1'%" 
Reports the current passing through the oil control valve solenoids.

!" 


     reports the output voltage of the tumble generator valve
position sensors.
"   !
Ê
 
"
Measured voltage from the car battery. May be as low as 10 Volts when ignition is off.
Should rise to around 14-15 Volts when the engine is running.

+
 
Temperature in Centigrade of the cooling water. Expect to see around 85 - 95 from a
warmed up engine. The engine should work too hard until the temperature is at least 80
degrees.
"
Speed of rotation of the engine in revolutions per minute.
 
Speed of wheel rotation in kilometres per hour for standard wheel circumference. Data
value may not be updated as frequently as engine speed, hence acceleration times may be
more accurately determined from engine speed. This value may not be accurate if the car
wheels or tyres have been changed from standard, since this changes the rolling
circumference.

 4- 4 
"
The rate of flow of air into the engine. Some ECUs report air flow voltage, whilst others
report a calculated flow rate. The voltage from which the ecu calculates mass air flow is
non-linear, with smaller changes in output voltage being seen for flow changes at high rates
compared with low flow rates. It is from mass air flow that the ECU calculates engine load
which has a big influence on ignition timing and fuelling.
+ ""- 
"
Displays state of the throttle. High voltage or % value means a more open throttle. When
logging engine activity (especially on the dyno), it is useful to log throttle position. This
makes it easy to see when a power run begins and ends i.e. when the driver's foot is
depressing the accelerator fully. There may be more than one throttle parameter.

  
"
Present on fly-by-wire engines where there is no direct link between the accelerator pedal
and throttle butterfly. This parameter reports the voltage measured on the accelerator pedal
sensor. There may be more then one accelerator sensor parameter.
) 

Controls the amount of air let into the manifold when the engine is idling. It is normal to see
this value fluctuating slightly with lambda on idle. Switching on the air-conditioning or
headlights will also cause this value to change slightly.
 
 3
On some cars, the alternator duty may be controlled by the ECU. This allows the load on the
engine from the alternator to be controlled. E.g. The ECU may reduce the alternator load at
high engine loads, in order to reduce the power drawn from the engine. This results in
slightly more power being put down on the road.

`#

Each basic engine function (such as ignition, fuelling and boost control) is governed by one
or more 2-dimensional maps. Let's look at boost control as an example.
A typical boost control map is an 8 by 8 grid of numbers. The rows represent RPM, whilst
the colums represent engine load. The values in this grid are the desired boost pressures.
Many times per second, the ecu will check the current engine RPM and engine load, and will
look up the boost pressure that it should try to maintain. In the example above, each row in
the grid might represent 1000 RPM steps, the 8 steps being equivalent to 1000, 2000,
3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 & 8000 RPM.
An 8 by 8 grid will contain 64 values, but this does not mean that only one of those values
may be chosen. The ECU uses a method called 'interpolation' to calculate values that lie in
between the values in the grid. For example, a map may contain entries for 1000 (say
10PSI) & 2000 RPM (say 11PSI), whilst the engine is actually sitting at 1600 RPM.
The ECU will take the two values and 'draw a line between them'. It then travels along that
line until it gets to the required RPM values. This interpolated value is what it will use, and
in this case would be 10.6 PSI. (This is only a simple example of how 1-dimensional
interpolation works. On a 2-d map, the interpolation must be done in 2 dimensions).
Whilst interpolation greatly increases the accuracy of values retrieved from a map, it is no
substitute for a larger map. The larger (X by Y) a map is, the closer all guessed values will
be to a 'real' map value.
The more rows and columns that a map has, the finer the control over that engine
parameter. Ignition and fuelling maps in the Impreza ECU are 16 by 16.

"

Scaling maps allow finer engine control in the areas where it is needed most. Many ECUs do
not use scaling maps at all as in the simple example above.
Let's see how a scaling map might apply to boost control. For the majority of the rev range,
the desired boost pressure will be the same. However, in the low and high extremes of the
range, finer control may be required. This is where a scaling map can help.
Taking the previous example: There are 8 RPM zones at equally spaced 1000 RPM intervals.
Fine control over boost may be needed between 500-2500 and 6000-7000 RPM, with the
mid range boost being constant. A scaling map allows you to specify the row headings, so to
speak - it allows you to space the rows in the main map unequally across the rev range. So
instead of fixed 1000 RPM intervals, as an example you could have 750, 1250, 1750, 2500,
3000, 6000, 6500, 7000 RPM - that's still 8 zones, but used where you need them most.
Interpolation takes care of the wide gaps, and you get the resolution where you need it.

£  
   !

Most automobile manufacturers are now coming out with Active Ignition timing maps.
%
 )"+"
An ignition timing system has to balance a number of sometimes opposing objectives -
vehicle emissions, engine power output, fuel consumption & engine longevity.
An active ignition timing system allows continuous adjustment of ignition timing in order to
best meet requirements. What makes the system 'active' is its ability to detect engine knock
via the knock sensor attached to the engine block.
)"+"


  
 
 

The maps above are from a 2002 UK WRX Impreza. These maps form the basis of the
ignition timing functions of the ECU.
)"Ê


The base ignition timing map holds the timing values to be used with the lowest octane fuel
that the engine will encounter. This is (hopefully) the most retarded timing that the engine
will ever need to run in normal circumstances.
Most base ignition maps have the same approximate shape. As engine RPM increases,
ignition advance increases. As engine load increases, ignition timing retards. As a result, the
most advance is used at high revs and low load, whilst the least advance is used at high
loads and low revs.
The ignition timing flattens off at high RPMs. This is because the ECU does not use the
knock sensor beyond around 6000rpm(for Impreza). This is for a very good reason - it is
difficult to differentiate between knock and engine noise at high load and revs. Because of
this, the ECU uses 'safe' timing values after the knock sensor switches off.
)"


The ignition advance map holds the timing values that may be added on top of the base
map should the ECU decide to do so. The values are set so that base plus correction map
values total the timing that should be used with the highest octane fuel that the engine will
encounter. The ECU will never advance timing beyond the base plus correction lookups.
At low engine loads, the ignition advance map contains no advance - this is the flat 'valley'
of the map. No matter what the quality of fuel, the ECU will never advance the timing above
the value in the base map. This is because the engine will not produce further power by
advancing the timing - MBT (minimum best timing) has been reached. Advancing the timing
further increases the chance of knock and also increases vehicles emissions of hydrocarbons
and NOx.
   ! 
"  

 
  " 
#" !
At high engine loads, the advance map contains much larger values. This shows that the
timing possible varies greatly with the octane of fuel being used. Under boost, it may not be
possible to reach MBT.
In other words, the more timing advance that can be run, the higher the engine power
output produced - MBT cannot be reached before the engine begins to knock before the
plateau is reached. This is where the active ignition timing excels - it allows the ECU to run
the highest timing possible without engine knock.

This results in high power output, good fuel consumption and low exhaust gas
temperatures. At these high loads, emissions aren't relevant for passing government
emissions testing procedures, since the cars are always tested at relatively light loads - a
handy loophole for turbo cars.


  $

The timing maps determine the range of ignition timing that the ECU is permitted to use on
the engine. However, the ECU must determine the best choice of timing to run from the
available range. This process is known as ignition learning. When the car is started (or the
ECU reset), the ECU must determine the quality of fuel in the tank, and it does this during
normal driving conditions.

)"1
"
When the grade of fuel is unknown, the ECU starts by running timing for a medium octane
fuel. I.e. Values from the base map plus half of values from the advance maps. The ECU will
then listen for knock. Based on its presence or absence, the ECU will then slowly decrease
or increase the proportion of the advance map which is added to the base map until the
level of knock is at a safe level. Its goal is to add the highest proportion of the advance map
wherever possible. It is the number of sixteenths of the advance map that the ECU is willing
to use - 16 being good, 8 being neutral and 0 being very bad.
Criteria for learning Ignition learning as does not happen all the time , the ECU must fulfill
certain criteria, such as coolant temperature, engine speed and load before learning with
occur. Some fault codes will also inhibit or completely disable ignition learning, so they
should be checked for before tuning begins.
The state of the advance multiplier determines the coarse ignition correction to be used
across the entire load and rev range. Obviously this may not be optimal, since it may be
better to run slightly more timing in some areas, and slightly less timing in others - this is
where fine learning comes into play.
)"1
"
Once an overall (coarse) ignition learning factor has been determined, the ECU begins to
fine tune the timing. In contrast to the single blanket value of coarse ignition correction, the
fine correction is stored as an 8x8 table totalling 64 values. This allows the ECU to tailor the
timing in 64 separate areas of load and rpm. However, if the ECU is given sufficiently good
quality fuel, the advance multiplier will hit its maximum value of 16 and will therefore use
 the full value from the correction map i.e. once the correction map hits its end stops, it is
not possible to advance the timing further using fine learning (unless the ECU is reset
again).
The below learnt ignition correction tables show the learnt ignition timing that the ECU has
developed based on feedback from the knock sensor.

 

 $%& 

 

 ' 

he first picture shows the 'default' state after an ECU reset and before the car has been driven. The second picture
shows learnt timing on another ECU on some very low octane fuel after a few minutes of driving.

As time goes on, this map will be filled in with more values as the ECU encounters a wider range of engine loads and
revs. The actual ignition timing used is a value from the base ignition map, plus a proportion of the ignition correction
map (determined by the advance multiplier), plus a fine knock learning value from the above table.

The fine learnt correction map is divided into 64 zones by RPM (rows) and engine load (columns). The dividers
between these zones are set to provide learning resolution in the most useful areas.

    "(
" 
 ( 
)  
 "(
" 
 "( 
"(  
    

* 

 "(  *


(  
     + ,
" 
 '
 "    
(


(  

 

" -  
).   % ' $ ,

$/ $ ?