5V Voltage Modifier Kit by Gollan
Services
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This listing is for the Fully Built Unit with your choice of custom configuration. It has absolutely everything you need, right down to 4x3m wire, banana plugs and even heatshrink tube.
SAY WHAT NOW?
Your modern vehicle is jam-packed full of sensors,
that send information to various control modules; ECU (Engine Control Unit),
BCM (Body Control Module), TCM (Transmission Control Module), or active
suspension.
The Sensors send information to the Modules by
changing the voltage based on what it’s experiencing, and the Control Module
reads this voltage as information.
In some cases, the Control Modules demand to see a
specific voltages in specific conditions, to keep the vehicle running happily.
Engine modifications, or installing aftermarket
addons, can alter the voltage of the sensor outputs and this sends information
that is different to that expected of the ECU.
This could cause it to issue an engine fault code, switching
on the check engine light, and in some cases the engine being set to run in
limp-home mode.
Queue The Automotive Sensor
Modifier! It is designed, and highly useful, for adjusting a
sensor’s output after engine modifications to enable the engine to run
correctly, or even better!
Make another modification, and the Automotive Sensor
Modifier can be easily reprogrammed to fine tune the sensor output the Control
Module sees.
There is no comparison to anything else on the
market. This is due to its extremely large adjustability range, and incredibly
fine resolution.
This unit is controlled by a single sensor, to modify its
own signal output to the control module. The advantage of this design over a
dual input, say inputs from MAF sensor and RPM sensor, is that it only relies
on the information from one sensor.
If there’s a problem with the RPM sensor side of the
circuit, this can cause the whole modifier to work incorrectly, modifying the
output of the modified sensor into dangerously different values than is
required by the Control Unit.
The elegance of this highly adjustable single input
Automotive Sensor Modifier is a failsafe against a malfunctioning sensor.
Don’t just install a Zener Diode to stop your MAF
sensor topping out at 5V, retune your whole entire sensor output and correct
your air/fuel ratio through the whole RPM range.
Nissan Patrol ZD30 going into limp-home mode because
of performance upgrades? Use this Modifier to retune the MAF sensor output, and
trick the ECU into seeing what it wants, so as to run smoothly.
The unit can easily be reprogrammed after further
modifications are performed, saving you hundreds in dyno dollars.
DO I NEED ONE? If you’re still reading, you’re
probably interested this application for your vehicle, or someone you know.
DOES IT FIT MY VEHICLE? In short, yes. It works with
any 5V sensor that sends information to a control module.
FEATURES &
SPECIFICATIONS
ü
Works on MAF/
MAP/ TPS/ G-Force Sensors
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Operating Power
Supply: 10-15V, 600mA
ü
Sensor
voltage input range: 0-5V Max
ü
Voltage
output to ECU range: 0-5V Max
ü
Input voltage
upper limit: 2.5-5V
ü
Input voltage
lower limit: 0V, to upper limit setting minus 2V
ü
Input
adjustment points: 0-255 between the upper and lower input setting
ü
Output
adjustment: 255 steps: +127, 0, -127
ü
That’s right!
256x255 Custom Map for 1 sensor
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Output
adjustment range: ±0.53V to ±5V
ü
Customised Adjustment
Resolution: 4.17mV to 39mV
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Circuit
response and accuracy: 10ms, within 10% of programmed value
ü
Circuit bypass
relay: input signal bypassed straight to output, until the supply voltage rises
by 0.5V from when power is first applied (ie alternator charging) or the supply
voltage exceeds 13.5V.
ü
Inbuilt View/Run
switch to set up while relay circuit not activated/ on the bench.
CUSTOMISATION
Your circuit can be set up with
any one of the following configurations;
·
±5V giving a 39mV adjustability
resolution
·
±4.05V giving a 31.9mV adjustability
resolution
·
±3V giving a 23.6mV adjustability
resolution
·
±2.48V giving a 19.5mV
adjustability resolution
·
±2V giving a 15.7mV adjustability
resolution
·
±1.3V giving a 10.2mV
adjustability resolution
·
±1V giving a 7.87mV adjustability
resolution
·
±0.69V giving a 5.49mV
adjustability resolution
·
±0.53V giving a 4.17mV
adjustability resolution
Note: Your kit will include all the materials needed in order
to change this at any time, however, recalibration and adjustments will need to
be made to the circuit.
CAUTION
As with any performance upgrades,
great care should be taken. Programming of the output mapping needs to be done
with care and often in conjunction with equipment such as an air/fuel ratio
meter to measure the effect of any changes. Adding in wildly varying values
could cause error codes issued by the ECU, or worse, engine
damage.
SOME OF THE SENSORS THAT YOU CAN
MAKE CHANGES TO:
(1) Changing Air/Fuel Mixtures:
as well as operating in closed loop mode, many engines also
operate in open loop mode under some conditions, during which the oxygen sensor
is not monitored. This usually occurs at or near full throttle when the mixture
is made richer to provide extra engine cooling.
Adjusting a sensor output, such as from a MAF, will
result in mixture changes under such conditions, with corresponding changes to
engine performance.
You will need to make before and after modification
measurements to ensure that the engine will not be running too lean or rich. If
the mixture is set too lean, the engine could run too hot and damage the valves
and pistons. Conversely, running an engine too rich can foul spark plugs,
damage catalytic converters and cause pollution.
(2) Reducing Turbo Boost Cuts:
another possible use of the unit is to restrict the MAF (or MAP)
sensor’s output under high loads to prevent turbo boost cut.
You will need a boost gauge to correctly carry out
this modification. It’s just a matter of using the unit to alter the MAF’s
signal so that the ECU no longer reduces the boost above certain engine loads.
By using the boost gauge, the load points where the boost is cut can be
determined and the output from the Sensor Modifier reduced to eliminate the
boost cut as required.
(3) Throttle Position Sensor (TPS):
electronic or drive-by-wire throttles (as distinct from
cable-operated throttles) can be modified to alter the way a vehicle responds
to throttle changes. This can radically change the way the car drives.
Using the unit to increase the throttle voltage at
low-throttle positions can make the engine appear to have better response,
especially from a standing start. Conversely, on more powerful vehicles,
reducing the throttle voltage at low-throttle positions can make the vehicle
more docile. This could be especially helpful when moving off in slippery
conditions, where wheel-spin could otherwise easily occur, for example, rock
crawling and extreme 4WDriving.
(4) Injector Changes: when
larger than standard injectors are fitted, the unit can be used to reduce the
air flow meter’s output so that the correct the air/ fuel mixture ratios are
maintained. Reducing the air flow meter’s output will thus allow the ECU to
operate within its normal range of input values, so that it can control the
injector duty cycle and maintain correct mixtures.
(5) Air flow Meter Changes: installing
a larger air flow meter results in lower air flow readings compared to the
original unit. The Sensor Modifier can be used to restore the signal to the
normal range of values expected by the ECU.
(6) Changing The Oxygen Sensor Signal:
when an oxygen sensor is working correctly, it will provide the
ECU with accurate air/fuel ratios. The ECU then modifies the injector duty
cycle to match the oxygen sensor’s signal and the signals from other sensors,
to give the desired air/fuel ratio.
It’s unlikely that a narrowband oxygen sensor signal
can be successfully modified, mainly because the sensor signal appears more
like a switch, as it produces a sharp change in voltage between lean and rich
air/fuel ratios about stoichiometric. The output of a wideband oxygen sensor is
also difficult to modify because the sensor’s expected output is determined
internally by the ECU.
Note that a faulty oxygen sensor will be flagged if
the injector and MAF (or MAP) sensor maps fail to correlate with the oxygen
sensor’s signal. This means that if you make changes to the output that go
beyond what is expected by the ECU, then an error code will be issued. This not
only applies to the oxygen sensor but to other sensors as well.
HOW IT WORKS
Basically, The Automotive Sensor Modifier takes a
voltage signal from a sensor, and, through a programmed microchipped circuit
board, a similar voltage can be produced at the output, but which is shifted up
or down in voltage level or changed in some other way. The programming is done
using four pushbuttons in conjunction with a small LCD panel nestled nicely in
a case. Once the programming is done, the lid is popped back on, and the unit
is secured away. A set and forget setup. The Modifier will do its job, when
it’s requested to power up, and the car will drive as you want it to.
A Digital Multimeter is used to observe the upper and
lower working voltages of the sensor through the RPM range and under different
driving conditions, to configure the setup and set the upper and lower
parameters of the Modifier Unit.
To explain the Modifier in a little more detail, the
incoming intercepted voltage from the sensor is divided into 256 different levels
called load sites, between the upper and lower working voltages. Think of these as rungs on a ladder. Your
upper set working voltage is the top rung, and your working lower set voltage
limit is the bottom rung. This voltage spread is divided up evenly in 256
rungs. Each of these load sites will be set by the voltage of the incoming
intercepted signal from the sensor. The higher the voltage, the higher up on
the ladder.
These load sites can be independently programmed to
alter the voltage output up or down 127 very fine resolution points, or not at
all (255 total), to the Control Module. Think of this as running another ladder
with the same upper and lower voltage parameters, parallel with the intercepted
voltage ladder, with wires attaching the corresponding rungs together, but now
you can shift each rung up, down or not at all to give the desired height the
Control Module wants to see, or to adjust to your own requirements.
The overall programming of all load sites is called a
map. So as the sensor output changes in value (256 sites), the output voltage
from the Automotive Sensor Modifier will produce a modified voltage that
follows the map. Mapping is only one-dimensional, altering the output voltage
according to a single input. This does have limitations compared to having two
inputs, where for example, mapping can be for voltage from a sensor against
engine RPM. But a single dimension interceptor is extremely effective in many
cases when altering the response from a sensor such as an engine MAP (Manifold
Absolute Pressure) or MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor.
In most cases, the RPM is not required for programming
of Air/ Fuel mixtures, or for getting rid of limp-home mode. The engine works
out how much air is coming in through the Mass Air Flow Sensor, and then adds
the right amount of fuel to have the right Air/ Fuel Ratio. This is checked
against the Oxygen Sensor to determine how well the Air/ Fuel mixture was burnt
and then can work out if it’s in specifications.
Having an RPM input as a dual input is just
electronically setting the “rungs on the ladder” as described before, instead
of the information coming from a sensor. In some cases, having the dual input
coming from the RPM source can be counter-productive, such as in the case of
Turbocharged vehicles that may be high revs and off boost, which will be basing
the Air/Fuel ratio off RPM, rather than how much air is actually coming in.
Many other units only have a 16x16 programming table, so over the whole rev
range, there’s only 16 programmable load sites (this Modifier has 256), with 16
points of adjustment (this Modifier has 255).
Some of the sensor outputs that can be modified
include the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor, oxygen sensor, accelerometers (or G
force sensors) used in stability control and traction control, and the Throttle
Position Sensor (TPS). For cars with an electronic (drive-by-wire) throttle
rather than a throttle cable, modification of the TPS signal can literally
transform the way the car drives.
For example, you can alter the TPS signal so that
there is less pedal travel required to provide more throttle. This will make
the car feel as though it has more power. This can be particularly useful if
you want to shorten the throttle stroke for faster, snappier response.
Conversely, you can also alter the TPS for serious 4WDriving, so that a lot of
pedal travel can be used for lower RPM to give much better control for
crawling, and then ramp the last part of the throttle pedal up for 100%
throttle.
The reason this unit/kit was put together was specifically
for the use of modifying the MAF sensor output of the 3-litre Nissan Direct
Injection and Common Rail diesel engines. When these engines have modifications
and operate under certain driving situations, the MAF will produce out-of-range
values. In response to these out-of-range values, the ECU sets the engine to
run in limp-home mode. The Voltage Interceptor tricks the ECU into avoiding
this.
This Automotive Sensor Modifier is the next in line of
an extremely popular version that was available at Jaycar in a kit form, with a
separate hand controller, but unfortunately both were discontinued in 2015.
Through research, there has been a few replacement kits and products, from
$250-$600 that have been and gone, leaving a hole in the market for a suitable
product to do what is required.
Designed by John Clarke, Electrical Engineer, this
completely new Automotive Sensor Modifier is much simpler to build and does not
require a separate hand controller. In addition, all controls and the LCD panel
are on a single PCB and made to fit in a contained case.
Setting up is simple once you get your head around it,
and it’s also easy to transfer the adjustments of one Automotive Sensor
Modifier to a second unit. This is most useful when building a second unit for an
identical vehicle.
DISCLAIMER
Gollan Services, as the kit
assembler and calibrator, takes no responsibility
in the incorrect programming of either; the kit that you assembled yourself
following these instructions, or the pre-assembled unit you have received.
Gollan Services does not condone
the use of a Multimeter or programming the Module whilst driving. Always have a
second person to record sensor output readings, and always adjust the Module
when stationary and the vehicle parked and secure. It is ultimately the end
user’s responsibility to use devices in accordance with the relevant State/
Territory/ Providence/ Country law.
Gollan
Services will not be liable for any fines incurred by the end user as a result
of this device changing sensor outputs to control modules.
As a pre-built kit, the circuit is
commissioned and calibrated with a stable and accurate laboratory power supply,
and with the use of a high-quality Digital Multimeter, so the unit will be set
up and ready to be programmed by you, the end user.
Using the Automotive Sensor
Modifier could result in engine damage if the programming adjustments are not
done carefully and methodically. You have been warned.