Setup Questions

gizmodo · Post by **gizmodo** » Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:50 pm

I have everything hooked up, but I just have a few questions about final setup.
1. Has anyone setup RaceAnalyzer to work with an MSD 8913 Tach Adapter? I can't seem to get the settings correct.
2. Would it be possible to post a list of reasonable frequencies to log at? Why wouldn't you just set all of them to log at the highest rate?

gizmodo · Post by **gizmodo** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:54 pm

I still can't get this to work correctly. I have tried everything. One thing that I'm wondering is the tach adapter output is 12 volts. Could this be the source of my problems?

If anyone has any ideas I would really appreciate it, this is the last thing I need to get the RCP completely setup and working.

Post by **brentp** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:44 pm

We're not familiar with the MSD tach adapter. You want to be careful that it's not outputting a high voltage signal; RaceCapture/Pro inputs are protected to 40v only. A clean 12v square wave should be fine.

Some questions:

What kind of signal does the MSD adapter emit is it exactly? Are you able to look at it with a 'scope? If you have a link to the MSD adapter that would help.
Do you get any kind of RPM reading in RaceCapture/Pro?
What kind of ignition system do you have? e.g. what engine / ECU setup is it?

On a related topic for integrating the RPM signal directly to a coil pack flyback signal we've developed this:

https://github.com/autosportlabs/CoilX

Sorry for all the questions- just want to clarify your setup so we can help further.

gizmodo · Post by **gizmodo** » Thu Aug 22, 2013 5:12 pm

The tach adapter is putting out a 12 volt signal. I know this works because I also have it hooked up to my Zeitronix datalogger, and the RPM matches the OBDII datalogger that I have. For the Zeitronix setting, it just asks how many cylinders the engine has and it magically figures out how to interpret the data.

I don't have a scope to use with it, but I might be able to track one down.

Here a link to the product page: http://www.msdignition.com/Products/Acc ... tions.aspx

The readings I get are mostly 0. I also see things like 12000000 and everything in between. I know the car has a 32 tooth crank trigger wheel, and when I use that 12000000 changes, but it still isn't accurate. I've also tried changing the clock speed and that hasn't helped either.

This is in a 2005 Dodge Neon SRT-4 with and NGC3 PCM and a 2.4l turbo four banger. The ignition is a waste spark setup.

gizmodo · Post by **gizmodo** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:25 pm

Any thoughts on this? The ice racing season is coming up quickly and I'd like to get this figured out. I've tried a ton of different settings, but none seem to work.

Post by **brentp** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 2:22 pm

We would have to see the signal coming from the MSD device; if it's emulating the high voltage pulse from a traditional ignition coil then it would not work well with the RCP. A signal trace would be helpful, yes.

Does your ECU have a separate tach signal? How many coils does your engine have? We may be able to set you up with a CoilX adapter for testing; this would connect directly up to one of the coil pack primary wires.

gizmodo · Post by **gizmodo** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:10 pm

No tach signal coming from the PCM. Even getting a clean signal from the coil is difficult, which is why most people use a tach adapter for this car.

The stock configuration has a single coilpack, but I have replaced that with a coil on plug setup. Either way it is a waste spark ignition.

How can I go about getting a signal trace?

Is the problem that the 8913 is outputting a 12v signal and the RCP is expecting 5v?

gizmodo · Post by **gizmodo** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:27 pm

This is fixed now. I got a CoilX, installed and it everything works perfectly now. The CoilX is a really easy install, especially after Brent showed me what I was doing wrong with the wiring.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone having problems getting an RPM signal.