Basic Chip adjustments

[Bill USN-1]

I will go through some of the basic parameters that I normally adjust when setting up a chip for a specific engine.

Keep in mind that there are a lot of thing that "can" be changed but it does not mean the "should" be changed.
There are also more items available with different software used to make the adjustments.

Always try to start with a system from an engine combo similar to yours.

For this thread I will use the asdu bin file.
It is from a 1989 c/k Chevy with 5.7 automatic.

I will also be using tunercat- cats software to show items.

These are the primary tables we will be using. These are screen shots of the actual data from the asdu bin file.

 

[Bill USN-1]

Now there are several things I do to set up a chip before I even run it in a motor.
To me this is a better way then logging data with a stock chip and then adjusting it.
I'll show you why I say that.

Here's the same tables as above but after I have manually smoothed the spark and the fuel table.
Note there are no longer any sharp peaks and valleys in either table.

This is the main constants window. Here I make only a few adjustments.
1. I set the egr on temp to max. This prevents the ECM from enabling the egr
2. I set the knock retard enable temp to max.
3. I set the iac pk/n offset to 0. No real reason to increase/decrease idle speed when changing the gear lever.
4. I set the prom id number to corespond with which version of the current chip I am working on.

Switches-these are set based on the sensors used. Normally I turn off the egr, esc(knock), tcc(torque converter control), and vss

Spark table. As mentioned I manually smooth this and then make small adjustments to it based on the logged data. You can add additional timing at the engines main cruising rpm/load to help with mileage.

Main fuel table- I always try to start with a smooth fuel table. Some of the older factory bins were really bad.

Idle speed- I normally run the IH betwen 600-700 based on the motor and the owners preference.

 

[Bill USN-1]

Now that we have a baseline chip to use we need to log some data with it so we know what adjustments need to be made.

To log data you will need software. For the basic 88-91 GM 1227747 we use winaldl And the associated cable like the one shown at that link.
When you first open it make sure you set the configuration to the 1227747 ECM and your com port selection shows ok.

There are basically 2 files I use when adjusting the chip.
1 is the blm log. This is the block learn mode or a table log that shows how much adjustment the ECM had to make to the main fuel table to keep the engine at 14.7:1 afr(stoick). The optimum being 128 since each cell goes from 0-256. If the logged number is higher then 128 the ECM had to add fuel because it's lean. If it's lower then 128 the ECM had to remove fuel because it's too Rich.
Note I have wide avg selected in the lower right corner.

The other file I use is under the data logger button.
There are several boxes to check. Check all except the raw box.

 

[Bill USN-1]

Now we have the basics so all we need is data.

Well it just so happens that someone was nice enough to volunteer.

Here's his data.(attached below)

for the blm data you can simply open it as a text file. Something to note is the 100 map column will not be lined up in note pad so you must delete 2 spaces from that line for proper alignment. I take the space out on each side of the forward slash between rpm/map.

Here is the wide avg blm data that was logged.
There are numerous tables logged. I primarily use the wide avg, number of sample and the error corrections at the end.
You should have no less then 5 samples in a cell to be able to get a valid average of the data.

There are several ways to make the fuel table adjustment.
The manual way is to add the #1 and #2 fuel tables together cell for cell, then you find the error correction by dividing 128 into the logged number in a specific cell. So if it was 108 you divide that by 128 and get .84375. Now you multiply the total of the 2 table for that cell by the .84375. Once you have that number you then need to subtract the table 2 constant back out and the final number is what you put back into the cell in table one.

Any questions?

Ok...remember me telling you there were error correction tables at the end of the blm data??

Well.......

Take a look.

Makes the math thing a little easier doesn't it!!

But you know what would be even easier is if someone would just write a little program that would take the original bin file and could apply the error corrections and automatically write a new bin file with the corrections already made for you!!!

Guess what...they did.

It called aldltobin. I'll include it in the attachemnts for you.

You must read the txt file with it. It has to be ran in a command window and you actually have to know where your files are and how to type it on a command prompt line!!!

So lets use it.

Since you have to manually type the command in I always put a copy of all the files in the same directory and I rename the blm and the bin file to a very short name.

So you follow the instructions in the txt file and type in your command on the command line. Note that the command prompt is in your start menu under accessories.

Once it's all typed in you just hit return(enter) and let it do it's thing.

For every cell with logged data the program will make the correction...
Keep in mind that if the data is not valid like if it only had 1 sample...a correction will still be made...that's where you come in on the final manual smoothing!!

 

[Bill USN-1]

Here's what our new fuel table looks like after the adjustments were made.

Not quite as smooth now is it!!

Here is where you take the blm log that shows the number of hits for each cell and you start to compare it to the new table.
Then you manually adjust and areas outside of a normal adjustment or no adjustment. Until you get the basic fuel table smooth again and ready for the next log session.

And here is what it looks like after the manual smoothing of all areas not adjusted in the blm log.