Megasquirt - Any hardware knowitalls?

[AndyL]

Trying to wrap my brain around doing an upgrade to megasquirt... Problem is - for what I need - documentation sucks... And the retailers selling them - don't seem to be able to help much...

So - do we have any Megasquirt hardware geeks here? :D

'95 chev C3500 - 454 tbi & 4l80e; here's where the fun starts - with dual fuel - propane. Would like to pretty much just install the MS2 system into the factory ECU box - since it's pretty much plug n play for the GM TBI...

So I know I need the MS2 base system, The MS2-Extra board to handle the dual fuel, the relay board for the dual fuel; I believe I need the MSGPIO for the 4L80E control?

Is this sounding about right? Or am I missing something?

[e31]

There is a bit of a steep learning curve even if you are electrically inclined. Also haven't used Megashift yet, so I can't comment on that.

It looks like you aren't doing anything special, just a computer swap. Correct me if i'm wrong, but you will be using the GM HEI, MAP, & temp sensors? Shouldn't be too much hassle then until you get to tuning the dual fuel setup & possibly the transmission.

What you need is a v3 board& MS2 cpu & MSgpio. It sounds as if you are wiring into your existing harness, therefore you don't need the relay board. MS2-Extra is not a hardware mod, but just an optimized/tweaked version of the software. I don't believe you need it as the normal MS2 software can handle secondary fuel injection (like nitrous/methanol).

As far as the retailers not being of any help, it's DIY for a reason (perfect for me, as I don't like other people working on my cars). My project is considerably different than yours, but feel free to bounce any ideas.

[AndyL]

Yeah I've got a MS1 here (was for a vdub project, but since canned) and I understand the basics - but with the dual fuel LPG - it's into grey territory, the MS forums don't really address the 'standard' mixer systems - just the funky wet injector style systems.

Yeah - keeping the factory harness/tbi setup (for now - might make some tweaks later); but since the LPG is a totally stand alone system - I get the feeling I'm going to need the relay board to handle the switching (shut off fuel pump / power LPG solenoid or vice versa - saw a comment on the manual about needing it to handle the switch itself). Right now LPG has it's own special black box that handles the fuel/ignition - which isn't working right (and by the two disconnected ones under the hood - pretty sure we're talking repeated failures) part of the reason I'm leaning towards the MS - that and to see if we can't get some slightly better mileage outta this ol bitch :)