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Settings
Figure 41: Dwell Settings
Note: Both the running and cranking dwell times are nominal values, assumed to be at a constant
voltage (Usually 12v). Actual dwell time used will depend on the current system voltage with higher
voltages having lower dwell times and vice versa. See section below on voltage correction
• Cranking dwell - The nominal dwell time that will be used during cranking. Cranking is defined
as being whenever the RPM is above 0, but below the ‘Cranking RPM’ values in the Cranking
dialog
• Use dwell map - By default this is set to “No” and speeduino will use fixed running dwell value
(With a voltage correction applied). If different dwell values are required across engine RP-
M/load range, this can be set to Yes and separate Dwell table defines running dwell value.
• Running dwell - The nominal dwell that will be used when the engine is running normally.
• Spark duration - The approximate time the coil takes to fully discharge. This time is used in cal-
culating a reduced dwell when in time limited conditions, such as mentioned above on single
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coil, high cylinder count engines. The limited dwell time is calculated by taking the maximum
revolution time at the given RPM, dividing by the number of spark outputs required per revolu-
tion and subtracting the spark duration. Outside of those conditions, this setting is not used.
• Over dwell protection - The over dwell protection system runs independently of the standard
ignition schedules and monitors the time that each ignition output has been active. If the ac-
tive time exceeds this amount, the output will be ended to prevent damage to coils. This value
should typically be at least 3ms higher than the nominal dwell times configured above in order
to allow overhead for voltage correction.
Voltage correction
As the system voltage rises and falls, the dwell time needs to reduce and increase respectively. This
allows for a consistent spark strength without damaging the coil/s during high system voltage condi-
tions. It is recommended that 12v be used as the ‘nominal’ voltage, meaning that the Dwell % figure
at 12v should be 100%.
The correction curve in the base tune file should be suitable for most coils / igniters, but can be altered
if required.
Figure 42: Dwell voltage correction curve
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Dwell map
If “Use dwell map” is set to “Yes” at dwell settings, this map will be available to allow for variable
Running dwell based on ignition load and RPM values. The voltage correction will be applied on top
of these map values.
Figure 43: Dwell values map
Temperature based timing changes
Changes in Inlet Air Temperature (IAT), in particular significant increases whilst under boost, can re-
quire ignition timing to be pulled. The IAT retard settings allow for this timing adjustment
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Example
Exact settings will be engine dependant, but pulling of ignition timing beyond 100*C is a common
scenario.
Priming pulsewidth
Priming Pulsewidth - Upon power up, Speeduino will fire all injectors for this period of time. This
pulse can be used to clear out air that may have entered the fuel lines or help the engine start easier
by providing engine with fuel before it’s cranked over.
Usually priming pulsewidth is kept short but especially with low vaporization fuels (e85 etc.) longer
priming pulsewidths are required for easy starting of the engine. Regardless of what fuel is used, keep
this value as low as possible to avoid flooding the engine. Start tuning from low priming pulsewidths
and try longer pulsewidths untill the engine starts easiest. Usually lower engine temps require longer
priming pulsewidths.
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Figure 44: Example priming pulse
Overview
Cranking conditions during starting typically require multiple adjustments to both fuel and ignition
control in order to provide smooth and fast starts. The settings on this dialog dictate when Speeduino
will consider the engine to be in a cranking/starting condition and what adjustments should be ap-
plied during this time.
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Settings
Figure 45: Cranking Settings
• Cranking RPM (Max) - This sets the threshold for whether Speeduino will set its status to be
cranking or running. Any RPM above 0 and below this value will be considered cranking and all
cranking related adjustments will be applied. It’s generally best to set this to be around 100rpm
higher than your typical cranking speed to account for spikes and to provide a smoother transi-
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tion to normal idle
• Flood Clear level - Flood clear is used to assist in removing excess fuel that has entered the
cylinder/s. Whilst flood clear is active, all fuel and ignition events will be stopped and the engine
can be cranked for a few seconds without risk of starting or further flooding. To trigger flood
clear, the RPM must be below the above Cranking RPM setting and the TPS must be above the
threshold of this setting.
• Fuel pump prime duration - When Speeduino is first powered on, the fuel pump output will
be engaged for this many seconds in oder to pressurise the fuel system. If the engine is started
in this time, the pump will simply keep running, otherwise it will be turned off after this period
of time. Note that fuel pump priming only occurs at system power on time. If you have USB
connected, Speeduino remains powered on even without a 12v signal.
• Injectors priming delay - Upon power up, Speeduino will fire all injectors for short period of
time. (See Priming Pulsewidth) This setting sets the delay to priming after fuel pump is on and
is used to wait for fuel line to get pressurized correctly.
• Cranking enrichment taper time - Taper time from cranking enrichment to ASE or run (after
engine has started).
• Cranking enrichment - Whilst cranking is active (See Cranking RPM above), the fuel load will be
increased by this amount. Note that as a standard correction value, this cranking enrichment
is in addition to any other adjustments that are currently active. This includes the warmup
enrichment etc.
• Cranking advance Angle - Whilst cranking the ignition advance from the spark table is ignored
and engine uses this ignition advance value instead.
• Cranking Bypass - This option is specifically for ignition systems that have a hardware cranking
ignition option. These systems were used throughout the 80s and early 90s and allowed ignition
timing to be fixed and controlled by the ignition system itself. Once the engine is determined to
be running (via the cranking RPM setting) the output is raised HIGH to enable ECU timing control.
With this option you can specify an output pin that will be set HIGH when the engine is running.
The pin number specified is the ARDUINO pin number.
• Fix cranking timing with trigger - Some (usually low resolution) trigger patterns are designed
to align one of their pulses with the desired cranking advance. This is typically 5 or 10 degrees
BTDC. When enabled, Speeduino will wait for this timed input pulse before firing the relevant
ignition output (A dwell safety factor is still applied incase this pulse is not detected). This option
is only made available when a trigger pattern that supports this function is selected (See Trigger
Setup)
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Overview
Afterstart Enrichment (ASE) is a separate fuel modifier that operates over and above the WUE for a
fixed period of time after the engine first starts. Typically this is a few seconds long period where a
small enrichment can help the engine transition smoothly from cranking to idling.
Settings
Figure 46: After Start Enrichment dialog
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• ASE - Enrichment % - This curve sets the amount of enrichment during ASE period in percent-
age based on coolant temp. Typically 50% enrichment is required with cold engine and 5% with
warm engine.
• Transition time to disable - After the ASE duration has passed, the enrichment amount will
taper to zero smoothly to avoid sudden changes to AFR. This sets the time for how long the
taper to zero will be. Typically few seconds.
• ASE - Duration - This curve sets the how long the ASE is applied in seconds. Typically 1-2 seconds
is enough when engine is hot and 20 seconds when engine is cold.
Warmup curve
The Warm Up Enrichment (WUE) curve represents the additional fuel amount to be added whilst the
engine is coming up to temperature (Based on the coolant sensor). The final value in this curve should
represent the normal running temperature of the engine and have a value of 100% (Representing no
modification of the fuel from that point onwards).
Figure 47: Example Warmup Enrichment Curve
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Idle Control
Overview
The idle control outputs are used to alter the state of an idle control valve to increase the amount of
air entering the engine at idle. These come in multiple types (Described below) and each is configured
and tuned differently.
Open and closed loop idle control is available for both PWM and Stepper based idle valves.
Compatible Idle Valve Types
There are currently 3 modes of idle control available, using on/off, PWM duty cycle, or a stepper step
count, enabled below a set coolant temperature. These modes cover the most common types of idle
mechanisms in use.
On/Off (aka Fast Idle)
This is a simple digital on/off “switch” output by Speeduino that triggers at a selected temperature. It
is intended to control an on/off fast idle valve as found in many older OEM setups, or an open/closed
solenoid-type valve that is chosen for the purpose. In addition to OEM idle valves, examples of valves
popular for re-purposing as on/off idle valves are larger vacuum, breather, or purge valves, and even
fuel valves. Idle speed adjustment is generally set only once, with an in-line adjustable or fixed restric-
tor, pinch clamp, or other simple flow-control method.
Note: On/Off valves can be used in many ways to increase or decrease air flow for various idle purposes
in-addition to warm-up. Examples are use as dashpot valves to reduce deceleration stalling, idle speed
recovery for maintaining engine speed with accessory loads such as air conditioning, or air addition for
specific purposes such as turbo anti-lag air control. See Generic Outputs for control information.
PWM
While similar in construction to many solenoid on/off valves; PWM idle valves are designed to vary the
opening, and therefore flow through the valve, by PWM valve positioning.
These valves are opened and closed by varying the duty cycle of signal sent to them.
Note: As a fail-safe, some PWM idle valves default to a partially-open state when they are discon-
nected or are receiving 0% duty cycle. They will close then re-open with increasing PWM DC%,
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so be sure to research or test your valve type for proper operation.
PWM Settings Settings in TunerStudio include selecting PWM idle control, temperature and DC set-
tings for warmup, and PWM DC during cranking under the following selections:
Figure 48: Example PWM idle settings
The ‘Idle - PWM Duty Cycle’ and ‘Idle - PWM Cranking Duty Cycle’ options will only be available when
‘PWM Open Loop’ is selected in the Idle Control options
Under Idle control type, PWM is selected:
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Figure 49: Example PWM idle settings
The temperature-versus-DC is selected under the Idle - PWM Duty Cycle selection. Note the relation-
ship between temperature and PWM DC can be altered by simply moving the blue dots in the curve,
or by selecting the table for manual entry as shown here:
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Figure 50: Example PWM idle curve
Some engines prefer additional airflow during cranking for a reliable start. This air can be automat-
ically added only during cranking by using the Idle - PWM Cranking Duty Cycle settings. Once the
engine starts and rpm rise above the set maximum cranking rpm, the idle control switches to the pre-
vious warmup settings. Note the relationship between coolant temperature during cranking and PWM
DC can be altered by simply moving the blue dots in the curve, or by selecting the table for manual
entry as shown here:
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Figure 51: Example PWM cranking curve
NOTE: Every engine, valve type and tune is different. Suitable settings must be determined by the
tuner. Do not infer any tuning settings from the images in this wiki. They are only examples.
2 wire vs 3 wire valves Both 2 and 3 wire PWM idle controllers are supported. In general, the 3
wire models will provide a smoother response than the 2 wire ones, but the difference is not always
significant. For 3 wire valves, 2 of the Aux outputs will be required.
Stepper Motors
Stepper motor idle controls are very common on GM and other OEM setups. These motors typically
have 4 wires (bi-polar). They must be driven through power transistors or a driver module, such as
the DRV8825 stepper motor driver optional to the v0.4 board. These driver modules can be purchased
inexpensively from a variety of vendors on sites such as eBay, Amazon, etc.
Most stepper idle valves function by turning a threaded rod in and out of the valve body in a series of
partial-turn steps, increasing or decreasing airflow around the plunger (on end of valve below), and
into the engine. The idle airflow bypasses the primary throttle body:
Example of a generic DRV8825 driver module on a v0.4 board:
Note the board is mounted at a standoff for air circulation and cooling:
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The DRV8825 motor outputs are labeled as A2-A1-B1-B2, and the wiring connection examples are to
this labeling. Check your schematics for the output connections that route to these DRV8825 out-
puts:
Examples of wiring to the DRV8825 driver:
The GM “screw-in” style used 1982 to 2003 on many models:
Stepper Driver Current Adjustment The DRV8825 stepper driver module includes a potentiometer
(adjustable resistor) indicated by the yellow arrow in the image below. The potentiometer is used for
setting the driver’s maximum current output limit. Because Speeduino uses full-step operation, the
current limit is not critical to protect the module, but should be adjusted to the module’s maximum
value for best operation of most automotive stepper IACs.
You will need a multi-meter or volt-meter to make the adjustment as outlined here. In order to set the
potentiometer to maximum current before first use, ensure power to the module is OFF, then gently
turn the potentiometer dial clockwise to the internal limit. Do not force the adjustment beyond the
internal stop. Power-up Speeduino with 12V, and use the meter to test the voltage between the center
of the potentiometer and any 12V ground point. Note the voltage reading. Power-down and repeat the
test, this time turning the potentiometer counter/anti-clockwise gently to the internal limit. The test
direction that resulted in higher voltage is the correct setting for the module.
Note: Original Pololu modules are typically adjusted clockwise for maximum voltage. However, clone
modules may be either clockwise or counter-clockwise, which makes this testing necessary.
The module’s rated continuous current is up to 1.5A. While the module can supply a peak of 2.2A of
current; in full-step mode and with the potentiometer adjusted to this position, the driver is limited
to approximately 70% of full current, or approximately 1.5A.
Stepper Settings Settings in TunerStudio include selecting stepper idle control, temperature and
step settings for warmup, and open steps during cranking under the following selections:
Under Idle control type, stepper is selected. The basic stepper operational settings are also located in
this window:
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Figure 52: Stepper idle settings
• Step time: This is how long (in ms) that the motor requires to complete each step. If this is set
too low, the idle motor will not have completed the step before the ECU tries to make the next
one, which leads to the motor ‘twitching’ and not functioning correctly. If this is set longer than
needed the system will take longer to make each adjustment and the overall idle response will
be slower. Typical values are usually 2ms - 4ms. The common GM stepper motor requires 3ms.
• Cool time: Some motors require a slight pause in between steps in order to function correctly.
This is know as the ‘cooling’ time. Typically this value will be less than 4ms at the most, with
many motors operating normally with no cooling period (0ms)
• Home Steps: Stepper motors must be ‘homed’ before they can be used so the that ECU knows
their current position. You should set this to the maximum number of steps that the motor can
move.
• Minimum steps: In order to allow a smooth idle that isn’t continually fluctuating, the ECU will
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