INTRODUCTION The MoTeC file interpreter has been developed to allow users to make the most of the data acquisition facility supplied with MoTeC Engine Control Units (ECU). Depending on the ECU you have you will be able to log data in a number of ways. Data can be recorded directly onto a personal computer via a computer interface device, or via radio telemetry, or on the M4 and M48 ECU's the data can be stored on the ECU's internal memory for downloading later on. Regardless of the method of acquiring the data you still need to be able to understand the information recorded. The MoTeC Interpreter allows you to view this data in a graphical format in order to identify trends, establish high and low readings, compare different configurations, etc. Files created by all M4 and M48 ECU's from Version 6.0 are supported by this program. MAIN SCREEN This lists the menu options available to the user. To select an option press the up/down arrow to select then press enter. To switch between colour and mono displays press F9. To select the correct emulation for your printer press F8. To exit the program press the 'Alt-X' keys together. SELECT FILE A list of files will be displayed based upon the current "File Type" selection. To load the file you require to view press the up/down arrow or page up/down to highlight your selection then press enter. F1 Edit Edit the file details Press 1 to edit the Comment. Press 2 to edit the Car. Press 3 to edit the Venue. F2 File Type Alter the "File Type" to be displayed A menu will appear listing the cars and circuits for the log files in the current directory. Files that have just been logged and have not had their file details edited, as shown above will appear as unknown in both the car and venue columns. To alter the current car or track selection arrow up/down or left/ right to highlight your selection, then press enter. This facility is very useful if you are only interested in analysing data pertaining to a certain car or circuit. F3 Copy To copy a file The file currently highlighted will be copied. You will be asked for a name for the new file and this must contain a maximum of eight letters or numbers and use no other characters. F4 Delete To delete a file You will be asked twice whether you wish to delete the file currently highlighted. F5 Path To change the file path If you wish to interpret files located in another directory or drive press this key then type in the drive and directory details e.g. B: or C:\MOTEC\M4. F6 Cyl Map Choose the files for Individual Cylinder Mapping As well as being able to create a mixture map of overall engine mixtures you can log a series of tests where the Lambda sensors are placed in the exhaust primaries of each cylinder to identify its correct fueling requirements. In the M4 there is a single Lambda channel. In the menu created by pressing F6 you can choose the cylinder number for the Lambda channel by pressing the F1 and F2 keys respectively. The file is chosen to be included in the Map if you press Enter. To exit the 'Select File' screen press Esc. MIXTURE MAPS - ENGINE OR CYLINDER Select "Mixture Maps" from the main menu. You may choose 'Engine Map' for overall mixtures or 'Cylinder Map' for individual cylinder mixtures from this Sub-Menu. If you choose 'Engine Map' and have not already selected a file the 'Select File' menu will appear. These maps are a graphical representation of the oxygen content of the exhaust gas as measured by MoTeC's wideband Lambda. A "Lambda" of 1.00 is referred to as stoichiometric or the theoretical optimum air/fuel ratio of approximately 14:1 (roughly 14kg of air is required to completely combust 1kg of petrol or gasoline). In the real world figures of about 90% of stoichimetric are required for maximum performance and up to 110% for optimum economy. i.e. 0.90 to 1.10 Lambda. The vertical axis shows the Lambda measurement and the horizontal axis shows engine rpm. The single points on the graph are the individual Lambda readings, whilst the lines are the average of all readings for that engine speed. ENGINE MAP In some applications there may be a delay between a change in mixture strength and the sensor reading this. This may be caused by the flow rate of the exhaust, the position of the sensor, etc. To account for this a delay factor can be applied to the mixture map by using the `Alt-F2' combination keypress and entering the delay value in seconds, typically 0.3 to 0.5 seconds. By using the `Alt-F3' combination keypress a `hard copy' of the graph can be printed out for use as a permanent record. This facility is compatible with dot matrix, ink jet & laser printers. If your printer can be configured for different printer emulations set yours to Epson emulation. The throttle position (or MAP if turbocharged) to be displayed is selected by pressing the corresponding Function Key (F4 for fourth throttle/MAP site, etc). After your selections are made press enter and the "Mixture Map" will redraw itself. To exit the 'Engine Map' screen press Esc. CYLINDER MAP This allows individual cylinder mixture maps to be overlaid on top of each other to analyse individual fueling requirements. The MoTeC M4 ECU has the facility to trim or fully map each cylinder, therefore a method of determining the correction needed is required. For details on selecting log files for this see the 'Select File', F6 section of these instructions. To exit the 'Cylinder Map' screen press Esc. RPM MAP This function provides a 3D histogram of engine rpm from the current file. The graph is based on Throttle Position or Manifold Pressure as appropriate. This is extremely useful in determining where the engine is spending most of its time and therefore identifying where the development effort should be targeted, as well as identifying maximum revs and the duration of time spent there. To exit the 'RPM Map' screen press Esc. GRAPH This function provides a line graph of up to four logged parameters for the entire session or any part thereof. Additionally the complete set of logged values are displayed for the point of time corresponding with the current graph position. This function is useful in determining trends, peaks, troughs, anomalies and the relationships between a number of variables over a period of time. Left/right arrows The current cursor position is shown by a vertical line with cross hairs at the current parameter values. To move the cursor press the left/right arrow keys, to move quickly use the "Ctrl- left/right" arrow key. The values displayed in the right hand column relate to the current cursor position. Up/down arrows Provides a zoom in/zoom out facility which effectively halves/ doubles the total time displayed F1 From/to Manually select the start and finish points for the graph to draw. When pressed a window will appear prompting you to input the start time. Enter this, in seconds, then press enter and repeat for the finish time. The graph will redraw itself for the time span specified. F2 Expand Expand the graph to show all data for the parameters selected. F3 Print A `hard copy' of the graph can be printed out for use as a permanent record. This facility is compatible with dot matrix ink jet and Laser printers. If your printer can be configured for different printer emulations set yours to Epson emulation. F4 Overlay Selects the start position and length for the graph overlay. With this function (speed, gear, throttle and brake) data from two sessions can be overlaid on top of each other to determine differences. It is normally easiest to select an obvious point on the speed graph (the fastest or slowest point on the track for example). Select the graphs as follows: - Two graph portions may be selected for comparison. - The graph portions may be from the same or different files. - To define one of the graph portions select the desired file then position the graph cursor to the start of the portion then press F4. - This portion may then be defined as either graph portion 1 or 2 by pressing either the 1 or 2 keys. - The current cursor position will be used as the start time. - The length of the graph portion may then be set and the speed channel entered. (normally channel 1 is used for ground speed and the length would be a bit over one lap). - Repeat this process by selecting the next portion and entering it as per the other graph. - Select 'Speed Overlay' from the main menu to view the overlaid portions. - When viewing the Speed Overlay use the left and right arrow keys to allign the portions accurately. F5 Select Select the parameters to graph. A table of parameters will appear, press the up/down arrow to indicate the parameter required then press enter to select the size of the graph display. The following combinations are possible. 1. 1 Full Size Graph. 2. 2 Half Size Graphs. 3. 1 Half Size and 2 Quarter Size or 1 Third Size Graphs. 4. 3 Third Size Graphs. 5. 4 Quarter Size Graphs. F6 Trim Trims the graph permanently before or after the current cursor position. Very useful for eliminating the space consuming data accumulated during warm-up or cooldown. F7 Mixture Automatically selects a graph showing mixture data. F8 Temp Automatically selects a graph showing temperature data. F9 Speed Automatically selects a graph showing speed data. E Errors Toggle diagnostic errors on/off. If diagnostic errors are present in the logged data file then any occurance will be shown by a bar at the top of the graph. By moving the cursor any position where errors are shown the name of the error will be displayed at the top of the screen. Enter Redraw Redraws the graph at its current scaling To exit the 'Graph' screen press Esc. SPEED GRAPH OVERLAY This facility allows the user to compare two sets of data by overlaying them on top of each other. Its primary function is to compare speeds to determine whether changes that may have been made have had an effect on vehicle performance and where they occurred. The data to be analysed is selected from within the "Graph" facility and can be from the same or different log files. The selection method is shown in the graph section of these notes. Three basic forms of overlay are provided, Speed v Time, Speed v Distance and Time v Distance to enable the data to be viewed in the most appropriate perspective. Subsidiary overlays for Gear, Throttle Position and Brake are also provided. The Gear overlay is derived by dividing engine rpm by road speed and as such does not represent a numeric gear. If you find that this overlay is not horizontal after a gear change then you may have a degree of clutch slip. In the Distance overlays the F1 key will turn on or off a variance graph which shows where during a lap time was lost or made up. The left/right arrow keys will move the first graph so as to enable the user to line up the two graphs correctly. To exit the 'Speed Overlay' screen press Esc. STATISTICS Shows a range of information relating to the current log file. The time spent over a set RPM and Engine Temperature threshold will be displayed. These threshold values can be changed by pressing F1 and F2 respectively. GENERAL For any further information on this software contact your MoTeC dealer who will be pleased to assist you. HELP On all screens a context sensitive help function can be accessed by pressing F11. This will provide tips and/or instructions relating to the current screen.