Newb FM probs

[Josh R.]

First of all let me just start buy saying that I bought an FM from one of the members here in February and I am completely new to...well almost all of this stuff. I took the FM out this past weekend to a time trial for some seat time and it went pretty well. A few issues came up so any help or guidance is appreciated. There's some kind of issue with the Motec dash quiting working at some point. I wasn't able to pinpoint when/why it quit working. Do you know of a good resource (either a person, website, documentation) to start to try to figure this out? Two other issues which might be related: There was a good bit of oil coming out of the air cleaner requiring clean-up after every session. It wasn't enough that required adding any oil. 2nd part of this issue is that the oil filler tube came completely out at one point, essentially ending my day but luckily with no catastrophic events. However, if it was loose that could be part of the oil mess problem. So what is the filler tube I need and where do I get it? I didn't see it on the Moses website. Or do I just need to do something to get it pressed back in? And where do I begin with oil in and coming out of the air cleaner? My instinct is to take the carb off and investigate but figured I should ask before I start poking around. Thanks again for any and all help

-Josh

[porsche.steve]

Josh, Can't help with the Motec stuff as I'm still analog. Oil fill tube is a Mazda part, check online or junk yard. Mine is was "glued" in when it was refreshed. Looks like epoxy was used. All of the FM's seem to weep oil from the air cleaner. Does yours still have the OMP?, once I removed mine and used Moses' OMP block off kit I see far less. Remember to add 1oz per gallon of a good premx oil. I use Indemitsu.

[David Ferguson]

What does "MoTeC Dash quit working" mean? Does it power on? Did it stop logging data? Are you missing an RPM signal? Are the switches/buttons that control the display not working?

You may contact me directly if you wish, email is ferg@veracitydata.com

[VSeaber]

What Steve said is correct but to put another way:

-They all spew fuel out of the air filter. There is a resonance at the higher RPMs that bounces the air/fuel mixture off the walls of the air cleaner assembly and out. If you are running premix you definately will see a lot of buildup.

-It is common to see the oil filler come loose. Can be a pain in the butt sometimes. I'd suggest deforming it a bit so it fits tightly and then adding a good amount of black silicone to the (very cleaned) surfaces.

-David is a great resource on the MoTeC issue.

[starfmguy]

I agree with Victor. & it sounds like you need to find a replacement oil filler tube? I would contact Daryl Drummond, our engine builder, or good luck with a junk yard? (& just FYI - one of my earlier engines had a "loose" oil filler tube, it actually made it a lot easier to take the air filter on and off when you could remove that first, as it really gets in the way. You just have to be careful not to drop anything down the hole - lol - & take care so it doesn't come loose & fly off, but I guess you know about that...) Good luck & welcome !!!

[Josh R.]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll start with the easy one issue. I looked at various online parts stores but none of the filler tubes look the same as what I have i.e. shorter, bends, bolt-on. I wasn't sure if maybe I needed to be looking for one from a car that I'm not thinking of. I'll contact Drummond and see what his recommendation is. I'm thinking about using some "Hondabond" (high temp silicone gasket maker, use it on Honda heads and transmissions) to hold it in there.

Now that you mentioned it, I do remember reading somewhere about the spewing at the air cleaner. That's...unfortunate, but okay. What's the approved method and schedule for cleaning the air cleaner?

As for the Motec issue what's happening is that it appears to be working, RPM, EGT, OT, OP when it's powered on. At some point while lapping everything goes to zeroes. I watched the video looking for maybe if it was when I hit the rev limiter or maybe a jolt like a curb or something but it seems pretty random. In the one video from early in the day (when I was going easier) it never stopped working. I looked over the connections and grounds kind of quickly and didn't find anything glaring, but I'm going to take a much more methodical approach this weekend. There are a lot of connections not being used (like wheel speed, for one) which is a bit concerning. I've been considering going analog just for safety's sake so I can at least monitor what's going on with the car.

[David Ferguson]

As for the Motec issue what's happening is that it appears to be working, RPM, EGT, OT, OP when it's powered on. At some point while lapping everything goes to zeroes. I watched the video looking for maybe if it was when I hit the rev limiter or maybe a jolt like a curb or something but it seems pretty random. In the one video from early in the day (when I was going easier) it never stopped working. I looked over the connections and grounds kind of quickly and didn't find anything glaring, but I'm going to take a much more methodical approach this weekend. There are a lot of connections not being used (like wheel speed, for one) which is a bit concerning. I've been considering going analog just for safety's sake so I can at least monitor what's going on with the car.

So if the dash remains powered on, but most of the sensor channels are dropping to zero, that would indicate that you may have a short or intermittent connection with the 5V power supply or the sensor ground (0V in MoTeC documentation). Does the dash continue to log data while the sensors are zero, or does the data just stop and immediately restart? If you wish to send me a logged data file (the .ld file), email to ferg@veracitydata.com, I will be happy to take a look.

I would attempt to duplicate this in your shop, with the dash on, wiggle wires on the harness, look for places the harness may be pinched between the frame and bodywork, keeping an eye on the sensor values that have dropped to zero.

[Josh R.]

So if the dash remains powered on, but most of the sensor channels are dropping to zero, that would indicate that you may have a short or intermittent connection with the 5V power supply or the sensor ground (0V in MoTeC documentation). Does the dash continue to log data while the sensors are zero, or does the data just stop and immediately restart? If you wish to send me a logged data file (the .ld file), email to ferg@veracitydata.com, I will be happy to take a look.

I would attempt to duplicate this in your shop, with the dash on, wiggle wires on the harness, look for places the harness may be pinched between the frame and bodywork, keeping an eye on the sensor values that have dropped to zero.

Ah yes, I like this idea. Good info.

As for data logging with the Motec, I'm completely in the dark on this one. Basically I need a Motec 101 course. I'm honestly not sure what I have and what I need. If I figure out how to pull the log relatively soon I'll pass it along.

THANK YOU!

[David Ferguson]

First, let's determine which dash you have on your car. When you first turn it on, what does it display on the bottom line. Something like ADL v3.2u, ADL v4.5, SDL3 v1.8, etc.

Depending on what you have will determine the necessary software (available for free download from motec.com), and possible hardware cables necessary to modify the dash configuration or download the logged data.

[Josh R.]

Motec ADL 3.20U

[David Ferguson]

OK, so that is an original MoTeC ADL (Advanced Dash Logger). It uses the the "ADL Dash Manager v3.20U2" software that you can download from here:

https://www.motec.com.au/software/latestreleases/

You will need a MoTeC USB-to-CAN adapter (MoTeC UTC) in order to communicate with that dash. Here it is on our webstore, but you may be able to find a used one (or you may have gotten one with the car).

https://shop.veracitydata.com/produc...-adapter-cable

The UTC plugs into a 5-pin circular connector that is about an inch in diameter, then uses a standard USB cable to connect to your computer.