G4+ Atom running dual ignition trigger

[Jesse Garton]

Hi Im looking at getting an Atom. I have a MK2 Ford Escort with a Mazda FE DOHC enigne.

Im going to be running a Ford EDIS set up which has a 36-1 trigger wheel, VR sensor, module and coils. My engine has a Cam angle sensor in the head factory.

Would i be able to run both of these in tandem on the Atom in order to get the best resolution possible for the ignition and fuelling tuning?

Cheers

[sardengineering]

Good day,

The Link Atom is capable of using two trigger inputs, one for engine speed and the other for cylinder reference. Usually the engine speed will be taken from a trigger mounted on the crank shaft while the cylinder reference is taken from a trigger mounted on the cam shaft. Please note that the Atom is capable of accepting both Hall effect/Optical or variable resistance/reluctor type signals on either of the trigger inputs. Also, the Storm, Fury and Extreme all have internal (on-board) trigger scope functionality. The Atom doesn't have this feature but I thought it was worth mentioning in passing.

It's possible to operate an engine with a crank trigger only, both the injection and spark will not be available in sequential mode meaning you will have to batch fire the injectors and used wasted spark for the ignition. With the cylinder reference signal added as a second trigger the ECU will be able to deduce or calculate which cylinder will be on the power stroke next. So when using both the engine speed and cylinder reference you can operate the engine in sequential injection and direct fire spark.

Some OEM Cam Angle Sensor configurations making allowances for both the engine speed and cylinder reference to be derived with a single wheel mounted on the cam. In your described instance, I am assuming that the 36-1 wheel will be mounted on the crank shaft and the cylinder reference will be derived from the OEM. However, if there are provisions for engine speed in the OEM CAS then you will have to omit using the wires carrying that signal and only use the cylinder reference. Just to ensure that there isn't a miscommunication transpiring, you may use an oscilloscope to validate which signals the Link Atom will be using and how the inputs on the Link Atom should be configured. If you don't have easy access to an oscilloscope then your nearest Link dealer should be able to assist you or an auto electronics technician.

Of course, should you have any follow up questions concerning the capabilities of the available Link ECUs or any concerns about the work which will be undertaken with the install please feel free to send through a follow up post and either myself or the online Link community will be able to answer you.

P.S. On a side note, you mentioned the 36-1 trigger in conjunction with the ignition coils and modules. Please note that the ignition will be controlled by the Atom separately on the ignition channels which there are four available. Should you have spare ignition channels available for what ever reason then these would be made available as auxiliary outputs operating within a specific frequency. This is just as after thought in closing.

[Adamw]

Jesse,

I'm pretty sure the G4/G4+ cant use the EDIS system at all.  It can however still work with the 36-1 wheel but the sensor would need to be wired directly to the ECU rather than through the EDIS.  The cam sensor will only be usable if it has a single tooth per cam rotation.  You could use some other 2 channel ignitor such as a Bosch "200" to make use of the EDIS coils or alternatively you could change to 2 or 4 coils with built in ignitors.

[Simon]

Hi Jesse

Adam is on the money the crank cam and coils can all be used but you are best to replace the EDIS with a standard 2 channel ignitor.

This way the ECU can control all the dwell and timing advance under all conditions.