tbase Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Not sure, how to figure out as Ethanol sensor keep show error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Burnett Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Do you have an ethanol sensor connected? If no, its normal and not an issue. If yes, how is it wired and configured? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbase Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Yeah, its connected to Digital , 14V from ECU and GND. Cable are connected well. DI 5 has set up as Ethanol Sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Have a look at the frequency on the DI. Normal flex output is 50-150Hz, the error is only shown if frequency is below 40 or above 160. Above 160 usually means contaminated fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 17, 2021 Report Share Posted April 17, 2021 Also showing a continental sensor that isn't reading properly. DI is in place, so is 14v power. Does it go to sensor ground or splice to a typical chassis ground? Can't recall how mine is hooked up, going to check on it today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted April 17, 2021 Report Share Posted April 17, 2021 Either ground would be fine, the signal is digital so ground offset doesnt matter. What frequency is the DI showing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 Not sure yet, haven't had the sensor working and the car running at the same time. Will update when I do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 Doesnt need to be running, just ign on with fuel in the sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 Ok, so car is running and ethanol sensor is a Continental. I have pullup resistor on DI7 turned ON per instructions and it shows nothing. For testing I turned the pullup sensor OFF and now I'm getting a reading. I've attached a map. Car is going in for tuning next week so there are some loose ends on it, but you can see what's going on and let me know if I made an error or not. Thanks E30 M3 Race 4.18.21.llg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 It is reporting 27-50Hz, a normal reading is 50-150Hz. Anything below 40 or higher than 160Hz is considered a faulty sensor or contaminated fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 18, 2021 Report Share Posted April 18, 2021 I had 112 leaded fuel in the car at the time. Can you speak to the pullup resistor being switched on or off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted April 19, 2021 Report Share Posted April 19, 2021 As far as I have seen all the contenintal ones and the small VDO one that we sell normally need the pull-up turned on. The Siemens ones sometimes need a stronger external pull-up fitted. I havent come across one where the pull-up needed to be off. There are many no name brands and clones though so I can only speak from my experience. If you are getting a frequency with the pull-up off then it suggests thats what it wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 19, 2021 Report Share Posted April 19, 2021 Understood. I bought it from a reputable dealer so I believe it's likely a real continental part. In any event I will leave the pullup off as that's how I'm getting my reading and take it from there. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 I have the ethanol sensor set up to an ecu ground in the A loom, lower right corner pin (not sure of number) does it need to be on a sensor ground, would that matter? I had it on unshielded cable and it was flashing a temperature error for my tuner so we couldn’t run on e85 today. Going to rewire it with shielded cable and change loom routing and see if I find an improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 Any ground is fine, it is a digital signal so ground offset won’t influence it. Shielding is not needed, it is only 150Hz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 Here is a diagram I just found online to show how mine is plumbed in, exactly like the link below I pasted. So in theory wiring is alright, installed position is alright. I'd prefer to test the sensor somehow to make sure it's the sensor before I start buying new parts. What's next? http://www.ecmtuning.com/wiki/_media/ethanolsensor:article_flex3.png Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 If its got clean uncontaminated fuel in it then its output frequency should be between 50 and 150Hz. If it is not outputing that then either the fuel is contaminated or the sensor is faulty. The ecu cant influence the frequency it outputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 I do understand what you're saying. What I'm asking is if there is a way to test the sensor with a multimeter or similar to see if it reads properly? Or, will the fuel I'm running through it just cause an error cause it's leaded until I switch it to something unleaded or ethanol based? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 Most decent multimeters will have a frequency setting. But it is only going to show the same as the ecu already shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 to update my post. Something caught my eye and I quickly knew exactly that it was user error. I switched the ground and signal wires on the harness connectors when installing and that's why it hasn't worked the whole time. Keep it simple right? Should have looked there first. Car is running 112 fuel right now and showing 49.9Hz which makes sense as the fuel has no ethanol. I'm going to dip it in some e85 while connected and test that for accuracy before I go back to the dyno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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