Hey Brad, how's the Kitcarlson FI coming, Any progress on the replacement FI syste Options

[Rog914]

It's been awhile and just wondering how the Kitcarlson FI system your testing is coming? It looks to be a good relacement for all are 914-4 engines. I know your very busy, just like to know how the testing is coming along.

Thanks for any info,

Ralph

74 2.0

[KitCarlson]

Brad,
Make sure the base timing is set first with the engine off. Crank at 8 degrees, trailing edge of interrupter just past "center" of sensor "A". The center of sensor has notches ~ 0.050" where the emitters and detectors are located. Also make sure you run with the dist cap "on" to block external light .

In the TR (timing RPM) the first value should be 8 for the eight degrees. The second value should be zero, this is where the base idle will be. Timing = 8 (base) +TR + TM (timing MAP). This is what the communication reports in DEG. If base timing is wrong, all timing will be messed up.

At sub idle speeds "LT" indicated locked timing, it is used for starting, During LT (start-up for example the dwell starts at the leading edge of interrupter and spark happens at tailing edge. The width of the interrupter is about 40 crank degrees. If you want to test while cranking with timing light remove plug wires connect spare plugs to a plate connected to ground, this provides load for the ignition yet keeps engine from starting.
An alternate method is to, detach the red coil wire to defeat ignition put a scope on the tach out put. Slowly turn the crank, you will see a 50mS blip at 8 deg BTDC and 8 deg BBDC if all is correct. If you do not have a scope, connect a small test light (< 1 amp) or white LED with series resistor to +12V the other lead to the Tach Out and you have a solid state timing light! Just look for the timing mark when the light blinks.

If your timing is too advanced you will find you will have to add more fuel as you bring the idle down. If timing is correct, set idle speed with air screw on throttle body.

I made the "save" to keep from saving all the time. EEproms can wear out after 100,000 writes, that is many setup changes, but I still worry about things wearing out. I detect when changes are made and suggest a "S" save is necessary before shutting if you want to retain changed setup data. Just look before shutting off for the "S". There are ways to make it automatic, however it adds hardware complexity and cost. The system has 3 levels of memory, FLASH for factory default setups, EEprom for EEprom setup retention, and RAM for normal operation. I sure you have noticed adjustments can be done real time without a miss or tick. You just need to make sure whatever adjustment you make is in an active cell (correct for temperature, MAP,rpm ...). All this is planned to be improved in the near future.

As you experiment with the tuning don't hesitate to ask questions. I can learn from your experinces and improve the user interface.

Kit