Modular Engine Control System (MECS)

Project

There are two purposes of this project:

• Develop an open source platform for designing electronic engine control systems
• Demonstrate the platform by designing an electronic control system for a small gasoline powered engine

Demonstration Objectives:

• Modify a small gasoline engine to run on electronic control
• Write a VHDL library
• Construct all components and wiring in a durable fashion

System

Ignition system components implemented in demonstration engine

Methods

• The MECS design method is an iterative process. The following steps apply to both physical components and VHDL control logic.
  • Define the required functionality of a module
  • Build a prototype module which accomplishes the required functionality
  • Test the functionality of the prototype, make changes as necessary
  • Build permanent implementation of module
• The MECS design method was used to create a electronic engine control system using the following major components :
  • Harbor Freight 79cc predator engine
  • DC CDI ignition and Hall effect sensor
  • DE10 Lite FPGA and VHDL control logic library

Conclusion

• The demonstration system allows the user to run the engine, as well as view and modify the ignition timing in real time
• The MECS design method was proven an effective tool for electronic engine control system design
• Future work:

  Implementing a full EFI systemusing the MECS design method would require more time