This write up is gonna be for your basic CA18DET into a 240sx and utilizing the FORD EDIS-4 ignition system and Megasquirt II.

DO NOT HALF *** any of this, I REPEAT DO NOT HALF ***.

Before we begin lets compile a list of what is needed, what options their are, prices, etc etc. I will indicate what is optional.

You have your choice of Megasquirt I and Megasquirt II as well as V2.2 and V3.0.

I suggest going with Megasquirt II V3.0, yes its a little more expensive like $80 more but will make life a little easier and it allows the use of Low Impedance injectors without the need of a Flyback board that is required with V2.2 boards. Also V3.0 has the flyback board built in so thus why V3.0 is the choice to go.

One of the places I recommend getting all your Megasquirt kits, parts, etc etc. is http://www.DIYAUTOTUNE.com Jerry is probably one of the biggest help and dealers in the megasquirt community. His kits are properly labeled and more organized than the other dealers.

Also as a note I will not take responsibility for your actions, so if you mess up your board, engine, car due to unexperienced, human error well tough but I'll still try and help you out.

Another note if you dont know how to solder parts onto a board, go to radioshack get yourself a practice kit.

Now that, thats out of the way onto to the write up.

Some Parts can be found at junkyards and pocketed ( I do not recommend stealing of any type)

Parts Needed:

Megasquirt II - $250
Stimulator - $40
Wiring Harness Supplies - $130
(Includes wires, crimps, tape, solder, fuses, fuse block etc etc)
Megaview -$110 (optional)
GM Open Element IAT - $21 (optional stock sensors can be used, but megasquirt comes set for GM sensors)
GM Closed Element Coolant Temp Sensor - $FREE (optional stock sensors can be used, but megasquirt comes set for GM sensors)

http://www.DIYAUTOTUNE.com sells wiring harness kits in which all you have to do is splice the sensors, fuses, relays and your good to go.

They even sell assembled ecu's so if building it scares you they do have you taken care of for a price.

This is the Megasquirt Kit.

This is the Stimulator

FORD EDIS-4 List:

FORD EDIS-4 Module - $Free at local junkyard.
FORD EDIS Tower CoilPack $23 at Junkyard
FORD EDIS VR Sensor - $Free at local Junkyard
FORD Tower Spark Plug Wires $Free at local junkyard
FORD Trigger wheel - $Free at local junkyard
FORD Radio 25uF Suppression - Comes with Coilpack harness.
FORD EDIS CoilPack bracket - Comes with coilpack (needed to ground whole coilpack)

Thats all for the EDIS parts. Make sure when getting the ford parts you get the harness with atleast 6" of wires.

The FORD EDIS-4 parts can be found on 1991-1995 FORD Escorts.
The module is located on the driver strut, coilpack is a few inches away you cant miss it. The VR sensor and Crank Trigger are on the passenger side of the motor. The Crank Trigger is pressed on but with a big flat head screwdriver and hammer should pop it off with several hits. Everything is inside the engine bay.

Here is a pic of everything.

Now that the parts list is complete onto Assembly of Megasquirt II.

I'll be straight forward and say when you get the kit, your gonna use all of it except several pieces. When you look at the kit you'll see lots of holes etc etc. On the board each spot has letters and numbers.
For example if it says R13 on the package that means that piece goes to R13 on the board. Also the letters give you a idea what piece is that for example R stands for Resistor, D stands for Diode, C stands for Capacitor etc etc.

NOTE: Some parts are actually polar sensitive for example some Diodes have a line on it, if you look at the board it also has a line where the diodes go match those lines up. Same goes with the IC sockets theres usually a notch on it just match it on the board.

Here is a picture of the V3.0 Board components.

Here is a picture of the components you must not install.

NOTE: D1 and D2 must not have a Diode but you have to jumper them. You can use wire, sniped of lead. Both have to be jumpered. Leave C30 and C12 empty nothing goes their.

Quote, originally posted by Megasquirts site »

On the V3.0 main board: use the 'Hall sensor circuit' (step #50 in the assembly guide), jumper OPTIN to TACHSELECT on the bottom side of the PCB, near the DB37 connector, opposite the heat sink, jumper TSEL to OPTOUT on the bottom side of the PCB, near the center. jumper JS10 to IGN (this uses the processor port for the SAW signal directly), jumper XG1 to XG2 on the bottom side of the PCB, near the 40 pin socket,

Once that is done, Megasquirt will be ready for EDIS. Now you may install the the MSII chip which is a daughter board.

Do not power up megasquirt yet via the stimulator. Make sure the MSII daughter board has a jumper on it. Most of the time the dealers already put it on for you but they dont install the code for you.

Before powering up Megasquirt you need to download a program to burn the code to megasquirt. The program can be found here.

http://www.not2fast.com/megasq...p.exe

After downloading and installing the program your not done yet, you need to download the code its found here.

http://www.megasquirt.info/ms2/code.htm

Their are 3 files. You only need 1 which it says at the moment.

Quote, originally posted by megasquirt »

DB37 pin #36 to the SAW pin (#3) on the ignition module DB37 pin #24 to the PIP pin (#1) on the ignition module

Dont worry about Pin 7 on the EDIS module you can delete it, the ground is inside the shielded wire for the wires that go to the VR sensor and Megasquirt.

Some of you guys might ask what about TACH, good news take pin 2 from the EDIS module and just wire it to your Cluster harness, wire it to the Yellow/Red wire which is your tach wire and thats it. I did it and its acurate, I checked 2 rpm sources from Megaview and Megatune all were dead on.

I decided to use GM sensors as megasquirt comes set to use GM sensors. If done properly you should only need to drill and tap one sensor which is the GM Coolant Sensor to replace the stock sensor. The stock sensor is M12x1.75, the GM sensor is 3/8 NPT. Everything else is set to go. Also for the Intake Air Temp sensor I purchased a Open Element IAT sensor. Open is suppose to be used on Turbo/Super Charged motors as the reading are faster and more responsive.

Fuses.

I added a Fuse block instead of tapping into the stock fuses, this made for a clean setup and seperate from the car. The fuse block is only for Megasquirt so any trouble shooting is cake. They can be had at local parts store for about $3. Fuses not including.

Here is a pic of my harness, along with how I set it up.

That Should give you a idea of how I set things up.

Now to wire the fuel pump its extremly easy. When coverting to Megasqiurt do not throw away your KA harness, you might need several plugs. If you look were your stock fuse block is near the stock battery. Look for a brown plug which has 8 prongs. Its E10 in the 1991-1994 240sx FSM in the EL section at the end in the wiring diagram section. Once you locate that brown plug look for the wire that is Black/Pink take the megasquirt fuel pump wire which is 37 on Megasquirt and wire it to the Black/Pink wire and thats it, fuel pump is done.

Now your main relay, I cheated and just spliced into the ignition switch harness. I spliced into the Black/White wire, but after the plug it becomes Black/Red. So you can splice into that, you can take the power wire from megasquirt and the module make it into one and splice into the Black/Red wire. You will need to eventually add a fuse and relay between those wires.

Thats it for Wiring. Next comes Hardware.

Hardware:

I REPEAT DO NOT HALF *** especially this part.

The trigger wheel which is a 36-1 (36 minus 1) tooth wheel. So its 35 teeth with a gap.

One of the things you need to decide is where and how your going to mount the trigger. I mounted mine on front of the crank, since I'm not using power steering, I had a machine shop mill down the front of the crank and had it pressed on. You want the GAP to line up with marks on the crank pulley which is the 2nd mark for 0* TDC. This is important because with EDIS-4 since its a 4 Cylinder you need to set it 90* ahead which is exactly 9 teeth ahead of the gap. Makes sense to use 90* because in a 4 cylinder each 90* represents 1 cylinder. This link can provide more info on EDIS if my write up isnt as clear or if your a little confused.
http://www.megasquirt.info/ms2/EDIS.htm

Here is a pic of my Trigger mounted.

After the Trigger is properly mounted. Its time for the VR sensor and bracket. I'm not gonna lie to you, its up to you to figure this one out. Just remember it has to be perfectly centered on the 9th tooth, and it has to be
0.030" - 0.060" (.75mm - 1.5mm) away from the trigger wheel. If you look where the alternator and crank pulley area you'll notice 2 bolts. I used those 2 bolts for my bracket. Came out nice.

I'm sure their are other ways to set it up, I believe Not_a_Sr will be working on a megasquirt setup and could probably offer services for VR brackets and modified pulley's. So dont be scared the CA community will be getting more support.

Now its time to move onto ignition such as spark plug wires, and coilpack. Well if you saw my previous picture I have my Coilpack mounted inside the cabin and made a hole for the spark plug wires to go through and onto the motor.

DO NOT CRANK YET.

After all that is done pretty much the rest is buttoning up everything and cleanining up. After your all set and everything is good, go ahead and turn the key to Accessories check everything is good, then check On see if everything is good, check for fuel pump priming.

After you got all Greens go ahead and connect the computer to megasquirt you need to do a TPS calibration. Turn the key to when megasquirt gets power but doesnt crank, you may disconnect fuel pump harness just in case.

Open up Megatune click Tools>Calibrate TPS

where it says Closed just click "Get Current" Now go WOT and click "get Current" I believe it should be like 1500 somewhere in the 1000. After that is done go ahead and crank it it should fire up, if not try going back and checking mistakes. Dont forget to reconnect Fuel Pump if disconnected.

If it runs congratulations your done, only thing left is tuning.

I will post videos Sunday of the car starting and idling along with Megaview.

Hope this helps some of you guys. If some of you guys are interested I'm offering megasquirt services.

Quote, originally posted by gabossie »

Ah, the days of watching MTV on mute after school with my pants around my ankles... being 16 was fantastic.

Does that make any sense?

Haha, glad I hammered that into your head enough.

Quote, originally posted by boost_boy »

But after test driving the car with it's owner, phyiscs/smysics it twirls that 60-1 just fine and it is where it will stay.

can you use any other method for timing?
what if you want to keep PS and AC? how would you do it? just use a skinnier belt for the PS?

Tyrannix sorry for such a late response I've been occupied so much recently.

To answer your question their are several other methods for timing.
go to http://www.megasquirt.info they list some examples.

As for keeping A/C and P/S. Of course you can keep it the only reason I did my crank pulley the way it is, is because I didn't have A/C or P/s to begin with and wasnt planning on keeping it if I did. If you want to keep A/C and P/S it just makes a little harder on where to position your trigger wheel.

You can go to http://www.triggerwheels.com and they sell various custom wheels that work for megasquirt and other standalone systems. Take some measurements and you could probably mount the trigger wheel behind the crank pulley as they sell various thin versions that work. What you could also do is have the wheel welded on but you must understand the wheel has to be perfecty centered as it can cause fluctuations in reading.

As a update I am modifying the file to work with Nissan sensors so GM sensors wont be necessary well atleast for the coolant.

I am ordering my new turbo Friday so hopefully in a few weeks she'll be bumpin.

I forgot to mention I recently spoke to several CA 240sx owners around the world who megasquirted their CA's. Seems like some of them went a different route. Some are using the Stock CA system such as CAS, ignitor, coil pack with amazing success.

Here is a thread that one of them created he's doing 200whp.

http://msefi.com/viewtopic.php?t=16835

Fred
http://www.engineswaptech.com

Fred

What was the reason you went the Ford EDIS route instead of this?

Nissan really sucks at making electronics, wait I'm sorry they get them sourced by Hitachi and Mitsubishi.

Aparently all the threads you see about broken CAS, and all other stuff just adds to the fact. Also the FORD system is more durable, reliable, proven, and is able to do over 10,800 rpms without any problems or hiccups.

Plus its ridiculously easy to implement on most motors and no worries about it falling off, breaking a tooth like the CAS.

i got the MS2 v3 from oversteer.

now, i wont be using that trigger wheel in any case (like the one in the writeup)

so, there isnt really room for a wheel behind the crank pulley, as i want to keep PS and AC

so i started buying up parts that id need for a hall effect setup (the SDS hall parts)

but the MS forum people are saying that you can only use a hall sensor if you have a distributer (because apparently the EDIS is the only option for distributerless spark)

imthinking there must be a way to use the stock igniter and coils, or use them with the ford box or a MSD unit if nothing else

...doing more research, any suggestions?

CJ

a new bracket could be made to move either the PS forward, or teh AC rearward. then a larger belt to fit both

that being the case, then stock ac compressors could be used if the belt fits (havnt checked)

that would leave one of the crank slots open for a tooth wheel

but i got in contact with Jerry at DIYautotune, and i have some options to check out.

CJ

S30: "The Rusty Mistress" stripped bare and getting rebuilt from the ground up,
Z31: 315 whp 416 lbft, placed 7th at the GRM $2009 challenge
Z32:sold

V2.2 and V3.0 are just the Printed Circuit Board versions.

If you utilize the MSI processor than it becomes MSI if you utilize the MSII daughter board than it makes it MSII.

MSII has 2 versions actually. Their is V1 which is the first one that didn't support CAN. This is distiniguished by the board being Green.

V2.2 is the most recent which came out with PCB V3.0. This is found as the Blue board which supports CAN.

Also MSII goes as far back as PCB V1.01

Heres some info on it.

http://www.megasquirt.info/ms2/install.htm

im dropping off a crank pulley and tooth wheel today, to have the wheel shaved thinner a bit, and try to fit it in that spot between teh AC and PS pullies, in the extra space there.

at most a 1 rib thinner belt on both, but im thinking its the best solution for what i want to do.....

the hall sensor will get tucked away and wait for either when MS will support it, or if i try out an SDS

CJ

he cut down teh front lip on teh PS pulley, and took down the ac pulley and the dead space between them. i can use a full PS belt, and either a 2 or 3 rib for AC.

so he cut the pulley to make space, then bored the tooth wheel out a bit, and heated it with a torch so it would expand. then set it on the pulley and let it contract, its on there tighter than a press fit

im bringing it to the engine machine shop to get balanced now

and after looking a bit more, a 4mm tooth wheel doesnt look like it would have a problem fitting behind the crank pulley. youd just need to cut the lower timing belt cover a bit. but it wont interfere with the timing mark pointer or the timing belt. the only thing i can see is the lip of the pulley interfering with the vr sensor possibly

CJ

ill post a pic up when i get pics of everything else up (screen cracked on my camera, its a pain to get a decent pic now.. all fruity colors swirling around... and its a cheapo camera with no viewfinder.... my last camera ended up going thru the wash )

just noticed this. ill post up a pic of the wheel he did tomorrow (too late, getting ready for bed now)
it looks really good, and with a 2-3 rib belt for teh AC, i will have full accessories (full size belt for PS too

i have mostly been just readin up on teh megasquirt. i want to buy a new kit and build the whole thing up myself, i plan on doing a whole new harness with relay board to start, and use the squirt that i got here. then once everythings running, ill squirt my ae86 (with the stock 4age) for fun

but right now i have the new flywheel, so the machine shop can finish balancing the crank, and pulley (with the flywheel)

then i can install the new crank (i wrecked the old one, flywheel bolts were too long and went past bottoming out), and if everything runs smoothly, i should be starting up not long after that

ill update here as i make progress, but cars are taking a side right now, as i play catch up on college classes

ill take a better pic when i get it back

CJ

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the way he did it was use a lathe to cut down the front PS lip, and some of the AC pulley part, then bored out the tooth wheel just a tad. then he heated the wheel to expand it, and pressed it down in place. once the ring cools and contracts, its *on* there better than just a press fit, and no need to add material like welding

if you didnt want AC< you could move it even farther back

I had another idea too, where the wheel could be added to the back of the pulley, behind the ALT belt.

i havnt measured, but im 80% sure it will fit, and all you would need is to mod the lower timing belt cover a bit. if successful, no visible diference from teh front, and the bracket could be much shorter, reducing the possibility of vibration interference on the VR sensor

CJ


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If only you knew what you were talking about Like R34 GTR said the stock ignition is batch fire, same as SR's. Megasquirt will support Sequential Injection and Ignition within a few months when the router board comes out. And if you go MSI you CAN use your CAS, several people have done it on the CA and SR. Also Sequential Injection really only benefits in lower RPM's not to mention people with Batch fire injection get similar gas mileage as Sequential injection users.

Modified by The_Chosen_One at 10:07 AM 4/3/2007

When engine temp is low, engine starts or engine load is heavy, fuel is injected into all four cylinders simultaneously twice a cycle under the stock ECU. I believe this is what you are refering to.

Modified by mothius at 4:03 PM 4/3/2007

Modified by mothius at 4:04 PM 4/3/2007

Sigh go do some more research, you obviously didn't do enough of it. Theirs a reason why I said MSI and not MSII. MSI with MS n Extra you can use the stock cas, all you do is just use the 180* signal wire. Theirs no fancy gimmicks. And if you want to use the COP setup, you either add 3 more VB921 ignitors or wire up the stock ignitor, its not hard. Several people have done it on the CA and SR using the STOCK ignition. It doesnt change the system, MS is designed to be universal. Go to http://www.msefi.com theirs several threads on people doing it.

And no at startup or low engine temps does it shoot fuel into all four cylinder simultaneously, thats not how batch fire works. Batch fire on the CA is like this. Cylinders 1 and 4 get a squirt of fuel, depending on the cycle the fuel gets burnt up before its able to be used, thus why its also called Waste Spark. Same goes for 2 and 3. The fuel is only shot when the signal is received on each bank of injectors.

As for linking you to the forum, is for you to search for the guys on their that already did it to their CA's and SR's.

As for fuel you should of mentioned that your refering to the Nissan system. As for service manual it has been wrong before.

As for pissing off, your not. It's just annoying when your posting wrong info and actually trying to pass it off as being factual even after your corrected.