Adaptronic Install Instructions for an NB
 

I wanted to document the installation of the Adaptronic in a NB Miata so that all don't have to go through the learing curve that I did.

There are a couple of things that you will need to install the Adaptronic in addition to the unit. You will need:

GM open sensor IAT
Wire to mount MAP and IAT
Soldering Iron
Two DB9 cables
DB9 to USB interface if your computer doesn't have a DB9 connection

One of the DB9 cables will be used for tuning. The other will be hacked to make the serial interface between the Adaptronic and the WB. Here is what the cable and USB interface looks like.
Attachment 207344

IAT Installation:

Use a GM open sensor IAT. Mount it in the IC charge pipes after the intercooler as close to the throttle body as possible but try to kep it out of the engine bay to prevent heat soak. As my charge pipe routing goes through the fenders, I was able to mount it in front of the splash shield in front of the passenger front tire.

Cut off the factory IAT that pushes into the rubber grommet on the stock air box and wire the two leads to the GM IAT. I soldered them instead of crimp connectors. Polarity doesn't matter.

The IAT sensor has to be calibrated for every 5*C. I was fortunate to be doing my install when it was -15*C so I wired the IAT in, put it in a small sealed carboard box with a meat thermometer inserted in the box and was able to let the WARI program "learn" the cold temps. I then used a heat gun through a flap in the box to heat the air to 80*C, close up the box and use the WARI program to "learn" the temp every 5*C as the temps fell. I did this over two days to make sure that I didn't have any errors. You can do the same or copy my calibration table from my ECU file if you don't want to do your own.

Next you need to install your MAP sensor. There are three wires - a 5V+, ground and signal. Here is what the pinout looks like.
Attachment 207345

Use the 5V+ and ground from the TPS and the signal wire from the stock MAF. Cut off the MAF connector. Attach the signal wire (Orange) from the MAP to the green/black wire. Seal off the other two wires as they won't be used.
Attachment 207346
I folded the IAT lead back over itself on the harness, tucked away the unused wires and zip tied it to the main harness.
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Power and ground come from the TPS. Strip back the insulation on the light green/red and solder on a wire for the lead to the +5V on the MAP(yellow). Strip back the insulation on the black/red and solder on the lead for the MAP ground (brown). Seal up and insulate the two wires so that they can't touch each other.
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I mounted the MAP behind the windshield washer reservoir using one of the bolts to mount it. You have to use a longer bolt. This allows it to be secure, plus being close to the vacuum line that I tapped into.
Attachment 207350
I used the brake booster line for my vacuum line. I replaced the line that goes from the rear port on the manifold with a 5/16" line that was left over from my water line install for the turbo. I added a 5/16" tee and a short section of 5/16" line, and then used a 5/16" to 1/4" reducer to get down to the 1/4" line needed to go into the MAP.
Attachment 207351

That's it under the hood.

Next you have to mount your WB according to manufacturer's instructions. I used an AEM UEGO. To connect to the Adaptronic you need a DB9 cable, female end only. Cut the end off the cable with another 12-18" of cable with it. Strip back the wires. You need to find out which colors are used on Pin 5 and Pin 2. Use a voltmeter to check continuity. Don't trust the color codes. My AEM manual said that they usually are red and green but mine were yellow and brown.

The AEM manual was a little unclear as to which pin was which. It is listed as "wire view" so it is opposite of the diagram when looking at the end of the female connector. Take a look at this picture.
Attachment 207352
(Now that I reread this post, it seems that the pin numbers are molded in place on the connector as shown in the photo.) Pin 5 is the upper LEFT pin. Pin 2 is the 4th pin from the left in the top row. Probe the two pin holes to find which wire is Pin 2. That is your signal wire. Solder the BLUE wire from the AEM UEGO harness to this wire. Pin 5 is your ground wire. Solder a length of wire to this wire sufficiently long to reach a convenient chassis ground point. Ground this wire to the chassis. Mount the rest of the wideband according to the AEM directions.

Next, figure out how you are going to mount the ECU. I found that there is a large flat bar under the dash to the right of the steering column that is perfect. Plenty of room and close enough that the Adaptronic harness will reach the stock ECU. I made a bracket to mount it. I used 1" square tubing to allow the bolts to be countersunk. The bolt through the tubing that mounts to the bracket under the dash was welded into the tubing so that it couldn't rotate. It made installing into the factory hole in the bracket a breeze.
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After you are sure that everything fits properly, install the cables. Pull the three cables from the stock ECU. Plug in the three cables from the Adaptronic into the stock ECU and the stock ECU cables into the Adaptronic. Plug in the female DB9 cable that carries the WB into the Adaptronic. Plug in the other cable that you use for tuning into the Adaptronic. Mount the Adaptronic under the dash. Here it is installed in the car.

Attachment 207355
Ziptie all of the wires out of the way, along with the WB wires. If you mount it in the location detailed above, the tuning cable runs straight down along the transmission tunnel and doesn't get in your way while driving the car while tuning.

With the laptop hooked up, Open the WARI program and turn on the ignition. When it says ECU connected load the base map. It will take a minute or two. When it shows the tuning table all is loaded. The car should start on the base map, assuming you are on stock injectors.

Nice writeup Stein!!

Thanks Stein!

good stuff man! wish this was there earlier;)

Many thanks Stein :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

I suggestion: can you follow it up by giving us your first impressions about the Adaptronic in every day driving. Such as:

- How is your idle?
- Have you faced any cranking issues?
- How is the autotune feature?

I have driven it 50 miles a day to and from work and around town. for the last three days Idle was good but I had a tip in problem Someone on the Adaptronic.uk forum told me how to fix it. He posts here too, but I forget his name. I just finished it up. Tip in problem has been solved.

Autotune is seamless and completely awesome. I rapid tuned for two days and slow converge tuned the last two days. Hitting target AFR nicely now. It's idiot proof.

It keeps getting better each day. As soon as the first person needs a stock injector base map, I'll post it. The longer I wait the better the base tune will be. The map is scaleable by percentage, so if one has bigger injectors they can load the base map and scale it up. They will have to idle tune by hand as I did. but the scaled map will get them going and it will autotune the rest.

I'm still running on the supplied base map for spark. When I feel the fuel map is tuned, I'll let it auto tune the spark, but I haven't noticed any problems with the base ignition map so far with a hundred full boosted runs.

I can't believe that it is this easy, but it really is.

SaawEEEEETTTTT!

Thanks for the comments. Really informative! :bigtu:

BTW, I think what has made it so easy is the thorough job you did setting up all the sensors and wiring.

I can't stress that part enough; well done! :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

I will have some 600ccs from Deatschworks in hand on Monday to give a good comparison on scaling in between. So we should have everyone covered on basemaps.

Nice writeup. Are you CEL/OBD code free?

CEL free, but still have a couple of codes. No issue for me as I don't have inspections so I haven't bothered researching it any further.

Nice write-up. Was calibration of the MAP sensor required? What size injectors are you going to.

I did not calibrate, as the two settings in the manual yielded a 106 kPa reading at ignition on which was very close to current atmospheric pressure so I left well enough alone.

Looking for 460's or 550's.

This will also be a nice info to have. Thanks.

You know I was wondering about how I was going to create an accurate vacuum/pressure source. Good to hear that works well enough. What altitude are you at?

1200 msl

OK so you are reading about 9 kPa high, or about 1.3 psi high, right?

Correct. Generally it reads 106-108 kPa depending on barometric conditions.

Is this the sensor and bung needed? Can the alum. bung be welded to steel pipe or shoud I use the stainless bung?

Attachment 207330

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Here is the one I bought:

MegaSquirtPNP IAT Sensor Kit - Steel Bung DIYAutoTune.com

It is open element, came with enough wire to make the connection and the pins, plus a steel bung to weld into the charge pipe.

If you have aluminum pipes, you will need this one to get the aluminum bung to weld in:

MegaSquirtPNP IAT Sensor Kit - Aluminum Bung DIYAutoTune.com

It's cheaper than ordering parts separately.

Steel bung in steel pipes, aluminum bung in aluminum pipes.

A couple of questions Stein:

1) Are you currently running the stock 99 injectors?

2) You don't use COP; right? I assume you're running wasted spark.

3) Do you have any plans to run injectors in sequential mode at any time?

Thanks - didn't see the kits before.

Depending on your IC you can drill and tap a 3/8" NPT thread directly into the tank and screw the GM IAT sensor in there (on the exit side) and skip the bung entirely. You can see pictures of mine in the DIY IC link in my sig.

1) Correct
2) Correct on both
3) Yes, they are ran sequentially.

Any known benefit to running the AEM WB via the serial output versus the 0-5v output that I normally use with megasquirt? (Not sure if you know this offhand.)

From the installation manual:

The serial connection is preferable to an analogue connection because the ECU can determine if the sensor output is valid by other information in the serial packet (for example, sensor temperature), and default to the analogue input (or indicate an invalid reading) if no information is available. With an analogue input, there is not usually a way for the ECU to determine if the sensor is giving valid information or not.

Because of this I wired serially.

That is reason enough for me to take my dash apart to run the wire. Thanks for the leg work holmes.

it was enough for me to buy the upgrade for my super old techedge WBO2 to the proper serial comm scheme.

Injectors are always ran in full sequential with the Adaptronic Rafa. Thats how they are wired from factory.

Thanks.

I'd like to reiterate my thanks to Stein for an outstanding writeup. I hope he won't mind assisting me and others when it comes time for us to make our own installs.

I'm probably the last person you want to ask, but what I DO know I will gladly share. feel free to pm me any time:)

Don't say that... You guys are trailblazers. Anything the rest of us can learn from your collective experiences will only make it easier for the next install. As time goes by, I hope to see a repository of Miata specific information... You ran into some problems and may have mad some mistakes... So what! It's learning experience. I've been reading your threads just as intently as I've read Stein's threads. Just keep info coming guys. Once I get a window, I plan on getting mine installed and document it as best I can, but first I have to deal with some TPS/heat issues. And once the car stops throwing TPS codes, I'll get on with the install.

Stein; 1 one quick question: I was rereading your install writeup and when you talk about the MAP sensor you don't specify whether you also bought it from Travis. I'd like to know if I will have to change the one I currently have (a 2 bar one from a Supra) or if I need to buy the 3 bar one.

If so; Travis: can I buy one from ebay? Which one?

travis has good prices on the right MAP sensor. I got one with my kit.

Mine was from Travis. The only issue that I can think of using yours is getting the ADC settings right.

It is a GM 3 bar MAP sensor.

Any 5v map should work, but it needs to be linear. Its only a 2 point calibration in the Adaptronic software. The GM map is 99.8 percent linear I think I read somewhere which is why they use it.

Ok guys... I'm not sure if this question should go here or in a new thread, but here it is. I see in the instructions that y'all are using a GM IAT sensor on your IC charge pipes. In my case (a supercharger) will I still need to use the GM unit or can/should I use the OEM unit that is mounted by the air filter (SC install). If I do need to use the GM unit, where should it be installed? After the SC in the cross over pipe to the intake?

I was also wondering if it wouldn't be easier to just get a 5/16" tee with a 1/4" coming off it so you would just have to run a 1/4" line to the GM MAP unit?

I would definitely put the IAT after the SC in the cross over pipe. That way the temperature rise from the SC can be compensated for by the ECU.

What ZX-Tex said on the IAT. You will still build some heat with the SC.

The reason I went with a 5/16" x 3 tee is that I couldn't find one with two 5/16" and one 1/4" but I could find a 5/16" to 1/4" straight reducer so that's the way I went. If you can find a 5/16"x5/16"x1/4" go for it.

Nevermind... See my next post... :o

I'm thinking of mounting the sensor on the crossover tube right at the SC. What do y'all think?

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_QJ_GKacNVu8/Sc...E/s720/IAT.jpg

Without an IC it won't matter much, but I'd still put it near the TB for best readings. If anything it will be away from the header to minimize heat soak when you are sitting still or in traffic. Moves it to the cold side of the engine bay.

That's what I was kind of thinking. So then I wondering if the OEM IAT (which is mounted under the air filter) would suffice until I can spring for the IC.

When I said it wouldn't matter much, I meant the installation of the GM part in either your chosen location or mine. It think it is important to do it.

Superchargers have a large island that they are relatively equally efficient in. Your motor would just tune around this. Its a little different from turbo, because your supercharger pretty much produces the same amount of mass flow (heat which is density) at every single point. So while your temperature in one paticular load cell is 110*F and your ambient sensor is off in la la land at 70*F the Adaptronic will still tune the loaded cell for the correct AFR, and this will only change relative to ambient temperature conditions.

Short version, it will work semi ok.

What you can't do accurately is retard timing, or adjust fuel with temperature to make sure the engine is running safely. Then again, its less of an issue with a supercharger, its not exactly like your wastegate line could fail somehow and overboost... The supercharger is very predictable.

This worked really well. Hope it doesn't strip out when I fully seat it.

Attachment 207159

Looks good. I need to weld on my bung and connect mine damnit....Working overtime this past week cant get shit done on the car:vash:

It should be fine. Just use some sealant on it (O2 sensor safe) and do NOT crank it down really tight like one normally would with a NPT fitting. It will seal just fine. Besides, as long as the sensor does not blow out (mine has not) even a tiny little pinhole leak (if any) will not hurt anything. It is nothing compared to the total flow.

How did you install your harness without putting a lot of stress on the wires? Doesn't seem like there's enough room.

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OK... You made a believer of me. I installed the GM IAT on my crossover tube just forward of the intake manifold. Where Moss/JS had me mount the OEM IAT (under the air filter) I was getting "intake air" temps from the low 40's to the low 100's. With GM unit aft of the SC my true intake air temps range (at operating temps) from the 130's to upper 190's. I'd say that makes a good case for the TDR intercooler!


Dude, I have a harness on the PC Proo/Timing Module that suffered the same issue. If you follow the ECU wiring harness for the large and (I'm pretty sure) the small plugs, you'll find that they are attached to a point further up under the dash with (orange in my case) electrical tape. Cut one or bothe of the pieces of tape and that will give you a bit more harness to work with. In my case it made a substantial difference.

That helped some. I also remounted the oem ecu to gain some more room.

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^^^ I do not like the jumper board arrangement at all. It was a real PIA to make space, get it into position, and get the connectors plugged in. I have an extra set of stock stuff on the clutch pedal between the bracket and the stock ECU that leaves little room there. I would much prefer a boomslang style harness like the MS uses.

I got this one in and it works, but damn....

I'm working on my own harnesses instead of the Adaptronic supplied versions. I don't know why they went with the circuit boards, but if you have extra equipment already there, the board is not going to quite fit without a fight. Also remember, these guys drive their cars on the wrong side of the road. So everything is in different positions that are evidently alot easier to get fit into.

Are you? Will you have one for a 96? :giggle:

If you would be willing to wait, I'll do your year for your first. Probably take me a couple weeks to do. I'm not sure where your time line is.

i'm making my own too. I think the circuit board simply makes it easier to break out the ECU harness connector leads.

The hydra uses a boomslang-like harness. I haven't decided which way i'm going. So far I just have 12" of wire hanging off the plugs. and another 18 inches hanging off the adaptronic connectors.

the passthru wiring is a no-brainer, as is the direct to adaptronic wires, but the ones I may want to switch around later may need some other solution. I want them so I can add and remove connections without shortening a wire each time. I could probably use terminal blocks but I'm not sure they're reliable enough.

Where do you guys get all the stock ECU connectors, and the males?

Hardware install's done. Just need to buy a cable for the laptop.

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Can you get me the measurements off that little bracket you made? I'll see if I can manufacture those

I'm still haggling with the AEM. I have to wait anyways so my time line is the one you say.

I don't think the folks from Adaptronic Australia have it already made either.