What other complicated machines we commonly use don't compooters belong in?
TJ de-computerization help
- Thread starter burtpenguinnn
- Start date
What other complicated machines we commonly use don't compooters belong in?
I'm no expert on those Jeeps, but I think they were a point ignition setup. I think coils and condensers are generally more robust than modern computers and sensors, but they are still vulnerable to electrical pulses. Either way, the whole EMP thing is just a hypothetical until one is actually demonstrated. Anyone saying that a certain electronic system will survive is just speculating. Magnetos likely have very strong ground to stand on in the given situation.
Cool, that means my Top Fuel dragster will still start and run, the clutch, not so much.
OP
This, I had a CJ5 before this TJ and lots of times if I got off camber the engine would quit and restarting off camber was an issue etc. I don't have any of those issues on the TJ.
Not negative feedback Just, looking out for you.
Maybe they make better carbs now?
OP
its more so that computers in cars are a necessity if they are in the car. you can't run the car without them or temporarily disable them. if your engine which is an entirely mechanical thing can't run because your computer's firmware isn't supported anymore thats just plain retarded. its an imposition and it doesn't have a good enough justification or purpose to be there. the benefits do not outweigh the convenience that it brings. if something is vulnerable to the same conditions that would break a computer like a fridge for example (can't run a fridge without power and you can't run a computer without power) then it doesn't matter if it has a computer in it or not. same with like a desk fan as another random example, it doesn't matter if its computerized because it wouldn't be a vulnerability even theoretically in a bad situation.
deserteagle56
Member
Exactly! I bought the below van new in 1976, and drove it for over 32 years. The Rochester carb it came with refused to be tuned to run well (California emissions) so the intake manifold was changed to an Edelbrock and the carb changed to a Holley 4 barrel. The Holley worked well - but I had to rebuild it every 5 years or so because it too would begin to malfunction and leak. Not to mention having to change plugs, points and condenser every 10,000 miles or so. And just a month or so ago I ended up putting a new carburetor on my Honda weedeater...because the rebuild kit for the old carb was twice the price of a new carb!
OP
This, I had a CJ5 before this TJ and lots of times if I got off camber the engine would quit and restarting off camber was an issue etc. I don't have any of those issues on the TJ.
Not negative feedback Just, looking out for you.
that is true. I live in a very flat area where mainly id be doing mudding and stuff, but In the future I want to do mountain trails out west or in the Appalachians.
Im sure there's some kind of fix/stop gap thing you can do to make it at least a little better in those conditions
I realize we're all just shitposting at this point, but I feel like we're purposely missing the point. There were a finite number of TJ computers created, and there are less working ones now than there were in 2006. I know wranglerfix can fix them (within reason?) but at some point we're all going to be left with bricks in our driveway once the computer dies and there are no replacements available and the companies who repair them reach a point where its no longer profitable to do so. It's not hard to envision a world where good quality sensors are hard to find as well. I'm not so worried about it that I'm going to follow OP down this path, but it seems fairly reasonable to look into the future and ask questions.
But on the other hand, I do wonder if it's possible to replace the PCM with something like a raspberry pi. I mean, the computer is just taking input voltages from sensors, doing some lookups & math, and sending an output voltage/ground somewhere else.
But on the other hand, I do wonder if it's possible to replace the PCM with something like a raspberry pi. I mean, the computer is just taking input voltages from sensors, doing some lookups & math, and sending an output voltage/ground somewhere else.
I'll give you a few strong suggestions, stuff I’ve learned over the years the hard way. Don't buy someone's project. Don't buy a project vehicle thinking you'll save money or have it finished in a year. You won't, and it will cost more to fix than just buy a vehicle already fixed. Do buy the best vehicle that you can afford, and work off that. Do keep the projects small and downtime short.
Well, there's Holley or AEM, or any of their competition with engine management, with some tailoring to the system. There's also the options of custom-built stuff. Just how long do you expect to live?
There were two manufacturers for the PCMs. One has the hardware flaws and one doesn't. As I understand it he is taking the the one that doesn't and putting the TJ firmware into them. I don't know how many of each design were made. When the flawed one goes bad nobody is fixing it, it is being tossed or put on a shelf as a backup. That means there is less than you think.
Andy
I'ts already been done using Arduino. Behold the Speeduino!! It's an open source that uses TunerStudio as the base program.
https://speeduino.com/home/
This seems like a better use of time & money. Looks like this post is the first time it's been mentioned here, guess I have to go down a rabbit hole.
I learned ECU's and tuning by building a Megasquirt 2 for my brothers 85 GMC 1500 back in 2014/15. That's when we started down the LS rabbit hole. From there we graduated to HP Tuners and now have transitioned over to the Holley Terminator system.
I remember looking into Megasquirt for my 280Z, as there were a couple of guys running it on theirs, with turbos. This was back in 2002. (!!!)
The car was originally EFI but it was an early and very basic Bosch system that only ran open loop and the air flow sensing method was a spring loaded vane, so once you had enough flow to fully open the vane you had no idea how much you were flowing. The common but low tech approach was to fit a triple carb ITB style setup from Weber, which is what I did to get the flexibility to allow for my lumpy cam and longtube headers.
The factory EFI even with it's limits started and ran easier and smoother than the carbs on 10 out of 10 days. The carb setup sounded rad when it was warmed up, but it took several minutes to get it started and warm enough to be drivable when cold outside, I always smelled like exhaust, and they were a bitch to synchronize. I never did get to the megasquirt thing.
Assuming we all agree that there is a certain degree of efficacy involved, you also can't run your car without the proper number of tires and what do we do when something has a reasonable expectation for failure? That's right, we get a spare and most of us even carry one around on the back of the rig.
If you were really that worried about the PCM failing, a few bucks, a few tools, and neato little box to toss under the seat would get you back on the road with a quickness. I can even give you the name and number for a nice guy who can hook you up with a spare, turn off the SKIM function in your current one and be done with this whole mess in less time than you've spent answering posts on here.
You'll likely be long gone before Mark runs out of computers to send out.
OP
having no PCM ever would mean I would never have to worry about sending it off to get fixed, no matter how long that takes its still an inconvenience even if you can mitigate the downtime.
The lack of air fuel control carbs provide would mean your motor would no longer last 2-300k miles. Needing a carb rebuilt regularly(not the 100k+ miles fuel injection sees) are much bigger inconveniences than spending 5 min swapping out a rectangle in the engine bay.
I looked into this because i work on a frends old hunting jeep with a 258. Its pretty tired and has been badly overheated in the past. When it dies I'll probably source a 4.0l and run a carb on it. I would love to put 4.0l injection in his jeep but i could never convince him to spend the money.