This is the one I use.
http://gopointtech.com/products/
Expensive but just worked. I have heard that some of the Chinese copies don’t work (at all).
I would lend it to you but I have no idea where it is.
Keith
Went for a drive on this unusual warm day in Bavaria (at this time if year anyway) and tried out the OBDII wifi sensor.
It doesn’t work 100% of the time but you can see the results in the bottom rhs:
Thread resurrection!
Does anyone have a OBD 1/2 tool they are successfully getting information out the s1 Exige ecu with?
Chasing a limp mode issue…
Yes, I was playing with mine today, car is going fine but I get lots of pops and bangs on the overrun and I wanted to check the temps, pressures, etc. The one below works. My old one has given up as the software is out of date.
Great thank you.
Received and have a pretty dashboard but can’t get it to detect any error codes (car in limp mode but no CEL)
Have you ever had it read an error message?
What are your symptoms? The S1 Exige ECU is a little dimwitted when it comes to fault codes. It’s very good at protecting the engine, much less good at telling you why.
If you have a 5500 rpm rev limit, it’s normally either no/dodgy wheel speed signal to the ECU or a poor HT connection at the coil pack. Both normally resolved by unplugging, bit of electrical cleaner, then reconnecting.
If you have aftermarket ignition leads, then be very careful as there are 2 types of connections at the coil, internal and external. Mixing them up causes loads of issues.
If you have an aftermarket flywheel, some can cause issues due to insufficient trigger current at the crank sensor.
Check the idle valve mount, as they have a habit of breaking, then letting the valve swing around, eventually cutting through the insulation on the wiring and blowing the ECU fuse when turning right. To be fair this normally cuts the engine out and won’t restart until the fuse is replaced.
Toby,
Yes i found I have some error codes and I cleared them.
The codes are, resonator valve not working (true it has been removed) misfire on cyc 1 and excessive missfire. Which I have fixed by cleaning up the ht leads. As John says, I have had thr wrong leads and faulty wss giving a missfire of Rev limit.
Thanks for the information.
So my symptoms are:
Car will rev to about 6500rpm and then occasionally abruptly stop almost like a fuel cut. From then on the car will impose a 5.5k limit.
Alternatively the car will drive fine, to the red line, and then impose the 5.5k limit.
This happens not always but fairly consistently.
My coil and leads are likely to be over 10yrs old, plugs are new. They are magnicore leads, do they look the right type? I think they are?
I’m fairly sure it’s not the speed sensor, I’ve had it off and cleaned it all, looked fine. I have also got a speed readout on the OBD device.
Pretty sure I’m on the standard flywheel too.
IACV appears to be secured, I did the PRRT and a new thermostat a month ago and it seemed alright.
Did you have an engine light on when these errors were flagged?
Yes, they are the correct leads for that type of coil. They can be a little temperamental though! Make sure there are no traces of any lubricant anywhere near the boots, the coil or the connectors. I always used to spray them one at a time with brake cleaner, let everything evaporate away, then refit, ensuring you feel the click as the little spring clip engauges. Then, you sort of have to burp the boot. They’re such a good fit, they trap air in the connector recess and force the connector back off. Sounds weird, but have had weirder!
From memory the S1 Exige has no check engine light. It’s been a looonnng time, but there was a recall to reflash the ECU with a misfire detection protocol, but as there is no check engine light, a 5.5k limit was put in place to annoy, sorry warn, the driver that something was going wrong. Red hot cat, with unburnt fuel added, in a fibre glass car doesn’t end well.
I think John is correct, never seen a CEL on mine. I found the following to test the WSS.
The S1 Exige had two, one for the Stack and the other for the ecu. The ecu one is on the driver’s (uk) driveshaft. The ecu uses it to control emissions and lowers the rpm when the car is stopped. If it’s working ok and you drop the clutch whilst moving the rpm settles at about 1500. As the car stops the rpm drops to about 1150. If it does not, the wss is not working. I can’t remember if the stuck high or low. I cleaned the connections on mine to fix.
I think John rides mountain bikes as “burping” the forks is a common maintenance actuvity.
As others have mentioned, the ECU isn’t great at flagging faults, so you’ll have to either data log or methodically rule out causes. If you can get some diagnostics, you can check basic things like TPS, baro, MAP, etc. and see if anything stands out. The best software I’ve used is the V8 Espirit one, but a Gendan wifi OBD with ‘Car Scanner’ app works for me too.
If it’s rev limiting at 6.5k, I’m pretty sure that you can rule out the speed sensor, as that’s 5.5k. Incidentally I had a similar issue, and it turned out to be the cat disintegrating inside and blocking flow.
So other issues could be fuel or ignition. If it’s intermittent, I’d lean towards the usual first (plugs, leads, coil pack etc.) rather than a failing pump or regulator.
Not been able to get out for a little while but tonight the moon aligned and I went for a hoon.
I discovered the following.
- the issue prevails
- It is only induced at 6.5k, and from then on a 5.5k limit is imposed.
- Much more likely to be induced in 2nd gear than 3rd
- Issue disappears when switching car off and on again.
- Dipping the clutch in while moving puts revs consistently to idle (1.1k) and doesn’t change once car becomes stationary.
- Despite all that the car is still epic!
So do I order a driver side speed sensor now?
It is a bit of a mystery what goes on in the ecu. I know my 190 has this odd idle feature, reduces when the car stops. I used to design engine controllers and there is usually no reason to have vehicle speed going into the ecu unless it drives the dash or gearbox control. I therefore have always assumed it uses it to lower emissions when stopped. I had to clean the connector on mine and then it was fine, it’s in the wheel arch so get wet etc.
Are you getting a misfire error code? It’s easy for an ecu to detect misfire as the crank does not speed up as expected on each firing. Im not sure, on the Exige, the ecu can determine the cylinder, if it says 1 it may be 3, if it says 2 it may be 4.
I have seen the misfire error code and once (years ago) had the rev limit issue, fixed by an ignition cycle.
No error messages.
Usually I’d just order a sensor at this point, but when I inspected it I found it’s seized in the alloy block it lives in so it’s not going to be straightforward!
I also meant to say there is some hesitation on the car when asking too much throttle immediately at low revs, I don’t think it’s a misfire but more just the behaviour of the engine…
Exiges are famous for hesitation from low speed, I had that problem and it turned out to be the oxygen sensor. Give away was it it did not hesitate when cold but did when warm, I guess this was because it used open loop fuel control when cold and switches to using the lambda sensor when warm. Mine is now as docile as any s1 Elise with no hesitation.
New lambda sensor is worth a try, it’s 20 years old.
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Eurgh yes it’s no doubt the original.
Is it worth investing in the socket Elise parts sell, or will I be using a spanner to get the old one out?
Oh and I just checked what the diagnostic tool has to say on the matter -
If you drive does the vehicle speed change? If it does the vss is fine. If it does not, it may be broken, I’m not sure the ecu sends vs on the obd link so no speed does not mean it’s not working.
Exige only has one oxygen sensor. 0.5v is right on sensor 2. No idea why you have sensor 1 and 2. See this Closed Loop Narrowband Lambda.
If you change the lambda sensors you will need the special spanner and it will be very tight!
S1 Exige ecu is very simple and uses just a few sensors.
Crank if that broken the engine will not run, no cam sensor.
Throttle position, which can be checked on obd.
Baro pressure. Which is on obd. If it fails it will default to 1 bar, fine in the Uk
Manifold pressure. You can see this on OBD. If it’s missing or wrong the engine will run badly.
Ecu controls fuel, spark and an idle air control valve. Iacv. If the iacv is broken the engine may stumble at low revs. Many VHPD engines have them removed and the pipes blanked off. This may be the reason your idle revs do not change. I don’t think it will give you a misfire.