mastacox

Hi guys, long time no post!

Well the 4Runner has been giving me fits the last few months and it reached a head a few weeks ago. I think I've finally found the root cause: my piggyback fuel/timing controller is a dying/dead and must be replaced. Basic steps of how I've found this:

I've been battling an intermittent misfire that I couldn't for the life of me track down. I was seriously about to consider swapping in a whole new engine rather than keep throwing money at sensors. For the last few months I've been getting an on again / off again flashing CEL for a misfire with no obvious cause:

- P0300 Random/multiple cylinder misfire
- P0302 Cylinder 2 Misfire
- P0305 Cylinder 5 Misfire

I've replaced random ignition coils, spark plugs, wires, checked fuel pump, new fuel injectors, you name it. Nothing would get rid of the damn misfire, it kept coming back! This reached a total ˟˟˟˟storm about 2 weeks ago with the addition of three more codes and the engine randomly dying while driving:

- P0100 MAF Sensor
- P0335 Crankshaft Position Sensor
- P0340 Cam Position Sensor

Desperately I bought new MAF sensor, crank position sensor, and cam position sensors and installed last thursday night. I was left with suspicion though, because I measured the resistance of the old sensors and they seemed to check out... Anyway last friday the car seemed to run better but not "well"; but on my commute home threw the same codes and died on me while driving down the highway forcing me to pull over and begin the cursing. About to send this money pit to the crusher, I decided in a fit of desperation to check the ECU wiring for loose connections...





So while digging around behind the glove box I suddenly had an epiphany when I was setting up to ohm connections: what do the crank, cam, and MAF sensors have in common? What would cause these seemingly good sensors to intermittently go bad at the same time? The answer: the damn piggyback tuner!!! All 3 of these sensors are routed through the piggyback for tuning the fuel and timing.

So as an experiment I disconnected the signal wires for the cam and crank sensor from the piggyback unit and hooked them back up in the stock fashion (in other words went back to stock, no "man in the middle" timing retard) Immediately the heavens opened and my timing issues went away, no intermittent misfire (for the first time in months), no cam/crank sensor errors, and tire shredding torque again!!!

So anyway this post has gotten pretty long, it's been a long road and I needed to vent. I'm ready to kick this FTC1-E off a cliff and shoot it with a rifle, but before I do I need something new that gives me fuel/timing control. I'm currently living without timing control, but can't go without fuel mgmt given my larger than stock injectors. I want something more modern than this circa 2005 POS, something that can be tuned wirelessly (maybe even with an android app) and supports wideband fuel sensor input. Any suggestions on products to look at or people to talk to? I'm currently looking at:

Perfect Power SMT8W




MAP-ECU3



I'm leaning towards the MAP-ECU3 and then adding WiFi later on if needed, it looks like they're available with a Tacoma harness that may be nearly plug-n-play for my 4Runner. Suggestions are welcome! Having a path forward really helps with that whole light at the end o the tunnel thing!

vasinvictor

iTrader: (3)

I'm not any help on piggybacks but the guys as TacomaWorld have a performance section that you're likely to find the help you seek. https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/p...-and-tuning.8/

Texas_Ace

AEM FIC is what I would do, cheaper, more support, better tuning software, more options. Plus others have done it to help you get it setup.

mastacox

I made an executive decision and went with a MAP-ECU3 from URD. One of the big deciding factors was the possibility of getting a pre-wired harness, and wiring instructions for my specific year 4Runner. Link: MAP-ECU3 Overview.

• Wiring should look very similar to this: http://www.mapecu.com/wp-content/upl...MT-MAP-ECU.pdf).
• A base table for a 5VZ-E with TRD S/C is available to give me a jumping off point: http://mapecu.co.nz/TABLES/MAPECU3/5VZFE_TRD_SC.tbl

The ECU should arrive friday and I will install this weekend, looking forward to the project! It's going to be an adventure wiring and tuning a new ECU, but I think it will be worth the effort because it looks like the ECU3 has a pile of cool features the old SplitSecond FTC1-E doesn't have. Some of the new ones I want to try out are:

• OEM O2 & AFR Sensor Adjust table allowing control over Air/Fuel ratios, even in Closed-loop mode. (FTC1 claims to do this, in reality just makes Toyota ECU freak out)
• Built-in display and logging of engine parameters such as RPM, Throttle Position, Boost Pressure, Airflow, Timing Adjust, wideband Lambda sensors. (logging I hope will help me during tuning of fuel trims)
• 2 complete sets of Fuel, Timing, Auxiliary Injector, O2 Adjust and EBC tables selectable using a dashboard mounted switch. (Run different maps for different driving conditions?)

Texas_Ace

Those features are honestly the most standard features on any ECU worth it's salt. But still a massive step up from what you had, those old things were the single worst tuning experience I ever had.

I would use the second map for a large shot of Methanol personally. Seeing as you are in DFW you can get methanol pretty cheap.

mastacox

I've considered a water/methanol injection system in the past, just haven't had the time or hardware to implement. This new unit could control a W/MI system, and I like the idea of using separate maps for with & without methanol. Thanks man!

mastacox

Finally got some toys today, the FedEx guy was having some trouble showing up when we were home! Looking forward to wiring up, if I can set aside some time after work a few days this week. I'm going to set up the wiring harness for a start, which will give me the chance to do all of the soldering work on a table.

Pictures: