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Tonight was a fairly easy night. The new engine oil and filter
arrived for the Pantera, but the new oil temp gauge doesn't get here
until tomorrow night. I don't want to pull the plugs on the oil pan
until the gauge is here.<br>
<br>
I really liked that Innovate dual oil temp/pressure gauge, it was
kind of slick. The one I ordered is just a plain digital display;
least expensive model I could find. I figure I can always move up
in the future when more sponsors come in to play. :)<br>
<br>
Tonight I did two things, first I installed the O2 sensor in it's
exhaust bung, routed the wires, zip-tied a couple of spots and
hooked it up to the main harness.<br>
<br>
Then I did something I gathered parts for a while ago but never got
to it. Let's take a trip into the Pantera Research Institute
testing lab...<br>
<br>
Some time back I picked up a Hantek 6022BE digital oscilliscope:<img
alt="o-scope" src="cid:part1.09030007.09020300@asajay.com"
style="margin-top: 152px;" id="irc_mi" height="244" width="300"><br>
<br>
I then sourced a pickup for the secondary wires of the ignition
system:<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<img alt="pickup" style="position: relative; left: 0px; top:
-50.5px;" src="cid:part2.00050706.01090605@asajay.com"
class="fullScreen" height="300" width="300"><br>
<br>
The scope comes with software to actually "see" the scope; a laptop
or tablet computer running Microsoft Windows can host the software
and essentially turn your computer into an oscilloscope. Here is a
basic screenshot of the software in action (just not from my car):<br>
<img src="cid:part3.08050506.09070507@asajay.com" class="irc_mi"
style="margin-top: 186px;" height="215" width="256"><br>
<br>
I installed the software on a laptop, clamped the secondary wire
pickup to the Coil secondary wire (the big fat one that goes to the
center of the distributor cap), attached the lead to the scope box
and the scope box to the laptop. I attached it to the coil wire so
I could capture all eight cylinders as opposed to say a timing light
you attach to just one cylinder and it pulses the light only when
that cylinder fires.<br>
<br>
All that was left was to fire up the engine. Once I did I made a
few quick adjustments on the scope and I can now see the secondary
wire ignition patterns just like you used to get at the auto repair
shop.<br>
<br>
Pretty cool huh :)<br>
<br>
It's not something to have mounted during the race, but I'm hoping
it will be another valuable tool in tuning the engine -before- we go
to the race. I can now monitor air/fuel ratio and ignition
patterns. I didn't capture a screenshot tonight but will later.
Generally, it looks like most cylinders are firing pretty much the
same. There is one that looks either weaker or stronger, I haven't
researched it yet.<br>
<br>
For now, I need to figure out if I can adjust the timescale in finer
increments. I can either get about five pulses on screen or 10; I
need to get just eight, and then figure out exactly which one is
cylinder number one, then I can examine each trace in turn.<br>
<br>
And there you have it, from the Pantera Research Institute, Pacific
Northwest Division, an inexpensive scope you can use on the car. :)<br>
<br>
Asa Jay<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Asa Jay Laughton - W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.teampanteraracing.com">http://www.teampanteraracing.com</a>
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