Apexi PFC & Commander installation

[DarranJones]

Hi guys,

I\'m going to try and install my Apexi PFC & Commander today and I just thought I\'d check a few things first.

1. Does it fit directly into where the standard ecu is located i.e. Do I need to make any special brackets etc?

2. When the manual says \'Turn the A/C on and let it run for 10 minutes\', do I need to turn the temp dial to anything in partiular, and what should the \'speed\' dial (speed of the blower I mean!) be set on...1, 2, 3, or 4, etc? and should the button be set to recirc or take air from outside?

3. Also, if it all goes wrong and I can\'t get it to work properly myself, can I just plug the standard ecu back in and it\'ll work like it did prior to me disconnecting the battery i.e. not loose any settings?

All dumb questions I have no doubt  :Hammer , but I thought it best to be safe rather than sorry.

Darran.

[kermit]

Hi Darran,

I just installed my PFC and commander yesterday.

There were two brackets that hold the standard ECU in place, but these are screwed into the ECU.  I didnt want to start making holes in the PFC case, so I used some double sided velcro to hold the brackets to the PFC and then bolted it back into place.

With regards to the A/C, I left the temp dial in the middle and turned the speed up to 4 and let it idle.

If it all goes wrong you can just plug the standard ECU back in with no problems.

HTH

Martin.

[DarranJones]

Thanks Martin  :Thumbs-up

[DarranJones]

I\'ve installed my PFC and ran through the idle self-adjustment thing. All seemed to be going fine until I got to the \'turn your air-conditioning on\' bit. When I got to this point it did it\'s usual hunting/reving up an down bit. I thought that after a few minutes the revs would have settled down and held at 1200rpm-ish but it kept doing the rev up and down thing every 30 seconds or so. Is this normal? and if so, how long will it do it before it settles down.

Also, next time I start the car up is it going to want to go through that whole process again?

I realise I\'m going to have to have it mapped properly, but I kind of need to use the car to get to work and stuff in the meantime.

Anyone got any thoughts? I\'m not too fond of having to put my standard ecu back in as it was a pain in the backside to get out in the first place.

Thanks,

Darran.

[nikp]

You have the idle screw incorrectly adjusted - when I fitted mine i found that the idle could get a bit wild. Oddly though, it was with air con off that mine went crazy - rather than with it on. Try adjusting the screw at the throttle body a little (Slacken it off to let less air through) - see if that helps.

Next time you start the car, you won\'t have to do anything - just start her and go.

[DarranJones]

I\'m not exactly sure why the idle screw would make my revs jump up and down like a yo-yo when the aircon is on. Seems a bit weird to me  :confused:

[nikp]

Well, it\'s true - can happen.

Probably something to do with the flap letting too much air in, so the ecu tries to back it off, only to have too much air in again. Probably something like that

[DarranJones]

Ah right cool, I\'ll give it a go!  

[nikp]

Don\'t adjust it too quickly - just a bit at a time (with the engine going) so you can see what difference it makes. You don\'t want to shut it off to the point where it can\'t idle - other wise it will stall and you won\'t be able to re-start it!

[RobbieRX-7]

any chance you could post up a pic with the screw that needs adjusting because mine idles like crap sometimes but better with the aircon on..cheers

[nikp]

It\'s within the area circled in red - there\'s should only be one screw evident. Screwing it clockwise should open the rev butterfly valve and increase the revs, while screwing it anti-clockwise should drop the revs - but be careful - the revs might drop too low (Or you could end up undoing it to the point where the screw pops out - unlikely though!). Best to do the adjustment with the engine running though, so you can here the changes as you make them.

[barmar]

Darran, did you leave it for the full 10 minutes with the air con on. As it is working through a self learn process it could be that it needs the full 10 minutes for the idle to stop hunting.

Barry

[DarranJones]

I went through the setup procedure again and then when doing the air-con bit I tried adjusting the idle screw.  It\'s really strange, I undid the screw a bit at a time and then eventually there was a big gap between the end of the screw and the springy twisty throttle bit and it was still doing the hunting revving routine.

I\'m really stumped, altering the screw so there\'s less revs or more revs just didn\'t appear to make any difference.

I can see me putting the standard ecu back in, at least it worked!  :mad:

[Mb3d]

the circled picture shows the cruise control throttle, i think you want to adjust the screw just above the oil filter, under the big elbow...but don\'t hold me to it, still learning myself.