So I was downloading data first time from the Life ECU. First question: Does the LIfeECU only record from the last battery change? Reason asking, my data is pretty lacking. Battery was changed 5/22 before I bought the car and it appears the engine data is only stored after that. It does say my total chassis time is 89 hours but the Engine hours are 14 hours total and 2.67 off load and my load parameters seem to be 3000 rpms and over 25% throttle. I haven't put much time on it except changing oil, driving down' my rural country road just to feel the car, etc. Next question, my over rev max was 11.6. I know when that happened as I was just playing with the shifting while driving and accidentally downshifted instead of upshifting. That has made me think about the Geartronics. I know the LifeECU systems do not let you downshift IF it will overrev...correct? Can the Geartronics be made to prevent that? And do these engines not have a rev limiter like most vehicles? Thank you for helping educate me.
Does the LIfeECU only record from the last battery change?
No, it records continuously, however the ECU should be "reset" for each engine swap so that you can easily keep track of total time and overrevs on the new or refreshed engine. I sent just my ECU to Spring Mountain to have this done because I swapped the engine myself, but I cannot do the ECU reset myself. It took about 4 days total round trip. If the battery dies on the ECU, then I think the data will be permanently lost and because of that you should have your ECU battery replaced regularly. I let Spring Mountain do the battery swap as needed. My guess is that your ECU was reset and battery replaced when the engine was last swapped and that everything is fine.
Battery was changed 5/22 before I bought the car and it appears the engine data is only stored after that.
It sounds like the seller may have replaced the engine before you purchased it?
I know the LifeECU systems do not let you downshift IF it will overrev...correct?
Yes, that is correct.
Can the Geartronics be made to prevent that? And do these engines not have a rev limiter like most vehicles?
I don't know the answer to your question about Geartronics. If downshifts are not denied by the ECU at high rpm, then you can have an off power overrev which can do damage to the engine (due to valve float).
Thanks David!!
Hi @nautoncall, I can add a little bit to David's excellent response.
The Life Racing ECU has a battery that only gets recharged when the engine is running. People often mistakenly assume that if they have a battery tender charging the two (sometimes one with a 1340) batteries used for starting the car that the ECU battery is also being charged. So when these cars sit for many months without the engine being run the battery in the ECU goes dead. If the ECU battery has not been discharged for too long it will sometimes start storing a charge again once the engine has been run for a while. When the ECU battery has died for any period of time the memory is erased and it starts recording data from the time it was recharged. When this happens the downloaded Logbook will have a code at the top of it that says "NoRTC" which indicates that the data in the log book is not reliable. I believe NoRTC stands for No Real Time Connection. Here is an example of what the log book looks like when the ECU battery has died and there is a NoRTC code.
In your case the ECU battery has apparently died and was replaced. The technician that replaced the battery was conscientious and put a note in the ECU Logbook noting that the battery had been replaced and gave you the information that was known at the time (Chassis hours and noted that Engine hours were unknown). It is hard to guess how many hours are on your engine but if the previous owners rebuilt the engine at the recommended 40 hour interval you engine could currently have about 23 hours on it. The big question is if both of the previous overhauls were done. I would recommend checking to see if the lead seals are still on your engine. If they are I would recommend contacting Spring Mountain and give them your engine and chassis serial numbers and ask them to look into their records to see when the engine was last overhauled. Your car spent most of it's life at Spring Mountain so they may still have the records on the car. Unfortunately SM changed their record keeping software about 5 to 10 years ago (if my memory is correct) so if the work was done before that they may not be able to access it.
Regarding the over revs. Yes, the ECU has over rev Protection which cuts the ignition when you accelerate up to the redline. However there are a few instances when that doesn't help. One situation is if you are in a low gear and are accelerating so quickly that cutting the ignition and/or fuel isn't enough to keep the engine from over revving. The other situation is known as a "Type 2" over rev where too low of a gear is selected (like down shifting when you intended to up shift) and the wheels of the car cause the engine to overrev and cutting ignition and or fuel doesn't help be cause the engine is being driven by the wheel speed.
Regarding you question about the Geartronic Shifting compared to the Life Paddle shifting. Yes the Life system is superior but the Geartronic system is still very good. The geartronic systems in these cars evolved over time. Some of the systems were stand alone systems and some had a connection to the ECU. The ones that are connected to the ECU have some capability to prevent inadvertent shifts that could damage the engine, but it is not as good as the newer Life Systems.
Charley, yes I recall talking to you before I purchased the car about the difference in the Life Integrated shifting vs Geartronics. Yes that makes sense about the battery replacement. So that 89 hours was inserted by the tech who did the change. So that means the chassis has 14 more hours, correct? I have contacted Spring Mountain as they did all the maintenance on the car but they don't seem to know much about then engine except that obviously they didn't think it needed a refresh. I have emailed again to see if they can find anymore information. I'm just trying to put all the timeline together for the engine. There is a lot of bad about the internet, but auto forums to gain knowledge from people like you guys is awesome.
Adding my thoughts to this.
The ECU battery keeps track of engine hours so when it goes flat this will be forgotten. The date shown is the last time the ECU was reset. The logbook per entry shows the last 50 runs/attempt starts which could be used to confirm when you over rev was.
The on load detail is above 25% throttle and 3000 rpm so when cruising down the road or even on the brakes on track it is not logging on load. Later cars use wheel speed which is more accurate.
Live data in older cars is limited to around 15-20 mins depending on what is being logged - which is why you should download the data after ever session.
With regards to over revs both Geartronics and the Life have limits for it, these are however programmed for a car that is on the brakes at the time. If it disallowed free wheel coasting down changes that it would be set so high it would not allow on the brakes down changes. It is a compromise and should be used as an assistance and not relied on! Put up and down stickers on your steering wheel to direct you if you are struggling.
