STANDALONE INSTRUMENTATION FOR AUTOMOTIVE TESTING
M Haselgrove · 2000
One of the most important applications of new technology to the automotive industry is the collection of small to medium amounts of data in a versatile format. A systematic approach to data acquisition must be adopted, so that future testing will yield results closely correlated with those of previous tests. One of the simplest but most overlooked areas is the classification and numbering of the sensors used on a vehicle. A simple spreadsheet should be created, containing the channel names to be used for specific sensors in specific locations. Many companies make their tests too complicated by duplicating some of their core sensors. The MoTeC ADL dashlogger, which offers up to 2000 default channel names with in its calibration software, removes the need for this by using a programmable CAN and RS232 interface to communicate with the engine management computer and share sensor information. The ADL also eases another time-consuming area for test engineers, the calibration of sensors, by including many calibration curves. Software for on-site diagnostics of sensors needs to include facilities to view readings in real time and zero sensors. Other important areas include the rate at which data are sampled and logged, and the choice of software for data acquisition systems to make it easier to process their data. For the covering abstract see ITRD E107095.