Category Archives: Sensors

Sensors

Tangled in the web

While I’m a fan of the hair band song with the same title as this post, removing all the wiring that supports the various sensors and displays on the homebrew gauge panel was an unpleasant tangled web to work through on the Silver S4.

Gauge Panel

This time with the displays I had a plan to simplify the wiring and de-clutter but it still came out looking like this.

Gauge Panel Back Side

The Dataq logger has been a tremendous addition to the equipment collection enabling the recording of 8 channels of data simultaneously.  It took over the footwell on the passenger side.

Dataq

Meanwhile getting all the sensor wiring out of the engine compartment was made easier by removing the entire ECU box.

Engine Compartment Spaghetti

I’m going to hold off on attempting a reinstallation of all these systems into the Avant until I have a good reason to tackle the project.

Sensors, Testing

Thermal Imaging on the Dyno

Today the Silver S4 went back to the Dyno for a series of pulls with some hardware configuration changes.  Data from that is still under evaluation.

10/21/2016 Dyno Session
10/21/2016 Dyno Session

Because I was changing some hardware configurations I removed the front bumper and headlights for the morning.  This allowed me a clear view of the intercoolers, or more correctly the thermal camera a clear view of the intercooler.

I snapped these images during one pull, the left image is from the early part of the pull and the right image is from the last part of the pull as the dyno operator lets off the accelerator.

Side Mount Intercooler Thermal Image on Dyno
SRM SMIC Thermal Image During Dyno Pull

As makes sense, the lower part of intercooler, where the charge air enters the core, is rising in temperature more rapidly than the upper part of the core, where the cooled air exits.