ISAC Discussion Thread

E

esinger

Stroker Hot Air
Joined
May 28, 2004
I thought it'd be a good idea to start a thread for those that have the ISAC controller or anyone thinking about purchasing one.

The ISAC has replaced my in car manual knob style boost controller and the alkycontrol controller. I have a external wastegate (Racegate) that's now being controlled by two solenoids configured as a bleeder and blocker combo.
I've seen a couple of installs with a mounting bracket being used for an under the dash mount. That's probably the most secure way to mount it, but I went with an easier approach which is to use velcro for my under the dash mount. The ISAC is a very lightweight unit and once the surface area was properly cleaned, the velcro adhesive side stuck very well.

I finished the ISAC install a little over a week ago and took me about 2 weeks to complete. The reason why it took so long was I really wanted to re-wire a lot of different things in my car while I was going through this process and my pace was very casual and careful.

There's quite a few questions I still have, but I'll start off with a simple one. I've seen the "ON" light change color from green to white. I've look through the manual and haven't seen any mention of what this is an indicator of. Anyone know?
 
Im assuming you have the pressure switch from the Alkycontrol pump wired in. The power light turns green when the pressure comes up on the pump :)

It will blink if you have a pressure fault or if your tune gets reset.

It usually takes us 3-4 hours to install one here at the shop. It depends on how many of the features you use and how many wires have to be run. We've installed them on a lot of different manufacturers' vehicles at this point and other than the Fords needing a tach adapter, its pretty painless.
 
JayC said:
Im assuming you have the pressure switch from the Alkycontrol pump wired in. The power light turns green when the pressure comes up on the pump :)

It will blink if you have a pressure fault or if your tune gets reset.

It usually takes us 3-4 hours to install one here at the shop. It depends on how many of the features you use and how many wires have to be run. We've installed them on a lot of different manufacturers' vehicles at this point and other than the Fords needing a tach adapter, its pretty painless.
Click to expand...

Interesting, The "On" light is green most of the time, but yesterday I noticed it change to white after I did a WOT session. It eventually turned back to green.

Well, I was definitely taking my time on the install so it would not have been a typical install time.
 
Seems like a good place to ask.... When is the datalogging bug that prevents saving logs gonna be fixed?
 
disco stu said:
Seems like a good place to ask.... When is the datalogging bug that prevents saving logs gonna be fixed?
Click to expand...

Bob hasnt been able to reproduce that bug. I havent either. He also couldnt replicate the bug where when you try to load a log it hoses up the config.

We're still looking into it.
 
Ahh, just me then. I love it when I have a weird issue no one
else has had, lol. I gotta figure it out though so I can compare
logs, especially for tunin my alky curve, and so I can send you files if I'm not understanding this or that.
 
Okay, how about this question. I have not wired up the stage wire to a switch, but wondering if I should. Does the stage wire need to be continuously ground until the car launches? Or just simply a momentary ground to put it into stage mode?
 
esinger said:
Okay, how about this question. I have not wired up the stage wire to a switch, but wondering if I should. Does the stage wire need to be continuously ground until the car launches? Or just simply a momentary ground to put it into stage mode?
Click to expand...

As long as its grounded, the ISAC is in stage mode. You could wire it to a momentary button or off the brake pedal.
 
JayC said:
As long as its grounded, the ISAC is in stage mode. You could wire it to a momentary button or off the brake pedal.
Click to expand...

I thought about the brake pedal, but what about when you're wanting to do a burnout? Maybe a switch that interrupts the brake ground when you want to go past the stage boost level.
 
esinger said:
I thought about the brake pedal, but what about when you're wanting to do a burnout? Maybe a switch that interrupts the brake ground when you want to go past the stage boost level.
Click to expand...

Arm and disarm switch inline would work fine. Also, if you're using a line lock you dont have any reason to have your foot on the pedal doing a burnout.
 
I’d like to discuss the boost control section a bit. Some of the values aren’t really quite clear to me as to what happens when I change the values.

Specifically the Solenoid Ratio, Min Solenoid DC, Max Solenoid DC, Prop Gain and Int. Gain are a bit mysterious to me and how to find the current values to plug in. There are recommended values for those, but what will happen if I deviate from those values?

I’m also wondering whether people are using the sliders at all (set to desired Max PSI) and adjusting the Max Psi/Sec value to ramp the boost up.
 
I believe the gains are discussed in the manual.

If you're still dealing with solenoid ratio, you need to update to the latest software. Its not used anymore in the latest version.

You have to use the sliders to set your target boost. You may need to fiddle with the ramp speed as sometimes the ISAC makes the boost come in too fast.
 
JayC said:
If you're still dealing with solenoid ratio, you need to update to the latest software. Its not used anymore in the latest version.
Click to expand...

I downloaded the latest software (1.1.1) and there's still an entry for Solenoid Ratio on the Boost tab and it's still editable, so should I ignore it??

Here's what the manual say's about the gains
------------------------------------
- Prop Gain. The PWM is adjusted by a factor of Gain*PSI difference. This correction does not creep, it stays the same. We recommend using a value of 5 as a starting point both when using standard wastegate control as well as CO2.

- Int Gain. The PWM is adjusted by a factor of Gain*PSI difference. This correction keeps getting added periodically, so the PWM will go to its limits if the psi difference does not resolve. We recommend using values of 15 as a starting point when using standard wastegate control as well as CO2.
------------------------------------
Sorry, but I'm just not getting it. The above explainations aren't really getting through to my skull:confused:
 
Wow, thank you very much Jay!

One thing I'd like to point out. On the boost tab the labels for the trim selector all show "Boost %". I don't see the boost sliders as a percentage, but more as PSI, just maybe some fine tuning of the interface.

Thanks Again!
Eric
 
I would like to just mention again how awsome this thing is. So glad I spent the little bit of extra $ for it.
 
GDP said:
I would like to just mention again how awsome this thing is. So glad I spent the little bit of extra $ for it.
Click to expand...

Thanks.. its just going to keep getting better. The unit shipped pretty much bug free from an operational standpoint. Most of the fixes we've been doing have been PC software issues although we did change the boost control strategy to something that seems to work better and will accommodate a wider variety of solenoids for boost control.

Its hands down the most feature packed controller out there. I just wish more people knew about it.
 
Definitely a nice unit and exactly what I was looking for.

I do have a question about the logging. When I right click on the graph, one of the selections is the "Download ISAC Log". Is there a stored log in memory? If so what conditions need to be met for recording?

Thanks,
Eric
 
A/F Control Issues

Yesterday I had a chance to play with the tuning on my car for the first time since installing the ISAC. I was having trouble getting the A/F control to work. My logs would show Injection Control ON and AFR Control ON and the Pump Speed at various speeds, but there was no sign that the A/F was being corrected. I tried make various adjustments to the sliders and the gains, but it seemed to be a battle I was not going to win.

After giving up for the day I think I know what my problem. I had both A/F Control Enabled and Injection Enabled. Could that have been the case?
 
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