50cc Trike getting EFI

[Rebel]

On SD, royldawg is putting together a fuel injection for his ice bear 50cc trike. I sent him a PM and he said it was fine to repost his progress here, I thought it might be of interest.

royldawg;

1) This is the kit I got.
www.ecotrons.com/Small_Engine_EFI_PNP_kit.html
2) Purchase price was $299.00 + shipping $30.00 total = $329.00
3) I've never done one like this. I did however build a crude system on a b&s 18 hp racing lawnmower.
4) If I remember right it is an 8 pole stator, will get an 11 though if needed. I will change all bulbs to led also.
5) Not sure on the injector priming but when key is turned on the pump runs for a few seconds. according to instructions.
6) the kit from MBE looks to be a similar kit but is $50.00 more.

I ordered it with the 24mm intake and throttle body and 38g/min fuel injector.

Ok here is the step by step report.
This is the opening of the box.



The contents of box unpacked and laid out.



The contents of box.
Parts:
1.ECU
2.Harness (including the "performance Switch")
3.Throttle Body and injector
24mm Throttle body and GY6 intake manifold (including TPS sensor)
Fuel injector (60g/min)
4.Fuel pump assembly
Fuel pump (22l/h)
Fuel pressure regulator
Fuel filter
Fuel lines and clamps
5. MAP sensor (1bar)
6.Engine temperature sensor
7.Intake air temperature sensor
9.Oxygen sensor and bungs
10. Serial communication cable (to a computer)
12.CD - free tuning software (also downloadable)
Since this kit is going on a 83cc BBK Matt recommended the (60g/min) injector instead of the (38g/min) injector.

The o2 sensor bung is just a nut that needs to be welded to the exhaust header and then drill a hole in pipe. Preferably as close to the engine as possible. But space and a good position for removal of sensor will dictate final position. Since I have a supertrapp muffler on order. I'll take the trike and muffler to my exhaust guy and have him make a larger header pipe. Once the bung is welded on the pipe the sensor will go into the pipe about 3/8 of an inch. So an original pipe could be used.


Roy

[bluefront]

If he actually gets that system to run without additional/extreme mods to the battery/charge system, I'll be very surprised.

The other thing....trouble-shooting an add-on EFI could prove quite a challenge. It's not like you can easily substitute a known-good part. I think that system has a blinking LED trouble code setup. But there are so many points of possible failure (all difficult to diagnose), unless he gets excellent support from the seller of the kit, he'll be in a world of hurt if/when the system has any problems......(you know it will).

[Rebel]

Well, I'm all for him giving it the old college try. I hope it works and he has good results. We will see.

[bluefront]

There's always the "total-loss" battery system. You could cram in a few extra batteries, install LEDs for all the lights, kick-start the scoot all the time, never ride after dark since you'd need an LED (not very bright) headlight for daytime/legal riding, limit your riding depending on the number of batteries and their capacity......then have the thing on a charger all the time you're not riding.

Not sure if I could put up with all that.....

[Rebel]

more from Roy

Step 1 of instructions:
Replace the carburetor with the throttle body assembly.



I ran into a problem with the throttle cable. The cable bracket on the throttle body is set up so that the cable comes from the front . The way the cable is routed it will have some fairly sharp bends and may tend to bind. I will have to reroute cable. The next problem is the end of cable is not long enough to wrap the around pulley. I'm trying to decide what to do about it. I could fabricate a new bracket and have the cable attached from the back like on the original carburetor. Or I can straighten the adjuster tube and cut the threads farther on and carefully trim it off. Or just order a new cable with a longer end.



fuel injection intake is not as complicated as a carburetor.

Step 2: Find a secure place to mount MAP sensor and secure with wire tie. Connect MAP sensor to intake using 4mm tube. In the photo it is the grey hose going to intake.



Step 3: Fuel tank conversion.
Remove fuel tank if necessary. Drill a hole 5mm-6mm diameter in upper wall of fuel tank, or just below the filler neck. Push fuel return line in about 10 mm deep an seal with silicone. I'm not going to drill a hole in the tank. I will use the vent pipe that went to the charcoal canister instead. I have previously eliminated the emission junk. I will drill a small vent hole in the cap. I think this should work.

Roy

[Rebel]

Well a made a crude bracket for the throttle cable. will probably modify and reinforce as it tends to flex slightly.



Roy

[Rebel]

I got the fuel pump and pressure regulator mounted. The correct mounting of fuel supply components are. The fuel injector lower than the fuel pump, the fuel pump and fuel filter must be lower than the lowest part of the fuel tank. My tank has a vacuum petcock. I will need to replace or modify and use a manual valve. I forgot to get manual petcock today so will do that tomorrow.



Here is a diagram of the fuel system.



Roy

[Rebel]

Photos of the trike. It is a 50 size with a 83cc

before I started this project it had a 72cc in it and would cruse at 30-35 mph gps. I haven't ran it with the 83cc yet.

bbk.






Roy

[Rebel]

Step 4. Install engine temperature sensor.
Find a place on cylinder head with the least amount of air flow (usually the backside of engine). I used one of the valve cover bolts (top right in photo.



Step5. Install intake air temperature sensor.
Insert sensor into the air filter or someplace between filter and throttle body. Since my filter is a screen type I poked a hole in it and inserted sensor.I used a zip tie on wire so it would not go in to far. Then I used another zip tie around filter so it would not pull out.



Roy

[Rebel]

Step 6. Install ECU harness.
The only wire that can be connected to directly to +12V is the RED +12V wire. If any other wire is connected to +12V directly ECU could be damaged.



Step 6.1. Identify ignition pickup sensor wire and ground on CDI box
Step 6.2. Splice the ignition pickup sensor wire, and connect it to ECU VRS wire (orange wire on harness) and secure the splice.The VCS wire is a variable reluctant sensor wire.
Step 6.3. Connect ignition pickup sensor ground to the ground wire (green wire on harness) , if you don't want to use ECU to control CDI go to step 7. ( It is good practice not to use the ECU to control the CDI first, get the engine running then use ECU to control CDI.)
If you want to use the ECU to control the CDI ignition timing, and if our 6-pin CDI was included in the kit (I didn't get their CDI in the kit) :cut the ignition pickup sensor wire, and connect the wire on the sensor side to the ECU VRS input (orange wire on harness).
Step 6.4. Then connect the other side of wire (the one you just cut) to the ECU CDI-PG (pulse generation), (Gray wire on the harness). (may be called "sensor signal" on CDI connector).
Note: if you use the ECU to control your own CDI, it may not work.
Note: if you don't know the pin definitions on your CDI connector, DO NOT CONNECT CDI-PG WIRE!!
Step 6.3. Secure connections using tape, or solder then tape.
Step 6.4. On most CDIs, there are 2 ground wires on the connector and likely only 1 of them is connected to chassis ground. We suggest that you connect the other ground wire to the chassis ground.
Step 7. Splice the "key switch" wire, and connect it to ECU "KEYSW" input (pink wire).
The "key switch" is the +12V signal coming from the key-on; for some scooters, it also goes through "stop/kill" switch. The splice should be after the "stop switch", or after the "key switch" if there is no "stop switch". This is the ECU power-on trigger. Without thi wire connected, the ECU will not power on.
Note: If there is no key-switch, the "KEYSW" wire can be connected to +12V. But you must install a manual switch between +12V and "KEYSW" wire.
Step 8. Install the ECU in a safe place (it should be close to the EFI components, for example, under seat or in trunk).
Step 9. Connect EFI components to the harness.
Step 10. Connect ECU to 12V battery + and battery -.
Step 11. Make sure 12V battery - is connected to chassis ground.
Step 12. Check to make sure all wires are connected properly.


Roy

[theswede]

Pretty interesting, thanks for the repost!
I have been investigating this for a while myself, but I got held up by the power consumption of an EFI unit.
I did only find the MBE Motorsports variant, and it states a current draw of 5A. The Ecotrons kit looks like it may have a smaller current draw, plus the kit is apparently not on back order (as the MBE kit has been for several months).
To get the max available current out of the charging system I did find this high-power regulator/rectifier:
gy6-motor.de/GY6-roller-139ma-139qmb-engine/Electric-CDI-Ignon-Coil-Relay-Rectifer-Horn-Starter-Relais-Lock-Regulator-1366/Power-Regulator-50W-GY6-4-stroke.html
It seems the stock regulator/rectifier is only half-wave, so it is a pretty wasteful design. Still, 50W at 12V is only about 4A... It may not be enough to power the scooter without draining the battery. HOWEVER, there is at least another 35W available from the headlight circuit. Maybe swap out the headlight bulb for some low-power LED thingie...

I'll be following this project with great interest!

[Rebel]

I do not know if Roy is looking into all the power needs, or if he just jumped into this project hoping for the best. I'm hoping it all works out for him. We will see. The last post he made over there indicated he was going to be out of town for the next two weeks and won't be working on it for that period.

[theswede]

I sent an e-mail to Ecotrons asking about the power consumption of the kit, thought Id' post the answer:

*******
Q: What is the power consumption of the kit? I am concerned that the standard 139QMB charging system may not be up to the challenge, and that I will end up running only as long as my battery lasts.
>>>> It's about 30W total for the kit. Is your 139QMB having 6 pole or 8 pole stator? Most stators can provide 60W charging power. Usually the charging is not a problem, as long as you don't idle too long, and turn on the lights at the same time. You can try it. and you can upgrade the stator to 8 pole or 12 poles always if necessary.

******
Seems OK to me, 30W equals 2.5A at 12 v.
I do have an 8-pole stator, but I have never seen a 12-pole one for the 139QMB anywhere?
In any case, the high-power regulator/rectifier I linked to in my earlier post looks like a possible solution if the available wattage becomes a problem.

[Rebel]

That rectifier might be an answer to a lot of electrical problems people potentially may have.

[theswede]

Ok, I just placed an order for the EFI kit. It will be a few weeks before I get it, shipping to a friend in NC who is comming over to Sweden soon.

Otto