Motec M150 "hello world"

Hi HP Academy community,

New M150 owner here, feeling a bit frustrated with Motec's documentation. Hoping someone with some Motec experience can help me get started. At this point, I'm looking for the most basic steps to get the ECU running and connected to M1 tune. I purchased the M150 unterminated harness and the GPA package.

The M1 datasheet has a list of pinouts, but sparse descriptions. As far as I can tell, there are NO basic steps to install and wire the ECU – which is blowing my mind. I see multiple BAT_POS / BAT_NEG, but there's nothing describing what to do with them. It seems all BAT_POS typically gets wired to ignition? Do installers typically join them? Why three pins that do the same thing? Do you put a fuse between the battery and the three positive pins? What is the amp draw of the ECU?

Sorry if this feels like I am complaining, but it just feels so weird to sell a kidney for an ECU, and the documentation to be so poor / outdated (much of the docs are for the gold box ECUs). Are new installers intended to rely heavily on the dealer they purchased through to get up and running?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, the dealer is expected to help the customer. Even though I am not your MoTeC dealer, I am willing to help. The minimum you need to do to get an M130 or M150 running on the benchtop and connected to M1 Tune is this:

-- Wire an Ethernet cable to the Ethernet pins (Connector D (26 pin): Pin23 TX+, Green / White; Pin24 TX-, Green; Pin 25 Rx+. Orange/White; Pin26 RX- Orange)

-- Wire a +12V power Source to Connector C Pin 26 (+12V), and the ground to connector C Pin 10 or 11 (in the final harness you would connect both, but for the bench one is ok).

Attach Connectors C & D to your ECU.

Install M1 Tune on your laptop, connect the RJ-45 Ethernet lead to the laptop (or to USB adapter to the laptop).

Supply power to the ECU.

Open M1 Tune, and use File->Open ECU...

Whether you wire the Bat_Pos pins to your ignition power, or some other source depends on the intended operation of the vehicle. On my race cars, I typically wire the ECU to the master switch. So it's always on. The ignition switch is an input to the ECU that is used as a RUN / Stop signal. But some folks will wire the ignition switch to just controls the coils, and injector power.

I do it this way so I can crank the engine without the ignition on to build oil pressure prior to starting.

The reason for multiple wires is due to the current limitation of the pins. So yes, you splice them together before they connect to the ECU. Normally there would be an appropriate fuse, circuit breaker, or PDM used to supply the power.

Thanks David, that's really helpful. Probably seems silly to have write out such trivial knowledge, but I appreciate you taking the time to spell it out.

For context, I am looking to swap out the mechanical ignition (Dinoplex + distributor) and injection (CIS) on a 1983 Ferrari 512 BBi. No sub-systems, just COP ignition with sequential injection in a street car. Before I go ripping out 40 year old parts and immobilize the car, I wanted to get the ECU working as much as I can on a workbench.

Per the multiple positive wires, are the individual wires for powering certain pins, or are they providing general power to the ECU (with the extra wires there to help with providing necessary current)?

Thanks again.

When multiple pins are labeled with the same circuit name, you can assume they are internally connected (you can test this with an ohm meter). Connectors C & D are the same pinout/keying as Connectors A & B on an M130. So it's possible to upgrade a harness designed for an M130 for use with an M150 just by adding the extra connectors.

Sounds like a cool project. Good Luck!

Robert,

Like David said we are happy to fill in where we can, but your Motec dealer is obligated to support what they sold you and that is part of the price so you can lean on them for some help as well.

Thanks guys. I will definitely ping my dealer for more info. I've also been watching a lot of the HP videos; which help provide context / insight to what I am seeing in the Motec documents.

I am going to try getting the ECU running on the bench today, and will report back.

In the meantime, maybe you can explain something. I have the unterminated M150 harness from Motec; which I am assuming reflects typical use-cases / convention. My BAT_POS (C26) is split with a single 12ga, and 12 more 18ga. It's my understanding that the ECU doesn't supply positive 12v power to much of anything (favoring low-side switching). If this is correct, why so many lines coming in on BAT_POS?

Thanks in advance.

Robert the ECU has bridge, half bridge capability. Combine potentially driving 2 e-throttles, 4 cam solenoids, perhaps something like an active differential that draws a lot potentially for seconds at a time, plus a host of lower draw items, and it adds up.

I haven't seen the drawing for the unterminated harness, but I think the other 12V splices are for you to use with the injectors, coils and other devices (like solenoids) that need a 12V source that is the same as the ECU. By using that splicing, you are not likely to cause a problem with "backfeeding" power into the ECU when the main ECU BAT_POS is off.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I was able to get the ECU connected to the M1 Tune as described above. Basically, I have a 110v to 12v power supply; which I connected to C26 (+) and C10 (-). The harness came with the ethernet connector pre-wired. M1 tune immediately saw the ECU as an option; with a sample 4 cylinder GPA package (which I am modifying for 12 cylinders). I didn't need to deal with any licensing (it "just worked"). I was able to quickly wire up a MAP sensor on the bench as well, and see those values in M1 Tune.

It's all pretty simple once you know, but I feel like Motec can do a much better job with these "quick start" instructions. Thankfully this community (videos and forum) exist.

Per the 12v splitting, it seems this would be to handle the bridges? It seems convention is to supply power to ign/inj separately via their own relays / fuses, and simply control via the ECU (eg, low-side switching)?