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Spitronics TCU Standard Manual

Automatic transmission control unit
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MANUAL Introduction
The manual is written in sequence for the beginner. If you are a first time user spend some time
working through it and understanding where and how the information are put together so that it will
be easy to find what you are looking for. If you are an expert, use this guide to jump to the right
chapter. Is has a lot of information and may be frustrating to find the answers if you don't know
where to look.
1. SPITRONICS TCU Introduction
This chapter discusses the SPITRONICS TCU as a product, how it is designed, and how it
operates in general.
2. Safety Precautions
This chapter discusses the all the safety precaution to the user and the product. Very important
to read!!
3. Requirements
This chapter discusses the requirements for the TCU to operate the Transmission, and the PC
specifications to communicate with the TCU.
4. Hardware Installation
This chapter discusses the how to do the wiring and physical installation of the TCU. Be sure to
read the precautions during this faze!!
5. Software Installation
This chapter discusses the how to install the software and drivers to connect to the TCU.
6. Software Operation and Setup
This chapter discusses the operation of the tuning software and how to set the parameters up for
each specific Transmission.
7. Driver Operation of the Transmission
This chapter explains how to operate the transmission from the driver side.
8. Startup Procedure
This chapter discusses the basic sequence of actions to prevent damage during the startup faze.
9. Tuning Principles
This chapter discusses tuning information for the Transmission when it operates correctly. This is
to enhance performance and smoothness and correct operation of the TCU.
10. Fault Finding
This chapter discusses the symptoms and remedies of known faults.
11. Specifications
This is a list of specifications for the SPITRONICS TCU.
12. Firmware Programmer
This chapter discusses how to upgrade or change the SPITRONICS TCU Firmware.

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Summary of Contents for Spitronics TCU Standard

  • Page 1 Is has a lot of information and may be frustrating to find the answers if you don’t know where to look. 1. SPITRONICS TCU Introduction This chapter discusses the SPITRONICS TCU as a product, how it is designed, and how it operates in general. 2. Safety Precautions This chapter discusses the all the safety precaution to the user and the product.
  • Page 2 SPITRONICS TCU Welcome Congratulations on your purchase of the SPITRONICS TCU Transmission Control Unit (TCU). We are sure that you will be satisfied with this robust, compact and user friendly controller, which was designed to meet today’s requirements. This TCU was developed around the people involved with Management Computers.
  • Page 3 For racing and recreational vehicles which must be customized. It is used as a cost effective replacement for existing TCU’s. SPITRONICS TCU is a South African made product and can be customized for dedicated Transmissions and models. It is a reliable compact system which is easy to mount in the driver’s compartment.

  • Page 4: Safety Precautions

    The following guidelines will ensure proper operation the first time. Failure to install equipment correctly may damage it or other equipment permanently. These failures will solely be the responsibility of the installer and no guarantees will be given by Spitronics. Make sure you have read the Terms and Conditions on the website www.spitronics.co.za...

  • Page 5: Operator Safety

    • If you have a firmware programmer, do not load Ver. E1 EMU or Ver. E2 ECU firmware on the E20 SPITRONICS TCU or visa-versa. It will damage the Micro because they are different. Make sure if you have E20 hardware to use E20 firmware.
  • Page 6 • Windows XP with service pack 2 or later, Vista or Windows 7. Note that Vista or Windows 7 do not operate with other than the Spitronics USB cable. Vista is also not as stable and some laptops struggle to communicate with USB converters.

  • Page 7: Hardware Installation

    4.1 Compatibility to the old TCU series Note that the Ver 3 SPITRONICS TCU may be upgraded to the Ver 20 software. The unit will have to be sent to the factory for this upgrade at a cost and also an additional profile switch with harness may be bought separately.
  • Page 8 • Make sure that the correct wire thickness is used for each power electronic component. If wires are common ensure that the wire is thick enough to carry the total current. Too thin wires will heat up and may start a fire. The same goes for relays. Be careful of cheap relays.
  • Page 9 4.4.2 Hall & Optic sensors 1. These sensors already provide the TCU with a square wave. 2. Hall sensors work with magnetic fields but it does not mean it is a magnetic sensor. Failure to identify this will cause incorrect wiring and no operation. 3.

  • Page 10: Throttle Position Sensor

    • Remember this is a guideline to black box testing and not a failsafe operation. Note point 4 above and rather consult the specifications from the manufacturer or vehicle diagrams. 4.4.3 Throttle Position Sensor • • This signal tells the TCU exactly what the driver is thinking. •...
  • Page 11 reference. Please follow the labels on the wiring harness when connecting up your new TCU. All wires are grouped together for ease of installation. Harness Connector Pin View Figure shows a view of the 12pin Female Plug on the TCU harness. Note the retaining clip on top and how the pins are numbered.

  • Page 12: Pc Software Installation

    Communication can also be achieved by USB via a USB to RS232 converter cable. Ensure that the drivers for the cable are installed according to manufacturer specifications. When using other than Spitronics cables, you have to break out pin 1,4,6,7,8 & 9 as they are used for other inputs...
  • Page 13 TCU as well as the Profile Switch. See drawing. On a serial connector provision is made for hardware handshaking on printers etc. It is not used for these management electronics. For the Spitronics USB converter you do not have to break out the pins as they are internally disconnected.

  • Page 14: Button Description

    Connect the optional serial cable or RS232 converter cable to your laptop or PC and to the TCU. (Remember to break out pins 1,4,6,7,8 & 9 if it is not a Spitronics USB converter) Switch the ignition on and check if the yellow LED is on. Open the TCU PC software. If the TCU is connected, the PC software will detect it on the Com port automatically and connect to it.
  • Page 15 6.3 Changing the USB Comport in Windows Device Manager One some laptops, Windows will install the USB on a Com Port higher than 10. This is a Windows driver problem and then the Com Port is not detected automatically. You need to change it to lower than 11.
  • Page 16 The laptop memory will have the same information in its RAM when the profiles are uploaded after the PC software is started. If the car is switched off without saving, the operator may switch the TCU on and press the Write to TCU button. This will save the copy of the data in the Laptop RAM, into the TCU FLASH memory.
  • Page 17 To change the Customer code you need to put in the Agent Password which is only supplied to the agents by the manufacturer. To unlock the TCU enter the same password that you used to lock the Code. If you press the Write to TCU button, the profiles will stay open.
  • Page 18 6.5 Selecting Different Pages in the Software 6.6 Start (F1) 6.7 Setup (F2) 6.8 Profiles (F3) 6.9 Logger (F4) 6.10 Manual (F5) Press on any of these buttons to activate the different pages in the software. By pressing the alt button you will see the hot keys for these buttons. The hot keys are easier to press during driving.

  • Page 19: Version Numbers

    This is very important as it must coincide with the PC software. It is also written with a permanent marker on the enclosure but this my rub off during installation. 2.20.1.A In the sample means: PC Software Ver. 2, Hardware number 20 (SPITRONICS TCU), Protocol Ver.1, Firmware Ver. A.
  • Page 20 Serial Number is to keep track of each TCU sold. It is also engraved on the enclosure of the TCU. The number for ex PP-PP-999999-15 means as follows: PP – Agent which this unit was distributed to PP – Customer which this unit was sold to – this can be changed by the Agent for his own reference.

  • Page 21: Profile Information

    6.7.1.1 Profile Information The Profile Information screen contains customer and vehicle information for a specific transmission. It saves in the TCU and PC. This is used to identify different tuning profiles from each other and it does not affect any tuning on the Transmission. 6.7.1.2 Engine Configuration Cylinders –...

  • Page 22: General Purpose Outputs

    6.7.1.3 Transmission Configuration Number of Gears – This setting tells the software how many forward gears the transmission has. In some firmware profiles, this setting is forced and cannot be changed. The user may select fewer gears for specific profiles like low range etc. Converter Stall Speed –...
  • Page 23 General Purpose Outputs – It is not featured by the current firmware but reserved for future development of different firmware and hardware. 6.7.2 Sensor Setup (Alt 2) 6.7.2.1 Active Sensors RPM Input Sensor – This sensor cannot be disabled as it is required by the current firmware. TPS Input Sensor –...

  • Page 24: Profile Options

    OK button. Then click on the Write to TCU button. When you switch the TCU off and on again, the TPS bar should indicate 0% when pedal is released and 100% when pedal is pressed. Speed Sensor – This speed sensor tells the TCU how fast the road speed is. The road speed is used on each profile to help with the decision of when to shift gears to ease driving.
  • Page 25 for Tiptronic while the Red LED is On when the Lockup clutch is engaged. In Gear Mode the Red LED indicates if Shift Solenoid no 1 is engaged and the Green LED indicates if Shift Solenoid no 2 is engaged. This is handy to see if and when the TCU shift between different gears. 6.7.3 Solenoid Setup (Alt 2) These options are used to set up different Shift Solenoid configurations for each shifter position, as well as the different gears in the shifter positions, if they are allowed.
  • Page 26 6.8.1 Gear Profiles (Alt 1) 6.8.2 Line Pressure (Alt 2) 6.8.3 Real-Time Data and Bars 6.8.1 Gear Profiles (Alt 1) These profiles are used to set up each gear to shift on its own pattern and according to certain criteria. It is important not to set weird patterns outside the ability of the automatic transmission. See the precautions for the tune-up settings to prevent damage to the TCU.
  • Page 27 If Real Time is active, these profiles will change as shifts in the transmission takes place. This will allow the operator to view each profile as the transmission progress through the gears. This Gear bar indicates which Gear is selected at the time, (the Green indicator) and the red indicates how many forward gears are in the transmission.
  • Page 28 This graph will determine the line pressure which acts on the clutches. This pressure is a pulse width modulation signal and is calculated according to the throttle position. It is critical that the TPS is calibrated and operates correctly. The higher the Duty Cycle, the less the line pressure will be on the clutches.
  • Page 29 Revcounter - calibrate it according to an accurate revolution counter. It is critical that it functions correctly to ensure proper gear shifting at all times. Double click will toggle between the two options. Throttle Position Sensor – must be calibrated to operate between 0% and 100 %. This is critical for shifting as well as line pressures.
  • Page 30 Solenoids – Indicates which of the shift solenoids in the transmission is activated at the time. Profile Indication – Indicates which profile is active as well as if overdrive is active. 6.8 Logger (F4) The data logger is a valuable tool in diagnostics to tune your TCU and transmission and identify problems easily and quickly.
  • Page 31 For quick real-time logging you can log the data on the map by pressing the buttons. The data will be recorded and saved in the PC RAM. See the graph below. After logging you can grab the log sheet with the right mouse button and go to different times in the graph to see what happened and do alterations on the graphs.
  • Page 32 data from that position by pressing the play button . The real time data will then be replaced with the data in the recorded Log file. Now you can go to the different profiles and see how the signal values changed while you were driving. By looking at the Log data you can do adjustments on the profiles and save it.
  • Page 33 7. Driver Operation of the Transmission This part is important for the driver to know exactly how to operate his transmission to get the most from it. If you are an agent, you need to print this part for the driver or explain to him what he can select and how to change his profiles.

  • Page 34: Limp Mode

    If Tiptronic is off then the Up & Down buttons will select or deselect the overdrive gear. The Up button will select overdrive while the Down button will select drive. If the LED Function Mode is selected, the Green LED will be off when overdrive is active and on when overdrive is deselected. If you cruise in traffic or town and are in drive and not yet fast enough to select overdrive, you may force overdrive by pressing the Up button.

  • Page 35: Start-Up Procedure

    3. Ensure that the pins 1,4,6,7,8 &9 are broken out of the communications connector if you are not using a Spitronics USB Converter cable. 4. Now switch the Ignition off and connect the Laptop to the TCU. Switch it on again. Start the PC software and connect to the TCU.
  • Page 36 9. Tuning Principles The TCU normally comes with standard profiles preloaded onto it. These profiles differ a lot due to engine RPM and road speed differences for each type of vehicle. There is a large difference between petrol and diesel engines and also 4x4 and two wheel drive vehicles. It is recommended to start with a profile that is more or less similar to your configuration.
  • Page 37 15. Now set the Up Shift (Blue Line) Low Dot to idle RPM plus 800 RPM. An example is if idle RPM is 800, set this Dot to 1200RPM. Do this for each gear. 16. Now set the Down Shift (Red Line) Low Dot to idle RPM plus 200 RPM. An example is if idle RPM is 800, set this Dot to 1000RPM.
  • Page 38 11. Now to set the Up Shift (Blue Line) Middle Dot, press the throttle in about 40% TPS value. Again feel each shift if it takes place at the right RPM’s. If it shifts too quickly move the Dot more to the right and vice versa. Do this for each gear. 9.1.3 Driving and Complex Settings 2.

  • Page 39: Fault Finding

    Repeat the save process and go to the next profile. For low range you may need to start over as with Profile 1. This is due to the speed settings that will be different. Once you are familiar with tuning you may tune the middle and top dots also in the up and down dimension.

  • Page 40: Installation

    The firmware programmer allows the agents or users to change the Firmware program in the SPITRONICS TCU for different Transmissions. This is also used for upgrading to the latest version of the manufacturers firmware. The programmer is bought optional and not a requirement.
  • Page 41 You will not need these and they will only take up unnecessary disk space. No harm if you install the complete programmer. Connect the USB programmer to the PC only and start the program at the start button, activate Silicone Laboratories and click on Silicone Laboratories IDE. Now click on Options, Connect Options and select USB Debug Adapter and also C2 interface.

  • Page 42: Operation

    12.3 Operation To program the SPITRONICS TCU first connect the Programmer to the TCU Com Port. Connect only the 12 Way connector and earth the TCU. Switch the ignition on. Click on the button to connect. The download button will become active, click on it.
  • Page 43 Select the Files of Type to be Intel Hex (*.hex) then go to Look in: to search for the correct file. Click Open when it is selected. Click Download to program the TCU.
  • Page 44 Click the disconnect button when it is finished and switch the ignition off. Disconnect the programmer and connect the USB to RS232 Converter cable. Do not connect the 10 Way cable before you run through the startup procedure. This will ensure that load the right firmware and not to damage the TCU.

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Tcu intermediate

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