Upgrades Continue At ECU

Over the course of the last two years, Engineering Concepts Unlimited (ECU), the 42-year-old Fishers, Indiana, USA, company has launched a series of new products and modernized much of its product range of control and monitoring systems for engine systems used in power generation and other stationary drive applications.

“We are always developing new products or variants of things for OEMs, to keep streamlining their wiring and system panels,” said Adam Suchko, ECU president and founder. “We design a multitude of products for the generator, pump and auxiliary marketplace and many times people are surprised that we manufacture such a full range from sophisticated to basic.”

Most recently, ECU has launched updated versions for some of its top-selling systems. Heading that list is the ECU-988NC automatic engine control for diesel and gaseous-fueled engines. The ECU-9988N is designed to automatically crank, start and monitor engines for conditions such as overcrank, overspeed, high water temperature and low oil pressure and crank timing sequences incorporate single or multiple crank modes in conjunction with timer adjustments. A built-in speed switch uses a magnetic pickup to monitor engine speed for crank disconnect and overspeed, while bypass timer logic helps monitor low oil pressure and high water temperature override during the crank period and an additional adjustable period after crank disconnect.

“The 9988NC is the latest reincarnation of this product due to large demand of the original 9988N,” Suchko said. “We can’t even guess anymore how many are in the field since it all started with this product in 1986, which means yes its heritage dates back 30 years.

“To be honest, we thought this product would fade away at some point, but our sales are very good. Now we’ve added more up-to-date electronics and a communications port and it continues to flow out the doors to customers.”

Also new are the ECU-845, ECU-754 and ECU-770, which are all integrated controls for CANBUS enabled engine systems that Suchko said incorporate “significant twists on existing versions of these products.”

“The ECU-754 is the latest twist on the 750 and 740, which have been very successful in the market,” Suchko said. “It’s now sporting a full color faceplate with red gauge zones and a really popular low fuel lamp that goes into a flashing mode as you begin the trip to empty.

“This CAN-based product pulls several parameters from the engine ECM. The 754 has the complete standard 9988N style output relays, so if you want five gauges and an 9988N, this solves the problem in one clean box and greatly simplified wiring.”

Also upgraded is the ECU-PMTN programmable engine timer, which is engineered to replace as many at 13 types of engine timers. Programmable to meet any engine or automation timing requirement and able to adapt to any operating condition thanks to its epoxy coating and hermetically sealed, ECU said the unit includes four course timing ranges with fine adjust in each range.

“It’s a new design of a very old timer that was still being purchased in larger quantities than we would have expected,” Suchko said. “The original was hitting about three decades in production and has always been a popular seller, covering a lot of applications.

“It accepts all voltage inputs from 9 to 30 V and its ability to be adjusted to a delay on make, delay on release, interval timer and cycle timer with the flip of a DIP switch has made it very versatile and easy to carry on a service truck.”

Beyond the current updates, Suchko said ECU was working on enhancements to other product lines, including its speed switches.

“The SS speed switch lines are older, but we’ve been seeing more demand and we’re about to release a new version of this product,” Suchko said. “These units have a two-channel speed switch that makes the traditional crank terminate and overspeed simple, with nothing more than a magnetic pickup and a dc voltage supply. They’ve been known for reliability in many different venues and also have some versatility for latching and non-latching operation. Two multiturn pots allow for adjustment as well as LED indicators. This unit will be soon released as a newer version with fully defined reset points as well as mag pickup signal detection lamp indication.”

www.ecu-engine-controls.com