Ford EEC
Encyclopedia
The Ford EEC was a series of ECU
(or Engine Control Unit) that was designed and built by Ford Motor Company
. They were introduced in 1978 and went through several model evolutions before being superseded by the Visteon
'Black Oak' PCM circa 2000.
This 12 bit processor was the only commercially available chip to feature all four mathematical functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) at the time. The choice of 12 bits was not accidental. For accuracy, it was determined that formulas needed to be able to resolve 1 part in 1000 or about 10 bits. Another bit was required for sign. This, logically, was rounded up to 12 bits which also resulted in an address space of 16 kilo-words. There was no "stack" for subroutine calls and returns. Rather the Instruction Pointer Register was "swapped" with another register that had been previously filled with the address of the target subroutine. Returning was accomplished by swapping back. All code was written in assembly language.
Another feature on the EEC I/II modules was the use of a separate memory module that bolted to the housing of the control module. This was done to facilitate changing the software, a combination of algorithms ("strategy") and data ("calibration") in the field, if necessary. The memory module used "Masked ROM" (MROM), a type of memory chip that was not modifiable after manufacture. The memory module also featured some switches that could be changed in the field. The strategy would read these switches and retard the spark advance for vehicles experiencing pre-ignition (knock).
The processor module featured a 10 volt reference for its analog-to-digital converter which was used to gather data from various sensors. This could have been an issue as the available power to the module varied above and below 10 volts during engine cranking. The problem was solved by several steps. First, all sensor used a ratiometeric measuring method that insured accuracy in spite of varying reference voltage. Second, during cranking, a special circuit fired the ignition system in synchronization with the reference pulses from the engine. Third, the processor was not allowed to start until the internal voltage was stabilized above 10 volts.
The EEC-II controlled air-fuel ratio via the Ford proprietary model 7200 Variable Venturi (VV) Carburetor. This was the last carburetor designed and built by Ford US. It was considered to be the pinnacle of carburetor design. Air-fuel ratio was controlled by a stepper motor that operated a rack which moved a pintel that opened/closed the float bowel vent. When closed, no air could enter the bowel and the carburetor was lean. When open, the carburetor was rich. While this carburetor worked well, it was extremely expensive to manufacture. Each carburetor was hand calibrated in a pressure controlled room.
Although there was much in common "inside the box", the size, shape and main connector were different between EEC I and II
The processor design was significantly upgraded as a candidate for use in EEC-III but was not chosen.
The FBC module controlled the same Ford 7200 VV Carburetor as the EEC-II. The CFI module fired 2 high pressure (approximately 40 psi) injectors that were mount in a throttle body mounted to a traditional intake manifold in the center valley of the 5.0L (302 cid) engine. CFI was available on all Ford vehicles with the 5.0.
The processor was designed and manufactured by Motorola
. It featured 8 bit data length, 10 bit instruction length and a 13 bit address length. The address space was "paged", meaning you could not directly address all of the address space without special instructions. There were 4 pages. Page 0 was for normal (background) code, page 1 was for interrupt code, page 2 was also for background, but could only be accessed by a special "Jump Page" instruction from page 0. Page 3 was used to store parameteric ("calibration") data or additional interrupt level code. This chip was never sold commercially. Like EEC-I and II, all code was written in assembly language.
While all processor chips were manufactured by Motorola, the modules were designed and assembled by either Motorola, Toshiba or Ford. The designs were "functionally equivalent" but slightly different components were used. Motorola optimized their design to use as many of their own components as possible.
The EEC-IV was built around an Intel designed 8/16 bit processor called the 8061. This chip was never sold commercially, but a close variation, the 8096, was extremely popular. The major difference between these two chips was the external instruction/data bus. Ford wanted to maximize the number of pins used for input and output so Intel designed a unique bus (MBUS) that multiplexed address and data onto an 8 bit bus. Several additional control lines were used for transferring information on this bus. Because of the unique nature of the bus, custom memory chips were required.
The first EEC-IV appeared on the 1983 Escort. The base engine was the same as all US Escorts, the 1.6L CVH, but featured unique intake and exhaust manifolds in addition to EFI. This was non-sequential EFI, meaning 1/4 of the required fuel for each cylinder was injected into the intake manifold, near the intake valve for each cylinder firing.
The first EEC-IV module was unique from future modules in many ways. It had a unique "edge card" connector. This was a "cost savings" over the EEC I/II/II "pin and socket" connectors but was quickly abandoned due to reliability concerns. It utilized a 40 pin "DIP" IC package which limited the number of inputs/outputs. It also used only 1 memory chips which contained 8K bytes of MROM instructions/data and 128 addition bytes of RAM.
All future EEC-IV modules used a unique "through hole" IC package with staggered pins on all 4 edges. This allowed all available I/O to be utilized. Memory quickly grew to 2 - 8k/128 MROM/RAM chips and then a separate 32K MROM and 1K RAM. Bus loading limited the design to 2 external memory devices.
Intel only manufactured chips, not modules. Eventually there was a unique MBUS UVEPROM designed and manufactured by Intel. Motorola and Ford Electronics Division (pre-cursor to Visteon) designed and manufactured the modules. After several years of Intel being the sole suppler of processor chips, Ford persuaded Intel to share the design with Motorola and allow them to produce 8061 chips, but only for consumption by Ford.
Over the years, there were many variations of EEC-IV modules depending on the number of cylinders in the engine and the types and quantities of inputs and outputs. There were even a series of special EEC-IV modules design for use in Formula 1 race cars, making Ford one of the earliest adopters of digital electronics on a race car.
ECU
ECU may refer to:Automotive terms* Electronic control unit, a generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle...
(or Engine Control Unit) that was designed and built by Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
. They were introduced in 1978 and went through several model evolutions before being superseded by the Visteon
Visteon
Visteon is one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive parts. The company formed in 1997 and spun off from the Ford Motor Company in 2000. In 2005, Visteon moved to new headquarters in Van Buren Township, Michigan...
'Black Oak' PCM circa 2000.
EEC I and II
These two "modules" used a common processor and memory so they can be described together. The processor was a 12 bit micro manufactured by Toshiba. The Ford internal code name for it was "PM-11" or "Poor Man's 11" implying it was a stripped down version of the, then popular, Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 computer. A PDP-11 was used in a vehicle in the first half of the 1970s for "proof of concept". In reality there was very little in common between these two computer architectures. This chip was never commercially available.This 12 bit processor was the only commercially available chip to feature all four mathematical functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) at the time. The choice of 12 bits was not accidental. For accuracy, it was determined that formulas needed to be able to resolve 1 part in 1000 or about 10 bits. Another bit was required for sign. This, logically, was rounded up to 12 bits which also resulted in an address space of 16 kilo-words. There was no "stack" for subroutine calls and returns. Rather the Instruction Pointer Register was "swapped" with another register that had been previously filled with the address of the target subroutine. Returning was accomplished by swapping back. All code was written in assembly language.
Another feature on the EEC I/II modules was the use of a separate memory module that bolted to the housing of the control module. This was done to facilitate changing the software, a combination of algorithms ("strategy") and data ("calibration") in the field, if necessary. The memory module used "Masked ROM" (MROM), a type of memory chip that was not modifiable after manufacture. The memory module also featured some switches that could be changed in the field. The strategy would read these switches and retard the spark advance for vehicles experiencing pre-ignition (knock).
The processor module featured a 10 volt reference for its analog-to-digital converter which was used to gather data from various sensors. This could have been an issue as the available power to the module varied above and below 10 volts during engine cranking. The problem was solved by several steps. First, all sensor used a ratiometeric measuring method that insured accuracy in spite of varying reference voltage. Second, during cranking, a special circuit fired the ignition system in synchronization with the reference pulses from the engine. Third, the processor was not allowed to start until the internal voltage was stabilized above 10 volts.
The EEC-II controlled air-fuel ratio via the Ford proprietary model 7200 Variable Venturi (VV) Carburetor. This was the last carburetor designed and built by Ford US. It was considered to be the pinnacle of carburetor design. Air-fuel ratio was controlled by a stepper motor that operated a rack which moved a pintel that opened/closed the float bowel vent. When closed, no air could enter the bowel and the carburetor was lean. When open, the carburetor was rich. While this carburetor worked well, it was extremely expensive to manufacture. Each carburetor was hand calibrated in a pressure controlled room.
Although there was much in common "inside the box", the size, shape and main connector were different between EEC I and II
The processor design was significantly upgraded as a candidate for use in EEC-III but was not chosen.
EEC-III
There were two different EEC-III modules; Feedback Carburetor (FBC) and Central Fuel Injection (CFI - similar to GM Throttle Body Injection). The module size and shape were approximately the same as the EEC-II and still utilized the external memory module. The two module had differently keyed connector to prevent accidental insertion in the wrong vehicle.The FBC module controlled the same Ford 7200 VV Carburetor as the EEC-II. The CFI module fired 2 high pressure (approximately 40 psi) injectors that were mount in a throttle body mounted to a traditional intake manifold in the center valley of the 5.0L (302 cid) engine. CFI was available on all Ford vehicles with the 5.0.
The processor was designed and manufactured by Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
. It featured 8 bit data length, 10 bit instruction length and a 13 bit address length. The address space was "paged", meaning you could not directly address all of the address space without special instructions. There were 4 pages. Page 0 was for normal (background) code, page 1 was for interrupt code, page 2 was also for background, but could only be accessed by a special "Jump Page" instruction from page 0. Page 3 was used to store parameteric ("calibration") data or additional interrupt level code. This chip was never sold commercially. Like EEC-I and II, all code was written in assembly language.
While all processor chips were manufactured by Motorola, the modules were designed and assembled by either Motorola, Toshiba or Ford. The designs were "functionally equivalent" but slightly different components were used. Motorola optimized their design to use as many of their own components as possible.
EEC-IV
Preliminary design work in EEC-IV started even before EEC-III was in production. Over time, there were many different modules designed around this processor. It is likely that more Ford vehicles were produced using Engine/Powertrain Control Modules (ECM/PCM) based on variations of this design than any other module that Ford has ever used.The EEC-IV was built around an Intel designed 8/16 bit processor called the 8061. This chip was never sold commercially, but a close variation, the 8096, was extremely popular. The major difference between these two chips was the external instruction/data bus. Ford wanted to maximize the number of pins used for input and output so Intel designed a unique bus (MBUS) that multiplexed address and data onto an 8 bit bus. Several additional control lines were used for transferring information on this bus. Because of the unique nature of the bus, custom memory chips were required.
The first EEC-IV appeared on the 1983 Escort. The base engine was the same as all US Escorts, the 1.6L CVH, but featured unique intake and exhaust manifolds in addition to EFI. This was non-sequential EFI, meaning 1/4 of the required fuel for each cylinder was injected into the intake manifold, near the intake valve for each cylinder firing.
The first EEC-IV module was unique from future modules in many ways. It had a unique "edge card" connector. This was a "cost savings" over the EEC I/II/II "pin and socket" connectors but was quickly abandoned due to reliability concerns. It utilized a 40 pin "DIP" IC package which limited the number of inputs/outputs. It also used only 1 memory chips which contained 8K bytes of MROM instructions/data and 128 addition bytes of RAM.
All future EEC-IV modules used a unique "through hole" IC package with staggered pins on all 4 edges. This allowed all available I/O to be utilized. Memory quickly grew to 2 - 8k/128 MROM/RAM chips and then a separate 32K MROM and 1K RAM. Bus loading limited the design to 2 external memory devices.
Intel only manufactured chips, not modules. Eventually there was a unique MBUS UVEPROM designed and manufactured by Intel. Motorola and Ford Electronics Division (pre-cursor to Visteon) designed and manufactured the modules. After several years of Intel being the sole suppler of processor chips, Ford persuaded Intel to share the design with Motorola and allow them to produce 8061 chips, but only for consumption by Ford.
Over the years, there were many variations of EEC-IV modules depending on the number of cylinders in the engine and the types and quantities of inputs and outputs. There were even a series of special EEC-IV modules design for use in Formula 1 race cars, making Ford one of the earliest adopters of digital electronics on a race car.