Holley EFI

Crank/Cam Setup
and Diagnostics

As of 2011-08-17

Basics of Crank/Cam Inputs

Main Preconfigured Ignition Types
Inductive coil (ECU does not control ignition)
CD box out or 12V square wave (ECU does not
control ignition)
GM HEI
Ford TFI
GM LSx 58 tooth
GM LSx 24 tooth
First-gen Northstar
Holley DIS 60-2 with Hall effect cam sync
Holley DIS 60-2 without cam sync

Inductive Coil Input

Dedicated input at J1A01
Do NOT connect any part of coil to J1A30 or Pin A
on ignition connector
Do NOT connect to any output of a CD box
ECU is triggered when low side of coil >100V
This happens when the field collapses at the end
of dwell
The ECU cannot control the ignition system- it
reacts to a standalone ignition system
Speed glitches of 133% can indicate extra pulses,
80% can indicate missing pulses

CD box out or 12V square

wave

Do NOT connect to the coil output of a CD box

ECU is triggered on the rising edge at ~2.3V
An internal pullup to battery voltage is activated
The ECU cannot control the ignition system- it
reacts to a standalone ignition system
End of injection corresponds to the rising edge
Speed glitches of 133% can indicate extra
pulses, 80% can indicate missing pulses

GM Small Cap HEI

ECU utilizes stock module for signal conditioning of magnetic pickup in
distributor and switching coil primary current
ECU is triggered on the falling edge of the modules REF signal at ~2.3V
No internal pullup is activated for the crank/REF
The BYPASS signal is generated by the ECU (by the switchable pullup on
the cam input) to assert control of the timing. When low (or open) the
module controls timing and dwell. When high the ECU controls timing.
The EST signal is generated by the ECU to control timing and dwell.
Dwell is active when EST is high, and spark happens when EST signal
falls.
Baseline dwell is ~3.5ms, but will be reduced to keep non-dwell >0.5ms
at high speeds.
Speed glitches of 133% can indicate extra pulses, 80% can indicate
missing pulses

Ford TFI
ECU utilizes stock module for signal conditioning of Hall pickup in
distributor and switching coil primary current
ECU is triggered on the rising edge of the modules PIP signal at
~2.3V
An internal pullup is activated for the crank/PIP
The module controls timing and dwell for both start and run
The SPOUT signal is generated by the ECU to control timing and
dwell. Dwell is active when SPOUT is low, and spark happens when
SPOUT signal rises.
Baseline dwell is ~3.5ms, but will be reduced to keep non-dwell
>0.5ms at high speeds.
One vane of the target in the distributor is shorter than the others,
which allows the ECU to sync without a cam sensor
If the ECU cannot resolve the narrow pulse, the tens digit of the
Diag#1 variable will increment

GM LSx 58 Tooth
Crank input reacts to the falling edge of the crank sensors signal at
~2.3V
Cam input decodes both edges of the cam sensors signal when
crossing ~2.3V
An internal pullup is activated for the crank and the cam
The ECU decodes the 60-2 crank pattern and the 4x cam pattern. The
4x cam pattern should be within 90 crank degrees from the stock
location for proper decoding
Eight individual EST signals are generated by the ECU to control
timing and dwell. Dwell is active when EST is high, and spark
happens when EST signal falls.
If the cam signal drops out, falls out of proper phase, or cannot be
decoded (not a 4x pattern) the Diag#1 tens digit will increment
If the crank signal drops out the Diag#1 hundreds digit will increment
Extra or missing crank pulses will increment the Diag#1 tens digit

GM LSx 58 Tooth

GM LSx 58 Tooth

GM LSx 24 Tooth
Crank input decodes both edges of the crank sensors signal when crossing
~2.3V
Cam input reacts to the falling edge of the cam sensors signal at ~2.3V
An internal pullup is activated for the crank and the cam
The falling edge for the cam must happen between approximately 250 crank
deg before #1FTDC and 90 degrees after #1FTDC. There can be multiple falling
edges in this window, but none outside.
Eight individual EST signals are generated by the ECU to control timing and
dwell. Dwell is active when EST is high, and spark happens when EST signal
falls.
If the crank pulse width pattern is not recognized the Diag#1 tens digit will
increment
Missing crank pulses will increment the Diag#1 ones digit
Extra crank pulses will most likely increment the Diag#1 1k, tens, and ones
digits
Missing cam pulses will increment the Diag#1 tens digit
Extra cam pulses in the wrong place will increment the Diag#1 ones digit

GM LSx 24 Tooth

GM LSx 24 Tooth

GM First Gen Northstar

ECU utilizes stock module for signal conditioning of magnetic
pickups and switching coil primary current
ECU is triggered on the falling edge of the modules REF signal at
~2.3V
No internal pullup is activated for the crank/REF
The BYPASS signal is generated by the ECU (by the switchable
pullup on the cam input) to assert control of the timing. When
low (or open) the module controls timing and dwell. When high the
ECU controls timing.
The EST signal is generated by the ECU to control timing and
dwell. Dwell is active when EST is high, and spark happens when
EST signal falls.
Overall the operation is similar to a small-cap HEI as far
interaction with the ECU, except for the angular location of the
REF pulse

Holley DIS 60-2 with Cam

Sync

Crank input reacts to the falling edge of the crank sensors signal at ~2.3V
Cam input reacts to the falling edge of the cam sensors signal at ~2.3V
An internal pullup is activated for the crank and the cam
The ECU decodes the 60-2 crank pattern and uses the cam pulse to establish cycle
sync
The crank tooth before the missing teeth establishes the valid window for the cam
signal. Nominally this is at ~78deg BFTDC#1, which means the falling edge of the
cam signal must be between 78 crank degrees before FTDC#1 and 438 degrees
before FTDC#1. To make it easy to remember I recommend 180 crank degrees
before FTDC#1, or BDC before compression.
Eight individual EST signals with two events per cycle are generated by the ECU to
control timing and dwell, but only four are used. Dwell is active when EST is high,
and spark happens when EST signal falls. Baseline dwell is ~1.8ms.
Extra or missing crank pulses will increment the Diag#1 tens digit
If the crank signal drops out the Diag#1 hundreds digit will increment
If the cam signal drops out, falls out of proper phase the Diag#1 tens digit will
increment
Extra cam pulses in the wrong place will increment the Diag#1 ones digit

Holley DIS 60-2 w/HE, Offset

0

Holley DIS 60-2 w/HE, Offset

10

Holley DIS 60-2 without

Sync
Crank input reacts to the falling edge of the crank sensors signal
at ~2.3V
An internal pullup is activated for the crank
The ECU decodes the 60-2 crank pattern to establish crank angle
The crank tooth after the missing teeth is nominally at ~60deg
BFTDC#1
Eight individual EST signals with two events per cycle are
generated by the ECU to control timing and dwell, but only four
are used. Dwell is active when EST is high, and spark happens
when EST signal falls.
Extra or missing crank pulses will increment the Diag#1 tens digit
Missing crank pulses cause the timing to shift for all cylinders
Extra crank pulses will not shift the timing for all cylinders

Custom
There are options to use various combinations of target
geometry and sensor types for crank and cam
The ECU detects the falling zero crossing for magnetic
sensors, which is the opposite of many aftermarket
applications
Try to avoid magnetic cam sensors: Hall effect sensors
function much better during cranking and at low speeds.
The ignition output type and dwell are also selectable
The Points Out selection is to trigger a Points Input
of another device, NOT to drive a coil directly
EST outputs are logic signals and are not for driving
strongly biased inputs (CD box inputs)

60-2 Crank Setup

TDC tooth number is the number of
teeth between the sensor and the index
gap when the engine is at TDC of the
first cylinder in the firing order
The timing offset can be used to make
small adjustments. Positive numbers
advance timing relative to crank signals.
When using a cam sync, follow the same
rules as a Holley 60-2 DIS setup

60-2 Crank, Tooth 11, Offset

0

60-2 Crank, Tooth 12, Offset

6

60-2 Crank, Tooth 11, Offset

0

60-2 Crank, Tooth 11, Offset

6

1 pulse/fire with Sync

Set the cam pulse so that #1 crank pulse is the
second crank pulse after the cam pulse, or the
first cylinder in the firing order should correspond
to the second tooth after the cam pulse.
Generally for V8s with normal ignition reference
angles this means the cam pulse should happen
at about 180 degrees before #1 firing TDC, or
BDC before compression.
The cam pulse should not happen too close to a
crank event. Ideally it should occur midway
between crank events.

Waveforms with 1pulse/fire Mag

Crank and 1 pulse/cycle Mag Cam

Normal
Diag#1 Ones Digit- Steady
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Steady
Calculated RPM- Steady

Missing Crank Pulses

Diag#1 Ones Digit- Increments
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Steady
Calculated RPM- Non-zero Dips

Missing Cam Pulses

Diag#1 Ones Digit- Steady
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Increments
Calculated RPM- Dips to Zero, Error, Syncing, then Normal

Extra Crank Pulses

Diag#1 Ones Digit- Increments (Second)
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Increments (First)
Calculated RPM- Can Show Falsely High, Error, Syncing, then Normal

Extra Cam Pulses

Diag#1 Ones Digit- Increments Two at a Time
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Steady
Calculated RPM- Steady

Intermittent Cam Signal

Diag#1 Ones Digit- Increments when Cam Pulses are Too Frequent
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Increments when Cam Pulses are Too Infrequent
Calculated RPM- Dips to Zero, Error, Syncing

The Blanking Window for Crank Pulses

The time between the last two pulses is used to know when to expect the next pulse- no sooner than roughly half the
previous period. If a pulse happens too early relative to this expectation, it is disregarded. This does not affect timing.
Diag#1 Ones Digit- Steady
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Steady
Calculated RPM- Steady

Extra Crank Pulses Can Cause Real Pulses to be in the Blanking Window
If a noise pulse happens just before a real crank pulse, the noise will be treated as a real pulse and the real pulse will be
disregarded as noise. This can cause a timing shift.
Diag#1 Ones Digit- Steady
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Steady
Calculated RPM- False High Followed by False Low, or it could also be steady

Extra Crank Pulses Can Cause Real Pulses to be in the Blanking Window
If a noise pulse happens just before a real crank pulse, the noise will be treated as a real pulse and the real pulse will be
disregarded as noise. This can cause a timing shift.
Diag#1 Ones Digit- Steady
Diag#1 Tens Digit- Steady
Calculated RPM- False High Followed by False Low, or it could also be steady

Quick Generalizations
For Diag#1 with 1pulse/fire
Ones digit increment means not enough
crank pulses between cam pulses
(missing crank pulses or extra/early cam
pulses)
Tens digit increments means too many
crank pulses between cam pulses (extra
crank pulses or missing cam pulses)

Quick Generalizations
Normal Diag#1 activity
It is normal for the 10k digit to increment
during running, but the rest of the digits
should be static. This is essentially a cycle
counter (one increment per two crank revs)
and can be another tool to distinguish extra
cam pulses, which cause premature
incrementing.
It is also normal to have Diag#1 increments
of other digits during cranking while ECU is
establishing cycle sync

Quick Generalizations
Diag#1 activity when running
Do not ignore!
Many things that cause Diag#1 errors will result in timing
shifts
Problems that only occur at high speed and load can be
from sensor and/or target vibration

Unreasonable spikes or dips in engine speed

Do not ignore!
For systems without a cam sync this can be one of the only
indicators of noise or signal dropout
Be suspect of rates of change >20kRPM/sec
Be suspect of quick jumps to 4/3 or 4/5 expected engine
speed followed by a quick return to normal

Tools for Deeper Analysis

Sometimes Diag#1 does not definitively explain what
is going on
The ECU can take a special high speed internal log of
crank and cam sensor activity, which allows you to
visualize the sensor signals vs time
This is saved in the ECU as an SL file (System Log)
that you can download like a normal internal datalog
file
Although it is a record of logical states (not analog
voltage levels), you can tell when a magnetic sensor
has crossed the arming threshold
It is also useful to verify cam phasing relative to crank

Preview of S-Log Viewer

Future Changes
We are continually improving the functionality
of the diagnostic channels and software tools
System log functionality is already
implemented in current firmware but requires a
keycode to unlock
The SL viewer will be released with the next
major revision of PC software (2.x)
RTC Timestamp to on SL header
Notice of Diag#1 increments post engine startsomething similar to a check engine light