EEC-IV ADAPTIVE CONTROL

YOUR BEST FRIEND OR YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!

Welcome to the wonderful world of EEC electronics! (Pronounced "EEK") This is the first in a series of
articles here on The Mustang Works dealing with the EEC. We will be discussing various aspects of the
EEC in a Mustang. By understanding how the EEC controls the engine, hopefully you'll get a better idea
of why some changes to your engine may or may not perform as you expected. Through a series of
articles, we will go through major sections of the EEC and how they work with common aftermarket parts.
Some of this might be old news to a few, but a lot of it goes way beyond what has ever been written
before. In each issue we will go through sections like: Adaptive Control, MAFs and Injectors, Closed
Throttle / Part Throttle / Wide Open Throttle, Sensors and what they do, Replace the EEC or Re-
Calibrate, Fooling the EEC, Fuel Control, Spark Control, Speed Density Vs. Mass Air, Power Adders and
the EEC, and EEC Transmission Control.

I'm sure you've all heard something about the EEC's Adaptive Control system, but what exactly is it, and
what does it do? Before we get into the Adaptive Control system, let's define a few common terms:

Speed – another term for RPM

Load – Roughly volumetric efficiency or how much air is entering the engine over how much it can hold

Closed Loop – Fuel control when the EEC uses the O2 sensors as feedback to control the fuel injectors

Open Loop – Fuel control when the EEC is relying on tables to control the fuel injectors

WOT – Wide Open Throttle

The Adaptive Control system is used to correct changes in engine operation caused by variations in air
metering and fuel delivery devices. The Adaptive Control system corrects the problems of variability by
making changes to fuel flow based on what it has 'learned' about the system. If your engine is running
leaner than it should, the Adaptive Control system can richen the system up automatically. The same
thing if it is running a bit rich. The EEC has a special block of memory called the Keep Alive Memory
(KAM) where it stores information about how the engine is operating. By looking at the oxygen sensors,
the EEC can tell if the amount of fuel it is delivering is the same amount actually going into the cylinders
at a given Speed / Load point. In the Keep Alive Memory, there is a table that represents Speed / Load
points normally used during Closed Loop control. As the EEC reads the oxygen sensors, it updates this
table if it finds any differences in the fuel delivered and the A/F ratio measured. As an example, we will
look at how the Adaptive Control system works if fuel pressure is something other than stock.

From this example, you'll quickly see why an adjustable pressure regulator might not be a good
investment of your money. Ford uses a fuel pressure of roughly 39 PSI to rate its fuel injectors. The fuel
regulator operates in conjunction with manifold pressure to keep the delta pressure across the fuel
injectors at roughly 39 PSI at all times. In the EEC calibration, there is a number that represents the size
of the injectors installed in the engine. This number represents how much fuel the injector will flow at 39
PSI. The EEC uses this number, along with airflow information to correctly calculate A/F ratio. Based on
the airflow number and it's target A/F ratio, the EEC pulses the fuel injector to give just the right amount
of fuel to reach it's target A/F ratio at any given Speed/Load point. Now if you were to increase the fuel
pressure, the amount of fuel delivered for a given pulse width would go up since more fuel will be forced
through the injector. As soon as the EEC goes into Closed Loop control, it will 'see' this increased fuel
pressure. The reason for this is for any given pulse width, the A/F ratio as measured by the oxygen
sensor will be richer than what the EEC wanted it to be since now there is more fuel delivered with the
same pulse width. The EEC will calculate the difference from what it wanted and what it got and update
the Adaptive table with a 'correction factor' and use this correction factor to reduce the injector pulse
width the next time the injector fires. Eventually what happens is the EEC is able to 'dial out' the extra
fuel that was added by increasing the fuel pressure. Now you can probably see why raising the fuel
pressure is only a temporary 'fix' for a lean problem. Soon you will be right back where you started. The
EEC is continuously updating the Adaptive table anytime it is in Closed Loop. (tmoss comment : if you
increase the need for fuel in your engine by increasing air flow to the engine – new intake, larger TB,
more cam, more head flow – then the A/F will be lean because the EEC will have values for a stock
engine stored and the adaptive feature will increase fuel delivery to match the amount of air delivered to
the chamber to get A/F back to it’s targeted value, so the EEC will NOT tune out fuel that is needed by
engine improvements. If the limits of the adaptive feature cannot get air-fuel ratio into the desired band,
an adjustable fuel pressure regulator can help get it there).

"What about Open Loop?" you might ask. Well, it works there too. Very few people know this fact. Most
people think Adaptive only works when in Closed Loop. This is wrong! Adaptive is only UPDATED
during Closed Loop. It would be silly to ignore changes in the air and fuel system in Open Loop and only
correct them in Closed Loop. If you have a serious fuel problem, your car might not even start if the EEC
didn't have some way of correcting things all the time. The way the EEC uses Adaptive in Open Loop is
similar to Closed Loop except it doesn't update the KAM value. This means it's not looking at the oxygen
sensor for feedback. It is merely relying on the information stored in the KAM to make corrections. Since
the Adaptive table only contains Speed / Load points normally seen during Closed Loop, where does the
correction factor come from if I'm at WOT? Good question. The answer is; it uses the last value it was
using while in Closed Loop. Since the Keep Alive Memory has power to it even when the ignition key is
turned off, the Adaptive KAM value retains its information. The only way to clear the Adaptive table is by
disconnecting the vehicle's battery. Do that and you're back to working with a clean slate and the whole
process starts over again. Now there are limits to how much the Adaptive Control system can change the
calibrations. The adaptive system has a range of roughly +/- 25%. If you had an adjustable fuel pressure
regulator installed, and you needed more fuel, you could keep cranking it up until the EEC could no
longer dial the fuel back out. The problem with this is you will set a code and the 'Check Engine' light
might come on.

A quick tip, when setting your fuel pressure, always check it with the vacuum reference
DISCONNECTED! The pressure reading with the vacuum connected to the regulator depends on how
much vacuum your engine pulls at idle. Depending on your camshaft, this can vary quite a bit. If you
have a big cam and set your idle pressure to 32 PSI with the vacuum reference connected, you might
only be getting 36 PSI at WOT. It's VERY important to set the idle pressure with the vacuum reference
disconnected. This way you know for sure how much fuel pressure you get at WOT.