Reprogrammed Spare ECU = Alarm?

[SephirXV]

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this idea before me.

It seems to me that an ECU module would be a good base for an alarm: They are designed to interface with a number of 12V devices, run on 12V, have wiring harness access for engine kill, etc, and are programmable after they have been chipped (the installation of a socket, not of a chip with performance code).

Taking one and wiring it under my passenger seat in combination with a keyless entry system seems like it could be made to outperform most aftermarket alarms.

[white ricer]

are you talking about turning an ecu into an alarm?? seems like alot of work, i would just pony up the cash for a nice bulldog or viper alarm...

.02

[BITESIZE]

Coming from an electronics background, that would be really a waste of money when you could just buy an alarm. It's an awesome idea, but not reality.

[SephirXV]

Let me respecify. I have a friend who is always working on customizing his alarm setup. Getting all his windows to roll up and roll down (including sunroof) not only as auxillaries, but also according to certian triggers, hardcore starter defeats, stuff like that isn't really all available in something you can buy. And since none of the windows have up/down sensors, he's reduced to using timers for the windows. Also, he wanted an internal prox detector to roll up the windows, but if a cat or something jumped in, it would constantly be setting it off, which could burn up the window motors or relays (prox detector is not a trigger into the alarm itself).
It seemd to me that allot of that extra circuitry that he has for logic could be replaced with a microcontroller. Now someone could get one, proto a board and interfaces for it to all of these different sensors, but an ECU is already rigged for most of that. It also has a built in timer that could operate all of those things simultaneously if properly coded.
And once in place, there are all sorts of cool things that could be hooked up. Surely someone from PGMFI is intriuged by this idea?

[lostforawhile]

it sounds interesting,but it would be best to use a dedicated microprocessor. the ecu is just not designed for what you are looking for. it's designed to sense engine parameters and operate fuel injection for a specific map. there is really no way to reprogram it.

[ghettogeddy]

it sounds interesting,but it would be best to use a dedicated microprocessor. the ecu is just not designed for what you are looking for. it's designed to sense engine parameters and operate fuel injection for a specific map. there is really no way to reprogram it.
so it can be used to sense doors open and glas brakes and be used to operate the winow up and down features

[lostforawhile]

so it can be used to sense doors open and glas brakes and be used to operate the winow up and down features
no it's designed for analog inputs such as the O2 sensor throttle position sensor etc. it's a dedicated computer designed for only one purpose it's a complete waste of time to try and change it into something else. might as well turn a blender into a tv at the same time.

[ghettogeddy]

no it's designed for analog inputs such as the O2 sensor throttle position sensor etc. it's a dedicated computer designed for only one purpose it's a complete waste of time to try and change it into something else. might as well turn a blender into a tv at the same time.
well the blender into a tv thing would be stupid lol why dont u look into making a carputer into the car controls ive seen it done with touch screen that opens doors starts and rolls the windows and such done it would not be to hard to hook devices up to make it act as an alarm then u can have on spot programing lol

[HostileJava]

What your talking about doesn't make any sense to do. Basically as you stated you would need to "chip" it. Although the correct term for that would be a piggyback system. When you hear people talk about chipping somthing they are usually referring to replacing the ROM with an EEPROM or a socket that can easily accept different ROM chips with different images stored on them. However when you piggyback a chip you are basically running a second mircro that reads the code sent to or from the ecu and can then change it and send it along on it's merry way. If you're doing this, why even use the ECU at all? Why not just use the new piggyback chip? It makes more sense to use a newer micro then to try and reprogram the or piggyback the existing ECU.


well the blender into a tv thing would be stupid lol why dont u look into making a carputer into the car controls ive seen it done with touch screen that opens doors starts and rolls the windows and such done it would not be to hard to hook devices up to make it act as an alarm then u can have on spot programing lol

No, if you are using the carputer as the alarm system that means it has to be running all the time, and even using one of the new Core Duo chips which barely sip any power, you'd still end up with a dead battery within a day or less. Most of the time when you see things like that, the carputer is interfacing with the cars alarm system over a serial bus.

[ghettogeddy]

No, if you are using the carputer as the alarm system that means it has to be running all the time, and even using one of the new Core Duo chips which barely sip any power, you'd still end up with a dead battery within a day or less. Most of the time when you see things like that, the carputer is interfacing with the cars alarm system over a serial bus.
well there would have to be a way to do i power saving standby that would wake up when the alarm is trigered lol im just throughing out sugejestions but with the power issue wouldent a secondery deep cycle help that or a bat cap

[HostileJava]

well there would have to be a way to do i power saving standby that would wake up when the alarm is trigered lol im just throughing out sugejestions but with the power issue wouldent a secondery deep cycle help that or a bat cap

I'll tell ya what, I woudln't want to wait for my comptuer to come out of standby till the alarm started doing it's thing :) A second battery might help a little, but you'd still be putting a strain on the electical system. As far as using a cap, I can't see that helping much. Caps are designed to quickly store and release energy, not hold a reserve over a long period of time. No, your better off going with a lower power micro, somthing that doesn't need a heatsink to run :)

[ghettogeddy]

I'll tell ya what, I woudln't want to wait for my comptuer to come out of standby till the alarm started doing it's thing :) A second battery might help a little, but you'd still be putting a strain on the electical system. As far as using a cap, I can't see that helping much. Caps are designed to quickly store and release energy, not hold a reserve over a long period of time. No, your better off going with a lower power micro, somthing that doesn't need a heatsink to run :)
ya cause u wouldent need anythign super fast just fast enought to control stoll not gaming fast or video fast well if u have a lot of screens anyways maybe the carputer as the alarm part would be a bad idea but likeu said u can use it unterface and control the other functions and let the alarm do its job for security features , but u couold hide the alarm box in the carputer and make it look like part of the carputer so its not stuck under the dash somewere and if a thefe trys to brake in and take the alarm out like they did to my car it might be a little tricky to find

[lostforawhile]

well the blender into a tv thing would be stupid lol why dont u look into making a carputer into the car controls ive seen it done with touch screen that opens doors starts and rolls the windows and such done it would not be to hard to hook devices up to make it act as an alarm then u can have on spot programing lol
I think somebody on here has one already like that

[HostileJava]

ya cause u wouldent need anythign super fast just fast enought to control stoll not gaming fast or video fast well if u have a lot of screens anyways maybe the carputer as the alarm part would be a bad idea but likeu said u can use it unterface and control the other functions and let the alarm do its job for security features , but u couold hide the alarm box in the carputer and make it look like part of the carputer so its not stuck under the dash somewere and if a thefe trys to brake in and take the alarm out like they did to my car it might be a little tricky to find

I'm not saying that it absolutely can't be done, or that someone shouldn't try it, I'm just that along with the power requirements, your trusting the safety of your vehicle to a computer that was not designed to run in the type enviroment your installing it in. Computers can be finicky things, they like certain temapature ranges, they like to be moved as little as possible, especially when the are running, and they like nice clean power. You're throwing most of that out the window when you install them in a car. I'd much rather have a dedicated micro to handle the alarm system that the computer can interface with.