Electronic unit user guidelines

Thank you for purchasing this Motion Applied electronic unit. To ensure the proper functioning and safety of your device, please read and follow these user guidelines carefully.

• This unit has been designed for a motorsport environment. However, sensible precautions should be taken. Care should be taken not to drop or submerge the unit in water and ensure that environmental temperatures are kept within the unit requirements both for use and storage. Failure to observe these precautions may result in damage to the internal components or the outer casing of the unit.
  
  
• Do not attempt to open, disassemble, or modify the unit in any way. WARRANTY WILL BE VOIDED if the seals are broken, or any box is open (where relevant).
  
  
• This unit is intended for use in Professional Motorsport. Do not use the unit where it is prohibited by law or regulations, such as automotive, medical or aviation usage and if you do, such use will be at your own risk with no liability attributed to Motion Applied Limited.
  
  
• Clean the unit if needed with a soft, dry cloth. Do not use any abrasive materials, solvents, or cleaners that may damage the surface of the unit. Examples include (but are not limited to): Using a rough cloth may leave marks or scratches on the unit. Strong solvents may compromise connectors, but normal motorsport fluids should not.
  
  
• If the unit becomes hot, emits smoke, smells unusual, makes abnormal noises, or malfunctions in any way, stop using it immediately and contact Motion Applied or your Track Support Engineer for assistance. Do not attempt to repair the unit yourself or continue using it in an unknown condition.
  
  
• At end of life, dispose of the unit and any battery (if fitted) in an environmentally respectful manner. Do not throw them in general waste or incinerate. Follow the local regulations for electronic waste disposal or contact Motion Applied for more information.
  
  
• This product is designed and manufactured subject to and following the standards contained within IPC-A-610, details of which can be found here: https://shop.ipc.org/ipc-a-610. Products meeting the standards contained within IPC-A-610 cannot be rejected by any customer without prior evidence of defects in the workmanship or materials which exceed those specified within the above-mentioned standard. This is in accordance with clause 13 of our standard terms and conditions of sale.

Installation recommendations for electronic units

To ensure the proper functioning and safety of your device, please read and follow these installation recommendations carefully to ensure best performance of your unit.  

The design of the wiring harness, wiring and connectors can all have a significant effect on the performance of the unit. 

• Connectors – Please ensure that OEM connectors of the corresponding type fitted to the product are used to ensure longevity and robustness of the connections to this unit.  The correct connectors are described in the detailed Product Specification. Please monitor make and break counts of connectors to ensure that connectors are replaced when the recommended number is exceeded. This will prevent mating, alignment, signal integrity and other connection problems.
  
  
• Suitable wiring and harness design – Design of the wiring type and gauge, circuit design, wiring layout and harness overall design are key to the successful operation of any electronic control unit on a vehicle. Please ensure that any noise sources are mitigated; that individual circuits are designed according to need (e.g., shielding and/or twisted pair conductors); that correct isolation between circuits is maintained and that current paths, fusing, power and signal routing are all appropriate for the circuits in use. In particular, avoidance of routing HV and LV harnesses side by side is important to prevent EMC noise. Particularly with inverter driven high frequency switched electric drives, where harness crossing should always be at right angles and preferably avoided where possible.
  
  
• Please always ensure that appropriate wire gauges are used for expected loads. This will prevent excessive voltage drops, cable (and thus connector) heating as well as ensuring that both power and earth lines take the current intended and that alternative paths are not sought by current restricted by insufficient wiring size.
  
  
• Please ensure that recommended grounding paths are followed. Ensure that ground cables are of sufficient size to prevent voltage rises on the ground plane, that grounding takes place through designed wires rather than accidental grounding via cases and that isolation is maintained where needed. Care should also be taken to ensure that digital and analogue grounds are kept separated and that signal grounds are not mixed with power grounds to prevent ground currents flowing in unintended circuits, which may damage the device.
  
  
• Suitable shielding and wire design selection should be used where necessary and on sensitive input circuits such as crank sensors and motor position sensors. Twisted pair and shielded wire should be used and care taken to ensure shield continuity with appropriate connectors, shield passthrough pins and final shield drain via appropriate earthing at connectors or via external box case connections. Shield drain wires should not be connected to internal case connections or to internal ground points within the unit. Care should be taken under all conditions to avoid using shields as conductors, or to pass unintended currents through shields, as damage to internal circuits can be caused.
  
  
• It is highly recommended that a map of shield grounds is created at the design stage and that this is maintained and verified as the installation in the vehicle progresses. The aim should be to ensure that a radial earthing strategy is adopted with no duplication of grounding paths and that no shields are left floating or are double grounded. Care should also be taken to prevent accidental grounding of shields through casings which may lead to unintended grounding paths giving rise to earth loops, which can result in electrical noise and circulating currents which in turn can lead to heating.
  
  
• Ensure that the design avoids injection of noise into the unit. This is achieved by ensuring continuity of the shielded harness over all sensitive wires, ensuring that the shield is passed through appropriate connectors and that the casing is part of the overall shielding strategy - using the casing drain points supplied. Avoid injecting conducted EM into units by ensuring internal digital grounds are not used as shield drains.
  
  
• Use of Ethernet connections to the unit – Ensure the use of appropriate units on-car, do not use network hardware designed for an office or domestic environment, use only motorsport or Motion Applied recommended Ethernet units and networking hardware. Use only motorsport suitable connectors designed for Ethernet connectivity in harsh environments.
  
  
• Ensure that suitable network connections are made throughout the harness including connector types, cable types, suitable connector hardware types for the desired network type and data rate.
  
  
• Ensure that power supply quality is maintained to the appropriate ranges according to the requirements of the unit, is free from dropouts and has adequate noise filtering as needed, to prevent interference being injected into the unit via the power supply rails. Motion Applied control units have internal power supply filtering, but this is designed to protect the unit rather than compensate for poor vehicle electrical system design.
  
  
• Ensure that harnesses are suitably restrained and supported, so that imposed forces from external connector loading do not exceed the casing and connector strength and cause strain issues and damage to the harness, wires, connectors and control unit. Good harness security and retention is essential within a motorsport environment.

Legal

By using this product, you agree to be bound by Motion Applied's Terms and Condition found here: https://motionapplied.com/sales_terms