| Right --> IDM-110 with cover removed. In July of 2003, Dave and I began building the first test or prototype
sets of injectors; in March of 2005 we began custom tuning of the PCM to get the
best possible performance out of our injectors; in September of 2006 we
turned our attention to what was between the PCM (tuning) and the
injectors--the Injector Driver Module.
At the time, all we knew about
it was that it took 12 V DC and stepped it up to 110 V to fire the
injectors, and we knew how to increase the voltage to 140 V. (Neither one of us knew anything about circuits, semiconductors, circuit
boards or electronics. Zero. Zilch. Nada.) Considering the job the IDM
has to do--fire injectors at 110 VDC; the environment it has to do it
in--from sub-zero startup in Alaska to engine compartment temperatures
in Arizona in the summer, combined with road and engine
vibration; how often it does it--over a thousand times a
minute; how fast it does it--firing in injector for
.002-.003 seconds (2-3 milliseconds); and how long it
lasts--250,000 miles could mean 250,000,000 injector
firings, the designers did a pretty darn good job when
they built the IDM. Over half of the IDM failures we see
were caused by water getting inside the case. (Aren't
you glad you don't have to replace your IDM as often as
you have to replace the Cam Position Sensor?) |
