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Electronic Control Unit - Wikipedia

An electronic control unit (ECU) controls electrical systems in vehicles. Modern vehicles have many ECUs like the engine control module. ECUs have a microcontroller, memory, inputs, outputs and communication links. Developing ECUs involves both hardware and software following standards like ISO 26262.

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142 views10 pages

Electronic Control Unit - Wikipedia

An electronic control unit (ECU) controls electrical systems in vehicles. Modern vehicles have many ECUs like the engine control module. ECUs have a microcontroller, memory, inputs, outputs and communication links. Developing ECUs involves both hardware and software following standards like ISO 26262.

Uploaded by

innocentmagoshe6
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Electronic control

unit

An electronic control unit (ECU), also known as an electronic control module (ECM), is an
embedded syst em in aut omot ive elect ronics t hat cont rols one or more of t he elect rical
syst ems or subsyst ems in a car or ot her mot or vehicle.

An ECU from a Geo Storm

Modern vehicles have many ECUs, and t hese can include some or all of t he following: engine
cont rol module (ECM), powert rain cont rol module (PCM), t ransmission cont rol module (TCM),
brake cont rol module (BCM or EBCM), cent ral cont rol module (CCM), cent ral t iming module
(CTM), general elect ronic module (GEM), body cont rol module (BCM), and suspension cont rol
module (SCM). These ECUs t oget her are somet imes referred t o collect ively as the car's
computer t hough t echnically t hey are all separat e comput ers, not a single one. Somet imes an
assembly incorporat es several individual cont rol modules (a PCM oft en cont rols bot h t he engine
and t he t ransmission).[1]
Some modern mot or vehicles have up t o 150 ECUs.[2] Embedded soft ware in ECUs cont inues t o
increase in line count , complexit y, and sophist icat ion.[3] Managing t he increasing complexit y and
number of ECUs in a vehicle has become a key challenge for original equipment manufact urers
(OEMs).

Types

Generic Industry Controller Naming - Is


the naming of controllers where the
logical thought of the controller's name
implies the system the controller is
responsible for controlling
Generic Powertrain The Generic
Powertrain pertains to a vehicle's
emission system and is the only
regulated controller name.
Other Controllers All other controller
names are decided upon by the
individual OEM. The engine controller
may have several different names, such
as "DME", "Enhanced Powertrain", "PGM-
FI" and many others.
Door control unit (DCU)
Engine control unit (ECU) — not to be
confused with electronic control unit,[4]
the generic term for all these devices
Electric Power Steering Control Unit
(PSCU) — Generally this will be
integrated into the EPS power pack.
Human–machine interface (HMI)
Powertrain control module (PCM):
Sometimes the functions of the Engine
Control Unit and transmission control
module (TCM) are combined into a
single unit called the Powertrain Control
Module.
Seat Control Unit
Speed control unit (SCU)
Telematic control unit (TCU)
Transmission control module (TCM)
Brake Control Module (BCM; ABS or
ESC)
Battery management system (BMS)

Key elements

Core
Microcontroller
Memory
SRAM
EEPROM
Flash
Inputs
Supply Voltage and Ground
Digital inputs
Analog inputs
Outputs
Actuator drivers (e.g. injectors,
relays, valves)
H bridge drivers for servomotors
Logic outputs
Communication links
Housing
Bus Transceivers, e.g. for K-Line,
CAN, Ethernet
Embedded Software
Boot Loader
Metadata for ECU and Software
Identification, Version Management,
Checksums
Functional Software Routines
Configuration Data

Design and development


The development of an ECU involves bot h hardware and soft ware required t o perform t he
funct ions expect ed from t hat part icular module. Aut omot ive ECU's are being developed
following t he V-model.[1] Recent ly t he t rend is t o dedicat e a significant amount of t ime and
effort t o develop safe modules by following st andards like ISO 26262.[5] It is rare t hat a module
is developed fully from scrat ch. The design is generally it erat ive and improvement s are made t o
bot h t he hardware and soft ware. The development of most ECUs is carried out by Tier 1
suppliers based on specificat ions provided by t he OEM.

Testing and validation


As part of t he development cycle, manufact urers perform det ailed FMEAs and ot her failure
analyses t o cat ch failure modes t hat can lead t o unsafe condit ions or driver annoyance.
Ext ensive t est ing and validat ion act ivit ies are carried out as part of t he Product ion part approval
process t o gain t he confidence of t he hardware and soft ware. On-board diagnost ics or OBD help
provide specific dat a relat ed t o which syst em or component failed or caused a failure during run
t ime and help perform repairs.

Modifications
Some people may wish t o modify t heir ECU so as t o be able t o add or change funct ionalit y.
However modern ECUs come equipped wit h prot ect ion locks t o prevent users from modifying
t he circuit or exchange chips. The prot ect ion locks are a form of digit al right s management
(DRM), t he circumvent ing of which is illegal in cert ain jurisdict ions. In t he Unit ed St at es for
example, t he DMCA criminalizes circumvent ion of DRM,[6] t hough an exempt ion does apply t hat
allows circumvent ion t he owner of a mot orized land vehicle if it is required t o allow diagnosis,
repair or lawful modificat ion (ie. t hat does not violat e applicable law such as emissions
regulat ions).[7]

References
1. National Instruments White Paper on
Electronic Control Units (http://www.ni.co
m/white-paper/3312/en/) Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2013122108301
9/http://www.ni.com/white-paper/3312/e
n/) 2013-12-21 at the Wayback Machine

2. "Number of automotive ECUs continues to


rise" (https://www.eenewsautomotive.com/
news/number-automotive-ecus-continues-
rise) . eeNews Automotive. 2019-05-15.
Retrieved 2021-07-18.

3. Ebert, Christof; Jones, Capers (2009-04-


01). "Embedded Software: Facts, Figures,
and Future" (http://portal.acm.org/citation.c
fm?id=1550393.1550433) . Computer. 42
(4): 42–52. doi:10.1109/MC.2009.118 (http
s://doi.org/10.1109%2FMC.2009.118) .
S2CID 14008049 (https://api.semanticscho
lar.org/CorpusID:14008049) . Retrieved
2010-09-15.

4. baua (2022-01-04). "What is Electronic


control Unit and what does it do" (https://ba
uaelectric.com/cars/what-is-electronic-cont
rol-unit-and-what-does-it-do/) . Bauaelectric
News. Retrieved 2022-01-12.

5. Case, Lenny (October 2011). "Fast-tracking


ECU development" (http://www.ai-online.co
m/Adv/Previous/show_issue.php?id=437
6) . Automotive Industries.

6. "Circumventing ECU protection being


illegal" (https://www.wired.com/2015/01/le
t-us-hack-our-cars/) . Wired. 2015-01-23.

7. "Federal Register" (https://www.federalregi


ster.gov/d/2015-27212/p-173) . 2015-10-
28.

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This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at


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