Fuel-IT Kit install with JB4

[Houstinger1]

I wanted to give people my notes on the Fuel-IT kit with JB4 install. I received it last week along with the fuel wires and EWG connectors. Those I will install later. The instructions are mostly straightforward. Like the other JB4 documents, they are pretty good, not great. The first issue I had was how to deal with all the extra fuel line seeing as the kit comes with 2 extensions to go on either side of the sensor. The instructions say to route the fuel line around the HPFP with 2 images. Unfortunately, that wasn't clear enough for me. I really wasn't sure which way to run it.

Another other issue is that the sensor does have a direction to it. There is an in end and an out end. That isn't labeled very well by Fuel It. Trial and error led me to turning it around but not without taking a shot of gasoline to the face. While this was not fun, it did get the app working and showed that my guestimate of 5 gallons E85 and 9 of 93 did have the perfect E30 mix. Go me.

The next issue is that the wires are a bit long and end up adding to the rats nest that is forming on top of the fuse box with the JB4. There is just too much of it, and the JB4 itself install isn't the cleanest. Likely Fuel IT did this to help with installers who want to have the components wherever. I guess I wish I knew the perfect position and run of each set of cables, and I just don't know it.

The pin install for the sensor is straightforward, if not a bit hacky. The wires do not want to stay in the rubber surround, especially with the spliced power wire for the blue tooth connect. I did notice the my fuel line wires wanted to slide out quite easily. I kept having to push them back down.

The final, and most concerning issue, is that the JB4 app will no longer connect to the bluetooth connection. I get a strange error saying "Error checking kit revision. Please try again." I did update the app yesterday and haven't driven my car in several days so I don't know if this is related to the install of the kit or an app issue. I have reached out to JB4 support via email. I got an immediate reply asking for a screenshot of the error message. I have sent several follow ups with more pictures of various messages including Fuel-It kit's app working. This was all today. My gut tells me that since the app and the hardware are supported by 2 different groups, one could be assuming the other was handling it. We shall see. W

I will update as I get it fixed but wanted to get my first notes down. I will say this was the easiest install I have done, even easier than K&N intakes.

 

[Terry@BMS]

The Flex Fuel wire goes in spot #4 on the JB4 and be sure to enable it by selecting WMI 2/3 input on the WMI page.

 

[Houstinger1]

Ahhhhh..... I had it in slot 16. That is likely it. Will make the change and report back.

 

[Houstinger1]

Ok swapped to slot 4. No change. As soon as the app tries to connect, I get the message "error checking kit revision. Please try again." I am not able to make any changes in the app as it isn't actually connecting to anything.

 

[Houstinger1]

I removed the white wire from the JB4 completely and still get the error. I am not sure if it is hardware or IOS software. Could the JB4 app be picking up and trying to talk to the Fuel-It analyzer instead of the JB4?

 

[Terry@BMS]

No known issues running both, perhaps a pin or connection on the JB4 mobile is loose. Beyond that will need to wait for JB4 mobile support to help you sort it likely.

 

[Houstinger1]

The error message makes me think the app has found and is talking to something, just not successfully. When I try to connect with the engine off, I get the no devices found error. I double checked all the pins, and they are snug. Just strange. Thanks for the quick response, Terry! If you could nudge the app support guys for me, I would appreciate it!

 

[Houstinger1]

Update. So I unplugged the Fuel-It analyzer from power and was able to connect to the JB4 again. I reconnected the analyzer to power and was still able to connect to the JB4. Something was wrong there, not sure what.

Terry, can you confirm the pin needs to be in pin 4? The documentation says 16.

I have changed the position of bit 0 JB4 2/3 FlexFuel input to on, but several of the other Flex Fuel inputs like Bit 1 JB4 14/15/16 were also on. How do I know that the device is actually seeing and using data from the analyzer? Where in the JB4 app would I see the fuel it sensor readings?

 

[Houstinger1]

Left the wire in pin 4, did a pull in map 3 with all the ethanol settings off except for 2/3. Limp mode.

 

[ecko04]

Update. So I unplugged the Fuel-It analyzer from power and was able to connect to the JB4 again. I reconnected the analyzer to power and was still able to connect to the JB4. Something was wrong there, not sure what.

Terry, can you confirm the pin needs to be in pin 4? The documentation says 16.

I have changed the position of bit 0 JB4 2/3 FlexFuel input to on, but several of the other Flex Fuel inputs like Bit 1 JB4 14/15/16 were also on. How do I know that the device is actually seeing and using data from the analyzer? Where in the JB4 app would I see the fuel it sensor readings?

The pin location varies depending on the equipment you have (i.e., meth FSB, etc.) This is spelled out, albeit unclearly, in the directions and will influence which Bit option is enabled.

Also, you can modify your display readout in the JB4 app to see the E85 readout. Essentially, if you have the Fuel-It sensor then the E85 readout is no longer the virtual sensor.

For comparison purposes, you can download the Fuel-It app, which will connect over Bluetooth. You can the toggle back and forth between the two apps and the readings will be nearly identical. Just keep in mind Fuel-It is relaying the values through BT and the JB4 is using the 0-5v signal and scaling it accordingly so there may be slight variances of +/- ~1E when it’s configured correctly.

 

[Terry@BMS]

If you're going to need back and forth tech support best to email in as I usually only check this forum every day or two. For logs I'd need the CSV not a photo. Email is terry@burgertuning.com

 

[Houstinger1]

Thanks for the feedback. My intention in writing this thread was to share my experiences, observations, mistakes, and anecdotes with installing the kit to help anyone else who might someday want to install it. Clearly that did not happen very cleanly. In my excitement at each step, I asked a few too many questions and came across as an idiot who wanted free forum help. I did not present all the information once completed but rather as it was happening, which was a bad idea. If I could delete this thread I would. Thank you Terry very much for the help, especially when very clearly done after the working day.

 

[Hawk853]

Thanks for the feedback. My intention in writing this thread was to share my experiences, observations, mistakes, and anecdotes with installing the kit to help anyone else who might someday want to install it. Clearly that did not happen very cleanly. In my excitement at each step, I asked a few too many questions and came across as an idiot who wanted free forum help. I did not present all the information once completed but rather as it was happening, which was a bad idea. If I could delete this thread I would. Thank you Terry very much for the help, especially when very clearly done after the working day.

You taught me something

 

[turboAWD]

No, please leave it up, as well as posting any resolution to your issue(s). It helps others who may be trying to do the same later..

 

[Houstinger1]

No resolution yet. It still drives worse than before the install of the kit with the same tank of e30. I am pretty sure it has to do with the various ethanol settings in the app and what exactly they need to be for my setup (no WMI, no FSB). That said today was the first day I had a chance to go drive it. Too many cops and just other people on the road to go to be able to make any changes. I will try to follow up with support today to confirm. Last time I try to pretend I'm smart about cars. :-|

 

[BigBallin]

What is fsb?

 

[djerickd]

Did you fix this?

 

[Houstinger1]

No. It still drives very poorly, even when going back to map2 with 93 octane. As in I get consistent draggy times of 0-60 in 5.3 seconds. I did revert back to 93 with no E because I kept getting low fuel pressure warnings. I have a hunch that one of the fuel wires is not connected inside the JB4. I noticed that it kept wanting to slide out of the harness when I was doing the install. That said, even when I reverted back to map 0, I was still getting very poor 0-60 times, 5.5 seconds or so.

 

[AWDGT2]

I know it's been months but I just caught this thread, do you have any updates? Is the car sorted out? I'm considering the same kit and that's what led me to find this.

 

[Houstinger1]

So I started another thread with my head scratching issues, but to update this one:

I had the speed shop remove everything and return it to stock so I could go to the dealer. After 3 days the dealer could find nothing wrong. So I took it back to the speed shop to add a mod one at a time and troubleshoot. While they had it for 3 weeks while I was away, they called and said they found a leak in the fuel line near the tank, that I had apparently bottomed out once and it had pinched and damaged the line ever so slightly. Terriffic! So I had them continue to put all the mods back in as well as the new Mishimoto FMIC. I got home, took it for a spin....

...And blew off the Intercooler piping. Apparently, they didn't tighten it down enough and it had come loose. Additionally, I began to smell gas and got a low fuel pressure CEL code and complete limp mode. Took it back to the speed shop. Been there for 2 weeks. They called and said there was contaminant in the fuel line which damaged a fuel regulator and that the "upgraded" FPFP that I bought from them had also failed.

Bottom line I still haven't been able to enjoy my car like other modded owners. I am frustrated at the situation, partly my creation and partly no one REALLY knows these cars like BMW's or Audi's or American cars, especially locally. I would say that the Fuel It sensor (or the Spool one) are more trinkets than anything. Once you mix your ethanol in the tank, drive away, and it provides an initial reading, you don't really need or use the sensor. Confirm that you are running your desired ethanol level, make the map6 changes, and never look at it again until the next time you fill up. For that use case, it's probably a little pricey, but certainly better than using a calculator app. If the JB4 had logic such that it would pull readings from the Fuel It sensor and automagically adjust map settings without manual intervention, that would be bad ass. But that is a LOT of development cost/time for a very small segment of the market. If you plan on running ethanol frequently, I would say get it.