How-To Bring an ETK into Operation

Introduction

First, we will create a Configuration for the ETK and generate an A2L File from it. Then Measurement variables need to be added before we can load the adapted A2L into INCA and start measuring and calibration.

Therefore, this guide will walk you through all the needed Tabs in the XCT and explain what configuration is necessary to get a first device configuration and A2L File. For every Tab there is also a dedicated entry which focuses on the how to use the editor.

We recommend having the Application Log and especially the Configuration errors and Warnings windows open. Every error or mismatch in the configuration is also shown in the corresponding editor, but it is very helpful to see them all at once, or the absence of any errors.

Required information

- What controller is used in the ECU?

- How to configure the serial interface between ECU and ETK?

- What memory layout does your ECU Software have?

- What calibration method do you want to use?

- Where is the DISTAB located in the ECU SW?

- How much performance is available for the DISTAB copy?

Creating a new Project

There are multiple ways of creating a new Project. If you have the ECU on hand and are connected you can upload the current configuration from the ETK as a new project, import an already existing A2L File or use the New Project button in the XCT.

Uploading a configuration

This uploads the current configuration of the ETK. This configuration does not need to match the real ECU. It might be an older obsolete one or a default one. Only the ETK Type is guaranteed to be correct all other configurations must be verified.

Importing an A2L File

The XCT only imports the ETK specific A2L Information. If there are multiple ETKs in the A2L you can choose which one to import from a selection window. There is no check that the imported A2L matches the connected ETK or ECU. This can also be done without any connected ETK or ECU.

Creating a new project in the XCT

Click the new project button and select your ETK and used Micro controller in the upcoming selection window. The XCT loads a minimal default configuration based on this selection, form where you can start configuring your project.

Hardware Settings

Here we need to adapt some ECU specific configuration, mostly related to the hardware.

In the top line you can set the Device ID and display name of the ETK, this helps to distinguish between multiple ETKs in one project.

On the left side is the configuration for the Page Switch Method. This is ECU dependent, but for this Guide we only handle no calibration measurement only and Protocol Based Page Switch Method.

For no calibration, measurement only

Set the Version to “Not Used”, all other fields get empty, and no Page Switch Method is defined. You will get an error regarding a defined calibration handle, this is fine for the moment, we fix this in the Calibration handles Editor later.

For Protocol Based

Select the corresponding Version, recommended “2”, and set Page Switch Using to “Protocol Based”. Fill the Missing information according to your ECU.

We do not cover Coldstart Handshake, Calibration Wakeup and Data Freeze.

On the right side you see the configuration Features of the ETK. Here you can configure the ETK corresponding to the wiring and connection in your ECU. For a simple first Measurement and Calibration setup the correct configuration of the serial interface should be sufficient.

Memory Layout Editor

This Editor can have up to 3 different editors depending on the selected ETK, but for a simple first measurement and calibration setup, we will only need and cover the two of them which are always there. We will not cover Trace Windows and Trace measurement.

Memory Segments

Here you define the memory layout of your ECU. For a first simple Setup you can reduce the layout to the minimal need segments. The XCT does some plausibility checks with the Memory Segments to make sure they are not overlapping, and it verifies them against a memory map which is defined for every controller to check for the type of segment.

For a minimal DISTAB measurement only setup one “Variables” memory segment covering your DISTAB is sufficient. For measurement and calibration, you need to make sure that your OMD is also inside a memory segment, and you need a “Data” segment to use for calibration.

Calibration Handles

Depending on the ETK and controller combination, there are different options for the calibration method, which need to be configured very differently. Please consult the Manual to find out how your method needs to be configured.

For a measurement only setup select the calibration method “Unknown”. If you set your Page Switch Method to “Not Used”, now the error regarding calibration handles is gone.

DISTAB Editor

In this guide we will only handle the current DISTAB version which is 17. Select DISTAB Version 17 and the Editors for all the possible configurations will appear.

In the top left corner are the Table address configuration. Configure the addresses, sizes, and alignment to match your ECU SW.

In the bottom left corner are the Performance Limitations. These settings are optional but can help to not overload your ECU. When creating an experiment, INCA will respect those limitations. These limitations are for the whole DISTAB overall, or per core. Later, in the Raster Editor, there are also raster specific limitations. There is an example in the chapter on how to use the editor.

In the top right corner are the hardware Trigger configuration. For each DISTAB Raster you need a direct trigger. You can add more, up to all, Hardware Triggers to get them exported to the A2L File later.

In the bottom left corner are the Data Acquisition channels. You need one channel for each raster priority. The channels defined here only for ECU dependent measurement. If you want to use the ETK based timer triggered rasters, make sure to not cover their priority here.

Raster Editor

Here you define the rasters which you want to use to measure your ECU variables. If you select or create a new raster you can adapt further configuration in the section on the right. For DISTAB rasters you must further specify the maximal number of variables and bytes per second available to this raster. Differently to the DISTAB Editor, these are not optional.

Configure Device with XCT

After all the steps above are done, everything is configured and the XCT does not show any errors, you can verify you configuration by downloading it to the ETK.

Connect you powered ETK to your PC and start the “Search for Hardware” in the XCT. Select your device and download the created configuration. This should work without any errors.

If everything is configured correctly the ETK and the Ecu should perform a handshake. You can verify this status inside the “Hardware” view in the Status window. If not please verify the configuration of your Serial interface in the hardware settings Editor.

If you reupload this configuration, there will be some information missing. This is expected behavior. A lot of the configured information are needed for the A2L File and not for the ETK configuration. INCA needs this information from the A2L file and will then configure the ETK on start measurement depending on your experiment.

A static configuration with all the information stored in the device is only necessary if the ETK should be used as a standard XCP device with another XCP master then INCA. For this type of configuration, there is another guide to walk you through all the steps to convert an INCA configuration, like the one we created here, to an XCP device configuration.

Generate A2L File

Open the “Generate A2L File” Dialog and select you file destination. You will see a new window show up where you can configure what should be exported to your A2L file. For the usage with INCA only the ETK_XETK version is needed, all the other options are for the usage with another XCP master, so we will not cover this here.

It is recommended to use the latest ETK_XETK version supported by your INCA Version. If INCA and XCT are on the same Service pack the latest one is preselected, and you don’t need to change anything.

The generated A2L file is a valid A2L file but only contains the configuration information for the ETK and its Monitoring variables if there are any. You must add at least the measurement and calibration variables, you want to use, before you import the A2L file into INCA.