Here is a mod for those who wish they could get Auto Stop every time in heavy stop and go traffic or in line at the drive-thru. When there is a lot of stop and go traffic, I find myself leaving a large enough gap in front of me then start off a little later than normal so I can get the car up to 8 MPH just so AS will work again. But that method wastes more gas starting out that way and probably makes others think "what is this clown doing?"...I have looked at the FAS mods performed in the past but it appears like it may not be suitable for the CVT model. Please review the post "FAS with CVT Insight" (
http://www.insightcentral.net/commun...php?f=4&t=7418 ) for the reasons why.
I do understand people have done the FAS mod and activate it with some type of switch. The FAS is in my opinion more like a Forced Stall with automatic restart but you manually have to activate it. Since the car really does fuel cutoff anyway while coasting, my plan was just to "convince" the ECM to do a real Auto Stop every time in heavy stop and go traffic and the drive thru without having to "really" go above 8MPH each time. Plus, my goal is for the driver not to have to hit any button or do anything fancy for activation. Just set it and forget it
Perhaps one way to do this would be to simulate what I do in traffic. We already have a wire from the ECM called ENGRDY (pin A2 engine ready signal) that is 12V when the engine is running and less than 1V when in AS. What if we had a circuit (initiated by ENGRDY) that would generate 0v and 5V pulses to match the specs of what 9MPH would be like on the VSS wire. The VSS signal going to the ECM would be swapped (just for a few seconds) with this signal to simulate that the car has gone over 8MPH. The relay that would switch the VSS would only operate for about 3 seconds (each time ENGRDY signal goes low) then shut off and default back to the real VSS signal back to the ECM.
Well, the circuit was built and the good news is that IT WORKS as planned
No buttons to press, no sequence of actions to perform, just drive normally
I took the plunge and cut the VSS wire at the ECM (I had already tapped into that wire for cruise control so I made the cut so that the cruise control would always receive the real signal.) The wiring connections (VSS IN , VSS OUT) could be physcially connected to each each other if I removed the circuit (sort of like a built-in loopback). It will be placed immediately in front of the cup holders under the center console. My neighborhood probably thought that I had car problems when starting and stopping every few feet but I didn't care because it worked great...
It looks like there are several variations of AS programmed into the ECM. Here are the five that I am aware of the can be repeated at will (once the engine is warmed up enough for a normal AS):
1) Take your foot off the brake from AS at complete stop, go 0-1 MPH for only 1-2 seconds (without touching the gas pedal), press the brake to complete stop, will AS within about 15 seconds. This one takes the longest to happen but it will do it.
2) Take your foot off the brake from AS at complete stop, go 1-3 MPH for longer than 15 seconds (without touching the gas pedal), press the brake to complete stop, will AS within about 3 seconds.
3) Take your foot off the brake from AS at complete stop, go up to 4 MPH (without touching the gas pedal), press the brake to complete stop, will AS within about 3 seconds.
4) Take your foot off the brake from AS at complete stop, go up to 5 MPH (use the gas pedal slightly), press the brake, once speed drops towards 4 MPH, AS will happen while still rolling.
5) Find a very slight downward road where you can maintain 4 MPH without using the gas pedal. Take your foot off the brake from AS at complete stop, coast up to 4 MPH (without touching the gas pedal), press the brake at 4MPH, AS will immediately happen while rolling, realese your foot from the brake while still going 4 MPH (engine restarts), put your foot back on the brake a second later, AS will happen again. This is the coolest one to try because you can induce the AS while rolling at 4 MPH in about 1 second each time you cycle the brake.
Before this mod, I could not do any of these at speeds below 8 MPH. Now I am able to pull up right next to my garage door, come to AS, use the garage door opener, pull into a single car garage, go back into AS once inside.
Here are some pics:
The initial circuit on bread board for testing:
http://74.92.0.194/misc/insight/vss-...ad-board-s.jpg
The final circuit built:
http://74.92.0.194/misc/insight/vss-...p-view02-s.jpg
This board is so small (only 1.8 x 2.8 inches ) that it fits under the center console in front of the cup holders with plenty of room to spare. Since I had extra room, I put some insulating material surrounding the cup holders (underneath) so I did not hear any relay clicks (since it so quiet during AS).
The bracket made of aluminum (top view):
http://74.92.0.194/misc/insight/vss-...top-view-s.jpg
The bracket and on / off switch (side view):
http://74.92.0.194/misc/insight/vss-...ide-view-s.jpg
Everything installed:
http://74.92.0.194/misc/insight/vss-...top-view-s.jpg
The VSS override circuit and MIMA_L circuit:
http://74.92.0.194/misc/insight/vss-...and-MIMA-s.jpg
This has been tested on the CVT Insight.
A suggested name for this mod is "Low Speed Auto Stop" (thanks Mike
) so that name has been included in my signature.
JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner
Automatic Low Speed Auto Stop
I tried the Auto Stop going in reverse and switching between drive and reverse (like in a 3 point turn)...None of these work with or without this mod in a CVT...Auto Stop will not happen when shifted into "Low" "S mode" or "Reverse" or any combination.....Only if you stay in "Drive" (for CVTs)....I have no way of checking what the manual transmission would do but I do know from looking at the manuals that the MT only has a neutral switch and reverse switch (perhaps just for the reverse lights) so there still may be a chance that AS in a 3 point turn can work in a MT version. 
Best Tank: 
