Elevate Controls offers full-cycle development of embedded controllers. Our consistent development process adapts to the unique requirements of your project and ensures a quality outcome every time. We use industry standard tool chains that ensure efficient use of resources, and design protect to allow for future variation and scalability.
Background: Supporting In-Service ECU Maintenance
This project extended our long-standing partnership with the ECU manufacturer, which began over a decade ago when we developed their original End-Of-Line (EOL) Test System. Over time, the manufacturer discovered that ECUs returned under warranty were often fully functional or failed due to external factors not covered by warranty. This increased warranty support costs and reduced production capacity, as returned units competed for access to the in-factory EOL Test system.
The Challenge: Portable ECU Testing in the Field
The challenge was to replicate around 95% of the original factory-based EOL Test System functionality in a portable, DC-powered ECU test unit. The goal: enable accurate on-site ECU fault diagnosis and generate reliable test reports directly comparable to factory test data.
Key requirements for the portable ECU Field Test System included:
- Comprehensive functional test coverage for over 90 physical I/O points, with real-time monitoring and control of high-speed CAN bus protocols.
- Verification of embedded ECU software versions and functionality, with capability to update or reload software in the field.
- Provision of all necessary system loads.
- Reliable operation on DC power in remote conditions.
- Secure archiving of test results, with immediate comparison to ex-factory reports.
The Solution: A Rugged, Portable ECU Field Test System
Elevate Controls delivered a rugged, portable ECU Field Test System built on advanced National Instruments (NI) hardware and software technology.
Thanks to advances in hardware since the original EOL system was deployed, multiple PXI/PXIe modules could be consolidated into a single bus-powered multifunction I/O module and CAN interface. While overall test time was slightly longer due to reduced parallelism, it remained well within practical field test requirements.
Software developed for the original EOL Test System was seamlessly adapted to the new portable hardware, retaining full compatibility with all current and future TestStand test sequences. The local operator interface mirrors the factory system — streamlined by removing shipping documentation — allowing test engineers to switch between the factory EOL system and the Field Test unit with zero additional training.
The Field Test System supports remote connections via WiFi or GPS and automatically uploads ECU test reports for centralised analysis.
In the field, suspected faulty ECUs can now be fully tested on-site, confirming in less than 5 mins whether an actual ECU failure has occurred or if the issue is due to external factors. This has significantly reduced unnecessary ECU returns, cut warranty support costs, and freed up the factory EOL Test System for production testing.
The Outcome: Support for Full Life Cycle ECU Test
This project demonstrates Elevate Controls’ commitment to designing robust, flexible test and measurement systems that evolve with our customers’ needs.
We design and deliver custom test, measurement, and automation solutions that provide reliable performance throughout their lifecycle. By planning for flexibility and scalability, we help manufacturers and service teams meet new technical and business challenges with minimal cost and disruption.
In this case, our customer’s need to tighten warranty management and protect production capacity within a complex supply chain drove the requirement for a portable ECU Field Test System. By building on the proven factory-based test solution previously developed by Elevate Controls, we delivered a cost-effective, high-performance portable ECU test system that protects production capacity, reduces support costs, and provides peace of mind — wherever in the world it’s deployed.
