SELF-LEARING…WHAT IS IT?
Self-Learning is a complex procedure that is performed with a scan tool, aftermarket or OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) that essentially teaches the NCR (Non-Conformance Reporting) of the vehicle the location of the shift forks within the gear box. It is one of the most important and necessary processes that needs to be regularly performed.
Let me expound on the concept of “Self-Learning” so you can understand the importance of this maintenance step and why it needs to happen regularly in these vehicles.
The F1 and E-Gear Systems are some of the most sophisticated shifting systems ever placed in an automobile. They are complex and take a lot of understanding and education to work on. It is a skill that no ASE Certification can help you with and can only be learned normally through one of the Manufactures listed.
So, how do you take a highly complex, computerized, robotized, hydraulic actuator shift system and teach it to shift a manual transmission vehicle? Essentially, you need to first teach the computer to actuate it’s connected hardware, to push the clutch in, teach it WHERE the first (or any gear for that matter) gear shift fork is within the defined parameters, shift the car into gear and then release the clutch afterwards.
Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin (ostensibly through Magneti Marelli-the people responsible for most of the hardware) have not only done this, they have actually developed the technology to do it in milliseconds. Faster than humanly possible. It is a race-track inspired system. In order for E-Gear or F1 systems to do this, and continue to do so on a consistent basis, you need to understand the software controlling the hardware that shifts it and the data that keeps these beasts shifting in millisecond time frames.
SELF-LEARNING…HOW AND WHAT IS BEING PERFORMED?
If you have been around these vehicles any amount of time you will hear the term “shift actuator” or “hydraulic actuator” or similar terms used for the mechanical device that shifts the car into gear. Pictures below.
If the actuator fails in the vehicle, if you replace it, and you do not run “Self Learn” on the vehicle, the car will act as if you’ve not replaced it at all. Many Technicians and Shops have called me dealing with shift issues and they speak to me about how they can not figure out what the heck is going on with the car because they have replaced the actuator and it is still doing the exact same thing the other actuator was doing previously. This is for good cause and reason. Though the humans over the machine know they have replaced it, the computer running the mechanical components of the vehicle do NOT know it’s been replaced. The computer is running as if it has not been replaced because “Self Learn” was never performed.
Consider Self Learning as updating computer software. Those updates need to be done so that the computer performs at it’s optimum level. The longer you go without updating the software, the slower and more problems you’ll encounter with that computer’s system.
Written within the NCR (some refer to this as the TCU or TCM (transmission control module)) there is actually Engagement/ Selection numbers that if you chart out on a 1024×1024 bit grid it will outline exactly where each shift fork is located. All of these numbers will come up within the scan tool as engagement/selection shift points. More specifically, Minimum Engagement, Maximum Engagement, Minimum Selection, Maximum Selection shift parameters. I’ve seen a few different Scan tools call them by similar names but the list of numbers are all still there. They total about 28 different numbers that can be charted or graphed in order to visually see the health of that actuator and whether it’s about to encounter issues before it actually has any issues at all.
By way of example of understanding what these numbers are, picture yourself in a “true manual” or stick shift car. There you are sitting in the Driver’s seat. You rock the gear shifter while in neutral from left to right. It’s moving within the defined shift fork parameters. You can only go so far left, or so far right. Correct? Next push the clutch in, push it over to the left and up into 1st gear, and release. Again rock the gear shift lever back-and-forth while it’s in 1st gear. It doesn’t move as much as Neutral because you do not have as much space in that shift fork to do so but it will move. A little left, and a little right.
This is exactly what “Self Learn” is doing. First, the software from the factory is already encoded in the NCR. Self Learning updates the shift point parameters of it. If you have ever seen or been present when self learning takes place you’ll distinctly recognize the shift indicator in the dash go to 1st-2nd, 1st-2nd, multiple times before moving and replicating it through all of the gears, reverse and neutral included.
What is happening is first, the scan tool is erasing all of the previous data of where the shift forks location were and telling it to “self learn” or relearn all over again where they all sit now. Thus, this allows for wear and tear of the actuator as it gets older. Shift forks themselves do not wear as much as the hydraulic actuator itself will and there needs to be a way to account for it. Chart it, document it, and prepare for it. These are once again what these Engagement/Selection, Minimum/Maximum shift point numbers are doing for you. Additionally, if your Techs are doing their job on your car they will record, chart these numbers periodically, and self learn to keep the system at optimal performance. It will let you know if it drifts off center or whether any of these shift gear fork boxes are drifting from the other signifying possible actuator issues. “Engagement with wrong Selection” data counts can also be pulled from the NCR with a Scan tool to further keep the Technician aware of possible Actuation issues.
Finally, after the “Self Learn” procedure is performed, the key should be cycled on/off in order to save the new data. The old data if not charted and kept before running self learn is performed is forever erased and gone. It doesn’t keep that data within the NCR.
Average Rating
Setting Up KISS Point In F1/E Gear cars, and Why I Never Follow the OEM Recommendations
How to set up a clutch in Ferrari/Lamborghini. The P.I.S. Or KISS point is a very important procedure that needs to be understood and performed correctly.