okay... I got a question!!!
so I read Mike and Asword's pages on ECU stuff.
The ECU is a microcontroller right?
well i am presently taking a class at A&M, and let me know if any of this helps b/c I have to design the following and eventually implement this into a microcontroller...
1) BAUD Rate Generator (just finished it)
2) Transmitter
3) Reciever
4) UART Integration
5) Parallel Port
6) Addressing Unit
7) Data Unit
8) Multiplexed Data Bus Structure
9) CPU control
10) Final Integration
you see, I'm using a program called MAX+PLUS 2 that let's you design digital circuits. We design all of the above using K-maps and the like. Our mc is going to be based off the MC68HC05. With MAX+ you could actually design new circuitry, burn it into the microcontroller, and have new inputs the ECU never had.
I know a lot about this stuff, and after May (I say May b/c ENTC 249 is coupled with ENTC349 and I'm in 249) I will have a very extensive knowledge of microcontrollers and assembly language.
If any of this helps let me know... if not then write back and tell me I'm silly but do it nicely. Also, my friend's parents work for Motorola (both vp's) in Austin, so if you need someone to talk to about how this stuff works, I'm sure I could find you name and a number of the people that design these things.