GM ECM

GM Powered Solutions has launched a commercial vehicle ECM built for its 6.6-liter heavy-duty gas engine. The module is designed to function as a ready-to-run testing package, with a GM-approved base engine calibration already loaded. This move is expected to simplify the development process for integrators, upfitters, and fleets spec'ing step vans, work trucks, and last-mile delivery vehicles.

Introduction to ECM

The ECM is the engine's computer, deciding how the engine responds to different driving and load conditions. According to Anthony Locano, technical specialist and on-highway lead application engineer at GM Powered Solutions, the package exists because customers told GM that the opening stretch of engine integration was the most punishing and the least differentiated work in the whole program.

Locano stated that customers needed a launching pad to get the ECM to a state where they could run the engine, as this process is very technical and unique to that specific engine. GM's answer is what Locano calls a foundational starting point package, which allows customers to start with a running engine instead of a dead engine and a blank controller.

Benefits for Integrators

The controller is tailorable, meaning customers can add content to it for specific vehicle-related features or functionality. This capability is new for external customers. Locano explained that the controller is not specific to any exhaust system or air induction system, and these are inputs that go into building the calibration, which is vehicle-dependent.

Certification Boundary

Buyers need to understand the certification boundary, as the controller is only a starting point and not a certified product. Locano stated that with this controller, GM has taken it to a point where it's up and running for engine dyno only. The customer installs the engine in a test cell and fires it at full power right away, but emissions calibration stays on the customer side because the intake and exhaust hardware is theirs.

The package is designed to jumpstart development, allowing customers to focus on integrating the engine into the vehicle and generating data for emissions certification. Locano noted that there's a lot of time saved in the initial development, and the customer can really focus on the meat and potatoes of integrating the engine into the vehicle. The ECM has additional I/O, pins, and widgets that can make other possible powertrains work in the future, making it a future-proofed package.

GM Powered Solutions sells propulsion across marine, industrial, off-road, and on-road commercial applications, with parts and service running through GM's Customer Care and Aftersales network, dealers, and ACDelco distributors. As Locano put it, the controller is not an accessory to the engine purchase, it is the thing that makes the purchase work, and without the ECM, the engine is a paperweight in today's world. The reality often gets buried under everything else on a spec sheet, but Locano's pitch to buyers is straightforward: the controller is essential to making the engine work.