Abstract: This paper presented a master-slave electronic control unit (ECU) control system of diesel engine based on two 6-cylinder engine control units, which implements control on a 12-cylinder locomotive diesel engine. The master and slave ECUs have the same hardware and software architecture, and the identification of master or slave ECU only depends on their physical positions, therefore they have fully interchangeability. The paper described the hardware architecture, the logic of status identification, the communication agreement and engine control strategy of the master-slave ECU. The results of experiments prove the rationality of the control system. The 12V280 locomotive engine works well and the speed is stable in experimental conditions, as well as the errors can be controlled within 0.5%.

Key words: master-slave electronic control unit, diesel engine, control system