ECU flash hell

[lovememyxt]

Gentlemen(and ladies, if there are any)! I've got a 2012 S10 and decided to attempt some ECU modification. Flashtune sells a kit with a wiring harness to be attached to the ECU plug which will make it easy for future adjustments. After attaching the harness you download their software, register your USB link wire(ensuring you can't start flashing any other ECUs), and then supposedly enter the world of electronic improvement. I was hoping to smooth out the throttle response,get rid of the torque and power limitations, and so forth. However, my first bad surprise was that the software would not work on my Apple laptop. I ended up getting a refurbished Dell for $140. This did not immediately work because I needed to upgrade some of the software. Eventually that was straightened out(disclaimer: I know just a little more than shit when it comes to this stuff, but was assured by the Flash tech that that was enough). Slogging through the ECU flashing software I had to overcome one unexpected hurdle after another(several of my own doing). Finally I got to the part where a zero to 100 percent graph slowly makes its way to completion, only to be told at the end that the connection was faulty. Back and forth phoning didn't help yet. So I reassembled the bike for the weekend and rode around quite a bit. Today I got in touch with the tech guy again and we went through the process again. I sent him several photos of the wire harness connections. Nothing changed, at the end of our efforts the computer again displayed the dreaded message. Kirk, the friendly(and patient tech) talked to his boss and they are sending me another harness. So I figured I'd again put the bike in working order until the arrival of the wires. Shockingly when I pressed the starter button there was a eardrum bursting sound of.....SILENCE. Nothing happens. All other electrical components appear to work, the dash lights up as usual, but..... Anybody here have a clue what I might be up against?

 

[jbrown]

There are two cpus in the ECU, and both get flashed, one after the other.
When I got my harness from Flash-Tune, it was missing one wire so only one of the cpus would flash, and an error message showed up when the second should have started.
Since you saw a progress bar, I'm assuming you have a similar problem. So you may have one cpu flashed, and not the other one.
Depending on what changes you are making, maybe there is an incompatibility? I think this is unlikely because the stuff you can change is pretty self contained within each cpu.
Maybe you selected the wrong image and have the wrong software in one cpu?
The flash process erases the cpu first, then writes the new data. So if you actually have some intermittent failure, you may have a cpu that was erased, then partially programmed.

AC was able to give me enough information to add the missing wire to my harness.

Can you tell by the messages if one cpu flashed correctly, and it was going to the next that failed?
I'd double check the ecu number and make sure you are starting with the correct image file, and try to reflash the stock image.

 

[yz454]

Get hold of AC on the form he knows more about FT on the s10 than FT does .

 

[Checkswrecks]

+1 to you need to contact Tony / AVC8130 and probably pay him to set your ECU straight. It took years of trial and error for Tony to come up with the maps he has, and it's why he rightfully is able to charge for them. They work.

He's an engineer by trade, has literally flashed hundreds, and of everybody here, he probably knows the Super Tenere's ECU better than anybody. He was the person who found the problem with doing the clutch jumper wire mods. (At completely full throttle the timing goes too far advanced.)

 

[lovememyxt]

Thanks.....good pointers! Jbrown, possibly confirming your theory..I did see some notification about only half of the flashing having been addressed. I also suspect that there being nothing happening when pressing the starter might be an erased CPU. I did recheck the CPU number, and was told it is correct. Have not heard about the missing wire issue. If I had had the slightest idea it was going to be such an ordeal I'd have sent the CPU in for flashing rather then attempting it myself. What a %#@&ing pain!

 

[scott123007]

And check to make sure you accidentally didn't bump your kill switch off, or the bike slipped into gear, during all this commotion.

 

[Buelligan]

+1 contacting AVC

 

[Don in Lodi]

With frustration shorting out the brain, sometimes it's the little things; kickstand switch/still in gear. The kill switch has already been mentioned. BTDT

 

[jbrown]

The missing wire on my harness was the RST2 line to pin 8 of the ECU connector. Without this line, the second cpu flash procedure won't work.
In my situation, the first cpu flashed fine and the second was untouched.
The FWE1 & FWE2 lines are the flash write enable lines, but they are both tied together, and the cpu reset lines are used to select the cpu. I suppose it's possible that both cpus were erased if the FWE lines were turned on while the whole ECU was turned on. (Maybe both cpus entered the boot flash mode together?)

 

[lovememyxt]

Thanks, guys! I will wait for the replacement harness to arrive to see if that will help solve the issue. If it doesn't I will follow some of your suggestions.

 

[lovememyxt]

Double checked the gear position, kill switch and side stand switch,.......all good(unfortunately).

 

[lovememyxt]

In the end the failure was mostly(if not entirely) mine; ended up finding one cable connection not reinserted, and another not secured properly. Flashtune was very cooperative throughout

 

[trainman]

glad you got there, the number of times that people have issues after some farkling (especially electrical) is a long list, but I know its not helpful to say things like 'have you put everything back correctly' when your deep in the middle of a problem!!

 

[WJBertrand]

In the end the failure was mostly(if not entirely) mine; ended up finding one cable connection not reinserted, and another not secured properly. Flashtune was very cooperative throughout

Are the cables you are referring to the ones that connect the ECU to the bike's harness?