Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - View Single Post - How to reduce your chances of Bricking your ECU

steve99 · 12-23-2015, 09:53 AM

How to reduce your chances of Bricking your ECU

This applies to ALL flashing systems Ecutek,Tactrix, OFT, Kess V2 ect

You will in most cases get away with with many of the situations listed here, but its best not to push your luck.
quite often the flash system can recover, or you can re-write

If you do get a failed flash, partial flash or error message, read it carefully and Re-Flash again BEFORE you turn ignition OFF, this way the ECU is still in Program mode. If you turn off ignition with a corrupt or partial rom in ECU you may not be able to recover.

Many Ecutek flash problems are due to licensing issues

Read here if using RomRaider to edit roms http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79152

Never attempt to flash your car if the car battery is low/flat or you think the battery is suspect , always make sure car battery is good before flashing.

Never connect a battery charger to car while flashing or reading. Many modern battery chargers use pulse charging or are switchmode supplies which will introduce voltage fluctuations and electrical noise into the cars electrical system, both not good while attempting a flash.

If you battery is low charge it before flashing then check battery, and always remove charger when actually flashing or reading ecu. Again if battery is weak or suspect dont flash, replace the battery first.

The voltage required to flash ecu comes from car battery not the flashing device.

Many flash systems will measure the battery volts prior to starting a read or write and refuse to even start the process if the volts are low. However the problems can arise if your right on the limit and then load the battery during flash process.

Always turn OFF everything electrical in your car BEFORE reading or writing a tune file.

Never switch anything electrical in the car during a read/write. Yes this means anything, fans, radio, lights. Don’t press brake pedal, shift gears in an auto, don’t press clutch, don’t open or close doors or boot, nothing. If you introduce any voltage spikes into the electrical system it may effect flash process.

Never try to start the car or have engine running during flash or read process.

Ignition needs to be full ON , not just accessory position (never start car or have engine running during read/write of ecu)

Always Check connection to OBD port is good by doing some logging or a rom READ and wiggle cables to make sure no loss of communications.
Some cars especially 2013 and earlier have suspect obd sockets that can cause intermittent connection.

Never unplug/interrupt the Flashing device/cable when its reading or writing (flashing) a tune to your car.

Never turn off the ignition while Flashing Device is reading/writing a tune file to your car

Always leave the key fob in push to start models near the start button, don’t take key fobs out of car during flash or read process.

Never mess with or turn off/on plug chargers into cigarette socket or anything electrical in your car during read/write flash process

Never have your laptop connected to OFT when flashing or reading a tune from car. The OFT does not require a laptop when flashing.

Keep your mobile phone away from flashing device and your key fob when its reading or writing tune files to car.

Dont put laptop on top of key fobs as it blocks signal to car.

OFT automatically corrects checksums of roms.

ECUFLASH (used with TACTRIX) does NOT automatically correct checksums, always let ECUFLASH correct checksum of rom if it asks to do so. If you flash a rom with an incorrect checksum it will fail. If you accidentally flash after saying NO to checksum correction. Re-flash WITHOUT turning Ignition off

If you have tried Reflashing without turning ignition off and still no communication with ECU, checked all connections and battery volts then try this.

It if you believe you have bricked the ecu and tried re-writing without turning car ignition off and its still failed

Then try this procedure first

1. Switch off ignition
2. Remove negitive battery terminal
3. Depress brake pedal to bleed off any residual power
4. Re-connect battery
5. Immediately try to reflash car with a known good rom, stock rom is best. Flash rom at first turn on of ignition.

If still no go check battery volts you need about 12.5v.

Then remove battery terminal for about 30 minutes and retry flashing.

hopefully your back in business

If your unlucky enough to Brick your ECU here how to replace it
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2579291

If you using Ecutek you can try Ecutek support in UK if still unsuccessful I believe Ecutek offer an ECU recovery service, but likely only for Ecutek customers.

.

12-23-2015, 09:53 AM	#1
steve99 Banned Join Date: Dec 2013 Drives: FT86 Location: Australia Posts: 7,996 Thanks: 1,035 Thanked 4,998 Times in 2,985 Posts Mentioned: 598 Post(s)	How to reduce your chances of Bricking your ECU How to reduce your chances of Bricking your ECU This applies to ALL flashing systems Ecutek,Tactrix, OFT, Kess V2 ect You will in most cases get away with with many of the situations listed here, but its best not to push your luck. quite often the flash system can recover, or you can re-write If you do get a failed flash, partial flash or error message, read it carefully and Re-Flash again BEFORE you turn ignition OFF, this way the ECU is still in Program mode. If you turn off ignition with a corrupt or partial rom in ECU you may not be able to recover. Many Ecutek flash problems are due to licensing issues Read here if using RomRaider to edit roms http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79152 Never attempt to flash your car if the car battery is low/flat or you think the battery is suspect , always make sure car battery is good before flashing. Never connect a battery charger to car while flashing or reading. Many modern battery chargers use pulse charging or are switchmode supplies which will introduce voltage fluctuations and electrical noise into the cars electrical system, both not good while attempting a flash. If you battery is low charge it before flashing then check battery, and always remove charger when actually flashing or reading ecu. Again if battery is weak or suspect dont flash, replace the battery first. The voltage required to flash ecu comes from car battery not the flashing device. Many flash systems will measure the battery volts prior to starting a read or write and refuse to even start the process if the volts are low. However the problems can arise if your right on the limit and then load the battery during flash process. Always turn OFF everything electrical in your car BEFORE reading or writing a tune file. Never switch anything electrical in the car during a read/write. Yes this means anything, fans, radio, lights. Don’t press brake pedal, shift gears in an auto, don’t press clutch, don’t open or close doors or boot, nothing. If you introduce any voltage spikes into the electrical system it may effect flash process. Never try to start the car or have engine running during flash or read process. Ignition needs to be full ON , not just accessory position (never start car or have engine running during read/write of ecu) Always Check connection to OBD port is good by doing some logging or a rom READ and wiggle cables to make sure no loss of communications. Some cars especially 2013 and earlier have suspect obd sockets that can cause intermittent connection. Never unplug/interrupt the Flashing device/cable when its reading or writing (flashing) a tune to your car. Never turn off the ignition while Flashing Device is reading/writing a tune file to your car Always leave the key fob in push to start models near the start button, don’t take key fobs out of car during flash or read process. Never mess with or turn off/on plug chargers into cigarette socket or anything electrical in your car during read/write flash process Never have your laptop connected to OFT when flashing or reading a tune from car. The OFT does not require a laptop when flashing. Keep your mobile phone away from flashing device and your key fob when its reading or writing tune files to car. Dont put laptop on top of key fobs as it blocks signal to car. OFT automatically corrects checksums of roms. ECUFLASH (used with TACTRIX) does NOT automatically correct checksums, always let ECUFLASH correct checksum of rom if it asks to do so. If you flash a rom with an incorrect checksum it will fail. If you accidentally flash after saying NO to checksum correction. Re-flash WITHOUT turning Ignition off If you have tried Reflashing without turning ignition off and still no communication with ECU, checked all connections and battery volts then try this. It if you believe you have bricked the ecu and tried re-writing without turning car ignition off and its still failed Then try this procedure first 1. Switch off ignition 2. Remove negitive battery terminal 3. Depress brake pedal to bleed off any residual power 4. Re-connect battery 5. Immediately try to reflash car with a known good rom, stock rom is best. Flash rom at first turn on of ignition. If still no go check battery volts you need about 12.5v. Then remove battery terminal for about 30 minutes and retry flashing. hopefully your back in business If your unlucky enough to Brick your ECU here how to replace it http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2579291 If you using Ecutek you can try Ecutek support in UK if still unsuccessful I believe Ecutek offer an ECU recovery service, but likely only for Ecutek customers. . Last edited by steve99; 01-03-2017 at 09:10 PM.