MY87T/A

Hey i read in a magazine that if you put a blank chip in the computer that you can gain ET times and a little horsepower. So my question is..where can you buy a blank chip?

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Ward

Blank chip? Remove the tires for weight reduction while you're at it. Seriously though, the engine won't run with a blank chip, or it will run in limp-home mode.

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North Texas Third Gen Association
1988 GTA 5.0/M5/3.45 LSD, T-Tops, Digital Dash, Leather - Current Ride
1983 Firebird S/E - Stripped
1995 Chevy 1500 5.7 Ext. Cab - Daily Driver

Grim Reaper

Throw that magazine in the fire! No offence, but that's the one of the dumbest things I have heard yet. And I've heard a few in my time.

The eprom MUST have programming in it to let the ECM know how to read various sensors, intrepret the readings and then control various components based on those sensor readings. Without that information, the ECM is useless.

A blank eprom is similar as NO EPROM. The only thing that happens when you turn the key on is the engine cranks without anything happening. Great if you wish to immobolize the car, but little else more.

MY87T/A

hey i get the point i was wondering if it was true......And still you didn't say where i can get one at. I will probably burn me one but idk where to even get a blank chip to burn. I mean if you say take the tires off for weight reduction, i might as well replace the muffler bearings too. lol I mean seriously i'm not stupid, i just don't know a lot about these TPI's and the computers. Thanks for your help. lol

???

i think i've seen the mag that said something about that.

i believe they said in the begaining of efi some company's were selling blank chips because in limp home mode they have more timing and more fuel than on the stock programing.

i wouldn't try it thou man.

MY87T/A

Yeah it was in pontiac performance. I wasnt goin to do it for everyday use just pop it in to say burn up the block and come back switch it and be fine.

malcom2073

Haha give it a shot. I mis-burned my chip (87 STOCK tpi), so it was actually blank, no code on it. The car would idle fine (limp home mode activated), but as soon as I went into drive the car would just die, my car cannot run on limp home mode at all, but I've heard stories of people running on limp home mode, but only bone stock cards, and even then you run super rich.

???

dont try it man.. even thou i saw the mag. i don't believe it could ever work. or that anyone ever sold a chip like that. it would set the ses light and run like ****.

MY87T/A

Well all that seems right, but when i was doing my intake system. I had the MAf off the car and drove it with straight intake. and it ran better, more power, yes rich but,pulled at higher speed. Drove it on interstate 20 miles there and 20 back and it ran fine. Did a burnout and lit the tires better than with the MAf. which i was told if ou unhook it or remove it it goes into that mode. ?????????????????????????????????????????

Grim Reaper

With the MAF off, you went into "Safe Mode" (not to be confused with Limp Mode) and in reality it was "Alpha-N" Mode - a unique part of the code for MAF cars.

Do a search on "Alpha-N" or posts by "11sOrBust". He did a LOT of experimentation with running WITHOUT a MAF and using the "Alpha-N" mode. I believe 11sOrBust (Tim) would be thrilled if he knew someone was ACTUALLY interested in "Alpha-N" which was unique to MAF cars.

But back to the "blank chip", that must be an older car without VATS Security. If you have VATS security, the car won't start at all - because part of the VATS is in the eprom itself (Catch-22).

And "Limp Mode" is just that "Limp Mode". Only the most severe of errors cause the ECM to go into "Limp Mode" and it truly is Limp Mode - your car barely runs and is JUST to get you home or the nearest garage.

Most errors cause the ECM to go into "Safe Mode" where the ECM runs on limited sensors AND (in some cases if you have a bad MAF for example) seems to run better...because a bad MAF will cause the car to run worst than if it used other sensor readings to make the car function.

Truthfully, both MAF and SD have enough sensors that it can run on the others fairly well if one of the sensor die...that's the concept of "Safe Mode". And, if your car runs better in "Safe Mode", that usually indicates a poor sensor OR a bad tune in the first place...because you should get your BEST performance in Normal Mode.

But, make no mistake, "Safe Mode" is an integral part of the programming on the eprom and you MUST have an eprom with the proper code installed for that part of the code to function. An example when "Limp Mode" might kick in is if the chip itself went bad...and it does not run very good at all, even if you have all your sensors working well. And, for older cars without the VATS Security System, a "blank eprom" may trick the ECM to run in "Limp Mode".

But if you have a later model with VATS, it's just sit there and "crank & crank & crank"...cause I accidentally forgot to install my eprom on my SD car one day when I was made some change to the eprom and forgot to install it in the Memcal; and that is exactly what happened. Had me scratching my head for a few moments.

And, if you are looking to learn about eprom tuning and burning them, go to this link:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/di...uide-book.html (The Prom Tuning Guide Book and FAQ: Common Questions and Answers)

Pop45398

Mouser.com
P/N 804-27SF5127CPGE
$1.45 each, plus actual shipping cost--no minimum purchase!

These are 512k EEPROMs that can be erased electrically and programmed over and over--once you realize that being blank doesn't help performance. If this is going in an '87 you don't have to worry about VATS, if a later model with VATS, you can simply remove the VATS relay and jumper two wires with a paperclip, etc.