i finally got an ostrich and its awesome, but since i got it i've noticed something happening, i connect to the ecm fine, and sometimes it wont connect ever unless i pull the fuse to the ecm then all is okay, but it's happening alot more, anyone have this issue? am i doing something wrong?, i have the moates ostrich and aldl converter and cabl1

 

I've run into a very similar situation with my Ostrich plugged into a 730 running $8D.

In my case, it appears the Ostrich is "getting confused". Data logging will not connect, just like in your case. Car will hardly idle at all when it happens. I've even had it turn on the check engine light, but the code it reports is "illegal" (meaning it is not a known code - I get a "10" error, and the minimum code is supposed to "12").

Resetting the ECM by pulling the battery cable doesn't usually work either. Only "certain" resolution so far has been to download the BIN to the Ostrich again. Then it will be fine again for a while (usually several days to 2 weeks before it happens again).

It doesn't appear to be the ECM hardware itself, I've swapped in a different 730 with same result (altho not while the problem was occurring).

I've also had an issue where just driving down the road the motor acts like it lost all power for a half second or so, but then jerks and catches and goes on (manual tranny). Not sure if that is related or not, currently suspecting either an ignition module or MSD Digital 6+ box, it definitely does it a lot more frequently when the MSD is connected. Swapped coils, so that doesn't appear to be the problem either.

Ideas, anyone?

<going to check of my Ostrich is at current firmware revision....>

 

Once the binary is uploaded to the Ostrich, assuming your checksums are either disabled or correct, there should be no problems and it should operate as though it were a chip as far as the ECM is concerned. If you've got massive rogue RFI, I suppose that could influence it, but not likely.

If you have any problems at all with your Ostrich, regardless of how long you've had it, just let me know and I'll get it taken care of with a repair or replacement.

 

When you guys notice this problem, what happens when you verify the contents of the Ostrich with the bin currently loaded in your editing software (assuming they should be the same)?

Ideally verification would succeed. If it doesn't, something else is wrong. Either the data loaded to the Ostrich was incorrect, or the data is becoming corrupt during transfer either up or down via something like a bad cable, bus contention (hardware issue), etc.

If the verify succeeds during the problem, RFI could very well be the issue, or a hardware problem.

 

hey guys, havent played with the car much, busy with work right now, but in my case, if i disconnect power from the ecm and start over it is fine, i dont think it's the ostrich, just not sure whats going on between the ecm and ostrich to cause this. i'm switching to the $58 code this weekend though, so i'll see if it happens again

 

Appears this thread is dead but I had the very same problem and the fix is to disable the checksum in tunerpro. Hope this helps someone from going through the same thing I did.

 

The checksums are fine when the BIN is first loaded, they compare correctly (I always compare BIN to loaded file after a download to the Ostrich). Strangely enough, I haven't had the "confused" condition happen for a few weeks now.

But I may have found the culprit. I strongly suspect the problem is a loose or not completely seated ZIF connector. My ECM is laying in the floor boards under a floor mat up against the firewall. I discovered my Moates adapter was tilted so that it may have not been getting full connection all the time. Once I reseated it into the ZIF the totally non-responsive ALDL and "not able to idle" condition went away.

I still get an occasional blib where everything suddenly quits for a second and then catches and goes on just fine while cruising. I suspect a power problem (or ground) going to the ECM. When this happens the speedo value in the ALDL goes to max for what that's worth. Plus the SES light will come on for a few seconds and then go off (just like when you start the car). All indications point to a power loss, just got to figure out how/where. I just pulled and cleaned the ECM grounds on the back of the heads, they were oily from a bad VC gasket. I also ran a 10 ga. wire from a starter bolt to the passenger's head, then to the driver's head, then to the battery to make sure there is no grounding potential difference.

So far, no engine cut out since then but I only have a couple of hours run time so far. Got the SuperRam pulled off right now re-sealing everything to hopefully eliminate a vac leak as a possible explanation of why the pass side AFRs are 1.2 - 1.5 richer than the driver's side.

 

I've got a big fresh terminal on my battery ground, and it goes directly to the engine block with ultra-heavy cable and nice fresh connection end and attaches just above the oil pan at one of those bracket holes.I've got another huge braided copper cable attached at that same point, and it goes up to one of the hold-down bolts for the front sway bar. All my other grounds are attached to the frame and body at various points, and I haven't had a problem.

I don't think I have anything connected anywhere else, like the back of the head or anything. But having all the grounds at the same level is pretty critical.

For long-term Ostrich use, you may want to consider attaching the Ostrich to your ECM via Tie-Wraps or something and tucking the majority of your ribbon cable up under the ECM case to help shield it. That's what I do with the AutoProm I run full-time, and I am actually able to tuck it back up under the dash out of the way instead of under the carpet. First time in a while, I swear that ECM has been on the floorboard for like 4 years! Finally tucked it all away, pretty refreshing.

No cables hanging either, since I've moved to Bluetooth.

Muahahahaha!!!!

Ha!

 

Hmm.. tucking the cable UNDER the ECM, nice idea. Think I'll give that idea a try, Craig. Prolly remove the ZIF socket for now as well since I'm not doing any chip swaps. I also wonder if having my Dakota Digital conversion box 6 inches away might be a source of RF interference?

So, how do you convert to BlueTooth for emulating and datalogging? Just curious....

 

All the new AutoProms are Bluetooth-ready. They have a 4-pin connector inside where you can put the BT radio and be good to go.
----------
The new Ostriches are as well, I just haven't told anyone ;^).

 

It sounds like they might have an older Ostrich and don't have the key in the ON position when they are uploading a bin to it. I have one of the older Ostriches and with they key off it will upload a corrupted bin everytime. It will not verify. Key ON it works everytime. So you might want to give that a try.

I really should send mine back to Craig to get updated but I have been using it a ton at the moment.

 

Hmmm... how tough is it to get my Ostrich updated? Getting rid of all the cables and getting the ECM off the floor boards sounds pretty nice LOL

 

The MonteCarSlow NVSRAM module removes all of the stuff sticking out of an ECM and allows tuning on the fly.

 

Yes, the NVSRAM deal is pretty darn slick. The Prominator is also pretty tight, although you still have a cable to contend with.

 

How does it accomplish that? I've sent a message seeing if they are still available, but not enough time for a response yet...

 

Hmmm... no more NVRAM boards, all are sold/gone. Bummer....

 

It's a combination of hardware and ecm software. Hardware part is real simple, it adds 4kb of battery backed sram into the cpu's memory map. The ecm software is reworked to use that ram as the lookup table area instead of the prom. The last part of the hack is to rework the mode 4 aldl command to allow writing data to any memory location in the ecm. The end result is that using only the aldl interface, a program like TunerPro or CATS could talk to the ecm and tell it to modify portions of it's calibration table (because it's stored in the sram instead of the prom). The whole hack is embedded into the ecm and requires no prom emulators or other fancy dandy stuff. If you are a good hack with a soldering iron, it can be built for under $20.

EdB

 

Thanks, ED. I may have to try and look up the parts list and see if I can hack one together...

 

2/3 of the way down in this post are the instructions and pics of it done (for under $20!!)

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/diy-...xtra-sram.html

A word of warning: I used a microscope to do this (my eyes aren't that good anymore)... and not many folks are in the position of having available the tools of the trade for SMT soldering.

 

In that case I guess I'll just stick to my 730 as is. Being an Old Phat Phart myself, complete with dual hearing aids, dentures, bi-focals going on tri-focals, I'm a walking poster boy for modern science! Since I don't have a microscope either, I'll just be content with what I've got for now. Thanks!!!

 

Ya, this is the reason the through-hole version of board came to be. It can be done at home without exotic tools.