ok well most of you probably read my post about my 350 tpi breaking up at 3k, and now i got it up to 4100rpms, anyway...i finally pulled the codes just now...all i got is code 51, i saw what it meant in a nother post but i checked it in my haynes manual and sure enough.. "code 51: Defective PROM; PROM not properly installed; Incorrect PROM installed; defective ECM"... so i guess my next step should be to replace the prom and ecm entirely. I am not too happy about this.
I need a custom memcal and i dont know the first thing about burning chips so now i have to pay top dollar and put my trust in someone who may be screwing me over. Also how can i be sure a ecm i buy is good? ugh i'm not in a good mood right now.

what i dont understand is why the car would run pretty decent with a dead ECM or PROM. It was the only code that came up, besides the normal 12 to start with. the car had the est disconnected because i was going to do timing later tonight, btu so much for that now. also the air select and diverter valves have been removed but not edited in the computer and i thought that was the code being thrown. please i need advice now more than ever. i really have no choice and now I have to spend the money to buy a good prom and ecm but who can i trust?

 

WTF - you had the EST disconnected? That means the computer could not control the timing, so you were doing all this at 6* BTDC (or whatever your base timing is set at). No wonder it wouldn't run for ****.

Clear your computer error codes, hook up the connector, and then drive it again and report back......

 

no, i JUST disconnected it after the last time i had it running, (like 4 pm today) since i was going to do the timing tonight, but i figured id check the codes first. I never had the car running with the est disconnected. and even though it was disconnected when i ran for codes, would the est throw a code 51? i dont think so, also the SES light has been on from day one when i first started the car.


i pulled the ecm to inspect the PROM, it looks fine, no bent pins or anything, not in backwards either. so it may be bad or the ecm is bad. i have a 90 rs camaro out back with the 3.1(also 730 ecm if i remember correctly) so tomorrow i'm gonna pull that ecm, try my tpi PROM and see if theres any difference. if not, then i can only assume its the custom PROM i had made. and i need to get another somewhere.

oh and one more odd thing, the fan would come on everytime a few seconds right after i turned the ignition on. The ecm must be telling it too even when the coolant is ice cold.

 

Try clearing the code, then if it starts with the ses light on put it into field service mode.

Why didn't you keep your stock chip?!?

My answer in your other thread still is relevant.

 

i did use the white stuff, i remember cuz the clear stuff i had for the plug wires and i had the two different little pouches.

ive had the battery disconeccted a few times, but every time i start the car, the SES light comes back, i assume its for the same code, but i could be wrong. i'll try it again tomorrow, but youll have to explain "feild mode", i'm havent really dealt much with tpi other than the basics. i.e. today was the first time i pulled codes without a handheld scanner.

I dont have a "stock chip", i never did. the tpi system in a combo of many parts, 88 iroc TB and plenum, 92 base, runners and fuel rail, 87 350 block, 88 iroc T5. The harness is a retrofit sd harness made to work as a stand alone system. i bought the harness and comp w/prom like that all. I needed a custom chip since its now in a mont without vats, and no TPIs came 350/5spd. it was "programmed" for 350 SD, T5, disable vats, and full emissions.(or thats at least what i was told) At that time i didnt know i was going to use full length headers, k&n, and lt1 injectors so i dont know if those would affect it. also i removed the AIR system since i recieved the ecm. so for all i know the "custom chip" could be total BS.

 

burning your own chip isn't that hard to learn, lots of reading yes, time consuming yes, but you know what you have when you get done. for not a whole lot more than what 1 after market chip will cost, you can get the stuff & do it yourself. once done you'll have a chip that works with your setup better than most any store bought chip will & plus if you make changes to the motor, you can make changes to the chip to match.

 

id try burning my own chip if someone would be willing to walk me through it if i run into problems. also i need to know exactly what equipment id need to buy. If i need to use a comp, id need that too, the one i use for posting and online is very bad and crashes daily and anymore programs would kill it for good(7 year old comp)

but back to the PROM, this is what i got so far from what i read, if i get a stock prom for a SD 350 car, i just need to turn the flag for auto to manual, turn the vats off, change the injector something to whatever is required for the lt1 injectors?, and possible eliminate the AIR system. i do NOT want to change anything else, no other changes would be made. this car is going to be my girlfriends and i just want it to run right with the setup it has now. in the programming are there menus or a explanation or do you have to use certain codes to move around the program? its all greek to me thats why im trying to ask any questions i have no matter how stupid they sound. In the next year i have to learn how to deal with LS1 programming, but that will be with a on-board laptop which ill get once that motor is built for my '01 SS.

 

well today i bought a timing light to try to get this thing running. i took the "730" comp from the 90 RS i have and i installed my custom PROM into that. i plugged that in, then set the timing with the EST connecter unplugged. one main thing i did notice was that the ses light was on when i turn the ignition on then went off when the car started. after i set the timing, i checked again and the ses light was back on. However thats all good, thats how it should be, the ses should have been set by the est unhooked. other times the SES light would stay on from when i turned the igniton on , started the engine and then shut it off. i set base timing right at 6*(pretty close to where it was all along) So now i reconnected the est, and disconnected the + terminal to clear the code which i assume was a code 42(EST problem). now i'm just gonna have lunch then hook up the battery again and go from there.

 

ok well i finally got time to get back to the car today, i reconnected the + battery teminal, got in turned the key, "vrooommm" started right up, idling very nice at like 1200, it was ice cold and i think i turned the idle up last week, but smooth. It didnt even smoke really like it did last week. i let it run a few seconds, its still not full with cooloant(since i was maybe pulling the timing cover) after like 10 seconds, i gave the gas pedal a little stab, it easily shot the tach up to 4500-4700 rpms solidly. And the SES lights is off and stayed off. so all in all i think i figured out the issue it had. apparently the ECM was bad and messed everything up since thats all i changed(other than correctly setting the base timing ) but the SES light now is fine and i dont think bad timing would have set a code 51. Tomorrow the car is getting registered and insured, then i can test it on the road and fine tune it from there..... thank you to everyone that offered advice and help. I was very careful assembling everything like cam gears and all sensors so i was pretty confident in my work, just my luck it was one item, the ecm, which itook someone elses word that it was good.