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[edit] The EFI ECU Electronic Fuel Injection Car Computer FAQ

[edit] Related Links

• faq page
• Romulator order page
• Identify GM Chip types at GM ECU chips

[edit] What do I need to modify with my car's computer?

We really don't know about car years and ECU part numbers - but here is how to find what you need.

What we sell will read the information out of a chip and let you store it as a file and you can also put a file into a chip. You need to know the part number of the chip in your ECU and that is often under a sticker on the eprom. (sometimes car manufacturers put their own "house number on the chip and you will have to find out the real device number from others.)

You will most likely want to edit the information you pull out of the chip. Our software has a simple "hex editor" that lets you see the chip data as hexadecimal numbers at hexadecimal addresses - unless you know exactly where the number you want to change is and how to change it this will not be too helpful. What you really want is an editor that lets you see the numbers as something you understand. thankfully there are a number of vendors that make such software. Contact one of the appropriate folks below and see about what software they can supply you.

Even software that does not directly support the romulator can be tricked into directly supporting it with TunerPro EMUtility! It scans a file and if it sees a change updates the romulator! All you have to do is save the file to update.

[edit] People are looking for Mazda software (Rx-7) - let us know if you know of any. I know there is some Porsche software out there we don't have listed - sure like to have some leads on these

[edit]

[edit] OK I found the software I need. What do I need that you sell?

The most important equipment for you will probably be the pocket programmer. It allows you to read your chip and put it's content into a file. It also lets you write to an EPROM after you have changed the EPROM data with an editor. It comes with everything else you need - including cable and power adapter.

You will probably want a UV EPROM eraser sooner or later. This allows you to shine a special light into the quartz glass window on the chip to erase the chip and get it ready to reprogram. There is usually a sticker on this window and you should clean it off with isopropyl alcohol to avoid problems. Once the chip is erased, you put it in the programmer and will probably want to run blank check.. There is a bit of information aboutUV erasing.

With larger chips 27C256 and 27C512 you can instead use 29C256 and 29C512 that we sell. these chips are electrically erased and you don't need a UV eraser (With the 29C512 Connect pins 32,31 and 30 together and let pins 1,2 and 31,32 hang over the socket.)

The other thing that we have is the Pocket-ROM. This lets you put a file into it and instead of plugging a chip into your ECU you plug a cable and it looks to the ECU like it has a chip plugged into it. With this you can make changes while the car is running! You are actually tuning the parameter and seeing the result instantly. I'm told that it often pays for itself the first time used in savings of dynamo charges. The Pocket-ROM requires a windows computer with a serial port (it works with USB serial ports too!). The process is called emulation and if you are emulating a chip with less pins than the cable - let the pins on the pin-one-end of the cable (with the red stripe) hang over.

• Pocket programmer (I-PP2A)
• Pocket Romulator (I-PKTROM) (some GM products use the 512 size ROM) (also get spare sockets)
• UV eraser (D_erase4)
• Spare chips

[edit] GM ROM House Numbers

GM (in what can only be described as an attempt to keep life interesting) decided to use house numbers on their EPROMS. This table link will help you figure out which chip type it is.

[edit] Static damage is an issue

Working on an ECU requires the correct use of a ground strap connected to the ground of the car AND the ground of the computer that will run the romulator software. Connect the grounds FIRST then the emulator. Such static damage is by far the most common reason romulators fail - you can also damage ECUs and ROMs if you don't take static precautions. A detailed understanding of static can be found here ESD

[edit] Using the Romulator

The first thing you want to do is get the romulator running with a known good chip image. Take the chip out (using ESD measures) and save a copy of the chip to a file using the Pocket Programmer. Start up the romulator software (PKT_ROM.exe) and set the correct device type. If the romulator is plugged into the ECU, the ignition of the car MUST be on when doing operations in the romulator software. Press the Load Buffer button and select the file you save. Then press the Buffer-to-ROM button. At this point turn off the ignition and turn it back on to reset the ECU and try and start your car. If it won't start, try the alternate pull-hard/pull-soft setting.

After you have the car running with our software, you can now try using any third-party software.

[edit] How to keep from frying your Pocket-ROMulator

First, connect a wire from something metal on the back of your computer to the ground of test system circuit board. Second, put on a ground strap connected to the same ground of test system circuit board - only now should you think of touching anything electronic. While emulating with the above mentioned connections, your computers ground, the ground of the test system, and your skin surface will remain at the same voltage.

EFI users should note that sliding on car seats generates static that breaks electronic things. You should have a ground wire that connects something metal (like a connector screw) on the back of your computer that goes to an alligator clip that you fasten to the frame of the car. You should then have a ground strap on that is also connected to the car frame. If you don't wear a ground strap you will lose valuable time and equipment.

[edit] What if I need help?

Before you call or email be sure to look at Pocket Programmer FAQ page or the Romulator FAQ page first. If you need to contact us, we are here to help you. Be sure to know what OS (Operating System you are running, the version of the software (in the title bar of the program window) and for the Pocket-ROM the hardware version found (look just under the com port selector near the bottom left-hand corner of the program window.)