Reading/ Reflashing 29F chips - electrical gurus?

[dimented24x7]

From what you can tell? Unless you work for HPT, I think you are making this up.

Im not saying they get ALL of their info from the manufacturers. They have a lot of smart guys working over there. But, from the internal documentation that I have from GM, the wording and naming of various calibration terms by them and GM is consistent, at least for the earlier LS1 stuff. I dont have anything personal against them, but it does suggest that they (and others) are privy to a lot of info from the manufacturers. To turn around and charge for it is a bit of a grey area in my book.

[Weatheralls Auto]

Must have hardware to interpret the J1850 Protocol.


Scanner right now works with any Elm device, which is basically a $20 to $40 device.

I am def not putting any one or any device down.
Just trying to create alternatives.

[SappySE107]

no hardware needed but a cable to usb/serial?

[Weatheralls Auto]

I have written a scan tool for GM as well, includes most special functions like CKP Variation relearn that most do not have

May or may not come to light, but I am enjoying trying.

[SappySE107]

3.6 costs more as well, but if you had one of those, you wouldn't complain about the cost of the tuner:P You certainly wouldn't be hacking it open to try to make something else work.

Until you have a scantool and the means to program without hacking a PCM, I do not think you are going to get HPT to lower their price. I would say we are lucky they made a setup that we can use. This market is niche. LSx are bank.

[Weatheralls Auto]

2 per vin for 60*V6 etc, 4 for others like LS1 I believe for HPT.

So some will be $160, not saying one program is better than the other, just that it seems expensive.

This is why I am trying to make an alternative, may not be as easy or efficient as HPT or even DHP, but more for the DIY.

If I can make an Open Source alternative for $100 - $150, if it takes longer or is not as efficient, I think it will not only benefit the community but force the others to lower their prices? would you not agree?

[SappySE107]

From what you can tell? Unless you work for HPT, I think you are making this up.

[dimented24x7]

i love how you think $500 makes someone else rich.

Those guys over at HPTuners seem to be making a pretty good living out of it. That, and from what I can tell, a lot of the information thats used to construct the definitions comes from info leaked by the manufacturers, so I dont think there is as much work as we would think in putting together the tuning packages.

[SappySE107]

You get 8 credits, and it takes 2 per VIN. 4 per model/year. I just bit the bullet and got the 70 credit V6 GM Cars setup...but I have a business. Otherwise, the initial 8 credits included at $500 would be sufficient for my cars.

You couldn't pay me to use DHP or Tiny Tuner. I had a DHP, and if I thought it was feasible to use it for all vehicles, you can bet I would have. HPT is so much easier to use, and its faster.

[Weatheralls Auto]

I have to agree with 1 thing though, $500 plus vin licenses @ $80 to $160 is a bit much.

$500 is not making someone rich, $500 X ???? could be.

I am waiting for some hardware, but not just sitting idly by, have the 256 Algos now, just have to decipher them to add to my App.

[SappySE107]

i love how you think $500 makes someone else rich.

[chri0029]

Thanks, Dimented24x7. Good pic. At least I know somebody has done this before. I was actually thinking of a DIP socket (I believe) to solder in place of the IC still internal to the PCM. Then I can pry out the old IC, reprogram, then push in the DIP socket easily. It seems that a ZIF socket would be best mounted external to the PCM like you have (then you have all the moisture issues & static discharge potential you spoke of).

My tuning is fairly simple - just a few parameters and shift points (including the fan on/off which is waaaay too high for this vehicle). So I wouldn't be taking out the IC too much. But I agree that I would try to get a few spare chips in case unsuccessful programming frying the chip or corroded terminals.

I am still interested in how many other people have done this before. It's either this way or hacking through the ALDL cable or spend mondo $ to make someone else rich (I wouldn't be so opposed to this if $500 was one-time for unlimited VINs).

[dimented24x7]

Getting the flash chips is also an issue. They seem to be hard to find in small quantities now. I managed to get 10 new AMD 29F400 chips for $5 a piece about a year ago, but it took a lot of looking around. You will want to have at least a few spare chips as the leads become damaged and corroded over time.

[dimented24x7]

I have my current PCM set up like this. I used 30 gauge insulated copper wire to make the connections to the external ZIF socket. Its a real bitch of a soldering job, but it does work. You will also need to mount (or relocate) the PCM to inside the car, obviously, as it will no longer be weather tight. ESD can also be a problem, so you need to take that into consideration as well. Even a small discharge could burn out the entire PCM as the most sensitive components are now exposed.

[robertisaar]

I've been reading online and actually getting interested in unsoldering the chip and installing a DIP in its place. The experienced soldering guys make it look so easy on YouTube. Chips are pretty cheap if you burn one.

DIP or ZIF? honestly, i would go ZIF since there is the possibility of junking a chip if the flash doesn't complete correctly.