GROUP BUY: USB CONSULT!

[Q451990]

I just emailed them, so we'll see what kind of response I get...

Heath

[RyanH]

Hey, Ryan, where does the wrench go?

Nice post. Are there pictures of your Q45t up on the web?

Modified by maxnix at 12:01 PM 3/30/2007

I'm never going to live that down I see. I've got some pictures hosted, here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ry...SQ45t

[RyanH]

Thanks for your help Ryan and for confirming that the USB connection will work.

In the device manager the cable is showing up as CP2101 on COM4. OS is Windows XP. I'm running the Blazt driver so I lost you on the National Instruments> Data Server instructions.

I don't know about the Blazt driver, but the manufacturer driver for the CP210x includes a piece of software called the Datasocket Server. I have no idea what its actually for, just that I had to run it once before I could get any piece of software to talk to the ECU. Did you try the Rel1v21 driver from http://consult.hackthebox.org (http://consult.hackthebox.org/...1.exe)?

[maxnix]

Man, that is sharp! Almost thought is was the first CG2 t I ever saw.

The black interior tipped it off as a silver one.

[slipnfall]

Ryan: sorry I didn't see your question until today. The device in the boards sold is a CP2102: the 2101 has been discontinued for about a year now. From what I understand it is a drop-in replacement for the 2101, so driver should work the same. I still would use the latest version from SiLabs.

Also, for those who are having trouble, be sure your personal XP/login account is set to an administrator. The best place to set this is Control Panel ->Administrative Tools->Computer Management->Local Users and Groups. Be sure you are a member of group Administrators.

[RyanH]

Man, that is sharp! Almost thought is was the first CG2 t I ever saw.

The black interior tipped it off as a silver one.

Thanks! I'm really in love with it. I had been hoping for a black on black, but the silver is hard enough to keep looking clean here, black would be an absolute nightmare!

/threadjack

[Q451990]

I'll be the guinea pig for this application if need be. I like the scope feature.

Here's the response I got from Isaac... the OBD ScanTech programmer.

Quote »Hello Heath,

More likely it should cut off other cylinders if cylinder 1 cuts off, but i only tested it on 6 cylinder engine. The power balance test your describing is not implemented at this time. I may consider adding that feature in the future version.

Br,

Isaac[/quote]Kind of disappointing... I guess I'll keep looking for a while. I think the Power Balance is the single most useful test available for the Q.

Heath

[maxnix]

Heath, it is a deal killer. Don't understand why the capability if not the entire feature itself is not part of any diagnostic program.
Modified by maxnix at 10:46 AM 3/31/2007

[Q451990]

I just posted a topic on another forum that is exclusively for ECU tuning. I'm not sure if I'll get a response, but maybe they'll know something we don't.

http://eccs.hybridka.com/viewtopic.php?p=5313#5313

Heath

[3Q Jay]

OK... I can now confirm that the adaptor works with my NICO/Bowen ECU! Heath

Heath- to confirm, you are using a 90-93 CORE in the Bowen ECU?

I just talked to Robert: Jaime's cable should work with a 90-93 mod, no mod doesn't matter, but probably will NOT work with a 94-95 whether modded or not.

With help from Bruce, we have proven that his Bowen ECU (a 90-93) will work on my car with my software and laptop, and none of my 94 ECU's work (2 NICO and 1 stock).

[bruce.weiland]

To add to what Jay has said.

I had only used my consult with the NICO 4 program ECU, which worked perfetly for me.

We put my ECU in Jay's car and again perfect results. While my NICO ECU was in Jay's car I put my stock 94 (active, traction control) ECU back in my car and could not get any connection.

There is an EF ECU address that shows up on my NICO ECU that will does not show up on any of the other four ECU's we had (two stock, two modified).

When Jay assigned EE to data scan, although it communicated, it returned completely wrong data. For instance 8,000 rpm with the engine off!

OK, now that we clearly understand why it is working in some cars and not others, one of the computer brains out there may be able to come up with a solution.

Bruce

[slipnfall]

Ok so we've narrowed this down to 94-95 active/traction ECUs. Thanks for doing the legwork BTW: I honestly just don't know enough Q owners locally.

I was under the impression that the CONSULT-I ECU's and the active/TCS had their own set of commands. In the CONSULT protocol there are no provisions for device 'addressing', so this must mean that Nissan either changed up the ECU commands, or made the two units share some. Electrically the communication shares the same 'bus', so my impression is that this boils down purely a software limitation. Obviously this doesn't help you folks, so if you are in this boat and would like to return your unit, send me an email.

Sorry we had to find out the hard way.

[maxnix]

I'll test on one of my non-active non-traction 1995 ECU. Both are early Bowen modified.

[RyanH]

Ok so we've narrowed this down to 94-95 active/traction ECUs. Thanks for doing the legwork BTW: I honestly just don't know enough Q owners locally.

Dunno if the problem is just NICO ECUs or not, but all software works great with my stock 95 non-Active / non-TCS ECU.

[goody90q45]

Dunno if the problem is just NICO ECUs or not, but all software works great with my stock 95 non-Active / non-TCS ECU.

I think Jay and Bruce are planning a road trip to Santa Barbara as we speak.

[3Q Jay]

Ryan-do you have Jaime's USB cable or another?

there may be compatibility issues depending on the circuit design of the interface cable.

Robert tells me there are differences in the output impedance of the TX line from the ECU depending on early or late.

Mike- a road trip would be a blast, but other commitments right now.....

[Q451990]

Heath- to confirm, you are using a 90-93 CORE in the Bowen ECU?

That is correct. It was from a 93 Federal Active Q in a former life.

Heath

[Q451990]

I saw something on another site about the signal or trigger being weaker on some ECUs than others. I think this was more related to some of the DIY serial interfaces than the USB style, but the solution was adding and extra resistor as a booster. Hopefully Robert will know what I mean by this - because I don't remember where I saw it. Maybe the USB ones can be modified somehow to work?

Also, I can confirm that this issue isn't over all Nissan products from 1994 forward, since my '97 Truck (with both Consult and OBDII connectors) works with this adaptor too.

Heath

[RyanH]

Ryan-do you have Jaime's USB cable or another?

there may be compatibility issues depending on the circuit design of the interface cable.

Robert tells me there are differences in the output impedance of the TX line from the ECU depending on early or late.

Mike- a road trip would be a blast, but other commitments right now.....

I have Jamie's USB cable, been working great for me.

Take the trip guys, SB is nice right now:)

If there's any info I can give from my ECU that may help, let me know.

[bruce.weiland]

Actually, not. Jay heads for Fla. tomorrow with his family, and my two older daughters are back from college in Santa Barbara, so I don't have to go yet.

[qsiguy]

Dunno if the problem is just NICO ECUs or not, but all software works great with my stock 95 non-Active / non-TCS ECU.

Seems to be just the active and tcs equipped ECU's from '94-95. The non active /non tcs ECU's seem to be ok.

Modified by qsiguy at 12:08 AM 4/1/2007I should be ok then as I've got a NICO ECU from a '93 and I still have my stock '94 ECU w/TCS. If anyone decides to bail out of the purchase let me know, I missed the group buy and still need one. Any issues with the '93 ECU's that have TCS?
Modified by qsiguy at 12:09 AM 4/1/2007

[RyanH]

...and my two older daughters are back from college in Santa Barbara...

I think I'm gonna need names and phone numbers In all seriousness, hope you guys can get the issues with your ECUs and USB cables ironed out. The laptop-based CONSULT is really a nice tool, if for no other reason than it makes pulling codes from the ECU so much more convenient.

[slipnfall]

I saw something on another site about the signal or trigger being weaker on some ECUs than others. I think this was more related to some of the DIY serial interfaces than the USB style, but the solution was adding and extra resistor as a booster.

The output of the ECU is open collector, which requires an external pull-up resistor(provided by the board). On some of the DIY boards, you'll see this signal going straight into the RS232 converter. The MAX232's can be picky about their voltage hi/low signal thresholds, so this is where you run into problems. The problem is the 'low' signal is too high, and the MAX232 registers it as a 'hi'. My boards don't use a MAX232, because it isn't serial, but the same applies to the CP2102 also... there are hi/low thresholds you have to look out for.

I attempt to circumvent this by running the ECU signal into an op-amp comparator. Anything above a set threshold is output as a 'hi', otherwise it's a nice clean 'low'. FWIW, the comparator has an inherently very high input impedance. The only thing that could possibly be done is tweak the pull-up resistor value, but that may keep it from working on other ECUs. Anyone in the PA/MD area?

[Q451990]

I just posted a topic on another forum that is exclusively for ECU tuning. I'm not sure if I'll get a response, but maybe they'll know something we don't.

http://eccs.hybridka.com/viewtopic.php?p=5313#5313

I received response yesterday from a member on hybridka.com saying that Datascan had the power balance functionality. So I emailed the software programmer (Tom) directly, just to make sure before buying... Unfortunately it's not looking good.

Here is his responseQuote »The Nissan Data Scan software does not have Power Balance test functionality. There is a facility to disable ignition spark to individual cylinders but the cylinders are not automatically cycled or the results logged. There hasn't been enough interest for this function to be implemented.[/quote]I sent him another email to see if his software has a way to at least log the drop if I kill the cylinders manually.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Heath

[slipnfall]

There may be a way to do this in DataScan: after you start the logging you should be able to change windows to the active test. This should allow you to turn off each cylinder, while recording the log. I haven't actually tried this, I just watch the RPM drop in the data window.

[jamesmost]

ok, so i tried in my 95 w/tcs and 0 (zero) parameters come alive. so from the bit i have read - this will not work for me?

[slipnfall]

No not necessarily: can you give us the rundown on your setup and what you've done so far? Mainly:

What drivers did you use(those provided above, or from my website) What software are you using? Will the device connect, or return an ECU part number? What port is the cable showing up as (in the Control Panel).

[jamesmost]

[QUOTE=slipnfall]No not necessarily: can you give us the rundown on your setup and what you've done so far? Mainly:

starting over just went back in thread and downloaded all drivers/ un installed free consult and re loaded. will plug in in a couple of hours and see what up
Modified by jamesmost at 1:16 PM 4/2/2007

[Jberger]

I'm using a Blazt cable with a full copy of Nissan Data Scan. If you'll let me know exactly how you want to simulate the power balance test, I'll try it.

In the past, I've just cut one off at a time and watched the values to see if something was off. I'm guessing I could drop more than one at a time if that's what you are looking for.

[Q451990]

I'm using a Blazt cable with a full copy of Nissan Data Scan. If you'll let me know exactly how you want to simulate the power balance test, I'll try it.

In the past, I've just cut one off at a time and watched the values to see if something was off. I'm guessing I could drop more than one at a time if that's what you are looking for.

I only want to cut one cylinder at a time, while holding all of the other parameters constant - so that the ECU doesn't try to correct for the dead cylinder by changing other things like injector pulse width, AAC/IAC Valve duty cycle, etc. That way I can isolate how many RPMs each cylinder is contributing to the overall RPM. Here's a print-out of an actual Consult power balance.



Thanks for your help!

Heath