lost communication with Microsquirt

[ofredo]

I finally got Micrsoquirt hooked up and talking to my laptop, and was going through communication troubleshhooting guide in megamanual (communication connection would time out after a short and inconsistent amount of time) when fuel pump relay whent into spaz mode then went quite at the same time communication stopped. I have checked an rechecked ports and connections all to no avail.
Any thoughts?

[Bruce Bowling]

I finally got Micrsoquirt hooked up and talking to my laptop, and was going through communication troubleshhooting guide in megamanual (communication connection would time out after a short and inconsistent amount of time) when fuel pump relay whent into spaz mode then went quite at the same time communication stopped. I have checked an rechecked ports and connections all to no avail.
Any thoughts?

A couple of things to test:

1) Check power. What I would do is unhook all relays, injectors etc and only apply +12V and ground. See if you get coms back.

2) Make sure you are not using power inverter for laptop, or a battery charger on vehicle.

3) Make sure the bootloader wire is not connected to anything - leave it floating.

4) The inconsistent coms may be due to USB adapter, etc, and the MS2 code may have become corrupted. If this is the case then you can try to run in bootload mode and run MS Downloader and reflash the MicroSquirt. Ground the bootloader wire then apply the 12V power to get into bootloader mode.

5) By default (in run mode, bootloader wire open) there is a priming pulse output on the injectors whenever the power is applied - do you hear/feel the injectors click once at powerup?

What makes uS a little more diffcult compared to MS is that there is no stim setup, so there are more "on-the-car" testing steps. However the troubleshooting steps are the same.

- Bruce

[ofredo]

By power inverter do you mean laptop charger or in car 12vdc to 120ac inverter?
We are trying to use Microsquirt as ignition only for the time being, will using a test light or volt meter to check for priming pulse at the injector be OK?
Is bootloader wire only for reflashing the MicroSquirt?
There are some items in Megatune that say they require MicroSquirt reboot to take effect, is reboot just cycling the power off and on?

Thanks for your response
I'll try your sugestions in the A.M.

[newtyres1]

By power inverter do you mean laptop charger or in car 12vdc to 120ac inverter?

Either.

We are trying to use Microsquirt as ignition only for the time being, will using a test light or volt meter to check for priming pulse at the injector be OK?

An LED with a series 470 ohm resistor would probably work best, connected to 12V, and the Microsquirt will supply a ground when it primes the injectors, making the LED flash briefly once.

Is bootloader wire only for reflashing the MicroSquirt?

Yes.

There are some items in Megatune that say they require MicroSquirt reboot to take effect, is reboot just cycling the power off and on?

Yes again.

[ofredo]

No brief priming pulse, test LED just stays on when Microsquirt is powered up with all sensors disconnected and bootloader wire open (not grounded).
Still no communication with Microsquirt no chargers or inverters, laptop with serial cable.

ofredo

[Bruce Bowling]

Can you get into bootloader mode and reflash the unit?

[Bruce Bowling]

Can you get into bootloader mode and reflash the unit?

Also, take a voltmeter and check the Vref line, make sure it is putting out +5V. If it is not then unhook TPS, coolant and air temp sensors and check again.

- Bruce

[ofredo]

still can not access bootloader mode, no communication what so ever.
unit has 5 volts at ref. wire

[Bruce Bowling]

still can not access bootloader mode, no communication what so ever.
unit has 5 volts at ref. wire

Can you try another laptop/computer?

Also, email me your email address to bbowling@earthlink.net

- Bruce

[Bruce Bowling]

No brief priming pulse, test LED just stays on when Microsquirt is powered up with all sensors disconnected and bootloader wire open (not grounded).
Still no communication with Microsquirt no chargers or inverters, laptop with serial cable.

ofredo

When the uS worked, then it stopped, was the laptop on batteries or AC power or 12V to 120V inverter? Just trying to know the environment when it stopped working.

- Bruce