How many damaged ECU's are out there after using Ecuflash?

[zuczek]

I just want to get an idea how many damaged ECU's are out there after using Ecuflash.

Please post what happened and if you got any error messages.

Well, let me go first.

05 Legacy GT MT. Flashed a change to the ECU and it said that CRC's are all Ok. Double checked them by doing the ECU compare and again all CRC's were ok. ECUFLASH said to turn ignition off and remove the jumper. Did that.. Car won't start. Getting ER HC on the odometer display. Checked the green connector 10 times to make sure it's disconnected.

I also removed the ECU from the car and left it out overnight. Next day same problem. Car won't start. Ecuflash says

ssm2_init
ssm2_init
ssm2_init
ssm2_init
ssm2_init
ssm2_init
ssm2_init
ssm2_init
ssm2_init
kernel get version
validating denso kernel ram area addr: FFFF0000 len: 0008

Also tried ecuexplorer but it doesn't connect.

[m3n0ch3]

on some DBW cars, you have to try to start the car a few times..
never understood why...

last one.. a leg GT 2005, sometimes when flashing, we had to start the car 3 times for it to start properly.

Also make sure you apply the checksum fix on it

Phil

[zuczek]

on some DBW cars, you have to try to start the car a few times..
never understood why...

last one.. a leg GT 2005, sometimes when flashing, we had to start the car 3 times for it to start properly.

Also make sure you apply the checksum fix on it

Phil

I tried maybe 50 times. It won't even crank. The checksum fix was enabled. I'm thinking maybe the cable has an issue as the connector split into 2 pieces but all CRC's were OK..

[goixiz]

why would you use a cable that is questionable ?
like to know what is the prob as well and hate to have the same issue

[m3n0ch3]

you didn't by any chance replace the ecu with a spare one to programe right?

perhaps you should try the reprogramming of your key

[zuczek]

you didn't by any chance replace the ecu with a spare one to programe right?

perhaps you should try the reprogramming of your key

No, I didn't replace the ECU as I would have to get hte dealer to program the Immobilizer.

It's not the key. If it was the key, the SECURITY light would be on when the key is inserted and I would be able to connect to the ECU with ecuflash or ecuexplorer.

[zuczek]

why would you use a cable that is questionable ?
like to know what is the prob as well and hate to have the same issue

Cable wasn't questionable until it actually split into 2 pieces. There is a connector in between the 2 halves so I thought it was OK.

[NSFW]

I realize I'm a bit late to this thread, but the EcuFlash output shown in the first thread is exactly what I was seeing about 10 minutes ago when I was trying to read the ROM from my car for the first time. I had inadvertently unplugged the OBD2 connector under the dash.

After connecting it back, I got a different error, which went away after I put the green connectors together (google FTW) after that, I was able to read the ROM.

So, what I mean to say is, the error above is consistent with a bad connection (or rather, no connection) between the cable and the car. Seems likely that your cable failed before it actually fell apart.

[bmorrisj]

the rom was actually incorrect and rewrote or moved the bootstrap so nothing can communicate with it... not even subaru SSM, it also reversed the neutral switch....

[cboles]

Yes, this issue came up with a couple people a few months ago - they had flashed a ROM to their ECU which wasn't appropriate for that ECU, which rendered it unbootable afterwards. EcuFlash did what is was supposed to do - unfortunately there is no good way for EcuFlash to be sure the ROM doesn't have errors in it or does not function correctly in a particular ECU.

Colby

[zuczek]

Yes, this issue came up with a couple people a few months ago - they had flashed a ROM to their ECU which wasn't appropriate for that ECU, which rendered it unbootable afterwards. EcuFlash did what is was supposed to do - unfortunately there is no good way for EcuFlash to be sure the ROM doesn't have errors in it or does not function correctly in a particular ECU.

Colby

Yep. this was my stupidity of downloading and flashing an unknown ROM file. Lesson learned. Thanks Colby for all your help!

[zuczek]

Yes, this issue came up with a couple people a few months ago - they had flashed a ROM to their ECU which wasn't appropriate for that ECU, which rendered it unbootable afterwards. EcuFlash did what is was supposed to do - unfortunately there is no good way for EcuFlash to be sure the ROM doesn't have errors in it or does not function correctly in a particular ECU.

Colby

Yep. this was my stupidity of downloading and flashing an unknown ROM file. Lesson learned. Thanks Colby for all your help!

[NSFW]

Would it be practical to give EcuFlash configuration information that would prevent it from overwriting critical parts of the flash? (e.g. the boot loader)

Obviously the "critical parts" would have to be ECU-specific, but most of us are not flashing more than one car, so it seems acceptable to have an ECU-specific configuration file on the computer that's doing the flashing. And/or have a menu where the user can select a ROM ID to configure EcuFlash with that ROM's critical/protected address ranges.

If that's not practical, then what CAN be done to make it harder for the user to brick their ECU?

[zuczek]

Would it be practical to give EcuFlash configuration information that would prevent it from overwriting critical parts of the flash? (e.g. the boot loader)

Obviously the "critical parts" would have to be ECU-specific, but most of us are not flashing more than one car, so it seems acceptable to have an ECU-specific configuration file on the computer that's doing the flashing. And/or have a menu where the user can select a ROM ID to configure EcuFlash with that ROM's critical/protected address ranges.

If that's not practical, then what CAN be done to make it harder for the user to brick their ECU?

ALWAYS copy and paste values to your own ROM. Maybe there should be a warrning added before you hit the OK button?

[cboles]

The Subaru code is not modular like this. Basically, if any code goes awry in the ROM, the ECU may become unresponsive. If I could write a program that could analyze for code faults, I'd be a rich man

Would it be practical to give EcuFlash configuration information that would prevent it from overwriting critical parts of the flash? (e.g. the boot loader)

Obviously the "critical parts" would have to be ECU-specific, but most of us are not flashing more than one car, so it seems acceptable to have an ECU-specific configuration file on the computer that's doing the flashing. And/or have a menu where the user can select a ROM ID to configure EcuFlash with that ROM's critical/protected address ranges.

If that's not practical, then what CAN be done to make it harder for the user to brick their ECU?