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Thread: Lesson with Nanocom

  1. #1
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    Lesson with Nanocom

    Had an incident this week that makes me somewhat cautious with using Nanocoms unnecessarily.
    I traveled 1100 ks to the South partially as a test run partially to get Whyatts to do some work on the Defender.
    Using a Toombie chip on the way down I only got 14 L per 100 I figured that this was a bit disappointing and decided to put it on the standard Map for the return.
    Programmed with the Nanocom to run the standard Map drove 3 Kays and declared that I didn't care if it doesn't use fuel I am not using it like that
    Pulled into a Servo and tried to put the Toombie Map back on during the write it failed basically trashing the ECU. Fortunately I carry a spare and got going again.

    This is what I learned
    1) When flashing an ECU have an external power supply on the battery so the battery voltage doesnt cause an issue.
    2) Nanocoms are a great tool but dont play without good reason

    I found someone in Perth who can repair the ECU they warned me about flashing without an external power supply.
    Hopefully this will help someone in the future

  2. #2
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    Thanks for the post.

    Can I clarify - should you have an external power supply to the Nanocom (ie. I have a 240V power supply that works with the Nanocom and could provide that with a power source independent of the vehicle 12v), or is it battery voltage to the ECU that could cause the problem (ie. I don't have a 12v charger).

  3. #3
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    No I was told I needed to use a Ctek or equivalent on the car battery while doing the flash.
    To be honest I have done it many times without but in this instance I didnt get away with it.
    If I were in the middle of no where or didnt have a spare ECU I would have been stuffed

    Apparently the Voltage of the car electrical system can drop too low during the flash thus causing the issues

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by djam1 View Post
    No I was told I needed to use a Ctek or equivalent on the car battery while doing the flash.
    To be honest I have done it many times without but in this instance I didnt get away with it.
    If I were in the middle of no where or didnt have a spare ECU I would have been stuffed

    Apparently the Voltage of the car electrical system can drop too low during the flash thus causing the issues
    Pardon my ignorance but "Ctek or similar" means what - taking power straight from the car battery or another battery source or?
    Cheers

  5. #5
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    Run an external voltage source on the main battery while flashing

    The vehicles voltage at the ECU after a few minutes with the ignition turned on will drop off
    The external source will prevent this from happening

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by djam1 View Post
    Run an external voltage source on the main battery while flashing

    The vehicles voltage at the ECU after a few minutes with the ignition turned on will drop off
    The external source will prevent this from happening
    Ta. I'm still not quite clear. Do you mean connecting another battery to your battery to maintain overall voltage - in particular to the ECU, OR do you mean connecting the Nanocom to an external source/separate battery - or maybe even both?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by gavinwibrow View Post
    Ta. I'm still not quite clear. Do you mean connecting another battery to your battery to maintain overall voltage - in particular to the ECU, OR do you mean connecting the Nanocom to an external source/separate battery - or maybe even both?

    Run an external voltage source on the main battery while flashing as originally stated a Ctek Charger on Supply Mode

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by djam1 View Post
    Ctek Charger on Supply Mode
    In other words it's operating as a power supply not a charger. Using a standard battery charger as a power supply is a sure fire method of bricking your ECU.

  9. #9
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    Agreed
    Sorry if the thread is difficult to understand I live in hope that others wont have to learn the lesson that I learnt

  10. #10
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    It's a good tip, djam1.

    It does seem to happen on occasion. There are a couple of threads relating to Nanocom flashing failing resulting in a bricked ECU. I guess the whole process is fairly simple, so it's easy to get lulled in to thinking the process is risk free. The Nanocom documentation for flashing ECU's contains a number of paragraphs in BOLD, ALL CAPS, UNDERLINED, and RED text warning about the potential dangers of reflashing your ECU!!

    Probably the safest way to ensure the battery has a decent charge would be to put the battery on a charger overnight, then disconnect the charger before flashing. If you have a CTEK with a supply mode your set.

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