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DIY Tuning Software for Cobalts

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Old 06-21-2012, 03:38 AM
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Wink

Originally Posted by SSuperchargedLife
Im surprised the cobalt community hasn't dipped into this, like LS1 and honda guys. This was done years ago in the thirdgen camaro community, a lot of smart guys over there and its all GM.. but the ecms back then were dinosaurs once obdII came out things changed, a lot more proprietary stuff which is $$$. HPT keeps that stuff locked down rightfully so though. $$

AFAIK every time you flash the pcm with your file you send a request to the pcm which includes some sort of pin # if its right the pcm accepts and allows data to be written to the flash memory. There were guys trying to do this to late 90's vortex truck pcms. I think they wound up de-soldering the flash chip and trying to read it directly.

In the pcm theres the settings which you change with hp tuners but theres also the instruction set which use the values in those tables and run the engine. He needs a compile program to figure out how the cpu follows the instructions and "hack" it. It uses logic, for example if rpm is > 1500 throttle position < 3% and mph > 20 do DFCO.

You may have to get one to crack it open and see what model chips are in there. I think thats why no one has really done it. You can buy it and all that work is done already, but theres thousands? of lines of code in the pcm they created a roadmap so you can change things but how complete is it? There could be things they missed we don't know what gm engineers put in.

You may not need to make a GUI, guys have done this stuff open source.
heres some info. Its for older stuff though but the basics are there.

http://diy-efi.org/gmecm/
DynamicEFI
TunerPro and TunerPro RT - Professional Automobile Tuning Software

I have an older firebird I use that program to tune it and I flash a chip and switch them out when I change settings. For around $100 I bought a pcm, soldered a socket to it, got some flash memory, bought a chip burner and got the software for free.. I hope one day the newer cars will be like this. Sorry but over $500 for some software to change something thats already in our cars and we dont need chips since its in the pcm already is a little crazy to me.

sorry for the long tech post, I wanted to get people on the same page and help if I can.
Thanks for donating your time and information to this thread, I feel your information was very informative. As for the user friendly gui...we may start out with an opensource platform such as romraider but this is only speculation untill we can get ahold of a .bin file to go through. All in all in theory, romraider or other opensource software similiar should work just fine but we could find out that it's easier to develope our own for this specific application. We will find out soon enough I hope.
Old 06-21-2012, 11:56 AM
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If you think you qualify why not apply for a job with us HPTuners.com >> Performance At Your Fingertips with dodge development in full swing and gm/ford always churning out new pcm's left and right we'll be in need of guys to do reverse engineering. Training is provided and getting paid for something you have a passion for is always a plus
Old 06-21-2012, 12:04 PM
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Old 06-21-2012, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by foff667
If you think you qualify why not apply for a job with us HPTuners.com >> Performance At Your Fingertips with dodge development in full swing and gm/ford always churning out new pcm's left and right we'll be in need of guys to do reverse engineering. Training is provided and getting paid for something you have a passion for is always a plus


why would he do that, there is still a model year that you guys havent unlocked. Like the 05-06 2.2? The community would benifit alot from this opentune source and may even help the people with those years. we need more options in this community there isnt even a hand full of programs, and thats why you dont like it because you have the market locked down and monoplized.
Old 06-22-2012, 01:08 AM
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Originally Posted by firefighter404
why would he do that, there is still a model year that you guys havent unlocked. Like the 05-06 2.2? The community would benifit alot from this opentune source and may even help the people with those years. we need more options in this community there isnt even a hand full of programs, and thats why you dont like it because you have the market locked down and monoplized.
Better question would be why wouldn't he?

Before I worked at hpt I used their hardware/software, tuned my own vehicles with it, tuned other peoples vehicles with it, moderated on their forum and basically helped anyone that needed help. Now I basically do the same job and get paid for it.

If he has a passion for doing reverse engineering and cars and the opportunity is there why not consider it? Not too many people have a job that they love and enjoy. We have the automotive knowledge and resources to do what he's asking, just on a larger scale.

We aren't bad guys here trying to rule the world but its hard finding good engineers so if its something he wants to do we can probably help

Old 06-22-2012, 01:13 AM
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Sub'd for '06 L61 support...
Old 06-22-2012, 03:11 AM
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Originally Posted by foff667
Better question would be why wouldn't he?

Before I worked at hpt I used their hardware/software, tuned my own vehicles with it, tuned other peoples vehicles with it, moderated on their forum and basically helped anyone that needed help. Now I basically do the same job and get paid for it.

If he has a passion for doing reverse engineering and cars and the opportunity is there why not consider it? Not too many people have a job that they love and enjoy. We have the automotive knowledge and resources to do what he's asking, just on a larger scale.

We aren't bad guys here trying to rule the world but its hard finding good engineers so if its something he wants to do we can probably help

You guys only hire software engineers? I'm an electrical engineer in jersey. I test, tune and troubleshoot RF circuits down to component level under a microscope. If I worked for hpt I'd probably crap my pants with excitement.
Old 06-22-2012, 09:46 AM
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Originally Posted by rivaladore
You guys only hire software engineers? I'm an electrical engineer in jersey. I test, tune and troubleshoot RF circuits down to component level under a microscope. If I worked for hpt I'd probably crap my pants with excitement.
I know we've been looking to hire a new hardware guy as doing repairs and doing the accounting is becoming a little too much for one of the owners, I would say throw your resume in there as I'm sure if we aren't already looking for one we'll need one shortly
Old 06-22-2012, 11:19 AM
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http://min.us/mB3spG4Zr <------- Here is a link to the ecu pinouts for an 06 cobalt ss/sc. If you would like to donate your .bin and know how to bench an ecu these will be vital. If you have a different year or model let me know and ill upload the pinouts to it. If you need any other diagrams or info related to the project let me know. I am also posting this here to begin compiling information that will help the diy tune project. If you have any files that you would like to add to the collection you can email them to me and i will upload them for you if you would like. If you have any info you would like to donate please chime in. The more info we can gather in one place the more likely it is that we will get this working. Thanks for everyone's support!
Edit:
I have also added a diagram that show the location of the pcm.

Last edited by darksideauto; 06-22-2012 at 11:45 AM.
Old 06-22-2012, 11:40 AM
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I have a test ecu, no need for pictures of yours. DO NOT TRY TO OPEN YOUR ECU UNLESS YOU ARE A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL. They are sealed very well and you can easily damage them!

Last edited by darksideauto; 06-23-2012 at 07:30 PM.
Old 06-22-2012, 12:33 PM
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Old 06-23-2012, 11:27 PM
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EDIT: I no longer am in need of this. I ordered one for Intense Racing today. Thanks!
Looking for a replacement ecm for the one I have pulled for research purposes. I have posted a thread related to this in the classifieds at https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/part...9/#post6550707 . Willing to pay, just need a replacement since we pulled a friends for development of the DIY project. Thanks!

Last edited by darksideauto; 06-25-2012 at 09:20 PM.
Old 06-23-2012, 11:34 PM
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Old 06-23-2012, 11:43 PM
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I hope you get your hands on an E16A ECU (05-06 L61) at some point...
Old 06-23-2012, 11:55 PM
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Originally Posted by IonNinja
I hope you get your hands on an E16A ECU (05-06 L61) at some point...
I have contacted a local ion owner and hope to be working with him soon. I am currently in need of the 06 cobalt ss lsj 2.0 to get it back on the road. Once its back then I can work on getting the ecu from the ion, but I don't want to put 2 vehicles down at the same time for r&d.
Old 06-25-2012, 09:06 PM
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We have made a significant step forward today by disassembling to ecu we have acquired and have been able to gain access to the flash memory module that holds the .bin file. We are in the process of figuring out how to dump the file for reverse engineering and modification. If any of you think you may be able to contribute any information or assistance please chime in to help speed up the process.
Old 06-26-2012, 11:04 AM
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Update: It's been a while since I've heard back from the engineer in which I was working with. Looks like I'm on my own on this one. Ive been putting the word out for an extra hand on some forums with a small amount of response. Any help is greatly appreciated. Let's make this thing happen!
Old 06-26-2012, 06:19 PM
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try going here:

DIY PROM - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

DFI and ECM - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

you might have to sign up but try talking to a guy named dimented24x7
he's done a lot with truck pcms and ls1 pcms, he knows how the code works. Seems like a nice guy to.. also try talking to Fast355 and Rbob.

That site has a lot of tuning info too.
Old 06-26-2012, 06:59 PM
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Originally Posted by SSuperchargedLife
try going here:

DIY PROM - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

DFI and ECM - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

you might have to sign up but try talking to a guy named dimented24x7
he's done a lot with truck pcms and ls1 pcms, he knows how the code works. Seems like a nice guy to.. also try talking to Fast355 and Rbob.

That site has a lot of tuning info too.
Thanks for the input. I'll see if I cant get in touch with the guys you've recomended. I've looked there a few times but can only seem to find eprom, eeprom, and chip tuning guides. The new ecu's utilize what is know as flash memory modules and cannot just be removed and put into a chip burner. I have contacted a few people who are attempting to help me gather the appropriate supplies and peice them together.

One of the guys posted this:
"find a breakout board that it fits on.

You will then need a micro, that runs on the same voltage as the chip, that has 5 - 8 bit ports. you will use two of the ports as inputs with pullup resistors [10K - 20K] and attach them to the DQ [data] pins. the other 3 ports you set as outputs and connect to the A0 - A17 [address] pins and the OE# and some of the other control lines [see the chip timing diagram as to which pins]. You should tie the WR# & possibly RST# pins high via 10K resistors.

Send a counting pattern to the ports with the address lines, and pulse the OE# and CE# lines low as the chip specs show for a read. wait a micosecond or so, read the data from the ports with the DQ signals, save the data you read, set the OE# & CE# lines high, incriment the address by 1 and repeat untill you have read all the locations.

The pullup resistors on the DQ pins are so you will see some non-high signals on the pins when the chip outputs zeros, instead of assuming that floating pins [giving random data] are giving you real data. If the pins are floating the resistors will pull them to highs."

Great info I'm sure but it's a little over my head since due to the rather large learning curve now that im working on the project on my own and have only just begun my engineering classes.

I have also come across a site that seems to have a solution that requires me to build the circuit board from scratch but they have already tested the chip im using with specified software and they were compatible.

Online memory chip database.
^That is the link with information regarding the flash module I have and the adaptor that I will need to build.

SSOP-56_B1
^That is pictures of the adaptor that I will have to build

EZoFlash programmer.
^that is the module that the adaptor plugs into

Create Printed Circuit Board
^and that is the instructions on how to build it.

I was hoping for a more simple way that didn't require me starting completely from scratch but I have yet to find one. I am going to continue to research for a few days but I may attempt building this flasher this weekend if I don't come across a more simple method.

Edit:
Here is the flash module I am working with:


and here is the pinout:


and here is the datasheet:
AM29BL802CB-65R datasheet, Pinout ,application circuits 8 Mbit (512K × 16-Bit) Boot Sector

Im hoping that posting all of this will intrigue someone with a little more experience. If not atleast this thread is a good way to track the research and progress and update all of you who are tracking the project.

Last edited by darksideauto; 06-26-2012 at 07:06 PM.
Old 06-26-2012, 08:11 PM
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so thats the SS memory chip? wow its a big 8 meg 56pin (small size really) chip.
as far as i can find out,
this programmer should be able to read it but you need an sop56 adapter to plug in:

high speed USB Universal EPROM FLASH AVR GAL pic Programmer TL866CS -UT70 | eBay

its also good to know they sell them new:

AND AM29BL802CB 29BL802CB SSOP56 Flash 512Kx16bit | eBay

edit:
you can use this adapter:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SO56-SOP56-t...item4603e637cb

but you need to piggy back it to another adapter they sell to plug into the programmer
Old 06-26-2012, 08:53 PM
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Originally Posted by SSuperchargedLife
so thats the SS memory chip? wow its a big 8 meg 56pin (small size really) chip.
as far as i can find out,
this programmer should be able to read it but you need an sop56 adapter to plug in:

high speed USB Universal EPROM FLASH AVR GAL pic Programmer TL866CS -UT70 | eBay

its also good to know they sell them new:

AND AM29BL802CB 29BL802CB SSOP56 Flash 512Kx16bit | eBay

edit:
you can use this adapter:
SO56 SOP56 to DIP40 Programmer converter adapter Socket | eBay

but you need to piggy back it to another adapter they sell to plug into the programmer
Now we're talking. Lol. I was directed to this -> MCUmall Electronics Inc. A low cost EPROM EEPROM Atmel PIC I2C SPI programmer online store
But still couldn't find a way to connect it to the computer.

You wouldn't happen to be able to point me to a reputable seller in the states would you. I have just had bad experience purchasing on ebay from overseas. Last time I purchased a hdd docking station/ card reader it was broke when it arrived. They told me I had to pay for return shipping which would have cost more than the item itself so I completely lost out. I also like to be able to call a company if I have issues with their product. Thanks for your assistance. If you are unable to find a reseller in the states that's fine, atleast you have pointed me in the right direction as to the premade hardware that I require. Also, do you know what software I would need to use to extract the .bin file?
Old 06-26-2012, 09:37 PM
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Yea I hear ya about buying overseas and the shipping takes forever too.
I'll keep an eye out for a seller thats in the states. as far as the software they come with basic software to read, view and write to the memory it even saves as .bin files. You will need a hex editor to change things by memory address in the bin though. I guess thats were the GUI comes in.
Old 06-26-2012, 10:14 PM
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Originally Posted by SSuperchargedLife
Yea I hear ya about buying overseas and the shipping takes forever too.
I'll keep an eye out for a seller thats in the states. as far as the software they come with basic software to read, view and write to the memory it even saves as .bin files. You will need a hex editor to change things by memory address in the bin though. I guess thats were the GUI comes in.
Ok, so I'm going to try to remember what I just posted before I had connectivity issues...here is goes:
Thank you so much for your input!
I already have a hex editor becuase I have been working on lancer rom images so thats not a problem. I can't seem to find the "piggyback" adapter plate that connects the ssop56 adapter to the tl866 programmer. The links are there to them but they all seem to be broken.
On the other hand I have found several ssop56 adapters in the U.S. but they range from $150-175 on the low end. On top of the I need the programmer that is between $100-125. I am unable to come up with the extra $300 after recently purchasing the ecu. I have too many other projects going on and not ecnough expendable cash. I would ask for donations from those intersted in donating to the project but idk what the forums policy is on this and doubt there would be very many offers. I suppose I will have to put the project on hold for a little bit untill I can come across some extra funds or I find an alternative option.
Old 06-26-2012, 10:26 PM
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sub'd. please make this happen lol I wish I could help but I have no idea what you're talking about for most of it lol
Old 06-26-2012, 10:53 PM
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Originally Posted by conerboner
sub'd. please make this happen lol I wish I could help but I have no idea what you're talking about for most of it lol
Thanks for subscribing. I will get this to work one way or another I am just limited on funding for the project. We are very close to getting the file we need from the ecm, just a few pieces of hardware left and we should have it. Once we have the file we can begin figuring out how to decypher the code written in it. Hopefully we can then write a definition file for it and use a readily available program such as romraider and ecuflash to edit the fuel maps, spark maps, etc. and reflash the tune back to the car. There is still quit a bit of work to do, but once we get the hardware we need we will be back on a roll. I've already dedicated countless hours and sleepless nights to this project and theres no turning back now.


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