Oh no, not another "I cant connect" thread

General Topics for configuring, operating and tuning the Megajolt. Also see the <a href="http://www.autosportlabs.net/MJLJ_V4_Operation_Guide">Operation Guide</a>

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karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Oh no, not another "I cant connect" thread

Post by karlak »

Yep, Sorry.

I cant get my laptop to connect with the MJlite jnr.

It is installed in the car and the Green light comes on when the ignition is switched on. I have tried connecting using my laptop which has a Belkin USB/Serial Adapter and also another Laptop which has a plain old serial connector.

I am getting TIMEOUT READING CYCLINDER COUNT on the bottom of the MJLJ config page. If I load a MAP and try and write it to the MJLJ then it fails.

Does the config software have to match up to the MJLJ firmware version...?? How do I know what the firmware version is, if I cant communicate ?


Anyhelp really appreciated

karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Post by karlak »

EDIT :

So I thought I would try an dload the latest firmware. This is the response I got, which I guess implies that at least there was some type of communication going on ?


C:\Documents and Settings\50026155\My Documents\Kit Car\MJLT>hc08sprg.exe COM2 m
jlJunior_V4.0.2.s19
Waiting for HC08 reset ACK...received 0x00 (off-key).
Calibration break pulse sent. Count: 1
Wrong calibrate response (0x00, must be 0xfc). Target is not calibrated.




Thanks

karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Post by karlak »

Another thought - I will be initially running the Car without a TPS (or MAP) sensor. so have found a 2D map. I notice in the config screen it aks to specify TPS or MAP usage, but does not allow a "NEITHER" option. Is this a problem ?

brentp
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Post by brentp »

How new is your Megajolt unit? if reasonably recent then you will likely have the 4.0.2 firmware, which matches up with the 4.0.2 software. Normally you will not need to re-flash the Megajolt as we provide them with firmware pre-loaded.

However, the errors in the firmware flashing routine is typical of serial port compatibility issues- especially USB->Serial adapters. And even more especially, the Belkin unit- these are known to be problematic.

Do you get the same errors across the board with the computer having an in-built serial port? On that computer, make sure you have the actual Serial COM port configured correctly. in the configuration software.
Brent Picasso
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karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Post by karlak »

brentp wrote:How new is your Megajolt unit? if reasonably recent then you will likely have the 4.0.2 firmware, which matches up with the 4.0.2 software. Normally you will not need to re-flash the Megajolt as we provide them with firmware pre-loaded.

However, the errors in the firmware flashing routine is typical of serial port compatibility issues- especially USB->Serial adapters. And even more especially, the Belkin unit- these are known to be problematic.

Do you get the same errors across the board with the computer having an in-built serial port? On that computer, make sure you have the actual Serial COM port configured correctly. in the configuration software.

Thanks Brent.

I will try again tomorrow with the laptop that has a dedicated serial connector. Had to walk away today as something was in danger of getting launched :lol:

Will let you know how i get on ...

dan97019
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Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:38 pm

Post by dan97019 »

I had the same problem the other day I got the time out reading cylinder count message and after messing around with it for a while I finally went into the menu, and under tools, and global controller options, I found that it had lost the reading for number of cylinders so I put 4 back in and everything started working again so you may give that a try.

karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Post by karlak »

Have now tried 3 different laptops - 1 with a proper serial connector and the other 2 with 2 seperated USB/Serial Adapters, but still cannot communicate with the MJLJ. The only thing that I can see is not as suggested int he instructions is that the two ground pins 3 and 4 are not connected when metered out. 3 is but 4 is not connected. Could this be causing the problem ?

Also still cannot perform a firmware upgrade, same type of error as in my ealier post, but the count does not stop at 1, it just keeps incrementing ?????

karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Post by karlak »

Have now tried 3 different laptops - 1 with a proper serial connector and the other 2 with 2 seperated USB/Serial Adapters, but still cannot communicate with the MJLJ. The only thing that I can see is not as suggested int he instructions is that the two ground pins 3 and 4 are not connected when metered out. 3 is but 4 is not connected. Could this be causing the problem ?

Also still cannot perform a firmware upgrade, same type of error as in my ealier post, but the count does not stop at 1, it just keeps incrementing ?????

brentp
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Posts: 6275
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:36 am

Post by brentp »

karlak wrote:Have now tried 3 different laptops - 1 with a proper serial connector and the other 2 with 2 seperated USB/Serial Adapters, but still cannot communicate with the MJLJ. The only thing that I can see is not as suggested int he instructions is that the two ground pins 3 and 4 are not connected when metered out. 3 is but 4 is not connected. Could this be causing the problem ?

Also still cannot perform a firmware upgrade, same type of error as in my ealier post, but the count does not stop at 1, it just keeps incrementing ?????
Hi Karlak,

Note sure what you mean by pins 3, 4 - etc. Sorry- can you be more specific? Which connector are you referring to?
Brent Picasso
CEO and Founder, Autosport Labs
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karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Post by karlak »

brentp wrote:
karlak wrote:Have now tried 3 different laptops - 1 with a proper serial connector and the other 2 with 2 seperated USB/Serial Adapters, but still cannot communicate with the MJLJ. The only thing that I can see is not as suggested int he instructions is that the two ground pins 3 and 4 are not connected when metered out. 3 is but 4 is not connected. Could this be causing the problem ?

Also still cannot perform a firmware upgrade, same type of error as in my ealier post, but the count does not stop at 1, it just keeps incrementing ?????
Hi Karlak,

Note sure what you mean by pins 3, 4 - etc. Sorry- can you be more specific? Which connector are you referring to?
Sorry should have been more specific really. if you look at this diagram of the serial cable on this page -- http://www.autosportlabs.net/MJLJ_V4_Operation_Guide - It shows pins 3 & 4 connected on the RJ11.

brentp
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Post by brentp »

Right- ok. So Pin 3 and 4 are connected to ground on the PC board. In the DB9-RJ11 adapter we provide we only connect DB9 pin 5 to one of the RJ11 pins- that is sufficient.

Did you build your own cable? If so, you want to make sure you didn't flip the DB9 connector backwards.

Another way to check if your MJLJ is basically operational is to verify it can control ignition advance on your engine. Is it connected to a running EDIS installation? if so, you can put a timing light on the engine and observe the ignition advance changing as RPM varies. This would prove the MJLJ is alive and operational. This is a worthwhile test because if you can prove the unit is basically functioning, you can confidently narrow the problem down to a cabling / COM port issue.
Brent Picasso
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karlak
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:26 pm

Post by karlak »

brentp wrote:Right- ok. So Pin 3 and 4 are connected to ground on the PC board. In the DB9-RJ11 adapter we provide we only connect DB9 pin 5 to one of the RJ11 pins- that is sufficient.

Did you build your own cable? If so, you want to make sure you didn't flip the DB9 connector backwards.

Another way to check if your MJLJ is basically operational is to verify it can control ignition advance on your engine. Is it connected to a running EDIS installation? if so, you can put a timing light on the engine and observe the ignition advance changing as RPM varies. This would prove the MJLJ is alive and operational. This is a worthwhile test because if you can prove the unit is basically functioning, you can confidently narrow the problem down to a cabling / COM port issue.

I can try the timing, but can the MJ control the timing if no maps are loaded ? I got the MJ from someone who purchased the Kit from yourself and built it themselves. I am trying to contact them to see if they can test it for me.

What advance in the timing could I expect to see if the MJ is working correctly, but I have no way of checking the map settings ? I guess the PIP and SAW would only need to be connected ?



Thanks for you advice :)

brentp
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:36 am

Post by brentp »

Hi,

It's pre-loaded with the default map that can be found in the Ignition Map library. It's fairly safe for most cars (NA and forced induction). The important point is to observe the timing *change* with RPM- that would indicate the MJLJ is processing the signals from the EDIS module, and replying back..
Brent Picasso
CEO and Founder, Autosport Labs
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