baboon Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Hello, I would like to read the existing tune from my BA XR6T, would the demo version of PCMTech Editor be all that I would need? Or will I need the enthusiast version? I am really just interested to see what settings are available, and the values used. More of just a learning, curiosity, enthusiast thing... I am using the demo, and its a great piece of software. I've noticed you have the workshop .tec file of an XR6T in the demo version. Would you have a workshop .tec file of a standard 2004 BA XR6T (3R23-12A650-AHA A3YA ABU-244)? I have a OBD2 Bluetooth ELM327 clone adaptor, would this be a suitable adaptor to read the tune with? I have read someone mention to use VXDIAG VCX Nano off ebay? I am considering this as its not to expensive. Also read that IDS is free with this too? Any help is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl@pcmtec Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 16 minutes ago, baboon said: Hello, I would like to read the existing tune from my BA XR6T, would the demo version of PCMTech Editor be all that I would need? Or will I need the enthusiast version? I am really just interested to see what settings are available, and the values used. More of just a learning, curiosity, enthusiast thing... I am using the demo, and its a great piece of software. I've noticed you have the workshop .tec file of an XR6T in the demo version. Would you have a workshop .tec file of a standard 2004 BA XR6T (3R23-12A650-AHA A3YA ABU-244)? I have a OBD2 Bluetooth ELM327 clone adaptor, would this be a suitable adaptor to read the tune with? I have read someone mention to use VXDIAG VCX Nano off ebay? I am considering this as its not to expensive. Also read that IDS is free with this too? Any help is appreciated. Hi Baboon, The demo version does not allow editing or reading existing calibrations. That is only available in the purchased versions. As part of any purchase we provide access to a stock file database which has all the factory tec files we have (Workshop format). You do not need to license these to have a look, edit and share them. You only need licensing when you want to flash a car. The factory database is a great way to learn as you can see where Ford tunes their vehicles across a range. Something like HACCK is a great platform with about 60 different versions, some with ZF gearbox as well. We have A3YA as HAAN9H2. HAAN9 is fully covered and we have a workshop version for HAAN9H2. Bluetooth ELM devices do not have the capability to read or write the Ford calibration as it requires 18V to be applied to OBD2 pin 13 to allow security unlock. I am using the VXDIAG VCX NANO and it is working well. I had a fault with mine and it was due to the very long cable that comes with it and it got caught and pulled out or the main unit. It worked for about a week after that and then failed. Easily fixed by squeezing the tiny usb plug in as it was looking contact with the cable. Yes it was about $120 from a local supplier and comes with Ford IDS although I never used it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baboon Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 Hello Darryl, Thanks for your reply. I think the enthusiast version is a worthwhile investment, and will purchase it this year sometime. To have access to the stock file database would be nice. Another question, would it be possible in the future to upgrade to the professional version after having purchased the enthusiast version for the price difference between the two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl@pcmtec Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Hello Baboon, Yes we are planning that. Currently it would require a manual process but we hope to automate in the future. It will be a simple upgrade like you say and will be the price difference between the two products. You will get an extra vehicle tune capability which could also be used to upgrade a template from Professional to Workshop level. We will continue to add features with the road map being ZF transmission support (being tested now, with an Alpha tester this week), the Workshop version will follow not long after and then we will work on the scanner. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardpalinkas Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Can you read other vehicle calibrations without licencing the pcm? Say if i want to read another falcon and compare to my own file? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 19 hours ago, richardpalinkas said: Can you read other vehicle calibrations without licencing the pcm? Say if i want to read another falcon and compare to my own file? You can read the file and save it to disk as as backup however you will not be able to view or edit it until it has been licensed. Once the file has been licensed at least once, it can be sent to anyone else and they can view it and edit (but not flash) it. So to be able to a view someone else's tune someone must have licensed the .tec file at least once previously. This is how our stock database works, we license the files internally then package them all up so they can be viewed and compared. The advantage of this system is you can send your tune to your mate/tuner, they can edit it and send it back to you. Other products don't allow this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordsrule Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Hi, I just have a question about when a vehicle is "read" does this remove the strategy from the vehicle or is it in effect "copying" the strategy to the computer so it can then be saved? cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Hi Steve, When you perform a read it does a full read of the operating system and calibration information from the PCM/TCM to allow it to be saved and licensed/edited. A read does not perform any changes to the vehicle. When you press write the software writes the operating system and calibration to the vehicle but does not change the RTOS (real time operating system). This means even if your flash fails midway, eg lost power, cable falls out etc the PCM/TCM will be completely recoverable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordsrule Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Hi, well I've done my first read of the PCM and TCM. This went not so well as it left the ECU without a strategy. This is why I asked in my previous post if the read did this or did it just effectively copy the strategy and therefore left it operational. Anyway, after slight panic we managed to fix it all up and now it's all good, whew!! That's one done.... Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Reading does not affect anything in the PCM. If the vehicle won't start after a read simply unplug the cable. It won't start if it is still in test mode (enabled during a read or a write). There is no way for a read to erase or remove the software from the PCM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordsrule Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Roland@pcmtec said: Reading does not affect anything in the PCM. If the vehicle won't start after a read simply unplug the cable. It won't start if it is still in test mode (enabled during a read or a write). There is no way for a read to erase or remove the software from the PCM. oh lol, simple as that. thankyou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apoc Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 On 1/29/2018 at 9:10 AM, Darryl@pcmtec said: I am using the VXDIAG VCX NANO and it is working well. I had a fault with mine and it was due to the very long cable that comes with it and it got caught and pulled out or the main unit. It worked for about a week after that and then failed. Easily fixed by squeezing the tiny usb plug in as it was looking contact with the cable. Yes it was about $120 from a local supplier and comes with Ford IDS although I never used it. Hi Darryl, Probably not worth a new topic, was there anything special you had to do to get the VCX Nano working with PCMTec? (I know its officially unsupported, but you seem to have it working). I've been trying to read my 2014 FG GT, and it seems to get a security error. Assumedly I don't have a setting/driver or application working properly. Will also try another USB cable as you found above. I'll try it on my Barra Patrol (BF PCM) tonight too if I get time, to confirm it's not just the car. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 It is supported, however it is quite slow compared to the others and the usb plug has a tendency to break. Do you have the J2534 driver installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apoc Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Thanks, I'll get an Tactrix Openport eventually, just wanted to have a play with this one if possible first. Yep, set up the J2534 driver as a pass-through using VXManager, didn't seem to help. Possible that I have a bad device, or that I need to set the programming voltage to 18v as above (or I'm just a derp and not setting it up properly, wouldn't be the first time!) Whats the process you went through to get it working? Did you have to install the Ford IDS software? Win10 or 7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 If you are getting the security error it means the drivers are working, usually that implies either the FEPS pin isn't working or a power issue. When it says "turn the ignition off and wait 3 seconds" etc, pull the cable from the OBD port and measure the voltage on pin 13, it should be 18v A lot of the cheap clone cables seem to blow up the FEPS pin fairly easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apoc Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Thanks, will do and report back tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apoc Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Tested the VCX Nano with my BF Patrol last night, got it working. Had to set up the device as a passthrough, set the open the console, set the programming voltage to 18000mV, close the connection and leave the DLL registered, then it worked. Will test with my GT as well, but pretty confident it'll work. Managed to pull the current tune, stock tune, and re-write the tune back in with some modifications. Had some issues with PATS but got it going in the end. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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