Tactrix Openport 2.0 & Getting an ECU defined

Hey Guys,

 

So I've taken the plunge and bought an Tactrix Openport 2.0 connector to see if I can read the ECU for my 3.6.

 

Right now my questions are pretty basic.

 

 

Hopefully I'll be able to read the ECU. I'm pretty positive I will be able to do that but the difficulty I feel will be getting the ECU defined.

 

If getting the ECU defined is the troublesome part how to get it defined? By who?

 

I've reviewed quite a few of the available software tools and they seem kind of straightforward; I do have questions about those but I'll get into that later. The forums for romraider and one other(name escapes me right now) but they don't have anything specific for my engine. I've also already contacted EcuTek already with no luck so basically this car is on its own.

 

 

My main goals right now are to just read the ecu, get it defined, and do some logging.

There are basically three approaches to getting an ECU defined, both assume that you have a copy of the ECU's ROM, from EcuFlash.

 

0) Post the ROM in RomRaider.com's definition-requests subforum and hope that someone else steps forward to do one or both of the two things below.

 

1) Load the ROM into IDA and search for known patterns in the code. For example, once you find the code that implements the standard SSM logging, you can use it to find a bunch of key memory locations for logging, and from there you can find the code that does the key things for tuning (timing, fueling, boost control).

 

This is a very time-consuming process, especially if you don't have a background in software development. There are a couple of people at RomRaider.com who are doing this for new cars, but I don't know if they're keeping up or falling behind.

 

Also, a copy of of IDA will set you back about a grand, and IDA has a pretty steep learning curve of its own. If you're looking for a challenge, there are some helpful threads in RomRaider's ECU Analysis forum.

 

2) Load the ROM into ScoobyRom, and look for tables with familiar shapes. This approach only works for 2D and 3D tables since individual values (things like fuel injector scaling, for example) don't follow a consistent format that ScoobyRom can identify, and there are so many of them that you'd have a severe needle-in-a-haystack problem. Takes less time than IDA, but assumes you are familiar with the tables for fueling, timing, boost control, etc, in other ROM.

 

I have a hunch that if you request the ROM definition at RomRaider, and then take the ScoobyRom approach on your own, and post your findings to your definition-request thread, that might help your request stand out from the others.

My main goals right now are to just read the ecu, get it defined, and do some logging.

 

There are quite a few parameters that are available with a ROM definition since they are shared by all (or almost all) modern Subarus. So you can do some logging without even waiting for a definition. If you download RomRaider and open the logger without connecting to the car, almost all of the parameters shown will work when you do connect it to a car. Once connected, a few parameters will go away (not supported by your ECU), and when the ROM is defined, a bunch of new parameters will appear.

Thanks NSFW for not sugar coating the process. I am a software developer though my applications revolve around the web. I figured I would have to do a lot of sleuthing to find the patterns. This is enlightening.

How's your progress coming along? One of my last job titles was senior programmer analyst, but this is the first car that I've wanted to (and, frankly, need to) dig into the ECU. I'm looking forward to figuring this out... and I'm leaning towards the OpenECU stuff for how I'm going to tackle it.

Hey,

 

I actually had to back off. My office keeps putting me into more difficult high priority projects where I haven't been able to spend the time examining this.

 

The biggest obstacle I saw looking into this regardless of the tool used is getting the definition done correctly. You might have better luck than me though since you have a 2005 GT some one may have already defined and uploaded the definition to the Rom Raiders database. Just get its id off your ecu. Also people like EukTek might already have an off the shelf tuning product for you too.

How's your progress coming along? One of my last job titles was senior programmer analyst, but this is the first car that I've wanted to (and, frankly, need to) dig into the ECU. I'm looking forward to figuring this out... and I'm leaning towards the OpenECU stuff for how I'm going to tackle it.

 

You'll need a copy of IDA and a lot of quiet time alone with your computer...

 

http://www.romraider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=6303

 

The learning curve was steep at first, but every time I figured something out it gave me a little shot of satisfaction. Those happened at a rate that was just enough to keep me motivated through the periods where I was wondering WTF I was looking at.

 

If you have questions I'll try to answer them. I haven't looked at a ROM since March but I'm going to get back into it sooner or later.