VZ ECU with "Very Low Fuel" error after failed SPS flash

[Hydrazine]

So I purchased a 24 month single VIN license from ACDelco and used a 3rd party programmer (VCX Nano) to try to SPS flash a replacement ECU with the correct VIN and get any updates on the side.

Tech2Win worked fine, except that it was unable to clear Engine DTCs (but worked fine for ABS DTCs). Should have seen this one coming...
Hit up SPS and got ABS errors (seems to happen when voltage is low) when trying to read the VIN (which it failed to do). Should have heeded this 2nd warning sign...

Hit Program and it got to 20440 bytes (of about 2MB) before it carked it with E6961. After a few more re-attempts, it comes up with E4491 and E4423. Stops at 20440 bytes every time.
Surprised and disappointed as I made sure the battery voltage was high (13.2V+ on a charger, but it does ABS error every time when flashing...)

Could it be simply that I need to somehow give it even more voltage so it doesn't brownout on flashing? Do I need to find out which wires supply the ECU and jury rig a battery to the ECU?
Or did I just spend $140 on a programmer to fry a $250 replacement ECU/BCM/PIM combo?

[j_ds_au]

Do you know what specific flash chip is in your ECU/PCM? I know that some early flash chips require a +12V supply for programming, but otherwise I'd expect a flash chip requiring only +5V for programming. This will determine if a higher battery may be required for you.

Joe.

[Hydrazine]

I'm not at the car atm, but how could I find this out when I am later? Would the number on the label on the outside of the ECU help?

[Tazzi]

So theres a couple things there..
1) If failing to read the VIN, either the battery voltage was too low thus causing intermittent communication
2) If its a clone VX Nano (Yes they exist), they can also have inconsistent communication
3) I program the correct VIN to my replacement E55s first before flashing them. Iv noticed SPS can sometimes get 'stuck' comparing VINs between whats entered and what the unit has, and then get stuck in a bit of a loop while it tried to reconfigure the modules security, although this is something I have only taken notice on global A modules.
4) Depending if clone nano, some don't support periodic messages, meaning it does not send a tester present which can result in flashes failing very quickly. 20k bytes is not very much so this could be the issue.

Finally, when flashing, you will see errors on the dash as it halts all communication to all modules on the HS CAN bus, thus the ABS will throw a fault when all communication is stopped.

[Hydrazine]

Thank you for the invaluable knowledge tazzi! Some more weird symptoms; before the first flash, when SPS tried to read the VIN, it came up blank, and so did all of the ECU information. I put in my car's VIN. After the failed flash, it could actually read the VIN consistently (but this was the original VIN of the ECU, not the one I put in).

Your explanation of the ABS error makes far more sense than simply a low voltage condition!

I totally did not know that there are VCX Nano clones, grr... Wouldn't even know how to spot one either... That would go a long way to explain why it couldn't clear DTCs from the ECU in Tech2Win.

Looks like I'll have to find a kind soul in Brisbane with a Tech2 to undo this mess...

[Hydrazine]

So, looking at the ECU labelling:
The main number is 92179459 AAAA
Service No.: 12585814
and also 810 circled

[j_ds_au]

So, looking at the ECU labelling:
The main number is 92179459 AAAA
Service No.: 12585814
and also 810 circled

OK. Unfortunately though, Google couldn't find me any information on the flash chip using either the above part number or service number. Any chance you could open it up and either take pics or read the flash chip part number markings (this may have an Intel or AMD logo on it)?

Joe.

[Hydrazine]

Knowing the VZ ECUs, nothing will come of it as all the chips are transparent, unlabelled and encased in a clear gel. I opened up my dead ECU before.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUrv6xVn3Yo

[Tazzi]

Thank you for the invaluable knowledge tazzi! Some more weird symptoms; before the first flash, when SPS tried to read the VIN, it came up blank, and so did all of the ECU information. I put in my car's VIN. After the failed flash, it could actually read the VIN consistently (but this was the original VIN of the ECU, not the one I put in).

Your explanation of the ABS error makes far more sense than simply a low voltage condition!

I totally did not know that there are VCX Nano clones, grr... Wouldn't even know how to spot one either... That would go a long way to explain why it couldn't clear DTCs from the ECU in Tech2Win.

Looks like I'll have to find a kind soul in Brisbane with a Tech2 to undo this mess...

Id say there was/is communication issues if the VIN can up blank. Usually not a great sign and shouldnt proceed if theres already issues like that.
Being the nature of canbus, if theres a single missing frame in a block of data sent to the ECM, it will fail since its still waiting for data which could also be part of the reason?

I can try fix it if the OS is not corrupted, next part is also security linking it to the vehicle too.

[Hydrazine]

Lesson learnt! I suspect the OS is fine on it, just that it refuses to start the car due to a checksum error. I made a few inquiries to some local people here, but most seem to think the Tech2 can't do SPS programming, which I think is BS given that it comes up as an option. I'm very tempted to get my grubby hands on a Tech2 as I'll need it for linking with the BCM/PIM once the VIN's changed on the ECU.