Skip to content
NSFW edited this page Jul 8, 2018 · 6 revisions

WTF?!?! My car won't start!?!?!

Don't panic. In most cases everything will return to normal after a minute or so. However, in some cases the PCM will need to be rebooted by pulling the fuse. (Merely turning off the ignition will not suffice, because the PCM will still be powered by the battery.)

Currently there is a known issue with the AllPro interface which sometimes leads to this situation. We're working it, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

Pull the PCM fuse (or fuses), wait 10 seconds, replace the fuses, wait 30 seconds, and everything will be fine.

Why are two .bin files from the very same vehicle so different?

You might notice that reading the same PCM twice can produce .bin files with very different content in the 16384-32767 address range (0x4000-0x7FFF in hexadecimal). This is not unusual, and does not indicate a problem.

The PCM uses that address space for dynamic data that needs to persist even when the PCM is powered off, such as the VIN, serial number, and check-engine-light information. The data can be stored in the 16384-24575 (0x4000-0x5FFF) range, or in the 24576-32767 (0x6000-0x7FFF) range. When that data changes, it will initially be written to RAM, then will be copied to one of those ranges in flash. The copy happens after you turn off the ignition key (the PCM will still be powered directly from the battery). If the PCM fuse blows or is pulled during the copy process, one of those ranges may be filled with 0xFF values, but the PCM will simply use the other range until the next key-off event.