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Thread: Did I just brick my PCM?

  1. #1
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    Did I just brick my PCM?

    I got a failed message in the middle of writing my PCM. Now no matter what I get ?Controller Unlocker: Timed Out?. It?s a 2005 Silverado with a 5.3 and a P59 PCM

  2. #2
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    Holy smokes. I was just going to make a post about this very same issue. It's a 2003 Silverado with a 4.8 & P59 PCM. I wrote one tune to the PCM and it went through with no issues. Made another edit and it did the exact same thing yours did. I kept getting that same error as it would never make it out of boot loader. I kept trying and it went one time to 92 percent and than failed. Kept trying and it finally took. After it took the truck wouldn't start and it kept flashing "Engine Overheat" on the ICU. Tried to write again and now I get "Download Boot Loader: Request Download x7F Negative Response Code". Kept trying with no luck. Even tried a "write entire" and it will not take. If I hit "gather into" on a read it will display the PCM information. If I select "Read" I will get the exact same error. The scanner will hook to it and it displays fault codes P1258 and P1518. Laptop has full battery and the truck was hooked to a charger. Have full voltage at the diagnostic plug. It just seems weird that it all of a sudden decided to do that...…. I did not make any changes to any throttle body related parameters either..
    PCM Error Picture.PNG

  3. #3
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    Yeah, Google shows me that this is a common issue. Tonight was my first time flashing through the vehicle's OBD port. I have been using a bench harness previously. Big fail. So I went back to the bench harness. Fail again. I am supposed to be getting exhaust done on this thing tomorrow, so I am a bit pissed.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by AngryBear View Post
    Yeah, Google shows me that this is a common issue. Tonight was my first time flashing through the vehicle's OBD port. I have been using a bench harness previously. Big fail. So I went back to the bench harness. Fail again. I am supposed to be getting exhaust done on this thing tomorrow, so I am a bit pissed.
    Sorry to hear that.... That does suck. I know things can happen it just seems weird the way this played out. Guess I'll start looking for another PCM unless anyone has a magic bullet.

  5. #5
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    Aftermarket radio or aftermarket remote start?

  6. #6
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    Well if I?m not mistaken, with a new PCM comes the requirement to purchase more credits.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by AngryBear View Post
    Well if I?m not mistaken, with a new PCM comes the requirement to purchase more credits.
    That is correct.

  8. #8
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    No remote start. Aftermarket radio in a poverty spec Silverado.

  9. #9
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    03-07 classics, aftermarket radios can effect communication between the ALDL and PCM. Or what I've found is it usually the chime adapter that is between the A/M radio and the harness. Some seem to play better than others. Best case is pull the radio and radio amp fuse before reading or writing. Worst case is pull the radio and unplug the chime adapter from the vehicle harness. But once the Pcm is bricked it's too late.

  10. #10
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    How do I tell if it?s bricked vs an HP Tuners issue?

  11. #11
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    I still have the P59 that?s loaded with the factory 4.3L tune. Will it cost me a bunch more credits to flash it to my 5.3 tune?

  12. #12
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    The answer is 2 credits. Flashed the 4.3 PCM to my 5.3 tune, and now my throttle won?t move. Drive by wire. Any ideas??

  13. #13
    Some of these PCM's have a pin under the lid that can be grounded during initial power application that puts the PCM into a brief, fifteen second or so recovery mode. Gotta' be on a bench harness for this, obviously.

    Battery chargers are a poor choice to do this with the PCM still in the vehicle. Most chargers charge slowly and lack the amperage to adequately keep a battery fully supplied during the write - where you might need two amps, just for the PCM.

    You really should also have a spare PCM sitting on the shelf to do these things. Its $32 or less around here, fabulous at half that on junk yard sale days.

    Rick
    1970 Chevrolet El Camino LM7 5.3 liter mill and a 4L60E transmission.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by B52bombardier1 View Post
    Some of these PCM's have a pin under the lid that can be grounded during initial power application that puts the PCM into a brief, fifteen second or so recovery mode. Gotta' be on a bench harness for this, obviously.

    Battery chargers are a poor choice to do this with the PCM still in the vehicle. Most chargers charge slowly and lack the amperage to adequately keep a battery fully supplied during the write - where you might need two amps, just for the PCM.

    You really should also have a spare PCM sitting on the shelf to do these things. Its $32 or less around here, fabulous at half that on junk yard sale days.

    Rick
    Having spare PCMs is fine, but it still costs 2 credits to flash the new PCM

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by AngryBear View Post
    Having spare PCMs is fine, but it still costs 2 credits to flash the new PCM
    Still no throttle control. It cranks over now, but no movement from throttle body other than a quick movement when I first turn the key on. Nothing happens when I press the throttle

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by B52bombardier1 View Post
    Some of these PCM's have a pin under the lid that can be grounded during initial power application that puts the PCM into a brief, fifteen second or so recovery mode. Gotta' be on a bench harness for this, obviously.

    Battery chargers are a poor choice to do this with the PCM still in the vehicle. Most chargers charge slowly and lack the amperage to adequately keep a battery fully supplied during the write - where you might need two amps, just for the PCM.

    You really should also have a spare PCM sitting on the shelf to do these things. Its $32 or less around here, fabulous at half that on junk yard sale days.

    Rick
    Yes a spare is cheap and I have access to them however I really don't want to pay another $100.00 for licenses to do this.

    A while ago I had issues when my interface not connecting to any Ford and about a 50 percent success rate hooking to any GM platform. I was told it was a vehicle wiring issue and to use a bench harness. I tried a bench harness before submitting a ticket. A day later someone put a post up for windows 10 driver fix. I did that and worked nearly every time. Interestingly when I used my other computer it did the same thing and wouldn't read/write anything. Before I did the thing with windows drivers I updated VCM suite and it's worked ever since with no changes to windows drivers.

    I guess I was hoping I may luck out and someone had a magic bullet as the scanner still hooks to this truck and it acts more like a corrupted file vs being bricked.

    The charger I use is a NBC 90152 from Napa. Used it for multiple platforms/software and never has caused an issue. I put the charger on Flash Mode. The features listed from on this charger are:

    "275 Amp Or 125 Amp Engine Starter Powerful Enough For Starting Cars, SUVs, Trucks & Large Engines

    20 - 60 Amp Boost Mode Ramps Up The Voltage & Sends A Quick Burst Of Energy Into The Battery To Quickly Bring Deeply Discharged Batteries Back To Life

    15 Amp Charge For Charging Automotive, Marine & Light Truck Batteries
    4 Amp Charge Keeps Stored Lead-Acid Battereis Charged & Charges/Maintains Small Batteries
    Microprocessor Controlled For Faster, Safer, Smarter Charging
    Digital Display, LED Indicators & Button Controls For Ease Of Use & Accuracy.

    Flash Reprogramming Power Supply For Consistent & Stable Power At OEM Specific Voltage Up To 65 Amps Continuous"


    Is a type of charger like this still considered a "poor choice"? I guess I wouldn't think it would be when I see OEMs use a charger with flash mode.

  17. #17
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    Can someone look at this and see if I missed something that would suddenly make the throttle body not respond? I am lost now. Seems to me that I should only flash with my bench harness from now on. Pretty inconvenient for such expensive tuning software.
    Attached Files Attached Files

  18. #18
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    For those who are interested, I got it running again. The throttle issue, from best I can tell was because I flashed my 4.3 PCM without first having the GM flash for the V8 program. I ordered a PCM pre flashed with a VIN that?s a 4.8/MT, then flashed my 5.3/MT tune onto it, and it runs. Supposedly something about some tables for the DBW that are not there without the GM flash. Maybe someone has more clarification on that.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by AngryBear View Post
    For those who are interested, I got it running again. The throttle issue, from best I can tell was because I flashed my 4.3 PCM without first having the GM flash for the V8 program. I ordered a PCM pre flashed with a VIN that?s a 4.8/MT, then flashed my 5.3/MT tune onto it, and it runs. Supposedly something about some tables for the DBW that are not there without the GM flash. Maybe someone has more clarification on that.
    Did you segment swap everything or did you just write entire your original file onto the new PCM?

    I got mine running too. I find a couple of issues. First when removing modules to see if that would allow it to flash I noticed the back of the instrument cluster had a decal on it that read "Remanufactured" Not sure by who or if that would cause any issues but worth noting. I built a bench harness and when I removed the trucks PCM to bench flash it I saw the PCM pins and harness connector had some corrosion :-(. It wasn't on the power/ground/serial pins but it was there. The connector plug seal had failed. I cleaned it up and attempted to bench flash. That did not work and I kept getting the same error. I bench flashed a replacement PCM, reinstalled, installed new connector seals, relinked vats, and it worked. Lesson learned and will just bench flash moving forward as well as making sure the wiring and other modules are actually in good original working condition.

  20. #20
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    I flashed the tune that I was using just prior to bricking my PCM. I didn?t do a segment swap. Maybe I should have? Seemed like all was well except for throttle input. It cranked and everything...