Ant7701

Ok...this started yesturday for the first time. out driving and starting to notice that it actually feels slower when in WOT. So then I slow down and try half throttle...feels much better. So I start playing around w/ it and by doing half throttle launches and runs I definitly feel a nice harder pull from it...especially in V-tech. But then on WOT...it feels slower to me and also feels like I'm losing torque, NOT HAPPY. It could be in my head but then again...not too sure.

Then a little while later on in the day when it cooled down...I was just about to merge on the parkway doin about 40 or so and I gunned it and held it in WOT til about 100mph. MY FUKING CHECK ENGINE LITE STARTED TO FLASH!!!!!!!!!so i was like WTF!!!!. Slowed down and started driving normal and it kept flashing for like 10 more seconds. I was pissed and wanted to pull over right away but i was only 3 miles or so from my destination. So when i got there I puled out my universal scan tool and hooked it up. No actuall dtc's where stored but then I checked pending codes. 1 code....P1399...no definition available. Does anyone know what this P1399 is. Tommorow at work I'l hook up the PGM-tester and find out but I wanna know now!!

And the story is not over. So then i'm stopped and looking at the running data on my scan tool and i start reving the engine. Then I noticed that my exhaust is slightly louder than before the uni-chip but thats not really bothering me...but when reving to like 3-4k rpm and letting the rpm drop normally from removing my foot...the CAR STARTED TO SLIGHTLY BACKFIRE THRU THE EXHAUST!!!! WTF is going on.

this is really starting to piss me off and especially reading MrSteves posts. I mean I know it feels stronger on half throttle driving but i'm really not happy. Any suggestions???

darrinb

this is really weird, i'm thinking the uni-chip has to be tuned out and mapped different for evry single car, not all of ours run exactly the same

i hope i have no problems w/ it

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I emailed Todd with my problem and sent him a copy of the dyno graph. I did that Friday after I posted and I have not heard back yet.

Their "90 day guarantee" states that no other ECU will make more power than the Uni-chip. My STOCK ECU MADE MORE POWER! WTF?!?!

Chopsie

Sorry to hear Ant, I hope all of you Unichip guys get to the bottom of the mystery.

Ant7701

at least we have 3 months to get to the bottom of this before we get stuck!! I'm gonna be doin some testing over the next few days. Lemme know what Todd says..

darrinb

steve, post todd's reply, i wonder if all of us are gonna end up returning this, that would be a total disaster.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I will once I recieve it Darrin.

EricL

Comment:

I'd love to see another power maker available.

So, is it possible to have at least one member contact the factory and get the car tuned as follows?

1. Got to approved shop. (See comments I posted with number to manufacturer/developer).
2. Get stock dyno values.
3. Get value using map1/map2 (map??)
4. Then, if problem, have "approved"/"authorized" dyno shop modify the map for that car to the best of their ability.

I don't know if anyone wants to put up with this, but it would at least represent the best case *and* would show the max gains from a shop that could optimize the unit for a given car, temp, gas, etc.

If the results are good:

1. Try and get some info on what was changed and get this info back to manufacturer.
2. Pass info on to other uses, and see if based on other poor results (this presumes that this continues, that manufacturer will "re-flash" units with known configurations.

If the results are poor:

Well, need I say anymore? There is a warranty -- yes/no?


This is just a humble suggestion; I have no pull or agenda one way or another.

I just wonder if there is a way to get this fixed and/or get to the bottom of this…


If someone has better/different ideas, maybe a thread of "what can be done about Unichip" can be started and some better ideas that mine can be explored to sort things out.

BTW, I realize there are many different combinations of parts out there with manuals + autos...

YMMV

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Not to bash Unichip or it efforts, here are some comments:
1) Honda Engine designers and Engineers are not stupid, they are paid Mega bucks to perfect their skitlls and produce excellent products.
2) It is really impressive that by changing a CAI or adding headers the J32 ECU will "detect" the new abnormality and adjust for the extra air being digested and burn more fuel producing more WHP, this all happening without the intervention of user cause the ECU has sensors and is programmed to react to those sensors in a dynamic way.
3) It is true that that OEM is not that agressive, but it was rathter designed to be safe and reliable and has optimun MPG and emissions.
4) to be more agressive with ECU design, means there is a compromise with engine safety and reloability or being an enemy of the gree.n party!
5) one can argue that with more bolt on mods, the engine can be tuned with a new ECU to optimize the performance of the modifed engine. However, such improvements would be marginal at best.

I could see more WHP by replaced new cams or new Hi Compression and/or Ultralight coated Pistons.

Nashua.

EricL

Backfire is generally a lean sign. After seeing Mr. Steve's A/F ratios -- they were lean too -- this could certainly cause that.

They UNI-CHIP guys claim the transitional maps are changed too. But, I sure used to get nice backfires backing off the throttle from 3-6K revs with no-load when I used a too-lean transition and/or idle jet in my Webbers. This would cause lean conditions during the initial part of the throttle closing transition and during the final part of the closing. (The exact popping would depend on the A/F values at idle and just off idle. Since these guys are messing with the values that affect A/F values during transitions too (that's what the guy claimed when I talked to him) that could cause the problem too.

RE: you engine code:

Here is a link that can come in handy (I have the Equus and here is their link):

http://www.iequus.com/obd_def.asp

Looking up P1399 gets me:

Well, so here you are getting a misfire in one or more cylinders. A/F or timing will sure impact this. Whatever the reason, you know have to SOLID indicators that the parameters are NOT right!!!


Here is another link to back up the OBD codes. This is not for the Acura, but for the Honda. However, have a look on the lower part of the page and check out the pending codes and their corresponding DTCs -- they are misfires of one form or another.

http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache...onda+OBD&hl=en


Comment: The more I think about this, the more I wonder what would be the harm of letting people have the interface software to “flash”/”update” the module. I’ve heard the arguments against, but…

CLS2001_97124

Couple questions:

Ant, was your LED on or off when you were doing all this driving?

Have you had your tranny replaced before?

for all the car guru's on this forum. If the tranny was replaced meaning a new ECU from what I understand, do you guys think this would affect the unichip's corrections? Just wondering, because my car is on the original ECU.

NJTypeS

I was away when my unichip was delivered and just installed in over the weekend. I followed the instuctions and disconnected the battery. Install took about 20 minutes. Its kind of tight under there and the PNP is bigger than I thought it would be. Other than that, the install is not hard. I drove around rather agressively for a good 25-30 miles. Did several, 25-100mph acceleration runs. I honestly don't feel any gains at all. If someone installed the chip in the car without me knowing it and I started driving it, I would never know a chip was installed. I had one of my buddies take a look yesterday to see if I installed it properly and everything looks fine. I even tucked the switches with the LED into the corner of the glove box so they are not even visible. After reading some of the other threads, I can see why people are disappointed. I wasn't expecting huge gains, But I can't feel anything at all. No feeling of loss of power as some people indicated though. By the way. veh is 2001 CLS w/ intake, headers, UR pullies, and still on original transmission

darrinb

wow, njtypeS, did u feel gains with the ur pulley's?
maybe your butt dyno isnt soo sensative

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Read the email in the official uni-chip GB thread.

blader

NJTypeS, how long did you drive on it? I honestly didnt feel much the first day or two. But as the ECU is learning more and more, within the last day or two the car feels so much stronger.

NJTypeS

With the pullies, I didn't feel any power, but did notice the engine reved quicker. I drove the car about 25 miles on saturday to test it out. I drove another few miles on the highway sunday, again rather agressively and then drove to work today. Like I said earlier, I' not expecting dramatic gains, but I thought I would feel a little more pull when accelerating. I know its only been 3 days. Maybe it will feel quicker as the week progresses.

Ant7701

OK....SO ARE U GUYS READY FOR THIS!!!!!!!! First let me say that I have my original ecu in the vehicle but I also have all three mugen cooling mods. now from saturday i haven't really noticed anything different. The burbling could be normal and everything but not bothering me. The 1399 misfire code happened once and I'm not too worried about it right now so...BUT!!!!!!!

Today on my way to work I was at a red light alone w/ a clean open road in front of me...so I was like OK, I'm gonna get on it hard. I did a full launch like i was at the track or something and it felt strong. Good up til 70 mph right before it was gonna shift into third...BOOM!!!The friggen thing felt flat on it's face. Complete loss of power at all rpms!!!! Check engine lite on and VSA lite on as well. At first I thought tranny and I was like OHH FUCK!!Cause if I hit the gas it wouldn't go anywhere. But luckily I was 200ft from my job so I pulled it right into the shop. Hooked up my PGM tester and got the code P0336 Crank Position Sensor (A) Noise. WTF!!!!! So I was like...isn't the timing controlled w/ the uni-chip by using the signal coming from the CKP sensor. Now I'm really mad so I cleared the code and reset the ecu. Revved it up and it felt good so I took it out and did a small roadtest. I couldn't get on it as hard but still got on it good. Seemed fine so I parked it.

Then at lunch time i called up uni-chip and spoke w/ Tony the tuner. I explained everything to him about the misfire and CKP sensor. He told me the misfire could be from being too lean and the CKP sensor code could result from the timing being too advanced or retarded. So I left him my number and he said he would call back. Nothing!!!!
So I just called him when I got home and spoke w/ Tony. He first told me to make sure the ecu reset switch was in the on position...meaning sending power to the ecu. I was like I think so cause I installed it the way I received the unit but even if it was off and the ecu wasn't getting any power....how would the car run. He said it would but I don't believe him. So i said I'll check. He said thats most likely the problem and to check that and drive for a couple more days and then let him know whats happening.

I don't know what to do now. The drive home from work seemed ok but still feels weird like Blader said in another thread. Sometimes it feels like it has no power and then outa nowhere at 3k RPM it will just pull like it just entered v-tech. Also at WOT it feels slower and like it's losing power and torque!! I really want to get this personally tuned by a local uni-chip shop but I feel like I should NOT be charged a dime for it. I just simply don't think there's not a problem. And to boot...i don't even know of any uni-chip dyno shops in LI NY.

CLS2001_97124

Could you explain this further? I'm not quite clear on exactly what he had you do.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Ant your car is running very lean. Most likely more lean than mine. I would disconnect the chip ASAP or take it to a dyno to check your A/F ratio! I also spoke with Tony. I'm having the chip custom programed:

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...93#post1900193

typeR

i will say from my experience that there may very well be a few if not more intermitatnt IMRC's out there and i have been getting a lot of very "dead" launches out of my car lately after having been driving spiritedly for awhile first...i know it's pulled timing from terrible heat soak in this 93+/100% weather and might i mention i dont have the chip yet...ill be calling todd right now

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I checked my IMRC during all of my pulls. The IMRC was fully functional.

CLS2001_97124

This is very interesting reading that has to do with gas and piggyback ECU's provided by Ericl.


http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...=145614&page=2

LiQiCE

IIRC the default setting for the ECU is off and the default setting for the Map A/B is Map A. That was just for my Unichip and yours maybe different. I checked both switches before I installed and I have not had any of your problems ...

I believe the ECU should technically run without power because the power is from the battery for the ECU .. With the ECU turned off, all you're doing is disconnecting the ECU from the battery so it cannot "remember" anything. So everytime you turn on the car it will be running as if its running for the first time ... learning how to idle and all. So its possible that the ECU is just going crazy ... I could be dead wrong, so correct me if I am, but thats the impression I got.

blader

Yep, very weird, throttle is very responsive but sometimes coming from a light it'll feel flat then all of a sudden this STRONG burst of power. However it feels strong to me at WOT... as far as I can tell. Where can I find out if there is a Unichip shop near me? Is there a dealer search?

Ant7701

He told me to check the switch that came w/ the uni-chip that controls the ecu power/reset. He told me to make sure it was in the "on" position. Meaning the ecu will be getting power as normal. I didn't think the car would run w/ the switch in the off position...but I just checked and it does. If u turn the switch in the "off" postion the car will still run and have no cel's or dtc's. But like I said mine was in the on position.

I just took it out for a drive and it still feels weird...like hesitant at certain loads and throttle points but then feels very powerful, BUT at WOT it feels like I'm losing power as well. MrSteve...do u have the Mugen cooling mods also. Are u the only one that has these mods w/ the uni-chip cause i think this has to do w/ our problems. Due to the fact that the ecu pulls timing sligtly after 200 degrees. My cooling mods doesn't allow my temps to reach this temp so i think too much timing and fuel is being pulled. Also...MrSteve...was Tony hesitant to have ur car re-mapped personally or did he just offer it to u, cause I feel thats not what he wanted to do w/ me. I think he was trying to brush me off but then again i could be wrong. Also...do u have to pay for this re-mapping, cause that should be covered by Uni-chip right???

Ant7701

Ohh...type R. my IMRC is operating normally but thanks for the heads up. Also...due u guys think I should disconnect the chip for now until I get it looked at/ re-mapped??

Ant7701

Yeah..thats what I feel except for the WOT part. At WOT my car feels sluggish and feels like it takes forever to climb the rpms and upshift!!

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

No I do no have the Mugen cooling mods yet, although it is on my short term to do list. Tony was very helpful and told me obviously my car is running very lean; much more so than it should be. As far as how much the remapping costs I won't know until I get it done. After speaking with Tony and Todd I can assure you they will do everything they can, within reason of course, to fix your and my problems. I would suggest disconnecting the Uni-Chip for the time being. But also I would be very interested in seeing your A/F ratio and how it reacts during Vtec

Ant7701

OK...this makes perfect sense meaning the tuning done in Oregon w/ their gas/sea level/humidity/air conditions will varry big time from over here on the East coast. So what this basically means is I gotta get my car tuned properly w/ my normal driving 93 octane gas??

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I will let you know how my tuning goes. It might be very easy for them to tune my car and then re-flash your chip with my modified map. NY and MD aren't that different in sea level, humidity, or gas conditions. It would be worth a shot.

Ant7701

I wish I knew of a Uni-chip dealer in NY....

also..read this guys. looks like we're not the only ones w/ the chip. the same days too!!!
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showt...7&page=1&pp=15

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Holy shit with the Unichip they are putting down 225 whp! That is nuts! If I ever get smoked by a Protege I'm selling the CL-S. HAHA

blader

I want in on that too, I am in NJ so I'm right in between you guys

Let me know.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I would suggest to anyone who is having trouble with the Uni-chip to go get a dyno done. If you aren't running lean and you feel power, you won't need an adjustment.

Ant7701

We should have a Uni-chip dyno meet

blader

Ant7701

I'm gonna call them tommorow and tell them I want to be personally mapped and tuned!!!I didn't drop $600+ to have misfires and lean fuel ratios/lost power/weird accels/timing problems/etc....

Jonesi

Sorry but carry on discussion here : http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...70#post1900470