Kpro Live Data Help

[kevito]

Greetings,

I am working with a new KPro setup on a car that I am 'fixing' from one of our local 'tooners'.

I am having an issue reading sensors on the live data. I can start live data in the program, but all the gauges are not updating, with the exception of the sensors locked to a specific value (speed sensor = 50mph). The car runs after uploading a stock tune (it is a stock K20) with immobilizer disabled, so changes to the parameters are being registered, and I believe the map is successfully loading. The car will not run unless I do those changes, so I am confident changes are being uploaded.

I am just wondering what to start to look at now that the data logging isn't working? The previous ECU had a fake KPro clone and I had the customer replace it with a brand new KPro (professionally installed). The old junk fake Kpro could read live data, however, but could not idle the car properly like this new one does. I am looking to see what the problem might be and what to do. I am running the latest Beta software V4.5.6 (25 May 2023). I am looking at getting another laptop to test on as I am having the odd issue with both K-Manager and S-Manager (for S300 builds) crashing intermittently. The current laptop is running Windows 7 SP4 32bit with the 2015 drivers for both K and S. The 2009 drivers do not work without crashing instantly.

The Kpro is Serial 64756. Before I start digging into other things, I am just looking to see what I should look next as I am fairly sure it is a computer/driver configuration problem and not specifically a KPro problem.

Any help is appreciated.

Cheers,
Kevin

[Hondata]

How was the ecu prepared? Does it have the correct jumpers on the bottom? They are not easy to do.

[Spunkster]

It looks like that K-Pro was sold as an install kit to Speed Factor, Inc. You should contact them and have them check the ECU as it could be an installation issue.

From Help, About, what is the version of software you are using?

[kevito]

Update:

I changed my laptop to Windows 10 and am using the new Windows 10 drivers. The software no longer crashes or has weird bugs, but the live data is still not coming though. Sometimes it will read the correct air/coolant temp for a brief moment, but then it stops working. The car runs fine when the tune is loaded, and it reads/writes tunes and parameters just fine. The car also runs surprisingly well for not having most things setup- one of the reasons I told the owner to ditch the fake KPro garbage ;)

While this was professionally installed by Speed Factor, I do have the means to install and do these myself, as I have the proper education and equipment to do so, so I may see if they will let me inspect it myself and save shipping/delay.

I have attached a screenshot from the laptop. The software is 4.5.6.0 b3237.

I will attempt to contact the dealer directly before I do anything, but I was only sent the completed ECU to install and setup, so it may take me some time to do that. If you have the formal contact information, can you please provide it via a PM?

Cheers,
Kevin

[kevito]

I wanted to add that I have a lot of weird wiring to cleanup as well, but I think I am that the livedata stream should be coming through anyway, as the sensors are directly sampled rather than read over a bus (like CAN) and the car is running reasonably well. Regardless of what other wiring stuff is going on, the data should be being captured and sent through KPro through the installation wires, so likely that is the only issue? Ie: I don't want to start doing more wiring cleanup until this is sorted, unless it is directly related to not receiving livedata.

Cheers,
Kevin

[Spunkster]

I would recommend that you try the ECU on a known working vehicle and see if it datalogs correctly. Also make sure you are using resistor type spark plugs.

[kevito]

Sorry for the delay in response. I am not sure if I have an extra car to test with at this time, but I will check the spark plugs and see if they are resistor type.

I am going to call the shop and see if I can find out if they will let me open it to at least look at it. I can repair it if there is any electrical problem (I have installed K-Pro for shops before when they are very busy, but I don't do it regularly).

I will keep you posted.

[kevito]

They are 5k-ohm resistor plugs, so I don't think that is an issue.

I located the contact information for the installer over Facebook, so will follow up :)

[kevito]

Well, I had a nasty surprise, but I managed to finally get the ECU to work correctly with KPro. I was having a difficult time sourcing the invoice and billing material because the customer is out of the country for quite some time, so I decided to crack open the ECU and take a look anyway...


It was sad to look inside: lots of unheated flux paste was left all over the board (not just in the areas of soldering), and the wires were hot glued down on top the flux mess, which had almost no adhesiveness. The worst part is that the entire board was covered in some sort of sparkly dust. It appears that the hole in the aluminum chassis for the USB pass through was cut while the board was still inside the chassis, and it was covered all over with leftover sticky flux. The entire board was shimmering like glitter. You can clearly see the texture matches sawblade and/or file cuttings. See the attached photos.

IMG_20230730_104048.jpg

IMG_20230730_104042.jpg

IMG_20230730_104113.jpg

I ended up redoing all the solder joints and wire connections (they were only okay at best), as well as cleaning up all the flux and aluminum powder with repeated bathes of isopropyl alcohol. Instead of using hot glue, I used kapton tape to insulate and hold the wires against the board. I will see if I can post some after photos soon, as I rushed to put it in for testing and forgot the final pictures.

It took a lot of alcohol to get all the powder out, so the conformacoat started to thin out (it is soluable in isopropyl) and is partly missing in some board areas now. I may have to recoat the board later. I noticed that some of the conformacoating Honda uses looks whitish (like a crusty white oxide) after exposure to high concentration of isopropyl alcohol but it is merely cosmetic and can be mostly removed with a small brush that has a bit of alcohol on it.

After all that, I put the ECU back together and plugged it in... and every signal is now working. There are no longer intermittent problems and no strange crashes on the software either.

Thanks for all the quick responses. I hopefully can post some after pictures soon.

Cheers,
Kevin

[kevito]

I forgot a picture of the topside. The top had magic dust all over it as well, just not as much. You can see the goo/flux/whatever it is all over the place as it has a matte gel look to it. It's not just near the SMD solder points, but all over the board.

IMG_20230730_103621.jpg

[Spunkster]

The soldering does not look good. I would recommend that you have the installer check this out for you.

[kevito]

Update: The MAP sensor is no longer working, so I will take it apart and inspect. The MAP sensor reads -29.9psi. I will post my rework so you can see how it looks now. I will look at getting another ECU to install into. I think I would need to know what the additional SMD component modifications/additions are, as I know where the jumper wires and headers go.

[Spunkster]

We don't provide install instructions, as this was sold as an install kit to a dealer, it would have to go back to the installer that installed it originally.