Scan Tool from a Dummy's standpoint

[Dream2000]

Howdy All.

I played with my scan tool when I first got an EFI Live v2 back in March (too cold to do much).

I noticed then that sometimes the virtual dash would 'read' and sometimes it wouldn't.

Well it is decent weather now so I am playing again and I can't get the dashboard to display any values at all.
I tell it to connect and it displays a progress bar saying it is looking for ECM/TCM controllers or something like that...the disconnect from the file drop-down is then available so it must be 'connected'?

The dash shows the standard guages, but show no RPM's or any other readings.
I clicked the Yellow icon to read real-time data and I think it says I have X's in PIDs?

I gave up with that. It never worked.

I did have to get a new ECM program put in .... a recall for EGR,etc. since my attempt back in March. It shows a different OS than before.

I tried playing with turning DTC lights off and on.....lots of them doing nothing.
Some ( very few ) will turn on & off, but most do not.

Something is wrong?

I do have the latest non-beta softwares, and have the latest firmware in the V2.

the vehicle is a 2007+ Topkick, which supposedly has the Bosch ECM.
It is the LYE engine which EFI Live treats as if it is an LMM I guess.

The scan tool is pretty much useless with me as the operator?

[Dream2000]

Well, I must have read the quick tutorial back in March, as I re-read it and am able to make the needles move on my virtual dash now. I also see why sometimes it worked and sometmes it didn't. It looks like if you shut the engine off and then restart it (laptop still running the software & all cables hooked-up), you have to hit Control-M again and maybe stop it from logging,etc.

Now I can drive it and monitor some things.

I had a DTC P0087 yesterday, along with check engine, and it showed me a gas-station pump Icon too (which I cleared, but could not illuminate it again via scan tool).
I also has an engine looking icon with a down-arrow in it, which I assume meant to shut the truck off....which I did out on the road. I checked things under the hood and after about 20 minutes, I started it up and drove the last 25 miles to home. I had the check engine icon and the gas-pump looking one all the way, but it did not go into limp mode like it did at first. At that time, the icon with the down-arrow in it seemed to turn-on the door open chimes (I was about ready to open the door and bail-out when those went off !!)

I am going for a 10 or so mile ride and want to monitor fuel pressure,etc.
I assume all the bad codes might indicate that I need to change the fuel filter?
So I will go get a few of them and run scan tool while doing so.
I have also read somewhere, that there is a GM tech bulletin about collapsing suction hoses alongside the trans that suffocate the fuel when they collapse.....I was on a 175 mile trip when it went haywire last night....and I was at the 150 mile point when it went into limp.

We shall see?

[joecar]

Hi Dream,

On the pids tab, uncheck Supported; you do need to select the correct pids for your ECU; also do Info->Validate PIDs;

ignore the red X's... try logging anyway... if the pids show no/wrong values then those pids are for a different ECU.

To get the virtual dash/chart to read, click the red record button and not the yellow monitor button (at bottom of window).

I don't know any diesel so I can't answer your other questions.


:)