help with logging [Archive]

Blacky

July 7th, 2005, 06:53 PM

This is a copy of an email reply that was sent to a customer in response to a query about black-box logging.

The black box logging functionality of EFILive is designed to perform two independent tasks:
1. Validating PIDs in your PCM to find out which ones are supported and which ones are not.
2. Logging data.

The FlashScan unit is shipped pre-configured to validate PIDs. It is only necessary to
validate PIDs via FlashScan if you will never connect your computer to your vehicle. This
is usually the case for people without a laptop. They cannot (or do not want to) drag their
desktop computer down to the garage in order to obtain a list of valid PIDs from the vehicle's PCM.

If you have a laptop, then the first time you connect to the vehicle using that laptop, the EFILive
software will automatically validate all the PIDs in the PCM and save a copy of the validated PIDs
in a file on your laptop's hard drive.

If you want to validate PIDs via FlashScan the follow these steps:

1. Plug FlashScan into your PC (or laptop) via the USB connection (there is no need for a vehicle
connection at this time).
2. Start the EFILive Scan Tool software if it is not already.
3. Connect to the FlashScan cable (Click the green connect, tool bar icon in the top left corner).
4. Select the menu option: FlashScan->Program Selected PIDs into FlashScan, or click the matching
tool bar icon, or press the hot key sequence: Ctrl+PgDn.
5. Click on the [Validate] button, and click [Yes] - After about 5 seconds you should see a message saying
that "FlashScan is now ready for validating PIDs!", click [Ok], then [Close].
6. Click the red disconnect tool bar icon in the top left.
7. Uplug FlashScan from your computer.
8. Plug FlashScan into your vehicle using the OBDII cable.
9. Turn on the ignition - wait at least 5 seconds.
10. Press the "Start/Stop data Logging" button on FlashScan - the green LOG lamp will illuminate and
the yellow OBD lamp will flicker for about 15 seconds while FlashScan is collecting PID validation data.
11. Once the green LOG lamp is extinguished, turn off the ignition and unplug FlashScan.
12. Reconnect flashScan to your computer and click on the green connect icon.
13. Select the menu option: FlashScan->Read logged data from FlashScan, or click the matching
tool bar icon, or press the hot key sequence: Ctrl+PgUp.
14. Click the [Retrieve] button. You will see a message stating that "PIDs have been validated
and are available for selection in the [PIDs (F8)] tab page.", click [OK] then [Close].

That is the complete procedure for validating PIDs via FlashScan and as I said before it allows someone
with a PC that cannot be moved near to the vehicle to validate the PCM's PIDs.
The alternative is to simply connect your laptop to the vehicle and connect - EFILive automatically validates
and saves the PIDs from the PCM.
That validation procedure only needs to be done once per vehicle model-year.

Once the PIDs are validated you can configure FlashScan to log data as follows:

1. Plug FlashScan into your PC (or laptop) via the USB connection (there is no need for a vehicle
connection at this time).
2. Start the EFILive Scan Tool software if it is not already.
3. Connect to the FlashScan cable (Click the green connect, tool bar icon in the top left corner)
4. Selet the PIDs you want to log. Note: keep the channel count at or below 24 for high speed (10fps) logging
or at or below 36 for dynamic logging. The channel count for the currently selected PIDs is displayed at
the bottom of the list of PIDs in the [PIDs (F8)] tab page.
5. Select the menu option: FlashScan->Program Selected PIDs into FlashScan, or click the matching
tool bar icon, or press the hot key sequence: Ctrl+PgDn.
6. Select the "Max frames per log", select 0 for no limit. Limiting log files to a predetermined number of frames
is useful mostly for drag racing where the logs only need to be for about 1 minute. It just saves the driver
from having to remember to stop the log after each pass.
7. Click on the [PIDs] button, and click [Yes] - After about 5 seconds you should see a message saying
that "FlashScan memory has been cleared..//..ready for black box logging!", click [Ok], then [Close].
8. Click the red disconnect tool bar icon in the top left.
9. Uplug FlashScan from your computer.
10. Plug FlashScan into your vehicle using the OBDII cable.
11. Turn on the ignition (start and drive vehicle if you want).
12. Press the "Start/Stop data Logging" button on FlashScan - the green LOG lamp will illuminate and
the yellow OBD lamp will flicker. Once FlashScan starts storing log data into the FlashScan memory the
yellow MEM lamp will illuminate. It will begin to flash when 95% of the memory has been filled.
13. Press the "Start/Stop data Logging" button on FlashScan to stop the current log file.
14. Repeat steps 12 and 13 to record as many log files as you want (that can fit into FlashScan's memory).
You may log data from different vehicles - FlashScan keeps a record of each vehicle's VIN and DTCs
with each log file.
Once the memory is full FlashScan will disable the "Start/Stop data Logging" button. No data wil be lost or overwritten.
15. Unplug FlashScan from the vehicle. Do not unplug FlashScan while it is logging data (green LOG lamp illuminated)
or you will lose the current log file.
16. Reconnect FlashScan to your computer and click on the green connect icon.
17. Select the menu option: FlashScan->Read logged data from FlashScan, or click the matching
tool bar icon, or press the hot key sequence: Ctrl+PgUp.
18. Click the [Retrieve] button. You will see a list of log files displayed with their matching VINs.
19. Double click on a log file to preview it in the Scan Tool.
Hint: use the [Dashboard (F10)] tab page on dashpage [B] to preview log files.

To reset FlashScan's memory to factory default:

1. Plug FlashScan into your PC (or laptop) via the USB connection (there is no need for a vehicle
connection at this time).
2. Start the EFILive Scan Tool software if it is not already.
3. Connect to the FlashScan cable (Click the green connect tool bar icon in the top left corner)
4. Select the menu option: FlashScan->Program Selected PIDs into FlashScan, or click the matching
tool bar icon, or press the hot key sequence: Ctrl+PgDn.
5. Click on the [Reset] button, and click [Yes] - After about 5 seconds you should see a message saying
that "FlashScan memory has been reset"", click [Ok], then [Close].

To clear FlashScan's memory without putting FlashScan into "PID validation mode":

1. Plug FlashScan into your PC (or laptop) via the USB connection (there is no need for a vehicle
connection at this time).
2. Start the EFILive Scan Tool software if it is not already.
3. Connect FlashScan to your computer and click on the green connect icon.
4. Select the menu option: FlashScan->Read logged data from FlashScan, or click the matching
tool bar icon, or press the hot key sequence: Ctrl+PgUp.
By selecting this option EFILive reads the PIDs from FlashSCan and makes them the currently Selected PIDs.
5. Select the [PIDs] tab page and note that the PIDs displayed are the ones that are already programmed
into FlashScan.
6. Click [Close] to close the window.
7. Select the menu option: FlashScan->Program Selected PIDs into FlashScan, or click the matching
tool bar icon, or press the hot key sequence: Ctrl+PgDn.
8. Click on the [PIDs] button, and click [Yes] - After about 5 seconds you should see a message saying
that "FlashScan memory has been cleared..//..ready for black box logging!", click [Ok], then [Close].

FlashScan is now programmed with the same set of PIDs that it had and the memory is now clear.

We are working on a new [Clear] option, similar to the [Reset] button, that just clears the logged data
without disturbing the PIDs.

Regards
Paul Blackmore