Ap and bricking your ECU

[stormin84]

so apparently i'm not the only one that the AP has Bricked their Ecu.
there have been 4 cases so far and all have the same error (1014) (means wrong car). they have been at about 13% flashing, then the error came up. Two of us never touched the cable when this happened.

here is a thread on it so far.(one person has already sent it to Cobb) i'm still waiting on a response from Cobb but they have been closed for the weekend.

http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/forum/mazdaspeed-3-6-cobb-access-tuner-race-support/27616-heads-up-cobb-access-port-bricked-ecu.html#post223017

this is just a little heads up for the people flashing their cars.

[-cj-]

Man that's rough... I hope they get back to you with a fix. I have a feeling that whatever fix involves removing your ECU and shipping it to them.

The idea of corrupting the ECU freaks me out because it means I have to involve my dealership and who knows how they'll react.

What are you going to do? Wait it out or visit the dealership?

[stormin84]

Man that's rough... I hope they get back to you with a fix. I have a feeling that whatever fix involves removing your ECU and shipping it to them.

The idea of corrupting the ECU freaks me out because it means I have to involve my dealership and who knows how they'll react.

What are you going to do? Wait it out or visit the dealership?

i'm not to sure on what to do, i may wait to see what Cobb says tomorrow and if i don't like what i hear then i may have to take it to the dealership.

[CanadaGTO]

I remember when the AP was first released someone bricked their ECU the first week by accidently pulling the cable mid flash (in the US, not here). Cobb was able to send a fix to them so they could unbrick without shipping it to Cobb. Hopefully they'll figure this out quick and be able to send you a remote fix.

[Fobio]

I'm sure stormin' and the others didn't accidentally unplug their AP while flashing. I too hope you'll have a solution emailed to you tmr morning. Good luck!

[CanadaGTO]

Sorry, I did not mean to infer they did unplug their AP either, in fact their tread on the Cobb board says they specifically didn't. I just meant that Cobb has dealt with bricked AP's in the past so should hopefully be able to help with this situation as well.

To be safe though it might be an idea for the rest of us to hold of on flashes until we see if this is something easily fixable. Could be a bug in the new firmware version that came with the Tuner software.

[-cj-]

I noticed once while holding my AP how easily it disconnects from the ECU... The connection is really flakey. Luckily I realized this before something serious happened. I always leave the AP on the dash now... Call me paranoid. ;)

They should just include the ECU recovery thing by default.. I may just contact them and ask for a copy if Storm lucks out.. I'm praying for you buddy =)

[stormin84]

i know Pat you weren't saying that i unplugged it..

[SpeedBaby]

is it fixed yet

[stormin84]

is it fixed yet

As of right now no. COBB is looking at another members ecu and seeing what went wrong. They are also looking at why the AP did not go into recovery mode. They said they will probably get a new firmware out so that this problem won't happen again.

So I don't now when they are going to find out the problem but I think I'm gonna have to send the car off to the dealership to get it fixed. I can't wait forever without a car.
Cobb is suppose to call me when they find out what wrong with the other members ecu. So ill let you guys know what's up too.

[Fobio]

thanks for the update...yeah, I thought with the "newer" firmware, there was a recovery mode. Hope you get this fixed soon time!

[-cj-]

At least ask them how long they think it'll take... Are we talking hours, days or weeks... It's in your best interest to hold off as long as possible. =) Maybe talk to Joe and see if there's an ECU you can buy or if he can do the work himself... I'm pretty sure they'll void your warranty unless you luck out.

[stormin84]

At least ask them how long they think it'll take... Are we talking hours, days or weeks... It's in your best interest to hold off as long as possible. =) Maybe talk to Joe and see if there's an ECU you can buy or if he can do the work himself... I'm pretty sure they'll void your warranty unless you luck out.


that's an option...or i can just take it to the dealership and if they tell me that i'm running a custom map..i'd be like whats that, never heard of it what does that do...

[-cj-]

LOL you can try, but with all your mods a) I'm surprised you still visit the dealership =) and b) They probably won't believe you. MoT might be your best bet. Good luck tho... I feel your pain man.

[stormin84]

So a little update

First email
We are still working on this issue and should have an update by the end of the day. I will let you know as soon as I hear something. It may be that we can send out a recovery program. I will let you know.
Travis
COBB Tuning

second email

We should have an update very soon, within the next day or so, that will resolve your ECU issues. You do not need to send us your ECU at this time. I will keep you posted if this changes and I will email you when the fix is ready.
Travis

[stormin84]

New MS3 Beta Firmware, bug fix!!!
A firmware update to BETA firmware version "1.3.2.1-9709" has been released. This fixes the earlier AccessPORT flashing interupt bug that can disable the ECU. The new version "1.3.2.2-10014" firmware has been released as a Beta to recover the ECUs as well as fix the cause of the issue.

AccessPORT Updater can be used to update AccessPORTs to this firmware. Note that 'Check for beta AccessPORT firmware?' must be checked under 'Tools'->'Options'.

This is not a mandatory update. For those running Firmware version 1.3.2.1-9045, an update is not nesscary as this version was not affected by the bug.

If issues with the new version of the firmware persist, please contact me at the email address below. Thank you for your patience and for supporting COBB Tuning.

Travis Geny
Online Communications
COBB Tuning
travis.geny@cobbtuning.com

haha my baby is back to life.... just have to reinstall the AP now

[cwp_sedan]

Awesome!! Glad they got back to you so quickly. Hopefully everything goes as planned. :)

[stormin84]

just have to re download all my maps and i'm good to go...

Cobb was extremely fast at solving this...and never lost communication with them all the time today ( updated me as soon something new came up)

Excellent Company to deal with....:bana2

[boogie]

That's awesome news man! Glad to see they got something out so quickly.

[-cj-]

Man, seeing this brings a tear to my eye. What an awesome company. You couldn't have asked to have your ECU bricked by a better company. =)

[Fobio]

glad to hear this!

now...back to to our regularly scheduled tuning.

[-cj-]

BTW congrats on getting your baby back on the road!

[stormin84]

thanks guys....check to see what firmware you are using...you may have a bug in it and not know about it.

[Fobio]

thanks guys....check to see what firmware you are using...you may have a bug in it and not know about it.

hey kyle...I think you basically took one for the team and saved us A LOT of headaches! Thanks man!

[stormin84]

hey kyle...I think you basically took one for the team and saved us A LOT of headaches! Thanks man!

i believe lenny127 of the MSF took one for the team, he acutually sent his ecu in in order to get a firmware update. When i called this morning then they new there was a problem because i had the same symptoms as him.

But i glad there is a fix and nobody else has to go thru what i when thru.

[3GFX]

Glad to hear its fixed.

Also, in decent time too!

[stormin84]

So here is the explaination on what happened, from the COBB guys.


Here's some insight into the issue ...
There was a software bug hiding in the code that only revealed itself when communications were interrupted while the AP remained powered. This can happen if a laptop is providing power to the AP and the dongle is bumped or if the dongle is bumped just right so that communications are interrupted but power is not.
Thanks to lenny127 for sending the ECU in (and for being the first to let us know there was an issue with the firmware). It's bizzare that all of you had the same issue all of the sudden. I'm happy to hear that the solution has worked for several of you.
Please let us know if there are any other problems.

[-cj-]

Interesting. Is that what happened in your case? (IE: You had power going to the AP from your laptop/bumped the dongle?)

[stormin84]

Interesting. Is that what happened in your case? (IE: You had power going to the AP from your laptop/bumped the dongle?)

i'm not sure on how i did it, but at least i have my back and running

[RX9]

nice, so whats really happen aftermath? did the updated AP fix your ecu or you still need to send ecu back?

[stormin84]

nice, so whats really happen aftermath? did the updated AP fix your ecu or you still need to send ecu back?


COBB sent over an update that fixes the problem, you probably have the update and not know about it. (its in beta form) plugged it back in the car, went into recovery mode then had to uninstall the AP then reinstall the AP again and now she is back to old self again.

[RX9]

COBB sent over an update that fixes the problem, you probably have the update and not know about it. (its in beta form) plugged it back in the car, went into recovery mode then had to uninstall the AP then reinstall the AP again and now she is back to old self again.
i haven't update AP for a long time.....my last falsh was few weeks ago, i am going to update the firmware tonight --- just in case.

[stormin84]

i haven't update AP for a long time.....my last falsh was few weeks ago, i am going to update the firmware tonight --- just in case.

if you want the update make sure you check the box that says beta

read post #16

[RX9]

if you want the update make sure you check the box that says beta

read post #18

cool, thx.