550-400 - I think my ECU might have fried.

[Marcochezzi]

Hello Forum members. This is my first post, I'm a 50 year old Italian living in South Africa since 3 years of age.
I love my 4x4ing, mostly fabrication, and am well equipped tooling wise at home, lathe, mill, tig, mig etc.
I studied electronic engineering after graduating school, but honestly never really used it that much.
I own my own graphic design company which is my primary source of income.
Back in 2012 I imported a Holley Avenger 550-400 for my 400 cube CJ-7.
There is zero support on this product locally, and any spares required is purely direct import and hope what you get is good.
Unit has run for years problem free, small cap Chevy HEI distributor so timing is fully electronically controlled.
2 months back I get a bad stumble just off idle, developed into a bad miss, and then intermittent stall once hot just off idle.
You can hear the fuel pump relay powering off and then back on again in a matter of milliseconds,
but by then she's stalled and you need to restart, which takes a fair bit of cranking before she starts up with a cough and a spit.
I replaced everything I could electrically, new HT leads, new ignition barrel, all new relays, new spark plugs,
new complete distributor with new module & hall coil, new fuel pump and wiring, even changed the timing chain and gears 'just in case'.

I even bypassed all the vehicle electrical by wiring coil, ECU and related hardware directly to battery via a mechanical switch as my
ignition, and she seemed to work fine for a few weeks, until today, where the stall and miss started all over again.
Got home, parked in the garage and with the lights off raised the hood only to be met with a nice fat electrical spark discharge
between the HT coil positive, negative and output terminal, nice blue hue.
Coil is a standard canister flamethrower branded item.
Anyway, almost died of fright, killed everything and stood back a while.
Come to start the Jeep again and nothing, fuel sender relay will not power up at all, dead.
So once again I isolated everything electrical TBI wise, on next ignition on the handheld device showed no sync.
Removed all power and left her standing for an hour or so, on reconnect she syncs, but no fuel pump prime. Red dot on "Perform TPS!"
So I thought let's start from new, go into Wizard and reload all specs and files, perform TPS, all good, but still no fuel pump prime at all.
Turn power off and then on again, sync is good, however, still red dot on perform TPS.
So here I am, at a total loss, I honestly wonder if the sparking between the coil terminals has fried my ECU.
Is there any way to force a factory reset, just in case, or is that the Wizards function?
I'll take all the feedback I can get right now, I'm at a total loss. Thank you to all. Kind regards - Marco

[Danny Cabral]

Contact Holley Tech Service (LINK).

• EFI Software Problems:
Often times, when EFI software related functions don't work properly, it's caused by a corrupted software download/installation.
I suggest completely removing the Holley EFI software from the "Control Panel", "My Documents" (Holley folder) and the
"C:Drive" (Program Files, Holley folder) and install a fresh EFI software download. Save your Global Folder somewhere.
• ECU Firmware Problems:
Conversely, often times, when actual ECU related functions don't work properly, it's caused by a corrupted ECU firmware installation.
As a last resort, you can try reflashing the ECU firmware version (LINK). The ECU firmware is in with the software download (LINK).
Also, try completely disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes (or 2 hours for some severe faults). This "resets" some unusual ECU issues.

[Marcochezzi]

Thank you Danny. All my software is still original, don't have any Windows equipment, but I think the time is here to get a cheap laptop just for this EFI system. Just need to research where to get the latest software for my 550-400 and then reload. Thank again Danny - appreciate the feedback!

[Danny Cabral]

...but I think the time is here to get a cheap laptop just for this EFI system. Just need to research where to get the latest software for my 550-400 and then reload.

http://forums.holley.com/showthread....5760#post45760 (Determining EFI Software/ECU Firmware Versions)

[Marcochezzi]

Danny, one hopefully last question please. I honestly do not know what version of firmware I have in my ECU. Must I load V4 firmware, or do I just go with V2 just to see if things go back to a sense of normality, maybe even original software?

[Danny Cabral]

That's what the LINK in post #4 is for. It specifically states how to determine your ECU firmware version. Then you can try reflashing the ECU (LINK).

[Marcochezzi]

Yes, I see. Thank you, will give it a shot tomorrow. Appreciate the feedback.

UPDATE: Still stuck without a Windows laptop. Contacted Holley support detailing my Avenger serial number, and the stated to use V2 software & V2 firmware. Downloaded V2 firmware onto handheld micro SD card, and then upon ECU firmware update through the handheld device, I received a notification "BAM problem, please wait"... No further functionality/feedback from handheld device. Waiting on further feedback from Holley support. In the meantime, anyone come across BAM problems and what does it mean? Many thanks, Marco

[Marcochezzi]

Hi Danny. OK, so my ECU is definitely damaged. I did manage to connect a Windows XP laptop with correct drivers, it does link properly, but cannot upload firmware files.

I can update firmware through the handheld, but as soon as I cycle ignition off & back on again, the ECU/handheld will not sync. It goes through the the cycle COMMUNICATING -COMMUNICATING WITH HEI - SYNCING, and that's how far it gets, freezes from there. The only way to get the two devices to sync is to disconnect battery power completely, reconnect after a few minutes, and redo the process. Once it does sync, it asks to perform a TPS Autoset, which once done successfully, it reverts back to TPS Autoset required again as soon as you return to the main screen on the handheld. So it's tickets for the ECU.

So please, I've read it here before to the positive, but I just need your confirmation, as by the time purchased & shipped to me including duties, a US$1100 ECU actually costs me US$2200, so it's not a cheap mistake to make my end. Can I purchase either a Holley Terminator EFI ECU 554-119, or a Holley HP EFI ECU 554-113, or must I stick to a Holley Avenger EFI ECU 554-116? They are all within US$150 of each other, but it all counts at the bank at the end of the day.

Do they all perform the same task? Will either of the work my Avenger throttle body & wiring with GM small cap electronic distributor? Will I be able to set base calibrations for the Avenger 550-400 with any of the three?

Thank you so much for your help & feedback, it's really appreciated very very much! Kind regards - Marco.

[Danny Cabral]

Can I purchase either a Holley Terminator EFI ECU 554-119, or a Holley HP EFI ECU 554-113, or must I stick to a Holley Avenger EFI ECU 554-116? They are all within US$150 of each other, but it all counts at the bank at the end of the day.

The Avenger, Terminator & HP ECUs are all the same ECU. The only difference is the decal.

Do they all perform the same task? Will either of the work my Avenger throttle body & wiring with GM small cap electronic distributor? Will I be able to set base calibrations for the Avenger 550-400 with any of the three?

Yes, yes & yes.

[Marcochezzi]

Thank you Danny!