Troubleshooting Guide
What year, make, and model are you using this on?
As long as it's one of the ones listed on that harness product page under "VEHICLE DETAILS," it should work.
Use a suitable power supply.
Our battery power is provided by a barrel jack on the side of PowerBlock; it's tip-positive. We recommend 12V, 5A. If you are using a battery cart or similar device, this shouldn't be an issue as long as you are operating at 12V. Lower voltages may not allow reading or writing.
- Keep in mind that the length of the DC wire you are using can drastically affect the voltage drop along it. Reading at the battery and then at the end of the cable, under load, may produce very different readings.
Does this ECU require CAN termination? Try flipping the Ignition Power Switch to CAN Termination.
If this programming harness uses a passthrough, make sure you're using the correct one.
OBD-II, FORD FEPS, J1939, and other passthrough harnesses are not intercompatible.
This information is found under "SUPPORTED COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS" also on the product page.
- It may be compatible with multiple protocols.
Is your programming tool compatible with the protocol we have documented, and is it communicating on the correct pins?
These are listed on the product page for the programming harness. A lot of the time, issues are caused by a bad connection, software version incompatibilities on the laptop, or a bad ECU. If you feel uncomfortable checking this and you're in the continental US, ship the harness back to us, and we'll check it for you free of charge. If we find anything wrong, we'll repair or ship you a replacement free of charge.
I can't get the harness to plug into my ECU. Why is that?
Check the tag on the programming harness to ensure you have the correct one. Many of our harnesses are visually similar, but have alternate keyways.
It seems like the right harness, but it won't go in, or it won't latch.
Add a little lubrication to the seals on the harness side. Many of our customers have had these harnesses for several years. Over time, the oils shipped on the connector seals from the factory can dry out. Furthermore, the conditions our customers often perform tunes in are off-road, dusty, muddy, race tracks where there's debris flowing all over. These aren't always conducive to proper connections. Spray some compressed air or electrical cleaner into the mating connector and see if you can get things to connect, then relubricate with an appropriate, silicone-based dialectric grease. Never use petroleum-based lubricants like engine oil or WD-40. These can cause things to deform and may lower the life of your connectors.