Troubleshooting: HULOG/CROME datalogging issues

Categories: Honda

Intro

While it may look simple, getting the Honda logging cables we sell to work with CROME can be quite challenging.  This document aims to provide troubleshooting steps to ensure you get up and running.  Drivers and ports on your laptop, CROME settings, chip contents and ECU hardware all come into play.  “HULOG” and “Hondalog” will be used interchangeably in this document to mean the FTDI based cables and adapters we have sold.

ECU Hardware Preparation

Three things must be done to your ECU for the Hondalog to work:

  1. A 4 pin male header must be installed (“CN2” in most cases).  This occupies pins 1 – 4 of a 5 pin header presen on the ECU.
  2. A jumper that controls logging must be removed.  This is J12 on US/Euro “big case” ECUs and J4 on JDM “small case” ECUs.  Failure to remove this jumper will prevent proper communication.
  3. The ECU must be chipped!  As of writing (June 2016) there are no programs available that will log with stock ECU programs.  You must chip the ECU in order to change the way it communicates.

Drivers and Ports on Your Laptop

The Hondalog is a USB -> TTL converter that looks like a legacy serial port called a COM port to your computer. Your computer talks to it like it is a serial communications port. It uses either the FTDI FT232R or FT232A (old versions only) chips. Either way, all models use the FTDI drivers. If you are running Windows 98, 2000 or XP you probably want to use these drivers. If you are using Vista, you may want to consider using the latest drivers published by FTDI, which you can find here.  If you are running W7, W8, W8.1 or W10, chances are you are running the latest WHQL drivers Windows could download off the internet.  Most of the time, the latest WHQL drivers will work fantastic but alternate older versions of the VCP Driver are available from http://www.ftdichip.com

The first step towards getting your Hondalog working is to get it to appear as a COM port in device manager. Make sure your cable is plugged in to one of your computer’s USB ports.  To open device manager, you can usually right click on My Computer (either on desktop or in start menu) and then choose properties. Then click the hardware tab, then click the “Device Manager” button. Give it a few seconds to start, especially on older computers. Once you have device manager open, scroll down and click on the “Ports” section. You may see a few ports built in to your computer listed. Plug in the Hondalog adapter. You should see an addition COM port appear labeled “USB Serial Device” which is your Hondalog cable.  If you have more than one or you aren’t sure which belongs to your cable, unplug and re-plug the cable.  You should see a COM port appear and disappear along with the cable being plugged in.

If this does not happen:

  1. A device with a yellow exclamation mark next to it has a problem. You can click properties to find out more information, but Windows generally doesn’t give you very useful information. Most of the time, a device in this state has driver issues. Try reloading the drivers.
  2. If you get a “Unknown Device” with a yellow exclamation mark that appears elsewhere, you probably do not have any drivers installed.  Try reloading the drivers.
  3. If you get a red “x” by the icon for your device, you have disabled the device. Right click on the device and select “enable” to restore it to functioning.
  4. If you are still having trouble, take a look at this guide which goes into a little more detail about how to resolve USB issues.
  5. You can also contact Moates support.  Make sure you have an internet connection and your laptop+cable handy when you call please.

If you have gotten this far, I am going to assume your Hondalog is connected to your computer and it is being correctly detected as a COM port. I am going to assume that your Hondalog is on COM3 for the remainder of this document. You need to substitute the port that your device uses if it is not COM3!

(Note: If your device grabs a COM port greater than 16, some software seems to struggle. In fact, some software struggles with a port above 8! Bottom line: if you are having trouble and your device uses a COM port greater than 8, right click on the device in device manager, select properties and then advanced settings to change the COM port to an available port less than or equal to 8 before continuing.)

Configure CROME

CROME free does not log.  CROME Pro/Dealer is required.  We do not sell it – contact xenocron.com or tunewithcrome.com if you require a license.

CROME Pro does not automatically do anything.  You need to go into its settings and tell it three important things for logging to work:

  1. Which COM port it should use to communicate with the ECU
  2. How fast it communicates (Baud Rate)
  3. Which protocol (language) it should try to speak.

You should know the answer to #1 from your trip through device manager above.

As for #2, baud rate should always be 38400 unless you know better, in which case you can ignore this advice.

Number 3 gets trickier.   The selection here must match the contents of your chip!

  • As a rule of thumb, the QuickDLRTP.js and addDatalogging.js scripts included with CROME need the QD2 protocol.
  • As a rule of thumb, the CROME “Gold” ROM uses the QD3 protocool.
  • Non-Pro/Dealer versions of CROME sometimes fail to apply the datalogging scripts properly.  Why?  I don’t know.  Perhaps to be tricky?  Beware of doing this!
  • Beware! Some versions of the datalogging javascript make changes to how the ROM operates for fuel/ign as well as just adding logging.  Why?  I don’t know.  Double check your tune after applying any scripts.
  • There have been several versions of the datalogging scripts which set the ROM up for logging.  It is often hard to tell which is which because there is little or no version control and the scripts are sometimes encrypted/obfuscated.  Unfortunately, it matters which version is present in a ROM.
  • DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF CROME EXPECT DIFFERENT SCRIPT VERSIONS!  Do NOT use scripts from prior versions of CROME.  Be prepared to start with a stock ROM and re-apply the logging scripts in order to get logging working with a current/new version of CROME.  Even if your ROM once worked with the QD2 protocol and CROME is configured for a QD2 protocol now does not mean it will work now.
  • There have been totally broken versions of CROME.  Make sure you are using an up to date version and check on the pgmfi.org forums to make sure other users are having success with the version you are using.

***IMPORTANT!!!  IT DOES NOT MATTER WHICH PROTOCOL YOU WANT TO USE.  IT MATTERS WHICH ONE IS INSTALLED IN THE CHIP/OSTRICH***  If you did not make your chip, you need to talk to the person who did to find out what they did.  If the adddatalogging.js plugin was not installed, you’re not logging.  Bottom line: you need to know what is in your chip to know what to select.  The end.

ROM / BIN Modifications

As noted above in the section on configuring a protocol, CROME cannot speak to a factory Honda bin.  They do not speak the same language.  If you are using an unchipped ECU, it must be chipped.  If you are using a chipped ECU, these instructions apply equally to those using a physical chip and an Ostrich (or even a Demon/Demon II).  Specific modifications (in the form of the AddDatalogging.js, etc. scripts in CROME) are needed to prepare a ROM to communicate with CROME.

Again, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE ROM YOU ARE USING BE MODIFIED WITH A COMPATIBLE DATALOGGING PLUG-IN!  DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOUR BIN HAS THE RIGHT SOFTWARE BECAUSE IT WORKED WITH AN EARLIER VERSION OF CROME!!!

If you aren’t sure, start with a stock bin, re-apply the logging patches, remove the checksum and bring over your changes from the old tune.