TunerCat OBD2 Tuner is a software package that allows tuning of 96-current GM vehicles.  For some early 96-97 vehicles, it is often the only solution. TunerCat OBD2 Tuner must be purchased with our RoadRunner hardware (either with a complete RoadRunner ECM or just a RoadRunner Guts kit)  due to licensing restrictions.  TunerCat OBD2 Tuner also has an optional reflash cable accessory and software (“WinFLASH”) that allows vehicles to be flash programmed over the OBD2 port.  Existing users of TunerCat OBD2 software can use a RoadRunner ECM with the RTOBD2 upgrade.  This upgrade is only available to existing users of the TunerCat software.

The software supports real time tuning with the RoadRunner on supported vehicles, reading and flashing over the OBD2 port. THERE IS NO BUILT-IN DATALOGGING APPLICATION. You must have a third party logger or scan-tool in order to have an effective tuning combination.  MX Scan used to work with older versions of the TunerCat reflash cable but it is NOT reported to work with current cables.

TunerCat OBD2 Tuner is licensed on a per-VDF (Vehicle Definition File) basis.  You can purchase each VDF individually or as a package including a group (LS1, All) of definitions and hardware together at a discount.  Each VDF generally covers multiple vehicles that use similar engine controllers.  Once you have purchased a VDF, you may tune as many vehicles of that type as you like – there is no per-VIN licensing.

Installation Tips and Troubleshooting

TunerCat OBD2 tuner relies on the same FTDI drivers that we use for the rest of our products.  If you suspect you have driver issues, please consult the USB Driver Troubleshooting Guide.

TunerCat OBD2 Tuner is not the most modern piece of software.  In fact, if you want the software to run properly we highly recommend that you use Windows XP as this is the only operating system that has consistent behavior without a fuss.  TunerCat OBD2 Tuner has been tested to run successfully inside a VMWare Virtual Machine running XP and can be made to run stable in this configuration.

If you cannot figure out a way to use Windows XP and are going to try to use TunerCat OBD2 tuner under Windows Vista, Win7 and Win8/8.1, follow these steps:

1. If you’ve already run the installers, first uninstall the program.
2. In order for the programs to install correctly the installation program must be run in Compatibility mode. Before running the setup program right click on it. Select Properties from the list and then click the Compatibility tab. From there, pick the default (Windows XP SP2), click on the ‘Apply’ button and then click on the ‘OK’ button.
3. Now double click on the setup program to install the program and follow the on-screen instruction to complete the installation.
4. After completing the installation you’ll also need to set the OBDII RT Tuner program itself to run in compatibility mode. To do so, right click on the OBDII RT Tuner icon on the Desktop, Select ‘Properties’ from the pop-up menu and then click the ‘Compatibility’ tab. On the Compatibility screen click on the ‘Run the program in compatibility mode, select the default Windows XP SP2, check the ‘Run as administrator’ box, click on the ‘Apply’ button and then click on the ‘OK’ button. Then repeat this process for the WinFlash OBDII program.

Vehicle Support

The latest list of supported vehicles can always be found here: TunerCat ODB2 VDF files

As of the time of writing (3-26-2012), the following vehicles are supported:

1. Check both axis of the VE table in the tuning tool to make sure the MAP and RPM headings (the ones colored sky-blue) have link PIDs associated with them. The link PIDs are usually displayed as {Link: SAE.MAP} and {Link: SAE.RPM}.
   
   
2. Check that the units displayed for the MAP link pid are exactly the same as the units specified in the Scan Tool for that PID.
   

   You can change the units of the VE table’s MAP axis using the menu option: Edit->Configure display units…
   
   You can change the units of the MAP PID in the Scan Tool by displaying the [PIDS F8] tab page, right clicking on the SAE.MAP PID and selecting Imperial or Metric so that it matches the units in the VE table.
   
   

3. Make sure you start logging (red button) or monitoring (yellow button) in the Scan Tool. Otherwise real-time data will not be sent to the tuning tool’s VE table and RTACS will not work.
   
   
4. Make sure the cells you want RTACS to update are not “protected”. Protected cells are displayed with a white background.
   
   
5. Set the accuracy in the [RTACS] tab page of the VE table to 0. That will turn off EFILive’s auto protect feature when EFILive “thinks” the cells are accurate enough.
   
   
6. Make sure the Col, Row and BEN factor PID values are displayed and updating with the expected values in the [RTACS] tab page of the VE table.
   
   
7. Make sure the min and max RTACS limits in the [RTACS] tab page of the VE table are set far enough apart so that values can be modified.
   
   
8. Make sure the “RTACS is NOT active” changes to “RTACS is active” when you expect RTACS to be working.
   
   

Here’s more text from a recent email:

The most important part of the RR auto tune is to make sure the calculated BEN factor PID you are using is correctly calculating the error between the commanded v’s actual (i.e. wideband measured) AFR. The error is displayed as a numerical value that represents the percentage error between the two values.

———————————————————————————–

The BEN factor is calculated as (actual AFR) divided by (commanded AFR).

A value of 1.00 indicates that the commanded AFR matches the actual AFR

A value less than 1 indicates that the actual AFR is less than the commanded AFR by the fractional part of the value. i.e. if the value was 0.95, then the difference is 5%, if the value was 0.90 then the difference is 10%, if the value was 0.87 then the difference is 13% etc.

A value greater than 1 indicates that the actual AFR is greater than the commanded AFR by the fractional part of the value. i.e. if the value was 1.05, then the difference is 5%, if the value was 1.10 then the difference is 10%, if the value was 1.13 then the difference is 13% etc.

The RTACS software multiplies the existing VE value by a percentage of the BEN factor, the percentage is based on coarse/fine settings.

———————————————————————————–

When the border turns red that indicates that the logged data is currently being discarded because it did not pass the filter(s) that you have in place.

———————————————————————————–
You should also make sure the PCM is operating is open loop to prevent the PCM from fighting against you and adjusting the long/short term fuel trims while you are trying to tune. You can force open loop by increasing all values in B4205 (Closed Loop Temp Enable) to greater than the coolant temp will ever get. That will prevent the PCM from entering closed loop.

Hope this helps!

For using EFI Live, perform the following:

1. Open up the software, and get the EFI Live Roadrunner Control Panel. Make sure the Roadrunner serial number is being displayed.
2. Upload the whole new Operating System and Calibration from the PC *.tun file to the Roadrunner device.
3. Select the “Execute from PCM Flash Memory (if equipped)” option (two chips with arrows in between). This will turn the Roadrunner emulation ‘off’ in order to blank out the PCM RAM when the memory read faults. The software should display ‘Flash’ as the mode of operation.
4. Re-select the button, this time selecting the ‘Emulation’ mode of operation.
5. Turn the key or power to the PCM off, wait 10 seconds, and turn it back on.
6. If you like, at this point you can open the EFI Live ScanTool software (make sure cable is connected and vehicle is on). You will probably want to scan for codes and DTCs, and clear them all as appropriate.
7. Start the vehicle briefly (1-2 seconds) and then shut power back off. This is primarily to reset the idle relearn, so it typically not an issue with the drive-by-wire configurations.
8. You should now be able to restart the PCM and vehicle, and things should work as expected if you are using a valid *.tun file.

This procedure will also help if you have suffered tune corruption.

If you have any questions, contact EFI Live or Moates technical support and they’ll be glad to help further.

If you are interested in purchasing Moates.Net products in bulk, or would like to be a reseller of our products, the following discount structure is available to you:

10% off for 10 – 19 pieces more of a given item
15% off for 20 – 49
20% off for 50 – 99 and
25% off for 100+ units

NOTE!
This discount can be applied retroactively as well for a 12 month rolling total. For instance, if you buy 5 units at regular price of $20 each and then later on purchase 6 more units in a 12 month period at $20 each, then a discount will be applied to the total so you’ll get a partial refund of 10% on all 11 units, or $22.

Furthermore, if you subsequently purchase 12 more units, you will be eligible for the 15% price break on all 23 units, giving you an additional $47 off. The total net discount on ALL same items purchased in a 12 month rolling period would effectively be 15%. We chose a 12 month rolling time period instead of a calendar year so you won’t lose your discount if you buy in December and then more in January.

This may seem confusing, and it does add to order processing complexity on our side. However, it is designed to lower the risk level for entry-level shops and resellers. You don’t need a big buy-in, since the retroactive discount structure takes care of you!

This discount structure is not valid for small incremental orders (one part here, one part there), and does not apply to individual drop shipments. Instead, it is limited to quantity orders of 3 or more pieces at a time going to the same destination. So if you buy 3 units and 8 units, then you get the 10% discount on all 11. If you then buy 1 separate unit separately, the 1 separate unit doesn’t get the discount and doesn’t count toward the total accumulation for bulk retroactive discount.The reason for this is that the 1 piece at a time approach still requires all of the administrative order processing burden on our side, and part of the reason for bulk discounts is that it is easier for us to ship quantities of units than shipping them individually.

Group buys:

Pre-arranged group buys are available. The same normal discount structure as described for bulk discounts applies based on the number of participants, but the minimum individual order quantity of 3 isn’t required.

Any purchase made on the website or over the phone under a group buy situation should be CLEARY INDICATED, preferably in the comments section of the order. That way we know what to do with it.

For example, one group buy coordinator will contact us ahead of time and initiate the group buy period (up to two weeks in duration). We will agree on the close-out date for the group purchase.

If the coordinator wants to have all of the units shipped to them and then distribute them to the individual purchasers, then it will be handled no differently than a standard bulk discount situation.

If the buyers decide to pay for the units individually at our webstore and have them shipped separately to each buyer, then that is also fine. In this case, full price will be charged initially. At the close of the group buy, a discount will be applied as a partial refund to each participant separately.

The total discount will depend on the total number of participants. So for 10-19 it’d be 10% and for 20-49 it’ll be 15%. We usually don’t know how many participants are involved until the close of the group buy period, so that’s why the partial refund / discount is delayed until that time.

Hope this helps!

We are a small technically-oriented outfit that focuses on product development not fancy packaging, phone support, and marketing.  We bring you high-quality, value-priced products aimed at self-starters willing to read documentation, learn independently and most importantly try things on their own without someone providing guidance every step of the way.

About Moates.Net and our products:

It is important for you, our users, to understand what we expect of you and what we aim for in our products.  Our philosophy at Moates.Net is simple: we want to bring enthusiasts the highest quality products for tuning their cars at a reasonable price.  What we mean by “enthusiasts” is simple: people who are motivated to learn about tuning their car.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re working on your own car or work for a shop – if you’re willing to learn about tuning a car, you are part of our target audience.

Our objective isn’t to make a fortune – there are plenty of companies out there that sell comparable products for a whole lot more.  With that said, there are trade offs in our approach.  Our products frequently do not even have boxes, let alone fancy packaging like other vendors.  Our products do not ship with much printed instructions – instead our documentation can be found online.  (Like this support site!)  We devote most of our resources to product development, leaving limited resources for intensive support.  We have chosen instead to provide inexpensive products with fewer frills aimed at a more educated user.

What We Expect of You

Here at Moates.Net, education and teaching are things we value highly.   We don’t expect everyone to be born knowing how to tune a car or use our products.  We expect anyone who purchases our products to be willing to READ and learn independently. We will help you if you run into trouble, but we expect you to READ documentation and try to do it on your own first.  We base a lot of the technical documentation and guides we develop on the questions that you ask.  (If you have any suggestions for additional guide topics, we are always willing to listen.)  Many of our activities, such as this support site and our YouTube channel with its video tutorials, are aimed at providing resources to further educate our users.

If it doesn’t work out…

Worst case, we have a no questions asked money back guarantee for any parts returned in the condition they were received.  (We can’t issue a full refund for items damaged through neglect, negligence or abuse.)  We hope this isn’t how things end, but you’re only out the cost of shipping and the time you spent trying to figure it out.

The main product that we make for 98+ GM vehicles is the RoadRunner emulator that allows realtime changes to be made to a LS1 ECM.

The RoadRunner is designed to be used with either EFI Live or TunerCATS software.

EFI Live is a comprehensive tuning software package that includes both an editor and logging application.  The software has the most comprehensive vehicle support out of any package we sell for OBD2 GM, working with both Gen3 and Gen4 ECMs and TCMs.  It is licensed on a per-vehicle or per ECM type basis.

Tuner CATS OBD2 tuner is used primarily with the RoadRunner hardware.  It only supports Gen3 LS1 ECMs/TCMs.  Tuner CATS OBD2 tuner can ONLY BE SOLD WITH ROADRUNNER HARDWARE.  WE CANNOT SELL IT TO YOU UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES UNLESS YOU BUY ROADRUNNER HARDWARE.  It is licensed on a per ECM type basis.

With that out of the way, you’re looking at this page because your USB drivers are very broken.  You have devices in Device Manager with yellow exclamation marks that cannot load, cannot start or just plain don’t work.  This procedure will forcibly remove everything FTDI related and allow you to start over with a clean slate.

1. Step one: download FTCLEAN from FTDI’s website – link
2. Step two: unzip the file into a directory on your computer.
3. Step three: run FTCLEAN.EXE
4. Step four: click “Clean system” then click Yes to confirm
5. Step five: REINSTALL FTDI DRIVERS!!!  You should be starting from scratch.

Almost all Moates.net products have a USB interface to connect to a computer. (ALDU1, HULOG, Hondalog, BURN1/2, Ostrich 1/2, Roadrunner, Quarterhorse, Jaybird) Fortunately, all Moates.net products with a USB interface use the same USB support chip so they can all use the same drivers. This makes it easy for you – one driver install will take care of ALL Moates products! Check out USB Driver Installation for more on how to reinstall drivers.

The chip in our devices is made by a company called FTDI. This chip is VERY common and is used in everything from USB-serial and USB-parallel adapters sold in computer stores to other automotive electronics products. This is important because of the possibility of a driver conflict between drivers for your Moates.net devices and other devices that also use the FTDI chips. AEM FIC, Hondata S300 and K-Pro and the USB Instruments Stingray and Swordfish (among others) have a tendency to obliterate our drivers and cause driver conflicts. Be warned: the troubleshooting instructions later on this page may cause other devices that use the FTDI chips to stop working. Tip: If you start having driver conflicts, installing the latest drivers from FTDI will often be enough to resolve conflicts and make everything work again.

Making Sure Everything is Working and Configured

First step to making sure you don’t have a connection issue is to unplug all USB devices that are not absolutely necessary from your computer.

First, Right click on My Computer. (You might find this on the desktop, you might find this in your start menu. Desktop pictured)

Next, go to the Hardware tab and select “Device Manager.” (note: Windows XP is pictured, but the exact placement of device manager may vary slightly in Win98 and Vista)

Next, go to the “Ports” section of device manager and click the + sign next to it to open it, if it is not already open. You should see something like this:

Now plug in ONE of your Moates.net devices. We are going to plug them in one at a time to figure out which ports Windows is assigning to them. Assuming everything is working, you should see something like this in device manager:

The “USB Serial Port” device pictured is using COM10. Some software has issues with COM ports greater than 8, so the first thing we are going to do is change the port it uses to a port less than 8. Looking at device manager, you can see that Bluetooth Communications Port has used COM5 and a Communications Port has used COM1. We should not use either of these ports. We are going to change to COM3, which is unused. First step: right click on the “USB Serial Port” device and click “Properties.”

Next, click on the “Port Settings” tab at the top of the Window.

Next click the “Advanced” button.

On this screen, there are several things to change. First change the COM Port Number to COM3, the port we decided was open. If all of your ports say “in use” you can still select them, but it is recommended you find an unused port under 8. Second, set the Latency Timer to 1 msec. When you are done, click OK on this screen and the driver screen that follows until you are back at Device Manager.

These are the optimal settings for our devices (COM1 – COM8 and Latency = 1ms). If you had trouble, try again with these settings. Remember which port your device was using in device manager when it comes time to configure your tuning software.

Common Issues with USB Drivers and Connections

It is possible to disable devices in Windows. Sometimes this can happen accidentally. If a device is disabled, it has a red X across its icon, like the Bluetooth Communications Port in this picture.

To enable it, right click on the device and select “Enable.” Afterwards, the device should not have a red X across its icon.

Devices can also have issues loading or have device driver problems. When this happens, a yellow exclamation mark appears. Almost 100% of the time, this is a sign that you need to reinstall device drivers. If a simple reinstall does not fix the issue, there is a more heavyhanded method to reinstall drivers using FTCLEAN.

As a rule of thumb, the WHQL drivers which will be downloaded automatically will work fine.  However, it is recommended that you use the drivers from our site with Win98, WinXP and Vista.  Automatic drivers will generally work fine for Win7 but there are certain known good drivers.  We specifically recommend the latest drivers available from FTDI for machines running Windows 8, 8.1, Win10 or newer.

Specifically recommended driver versions:

• Windows 98/ME drivers can be downloaded by clicking here.
• Windows 2000/XP/Vista drivers can be downloaded by clicking here.
• There is a Vista Specific Guide that may be helpful to those running Vista.  Vista is also known to work well with the 2.08.x.x series of drivers in addition to the drivers listed above.
• Windows 7 is known to be stable with the 2.08.24 driver (available under “no longer supported drivers”) as well as the 2.12.x.x series (latest at time of writing) which are both available here.  In some cases, the 2.08 series works better than 2.12 series, your mileage may vary.  Use of drivers older than the 2.08 series is not recommended!
• 8 and 8.1 are known to be stable with the 2.08.24 driver (available under “no longer supported drivers”) as well as the 2.12.x.x series (latest at time of writing) which are both available here.  In some cases, the 2.08 series works better than 2.12 series, your mileage may vary.  Use of drivers older than the 2.08 series is not recommended!
• Windows 10 and newer machines are highly recommended to use the latest and greatest VCP drivers available directly from the USB chip’s manufacturer here. (at time of writing: 2.12.28.0)  In rare cases, the 2.08.24 driver (available under “no longer supported drivers”) can work better but this is NOT recommended.  Use of drivers older than the 2.08 series is known to cause issues!

If you have trouble, start with this troubleshooting guide.

If you have trouble, you may also want to look at FTDI’s Installation Guides for your OS.

The RoadRunner is the only available full blown emulator for LS1 PCMs – unlike other “emulation” software, the entire contents of the flash is emulated Real-Time, not just certain maps.  It can also be used as a general purpose emulator in custom applications (Bosch Motronic, BMW, Miata, Nissan, …)  It is designed for PSOP44 chips like 28F200 28F400 28F800 29F400 29F800

Hardware Available

At this point, there are two (and a half) versions of RoadRunner you can buy:

1. A RoadRunner pre-installed in a rebuilt 12200411 GM LS1 ECM.  This is intended for all supported GM applications.

2. A RoadRunner “guts kit” containing just the raw circuit board, cables and hardware to mount the device in place of a 28Fx00 EPROM.  This is intended for all custom applications.  If you purchase the guts kit, you should specify whether you want a 512k (28F400) or 1024k (28F800) version. (we’re counting these two variants of the guts kit to get two and a half)

GM Compatibility

At this point (August 2009), there is only ONE officially supported target for the Roadrunner: the 12200411 (or just “411”) ECM.  The 12200411 is plug-and-play with ’99 and up Corvette LS-1’s (throttle-by-wire), ’99 and up Camaro/Firebird LS-1’s (cable-throttle), ’99-02ish Gen III Vortec trucks (cable throttle), ’00-02ish Gen III Vortec trucks (throttle-by-wire).  The 12200411 can also control 4L60E and 4L80E transmissions.   In case it wasn’t clear from the application list, the ‘0411 can control both drive-by-wire and drive by cable engines – pretty much any GM vehicle with a 24 tooth reluctor wheel(“24x”) is fair game for full sequential fuel and spark operation.  The ‘0411 can also be used to run 97-98 LS1s with minor rewiring or “green plug” 1024k PCM vehicles with slightly more extensive wiring changes.  It can also be used with a Van OS to run distributor applications with only a 4X reluctor.  The ‘0411 can also be used to run LTx/Gen2 retrofits with a custom conversion kit from EFI Connection.

Please note that the RR does *not* function identically to a “normal” PCM in terms of long term keep-alive memory.  When you turn the key off with a RR PCM, the PCM will reset every time.  If you need to pass emissions or do other functions that depend on this memory, you may have to use a normal PCM.

Later (LS2/LS3+) engines switched to a different style ECM (E40, E38, E67, E37, etc.) that is electrically incompatible with Roadrunner.  There will never be a RoadRunner for any late-model ECM.  Period.

Late model engines also switched to a different style crank trigger setup (58X / 60-2) that makes it impossible to use a LS1 ECM to run the engine.  People have succeeded in using a RoadRunner in a 411 ECM to run a late model engine by a combination of creative wiring changes and swapping the crankshaft reluctor to a 24 tooth unit.  This is not for the faint of heart.  We do not officially support this application so we can’t really assist you with this conversion, but again we’d recommend Mike at EFI Connection as a capable source for wiring and conversion needs.

Unsupported GM Applications

Previously, a Bluetooth option for Roadrunner was available.  This has been discontinued – it is no longer available.  There are no plans to offer this in the future.

Previously, there were Roadrunner versions available for LB7, 1024k PCMs and 98 PCMs.  All of these applications had issues which is why we no longer offer “ready to run” Roadrunner PCMs from these families.  These have been discontinued – we cannot guarantee that these applications will work fully.

Why did this happen?

• 97-98 LS1 Core PCMs are hard to find.  The 99-02 PCMs are superior and can be made to work in 98 applications with little effort.  If you’re bound and determined to use a RR in a 97-98 PCM, you could try this at your own risk but we strongly recommend conversion to an ‘0411 PCM.
• LB7 PCMs come in several flavors.  Early PCMs lacked a driver that later PCMs had, making them incompatible.  Also, RR equipped PCMs had a tendency to present an invalid VIN.  This did not appear to affect operation, but…  VATS was also sometimes a concern and may need to be disabled.  Combine these issues with the extremely limited supply of Core PCMs and we decided to no longer offer a “ready to go” LB7 Roadrunner.  For a TUNER, none of the issues on this platform should be a show stopper but we would recommend caution in a daily driver application.
• 03-08 1024K LS1 PCMs may all have 1024k of memory but they do NOT appear to be universally compatible.  During testing on an 05 Avalanche, there was a significant number of no-start conditions while using a stack of “random” 1024k PCMs fitted with a RoadRunner.  It was not determined whether this was due to differences in PCM hardware, The RoadRunner or another factor.  The decision was made not to offer a ready-to-go RoadRunner for vehicles requiring a 1024k PCM.

Getting an Unsupported RoadRunner

If after reading why we no longer offer a RoadRunner for a PCM you have and you still want to try it, there are options.  If you want to try one of these applications, you will need to either:

• Send us a Core ECM.  Order a RR Guts kit.  Order the RR Install service.  Receive the PCM you sent us back with a RoadRunner installed
• Order a RoadRunner Guts kit.  Install it yourself.

Please note that these applications are UNSUPPORTED meaning that if you have strange problems, we aren’t going to be rushing to revise the product in order to solve your issues.  These are intended for advanced users capable of troubleshooting and working independently.  Use at your own risk!

GM Software Compatibility

EFILive natively supports the RoadRunner.  In order to use it with EFI Live, you must purchase the Roadrunner license.  After purchasing the license, you can use the Roadrunner in any vehicle supported by the ECM.  You can tune as many RoadRunner equipped ECMs as you like – you do not need to buy additional licenses for additional RoadRunners.  If you want to flash a copy of the program in the Roadrunner into the vehicle’s original ECM, you can do this but standard EFI VIN or Stream licensing fees will apply.

TunerCAT OBD2 Tuner natively supports the RoadRunner.  Existing OBD2 Tuner customers can simply buy the RoadRunner upgrade.  There is a package that includes one definition file which is intended for people who want to use RoadRunner and TunerCAT to tune only one vehicle.  There is an add-on ***ONLY AVAILABLE FOR ROADRUNNER USERS*** that includes the WinFlash cable allowing you to reflash vehicles with TunerCAT.  There are also all-LS1 and all-supported-vehicles packages.  ***AGAIN, YOU MUST BUY ROADRUNNER HARDWARE TO BE ABLE TO BUY TUNERCAT OBD2 TUNER.  NO EXCEPTIONS.*** Updates for TunerCat Roadrunner users are available on the “Additional Links” section of the product page for RRTuner and WinFlash on our web store.  These links are updated to always point to the most recent version available.

Other Applications / Technical Specifications

The RoadRunner has been used successfully as a general purpose 16 bit data bus emulator for applications other than GM LS1.  (Bosch Motronic ME7.1 comes to mind.)   The RoadRunner uses the same FTDI USB-serial bridge as our other products, appearing as a COM port to the operating system.  It is designed to emulate a 28F800 (0r 28F400, 28F200, even 28F100) chip operating in 16 bit data bus mode.  The 28F800 is capable of presenting data in both 8 and 16 bit selectable modes, but the RoadRunner does not support this – 16 bit mode only.  The pinout of the RoadRunner is designed to match the pinout of these ICs – other 16 bit data bus chips could theoretically be emulated with creative cabling.  We have NOT performed extensive testing to determine the fastest access time for the Roadrunner, but we estimate that it is in the 65-80ns range.  90s is 100% safe.

The above picture illustrates the locations of pins 1 and 44 relative to the USB connector on the RoadRunner.

Full documentation for the protocols for talking to a Roadrunner for emulation and limited data trace are available on request. (They are very similar to the protocols used with the Ostrich 2.0 and our other devices but some minor differences exist.)  If you are interested in using the RoadRunner in a custom application, please contact us.  The hardware platform is a tried-and-tested 16 bit wide data bus EPROM emulation system available at a competitive price.

Specific Non-GM Application Usage Notes

The RR_on_BP5R write-up details fitting the RoadRunner emulator to the Miata BP5R (2000 1.8) ECU (Thanks James Holland!)  This ECU uses a 29F200 instead of the 28F400/800 the RR was designed for.

We have a byteswap board that allows the RR to fit inside the case of a ME7 Audi 2.7t ECM and performs an endian-swap for use with TunerPro RT on this platform.

Periodically we release new firmware for our products. We generally recommend AGAINST updating firmware unless you have a very specific reason for doing so, as there is always the chance something will go wrong during an update leaving the device bricked in a state where it has to be sent in for repair.

If you are attempting to update your firmware because you think your current firmware is corrupt, be advised that you will not be able to update your firmware unless the old firmware actually works (a little) and is able to accept new firmware. You will have to return your device to us in these cases.  Some newer r

Again, most of the time problems can be resolved without a firmware upgrade. Consult this site and/or contact us at [email protected] if you think you need a firmware update.

Firmware Update Procedure

The information on this page pertains to the following devices:

• APU1 AutoProm
• Ostrich 1.0
• Ostrich 2.0
• Flash & Burn (BURN1 / BURN2 / Jaybird)
• Roadrunner LS1 16-Bit Emulator
• QuarterHorse J3 Ford Emulator
• Demon integrated tuning device
• NEMU integrated tuning device

Directions for updating firmware:

1. Download the following utility (new version as of 2017):
   Firmware Update Utility
   and unzip it to the location of your choice.
2. Download the appropriate firmware package for your hardware from the table below and unzip it to the location of your choice (preferably to the same location as the update utility).
3. Connect your hardware to your PC and close all software applications.
4. Start the firmware update utility. Your hardware should be automatically detected. If it isn’t, click the “Detect” button
5. Click the “Browse” button in the update utility and browse to the firmware package you downloaded and unzipped in step 2 above.
6. If the package and hardware match, the “Update” button should be available. Press it now.
7. Once complete, the updater should notify you of success and display the new version information.

Firmware downloads for individual units:

Although our hardware uses USB connectivity, you don’t have to be a kernel level device driver programmer or any sort of expert in the USB framework to interface our devices.Our devices simply create a virtual COM port that can be written to via all sorts of methods.

Old-school Windows programmers may be familiar with using the Windows API to play with serial ports. While this is fun, the new school .NET programmers can throw together applications in literally minutes using serialPort objects. We would love to see a C# Moates Hardware Class with all of our hardware features implemented. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten around to doing it.

One of the downfalls of using a virtual serial port is that customers seem to have problems remembering baud rate settings. Luckily there is a (not so simple) solution. FTDI devices can be interfaced through what is known as the D2XX API. Basically, you import functions from their unmanaged DLL and you can connect to their devices without the user ever having to select a COM port. We have begun developing a C# Class based on an example from the FTDI website, but it is far from completion.

The following guide (MS Excel format) details the commands and expected responses for all of our devices.  If you don’t see something you need or have questions, email us.

Download the Moates Hardware Interfacing Guide here (v19 2/11/10)

In terms of understanding what commands are used when and how they fit together – looking at an ADX for TunerPro RT that makes use of the device is a great way to put things together.  The ADX has sections for connect, initialization, packets, etc.

Devices with Onboard Logging

Although the command structure is outlined in the above document, the procedure for using the onboard logging facilities of newer integrated devices is complex and the order of operations maters.  The example that will be illustrated here will be for the Demon / Demon2 but it should be more or less the same for the NEMU and have much in common with the SuperLogger.

1. Pause for data rate (otherwise TunerPro could potentially hammer the Demon faster than it could retrieve new packets from the ECU) and limit to 10Hz (or whatever you want)
2. DR command: setup packet = “0x44 0x52 0x0F 0x17 0x00 0x05 0x04 0x05 0x05 0x1D 0x1B 0x14 0x1E 0x15 0x05 0x05 0x20 0x10 0x11 0x12 0x13 0x05 0x05 0x16 0x22 0x1C 0x17 0x18 0x05 0x05 0x19 0x1A 0x21 0x22 0x1F” =
   1. 0x44(‘D’) 0x52(‘R’)
   2. 0x0F(ADC fetch mask = all channels)
   3. 0x17(baud rate divisor 17hex=23decimal for 38400 baud)
   4. 0x00(c=reserved)
   5. 0x05(d=reserved)
   6. 0x04(4 elements in structure, can use ‘0’ for ADC only)
   7. 0x05(5 bytes to send for first element)
   8. 0x05(five response bytes expected)
   9. 0x1D 0x1B 0x14 0x1E 0x15 (req1)
   10. 0x05 0x05 0x20 0x10 0x11 (req2)
   11. 0x12 0x13 0x05 0x05 0x16 (req3)
   12. 0x22 0x1C 0x17 0x18 0x05 (req4)
   13. 0x05 0x19 0x1A 0x21 0x22 (req5)
   14. 0x1F (checksum)
   15. expect “Okay” repsonse: 0x4f (‘O’)
3. Send retrieve packet: 0x64 (‘d)
4. Wait for packet of configured length (in this case: 30 bytes)

(above section is work in progress)