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Old May 10, 2005 | 06:42 AM
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hi,

my 2002 camaro ss LS1 engine is in a 1993 rx7. full california smog legal setup. all stock.

after hooking everything up, the engine fired up immediately and then quit. it does this over and over. the computer shuts the injectors off. i do not have the exhaust done so the cats and oxy sensors are not installed. the oxy sensors are plugged into the harness.

i also have installed a vats bypass. all of the rx7 chassis functions operate, instruments etc.

i have found a tuner that can make the computer happy and ignore any codes for $350 but i would rather solve the real problem as well as save the bucks. any and all suggestions are appreciated,

thanks, dan
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Old May 10, 2005 | 07:07 AM
  #2  
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Sounds like the VATS bypass is either not functioning, or installed incorrectly.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 07:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Jones'n
Sounds like the VATS bypass is either not functioning, or installed incorrectly.
the bakerelectronix web site says that i should use pin 30 on the red connector, for the 2002 pcm. maybe the pcm and harness that the salvage yard sent me did not belong to the engine. i will try the other pins that the baker instructions mentioned for other years?

also, i assume that the pcm looks for some signal from the bcm, which i do not have.

do you know if there is any way to verify the function of the vats. the red light is on so it is getting power. does the signal lead put out a particular voltage? i will measure the output both ac and dc and also switch the pcm pin connection and post the result.

thanks for your response.

dan
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Old May 10, 2005 | 08:22 AM
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2002 PCMs do not use a pulsed input to bypass vats.. they use a more advanced serial link between the PCM and BCM.

i dont think baker has a box for that.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 08:43 AM
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Default Vats

A vats simulator puts out a 12 v. 50 Hz square wave. I have one on my '98 LS1.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 08:50 AM
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Originally Posted by MrDude_1
2002 PCMs do not use a pulsed input to bypass vats.. they use a more advanced serial link between the PCM and BCM.

i dont think baker has a box for that.
am i stuck spending $350 with the tuner. or should i buy ls1edit for about the same price? i heard that ls1edit is not for the novice.

your advice is welcome.

thanks, dan
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Old May 10, 2005 | 09:05 AM
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Are you sure its a VATS issue ? I worked on a vette that had the same symptoms and it turned out to be a bad MAF sensor . Just my .000000002 cents . Good luck with it !
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Old May 10, 2005 | 09:26 AM
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Originally Posted by RXette
am i stuck spending $350 with the tuner. or should i buy ls1edit for about the same price? i heard that ls1edit is not for the novice.

your advice is welcome.

thanks, dan

LS1edit isnt worth the $$ IMO.

HPtuners however, is perfect for the novice swapper that wants to learn.

with HPtuners, you would get the scanner along with the tuner... and the scanner is worth its weight in gold.. (or more so, since software doesnt weigh much )


how easy is it to change VATS you ask?
so simple that i did a full walk thru in about 5 seconds. lol


load the editor, open your PCM file, and click Edit->system>general

and you end up here...

click it off, hit save and send it off to your PCM


the DTCs and 100 other small things you may need to edit are also pretty easy.

and with some minimal learning, you can do simple tuning..... like for a cam and such..... is your tune going to be better then the pros? no, not until you learn some tricks..... but can you get it 95% there yourself? yea, if you're willing/able to invest the time.




if i was in your shoes right now, id buy HPtuners all over again. the scanner keeps me from banging my head on the wall.
if you dont want to do that right now, id atleast get someone with a laptop scan tool to watch whats going on.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 09:29 AM
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on a more embaressing note, if you look at the fan temps in that pic, you'll see something odd.. #2 comes on first.

i have dual fans now, but for the first month, i just had a single fan... but i mixed up #2 and #1... and since i only had one, it was #2.... so i did that for a month... now i have both fans, and its normal again.. lol
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Old May 10, 2005 | 12:20 PM
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Originally Posted by RXette
the bakerelectronix web site says that i should use pin 30 on the red connector, for the 2002 pcm. maybe the pcm and harness that the salvage yard sent me did not belong to the engine. i will try the other pins that the baker instructions mentioned for other years?

also, i assume that the pcm looks for some signal from the bcm, which i do not have.

do you know if there is any way to verify the function of the vats. the red light is on so it is getting power. does the signal lead put out a particular voltage? i will measure the output both ac and dc and also switch the pcm pin connection and post the result.

thanks for your response.

dan
Double check your connections. As long as your PCM came from a Camaro/Firebird, your VATS tricker/fooler thing should work. They still do VATS the same way.

If your PCM came from a truck or Corvette, THEN the VATS thing is useless.

If you have a scan tool and can read the VIN from the PCM, that will tell you real quick what you have.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 01:54 PM
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MRDude, better watch out, you may become my main man.

and also, thank you john. i do have the vehicle vin which says it is a camaro ss. but, now that you mentioned reading the vin from the pcm, it occurred to me that the salvage yard where i bought thels1/t56 could easily have sent me a pcm from anything laying around.

the world is full of hazards for the naive or unwary, isn't it?

dan
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Old May 10, 2005 | 02:10 PM
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Default Vats

1999T/A could be right. Disconnecting the MAF sensor would pinpoint it as the culprit if the car starts with it disconnected.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by RFERG43
1999T/A could be right. Disconnecting the MAF sensor would pinpoint it as the culprit if the car starts with it disconnected.
talk about a great and easy check. would you believe i just fedexed my pcm to an aquaintance who will read the error codes for me. i sent it by ground so it will be on the truck for 5 more days.

live & learn.

if this is the problem, i will beat my head against the wall. haste makes waste.

thanks, dan
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Old May 10, 2005 | 03:45 PM
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Your complaining about $350 to fix your problem, get it done and tuned and never have a drama again.
Heck it cost me $1,500 AUD to get mine done, I'm not complaining and I dont make a lot of $$ either.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by RXette
talk about a great and easy check. would you believe i just fedexed my pcm to an aquaintance who will read the error codes for me. i sent it by ground so it will be on the truck for 5 more days.

live & learn.

if this is the problem, i will beat my head against the wall. haste makes waste.

thanks, dan

umm, the PCM "forgets" alot of the error codes when its disconnected from power.


do you mean he'll disable some DTCs?
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Old May 10, 2005 | 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by RXette
talk about a great and easy check. would you believe i just fedexed my pcm to an aquaintance who will read the error codes for me. i sent it by ground so it will be on the truck for 5 more days.

live & learn.

if this is the problem, i will beat my head against the wall. haste makes waste.

thanks, dan
He's not going to read any error codes on a powered down PCM, but at least have him get the VIN out of it so you know what you are starting with.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by MrDude_1
umm, the PCM "forgets" alot of the error codes when its disconnected from power.


do you mean he'll disable some DTCs?
yes, the non emissions ones. i thought that the DTCs were stored in a non volatile EEPROM.

man i am learning a lot from this thread. i thought the tough things would be the mechanical things. the install of the ls1/t56, taller diff, driveshaft, torque arm, clutch master cylinder etc would be the main challenge. those things just took muscle. this electrical stuff takes brains. not my strongest asset.

dan
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Old May 10, 2005 | 08:32 PM
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Did anyone else notice he said he had the O2's plugged in but not in any piping yet? I'm sure this would cause a some problems right? Also, I cannot believe you sent the PCM off in less than one day after starting this thread, but oh well. I surely would have checked to see if the Vats bypass box's signal was getting all the way to the PCM first. Unless of course you had it connected right at the PCM.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 09:44 PM
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Originally Posted by StngKlr
Did anyone else notice he said he had the O2's plugged in but not in any piping yet? I'm sure this would cause a some problems right? Also, I cannot believe you sent the PCM off in less than one day after starting this thread, but oh well. I surely would have checked to see if the Vats bypass box's signal was getting all the way to the PCM first. Unless of course you had it connected right at the PCM.
although i am new to this forum, i have been working this conversion since february. i am pleased with my progress so far. since i am waiting for my radiator which is the last thing i lack to hit the street and drive to the exhaust shop. i have time to send the pcm out for whatever info that will give me. i had the bakerelctronix unit connected directly to pin 30 red as per the instructions.

if my friend deletes some relevent dtcs and the vats, so much the better. if that does not help, i now have several good suggestions.

i had previously tried it without the oxy sensors plugged in and gone over the connections.

i have been active on v8rx7.com since i started the project. i owe my progress to that forum. i have gotton as far in 3 months as the early guys took a year or more because they are so willing to help a noobie and tolerate all my stupid questions. my screen name there is danzan149. i think this is a great forum and i have learned a lot in this very short time. i hope i can contribute something back.

thanks for your comment,

dan

Last edited by RXette; May 10, 2005 at 10:06 PM.
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Old May 10, 2005 | 10:44 PM
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I re-read my post and it seems to me that I came off as being an A-Hole which was not my intention, for that I'm truely sorry.

I learned a great deal if not all of the knowledge about my swap from this site. I really owe it to all the guys here for my swap getting completed, with that said I try to help other people out as much as I can and return the favor that way.

Also, just to throw this out there, my car ran for the first time with no MAF, O2 & IAT sensors and open headers so..... I bet it has something to with VATS, especially if the injectors are shuting off.
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