PCIII removal issues

[rewindgy]

So I had the PCIII in the 1600 Nomad and took it out. Now I contacted Cobra regarding their Fi2000R and they inform me that the Original Factory ECU will have to be re-flashed back to original spec's. Anyone smarter than me heard of this? Now my wonderful Kawasaki Dealer has no clue what I am talking about - mind you they are the one's who just randomly picked different maps and flipped a coin on which one they thought would work!
Long story short - does the ECU need to be reflashed or not?
any info would be good.

[Todd]

I've never heard of having to do that, but.....you can reset some vehicles by disconnecting the battery and keeping it that way long enough to make sure everything is completely discharged (30 mins is more than plenty). I have been told that will work with Vulcans but have not verified it myself.


On another note......if you wanna sell your PCIII let me know....I have been considering trying one.

[rewindgy]

Already sold it! Was looking inot the Cobra Fi2000R and called them to ask some questions and then they tell me that the PCIII changes the ECU settings also - and I say "Pardon?" Dyno Jet won't comment - I sent them an E-mail and they won't reply??? So, I am trying to find out who is fibbing.
A) Dyno Jet - that their PCIII doesn't permentaly affect the Factory settings on the ECU
B) Cobra - that the ECU has to be reflashed back to Factory settings before their unit can be installed
Bascially I just want to be sure that the ECU is indeed back to the Factory settings and nothing is tappered with!

[blowndodge]

Our ECU is a fixed program and isn't flashable. If there is a problem in the way it delivers it's information then only solution afforded by MaKaw is the replace the ECU.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by Blowndodge "Darksider"

Our ECU is a fixed program and isn't flashable. If there is a problem in the way it delivers it's information then only solution afforded by MaKaw is the replace the ECU.

My buddy's 2007 Softail Deuce has a flashable ECU. He paid extra to have it flashed with a higher performance map by the dealer when he bought the bike. He even has a mini cd with the map on it. It's my understanding when you use an aftermarket fuel processor, you aren't changing the map programmed into the ECU, you are bypassing it. Is that correct? If so, the original map should be intact in the ECU after the fuel processor is removed, and you may have to disconnect the battery for a period of time to reset the ECU.

BD is correct. The dealer cannot "flash" the ECU on an Nomad.

If the factory can do it, they ain't tellin', so I don't know.

But if it ain't got a flash EPROM, I'd kinda be amazed. It'd be kind of expensive the other way IMO.

Just because it has one, though, doesn't mean it can be flashed after incorporation in the assembled computer. A provision in the assembly must be made to be able to do that.

[rewindgy]

Thanks guys!!! That's what I thought also! So the guy from Cobra was blowing smoke up my butt! After the Dealer screwed up my first PCIII I took it out and they gave me a new one which I sold to someone here on the board for a steal. It was brand new in the box and I had no intentions of installing it here as no one would Dyno the bike and give me a copy of the map . They would re-install map if something went wrong - but what if you were far far away and on a Long Weekend / Holiday and they weren't open - then what? So I have been running on the Factory ECU which has the slight stumble at light throttle and bike does run a bit hot. So, I wasa thinking the Cobra is tweekable and I could richen it up when I pull the trailer and set it back to almost stock when running 1 up! This it appears would work as the pots turned to 0 setting are supposed to be off - or - no added fuel - right?

Originally Posted by cactusjack

...It's my understanding when you use an aftermarket fuel processor, you aren't changing the map programmed into the ECU, you are bypassing it. Is that correct?...

Sort of. The Power Commander captures the output (the injection pulses) of the ECU flowing through it, decides what should really be sent (based on its map) and sends that to the injectors. It runs in series with the ECU.

The TFI or Cobra do nearly the same. They read the ECU output and simply add more injection pulses to it as required. They run in parallel with the ECU.

Also, as far as I know the Nomad ECU cannot "learn" anything, so it cannot be "reset" to some theoretical base state. When you boot it, it runs the one and only program it can run. You can only tweak that program with an aftermarket module (as I have) or by tweaking the input to it by altering sensor output (as BD has.)

It can boot up incorrectly in rare instances, and this sometimes happens with new units that aren't well seasoned (or "burned in" as PC guys say) particularly when they are started up cold.

In that case, turning the key off, and back on will reboot it, and it should then be a bit warmer from the current previously running through it, and will boot up correctly the second time.

I've heard that from several sources, and it actually happened to me once when the bike was nearly new.

Originally Posted by rewindgy

Thanks guys!!! That's what I thought also! So the guy from Cobra was blowing smoke up my butt! After the Dealer screwed up my first PCIII I took it out and they gave me a new one which I sold to someone here on the board for a steal. It was brand new in the box and I had no intentions of installing it here as no one would Dyno the bike and give me a copy of the map . They would re-install map if something went wrong - but what if you were far far away and on a Long Weekend / Holiday and they weren't open - then what? So I have been running on the Factory ECU which has the slight stumble at light throttle and bike does run a bit hot. So, I wasa thinking the Cobra is tweekable and I could richen it up when I pull the trailer and set it back to almost stock when running 1 up! This it appears would work as the pots turned to 0 setting are supposed to be off - or - no added fuel - right?

Correct. You can even just put it on a toggle switch to control the power to it, and literally turn it off. The bike will run as if without it.

What I did is put plugs on my TFI so I can unplug it if I want.

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by rewindgy

Thanks guys!!! That's what I thought also! So the guy from Cobra was blowing smoke up my butt! After the Dealer screwed up my first PCIII I took it out and they gave me a new one which I sold to someone here on the board for a steal. It was brand new in the box and I had no intentions of installing it here as no one would Dyno the bike and give me a copy of the map . They would re-install map if something went wrong - but what if you were far far away and on a Long Weekend / Holiday and they weren't open - then what? So I have been running on the Factory ECU which has the slight stumble at light throttle and bike does run a bit hot. So, I wasa thinking the Cobra is tweekable and I could richen it up when I pull the trailer and set it back to almost stock when running 1 up! This it appears would work as the pots turned to 0 setting are supposed to be off - or - no added fuel - right?

The PC is also adjustable with the three buttons on the unit. I'm also assuming that once you had a shop load a map in the unit you could go home, connect the bike to a computer with the Power Commander program on it , and look at the settings on the screen. You could record the settings for future reference if required.

[rewindgy]

Nope - that's how we lost the first map! I had to go back about 6 times til they got one that wasn't too bad - power was okay - mileage sucked big time. Then it started to run like crap - mostly in wet weather - that's when I had a look at it and found that they had broken the original connectors and water was getting into the ECU connections. So they gave me a new one and I promptly sold it! I didn't rust them as they really didn't have the proper means to set it up. I talked to Dyno Jet and they just told me to get maps off internet and play around til I found one that was close - I told them there wasn't a Dyno in area at that time and they said it sucked to be me! Then when someone had a Dyno the cost was outragous so I'm done with PCIII stuff!