JWSmythe
09-13-2021, 07:37 PM
Hello all.
I've been working on my own cars for a long time. The one thing I haven't been able to do is any real hacking of the ECM, which is odd. I manipulate just about all the electronics that I touch.
The only one of mine that will be getting manhandled is my 2000 Firebird TransAm WS/6. I've had her since roughly 2002. I've only done a few little mods. At over 160,000 miles, she has some rough spots. I'm trying to do more things myself within my skill set, but I need some tools. I rebuilt the alternator and power steering pump myself. Now I'm wondering why I spent so much money on new and reman parts.
My older project was a '99 OBS Tahoe that I decomputerized. That poor thing, with 250,000 miles on it, has been abused for a long time before I got it. The rear axle locked up just bringing it home. The ring gear lost a tooth, and it got stuck between the ring and pinion. After upgrading both axles, it drove. Then it started having sensor problems. Just about every sensor. The end of it's computer was after it had a major intake manifold leak, that I mistook for a hose leak in the dark on the side of the road. Refilled the empty coolant system, and continued driving. The chocolate milkshake was everywhere in the engine. After I got to the intake manifold, and saw the horrible injection system, I decided the L31 "Vortec 5700" was getting rebuilt like a classic smallblock Chevy. It took a while, but hasn't had a computer fault in years. The engine now looks more like an upgraded '79 Camaro than a truck engine. That computer is only still attached for the oil pressure gauge. I just didn't bother to find where that wire is. But if the computer breaks, it'll just be that one gauge, and I'll figure out how to rewrite that one too.
Despite working on cars my whole life, my career field is IT. I've worked computers and Internet servers since the early 90s, primarily servers since the late 1990s. You have probably viewed Internet sites that I worked at. Some of them were huge. Tuning computers is just a thing I've done the whole time. Tuning the computer in my car doesn't look like it's any different. I just need to learn how they like to be adjusted. I've done some ODBII reading and graphing, but never reprogramming them.
Maybe in time, I'll write some newer tuning software, but I need to explore what already exists first. Starting from scratch, doing "black box" development, just poking at things to see what changes, is the hard way to do it. It can be done, but could take me years to catch up to what others are already doing. "White box" development is looking at how others do theirs. I may end up just being perfectly happy with existing solutions.
I really haven't documented a lot of the stuff I've done, but I do have a few car videos. These aren't for spam purposes. I haven't been monetized on YouTube for years, and this isn't the kind of content that would make any money anyways.
This is the '00 WS/6 using the Android "Torque" app, recording video and OBDII info via Bluetooth dongle. At the time, the gauges would get out of sync from the video, so this was really just to show to the author, documenting my problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W2pJnA5qDY
'00 WS/6 on a dyno, some of the modifications are visible in the video. The rest are detailed at the end of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjDoK6AsN_o
The '00 much farther back, before and after adding sequencing taillights. That's a standalone controller that isn't being sold any more. It does still work. Now I make my own electronics, so if it ever needs to be replaced, I'll make something nicer, with more LEDs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jkQMV-Tkwk
The '99 Tahoe after decomputerizing it. That was a lot of work, and I was starting to have walking problems, so the work was slow and painful. I did it on and off for about a year. Many times just getting frustrated because I was having walking problems. I was in an accident the '00 WS/6, which eventually required surgery, but it took about 1.5 years from the accident, through diagnosis to getting surgery. I have some commentary on the American medical system. Under any other system, it wouldn't have taken that long, lawsuits against insurance companies, draining my bank account, and borrowing money to get myself repaired.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejwmBHlm_hw
To summarize, hi. This is me. This is my cars, and some of the stupid things I've done with them. I look forward to making more stupid mistakes in the future! :cool:
I've been working on my own cars for a long time. The one thing I haven't been able to do is any real hacking of the ECM, which is odd. I manipulate just about all the electronics that I touch.
The only one of mine that will be getting manhandled is my 2000 Firebird TransAm WS/6. I've had her since roughly 2002. I've only done a few little mods. At over 160,000 miles, she has some rough spots. I'm trying to do more things myself within my skill set, but I need some tools. I rebuilt the alternator and power steering pump myself. Now I'm wondering why I spent so much money on new and reman parts.
My older project was a '99 OBS Tahoe that I decomputerized. That poor thing, with 250,000 miles on it, has been abused for a long time before I got it. The rear axle locked up just bringing it home. The ring gear lost a tooth, and it got stuck between the ring and pinion. After upgrading both axles, it drove. Then it started having sensor problems. Just about every sensor. The end of it's computer was after it had a major intake manifold leak, that I mistook for a hose leak in the dark on the side of the road. Refilled the empty coolant system, and continued driving. The chocolate milkshake was everywhere in the engine. After I got to the intake manifold, and saw the horrible injection system, I decided the L31 "Vortec 5700" was getting rebuilt like a classic smallblock Chevy. It took a while, but hasn't had a computer fault in years. The engine now looks more like an upgraded '79 Camaro than a truck engine. That computer is only still attached for the oil pressure gauge. I just didn't bother to find where that wire is. But if the computer breaks, it'll just be that one gauge, and I'll figure out how to rewrite that one too.
Despite working on cars my whole life, my career field is IT. I've worked computers and Internet servers since the early 90s, primarily servers since the late 1990s. You have probably viewed Internet sites that I worked at. Some of them were huge. Tuning computers is just a thing I've done the whole time. Tuning the computer in my car doesn't look like it's any different. I just need to learn how they like to be adjusted. I've done some ODBII reading and graphing, but never reprogramming them.
Maybe in time, I'll write some newer tuning software, but I need to explore what already exists first. Starting from scratch, doing "black box" development, just poking at things to see what changes, is the hard way to do it. It can be done, but could take me years to catch up to what others are already doing. "White box" development is looking at how others do theirs. I may end up just being perfectly happy with existing solutions.
I really haven't documented a lot of the stuff I've done, but I do have a few car videos. These aren't for spam purposes. I haven't been monetized on YouTube for years, and this isn't the kind of content that would make any money anyways.
This is the '00 WS/6 using the Android "Torque" app, recording video and OBDII info via Bluetooth dongle. At the time, the gauges would get out of sync from the video, so this was really just to show to the author, documenting my problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W2pJnA5qDY
'00 WS/6 on a dyno, some of the modifications are visible in the video. The rest are detailed at the end of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjDoK6AsN_o
The '00 much farther back, before and after adding sequencing taillights. That's a standalone controller that isn't being sold any more. It does still work. Now I make my own electronics, so if it ever needs to be replaced, I'll make something nicer, with more LEDs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jkQMV-Tkwk
The '99 Tahoe after decomputerizing it. That was a lot of work, and I was starting to have walking problems, so the work was slow and painful. I did it on and off for about a year. Many times just getting frustrated because I was having walking problems. I was in an accident the '00 WS/6, which eventually required surgery, but it took about 1.5 years from the accident, through diagnosis to getting surgery. I have some commentary on the American medical system. Under any other system, it wouldn't have taken that long, lawsuits against insurance companies, draining my bank account, and borrowing money to get myself repaired.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejwmBHlm_hw
To summarize, hi. This is me. This is my cars, and some of the stupid things I've done with them. I look forward to making more stupid mistakes in the future! :cool: