Morris (wowzer) was asking me last night about what all the options are for tuning the various ECU's we have. Morris and I have been working pretty closely the last couple of months on the Neon ECU flashing, and in general the last few years. So, I figure if he's not clear about it, then maybe nobody is. So, here's the list I sent him and then some:
ECU Tuning Options:
LM 1985-87 – Currently only socketeing and chip swap or Ostrich. There was a home-brew flash setup done many years ago. Not very user-friendly. I've considered making a module to simplify the process.
SMEC 1988-89 – Socket + chip swap or Ostrich, or Flash Module Conversion
SBEC 1990-91 – Socket + chip swap or Ostrich using a latch board , Flash Module Conversion (module is unique for SBEC, has latch chip on-board)
SBECII 1992-93 – Socket + chip swap or Ostrich using latch board, Flash Module conversion (module is unique for SBECII, has latch chip on-board)
FCC 1994-95– Flash factory chip, socket + chip swap
TCM 1989-91 – Not sure yet what the options might be. Though, I believe the SBEC flash module should work with the '89-90 TCM to make them flashable (they also used the 87C257).
TCM 1992-95 - Flashable from the factory and they used the same memory chip as the FCC. So, the process currently being used for the FCC should also work on these TCM's. Testing needed.
Flash Module:
The flash module conversion for the SMEC/SBEC/SBECII allows you to re-flash the ECU from the SCI port using a PC/Laptop, an SCI-to-USB conversion cable, and MP Tune. The flash process takes about 10seconds total. These use an actual flash memory chip (29C256) that does not need to be erased prior to writing (it's basically treated like SRAM). And, they are programmable with 5v. So, no special adapter is required to program other than the SCI cable. The advantage over the Ostrich is that the flash module can be sealed up and left in the car permanently. On the other hand, the Ostrich does allow for 'on-the-fly' tuning - that is you can change the cal while the car is running.
Latch Board:
The latch board for the SBEC and SBECII allows you to use a 'standard' memory chip with those ECU's. From the factory, they came with an 87C257 chip that incorporates the latch into the memory chip. For reference, the SMEC had the latch chip on the logic board.
Factory Flashable ECU's:
Some SBECII's came from the factory with a flashable chip. The chip is a 32-pin DIP package and made by Toshiba. It's not yet known how to flash these in-circuit.
The Neon FCC (1994/1995 only) has a flashable chip from the factory (M28F512). More accurately, it's an EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM). As such, it needs to be fully erased before reprogramming. Programming the chip in-circuit requires supplying the FCC with 20v on the Rx line at the appropriate time. I'm currently building a flash adapter to do this using MP Tune. The FCC flash process is longer than the SMEC/SBEC due to the bigger binary and the required erase procedure. But, it still takes only 30-40seconds.
I believe the voltage adapter I have for the FCC will work for any of the flashable Chrysler ECU's from the SBECII, FCC, and SBECIII and even the TCM’s. According to the patent docs, they always require 12v to boot strap, and 20v to program. The difference will be in the protocol required to erase and re-write the various chips.
Prcoessors:
The LM used a Motorola 6803. All the other listed here used a variant of the Motorola 68HC11.
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