GregPage

I am looking for help getting my laptop to communicate to my ACCEL Gen 7 EFI ECU. I saw that some members posting here use the ACCEL system so hope someone can answer a couple questions. I send my questions to the ACCEL tech support email but havn't goten any replys. I was able to connect to the ECU before, but it's been a couple years (long delay in my project) and now I can't get my laptop to connect.

Can someone confirm (or correct) what I had written down as the COM port settings: 9600 baud, 7 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control. I jotted it down on the manual when I was able to get it to connect a couple years and a prior laptop ago (got it by trial and error since I've never seen anything saying what the COM ports are supposed to be set to in any ACCEL documentaion).

I have the same USB/COM adapter I used before installed as COM4, and start CalMap (V6.1.6) using the right-clip option to specify COM4. The Rx light on the COM adapter flashes so it looks like it is trying to connect. The ignition is on, and since the car does run the ECU should be running.

I get the standard non-informative error message that it can't communicate and to check my COM port settings, which of course the manual never says what are.

I have read the ACCEL stuff that only some USB/COM adapters seemed to work but since I used this one before I think it should still work, although there have been many Windows updates since. They now show their own USB connector cable, does it really work or is it just another USB/COM adapter hard-wired into their normal RS232 based cable?

Thanks - Greg

GregPage

Ok, engage stupid flag.

The USB/COM adapter wouldn't auto-install at COM1, but since it didn't show as in use I thought I'd try forcing it to COM1 using the hardware manager. It still gives the "can't connect" message, but after the message cleared it connected and accessed the ECU. I thought I'd gotten it to conect on COM4 before as the old computer had the mouse on COM1, but COM1 now works. Now I need to try loading a better map file and see if I can lean it out enough that it isn't belching smoke and blackening the plugs so I can see if I can actually tune it a bit.

Just FYI, I had tried COM2 earlier which did not work.

-Greg

black85vette

Sometimes Windoze 7 tells me which port it assigned when I plug in the USB. Other times I just go into control panel / device manager / ports (com & lpt) and see which port it assigned to the Accel. It changes almost everytime I use it. Then launch the Accel software and tell it which port to use.

Did you use one of their start up files or did you start from scratch?

GregPage

The initial settings were put in by the shop who did the EFI conversion to the manifold (Hilborn 8-stack). They are enough to get it running but is way too rich. It's been a very long project and pretty much in limbo the last two. I'm planning to patch some of the settings from the 383/500HP file from the Accel site to see if it gets a closer starting point (motor is a 406, was dyno'd at 600 HP on carb but I put in a smaller roller and changed heads to drop the CR so it would be more streetable).

You can see the whole project at http://www.gregorypage.net/

-Greg