Another Brick in the Wall. A KIA Sportage Story
So we get called out to a shop that needs a PCM programmed on a KIA Sportage. Our tech goes out there and attempts to program. Short story is that when he was done, the car would not start. CAN communications gone with PCM. Never a good sign. Especially with a PCM that costs around $1K. I have the tech bring me the PCM to test. I find that there is no activity on CAN. Connecting with a scan tool there are no comms. Dead PCM and we were the last to touch it. So I start to look for a solution. I have a good selection of PCMs. I decided I would locate one that has the same part number in my collection. Nope, I do not have one for a Sportage. This is not good. I then opt to look for another with the same 2.4L engine. I do have one from a like year Optima.
The computer hardware is a SIM2K-240. I grab my Green Technologies VF2 tool. I connect to the original dead PCM. I am able to communicate with the PCM but it is reported as corrupted or virgin. I then connect to the Optima PCM. It is the same hardware but the calibration number is quite different. I read the P-Flash (MAPS) and save it to a folder. I then program the Sportage computer with the Optima Flash. After this step is done, I now have CAN communication back. The VIN shows up and the calibration. At this point the vehicle will likely run. I get quite nervous about shipping it with a calibration that does not match the vehicle. And what about the next guy. That might be me. What if the SES light comes on for something else, then the customer is going to be more angry.
I then go on a quest to find out how I can get the Optima flash to update to a Sportage flash. By using the Bosch Shop Forman Pro software in OBDII mode, I can pull the calibration from the module. I get TEC4DM2A. Looking on the PCM case there is a similar number. TFAEC4DM2A.
The red circle was from the wrecking yard. What I am highlighting has a Black rectangle around it. I found if I cross out the Second two letters, I get the calibration file name. I then go to Hxd editor to open the saved flash file. I do a search for TEC4DM2A and find it.
I hypothesize that if I simply change this number on the three lines, there will be an update to overwrite the flash file. I try this and the J2534 app does not find any update. I seem to be dead in the water. I get thinking about it and I realize that the original issue was the customer wanted an update for a P0420. The key would be to find the TSB that would correct this. With a little effort, I am able to find the TSB. The TSB is #160 dated October of 2016. Now I find the ECU part number and can see the calibration it is looking for (old) and the one it needs to be (new).
So I try again using SEC4MH2B.
Ta Da! update is found and the J2534 software completes without issues! It is always a good feeling when a plan comes together. By the way, this is the kind of solutions we will be covering in Astoria Oregon in about one week. Would love to have you there! For more info on class, reach out to me at ….