it was actually really simple from what i remember.
the first thing was hook the evo to the computer and run lightning program.
then record stock settings or something like that.
next i had to email him my vidxxxxxx_xxxxxx.bin file, which took 2 minutes. then he did a bunch of typing and uh and eh ing.
next i went under utilities and "create stock writer"
i had to give him the numbers that came up on my screen, and he gave me the "key" which then unlocked something....
when i pressed ok, it hooked up to edge's site and downloaded some things to my evo.
it told me to unhook the tuner
i unhooked it and went out to the truck, and loaded the stock program just like we load any custom program on the edge(it froze once).
after it was done i hooked it back up to the lightning software
went under utilities and "recover evolution" (or something like that, sorry dont remember the specifics)
it came up with the same number/ key box, so i gave him the numbers and he gave me the key.
it connected to edge's server, and re prrogrammed my device.
took it back out to the truck and tried to tune(and it froze), then went back to stock.

sorry for the horrible directions, but i suck at giving them and keeping specifics in mind. im sure ill read this a few times and come back and clean it up a little!

 

Hope you can.

The "stock files" you sent to him were compiled files the Edge produces for programming your vehicle. If they are corrupted, you don't go. And, none of us can help you either - Edge has to do it.

Looks like he had you download fresh stock files, to replace the corrupted ones on your device. So far, so good, and nothing any of us could have helped you with.

Here's where it gets more puzzling: You said,

"i unhooked it and went out to the truck, and loaded the stock program just like we load any custom program on the edge(it froze once).
after it was done i hooked it back up to the lightning software
went under utilities and "recover evolution" (or something like that, sorry dont remember the specifics)
it came up with the same number/ key box, so i gave him the numbers and he gave me the key.
it connected to edge's server, and re prrogrammed my device.
took it back out to the truck and tried to tune(and it froze), then went back to stock."

Seems like it had a hiccup but then returned your truck to stock, right?

Now, things are fuzzy to me. You reconnected it to your PC and Lightning and that brought up some information that "reprogrammed" your Edge again? In the process, you were able to get an "unlock" key, I think? And, you then tried to tune your truck to an advanced level and it didn't work?

If I got all this right, then I think your only source of help was Edge, and, I'm glad they're sending you a new unit (and cable). Hope it works better than the last one. (I'm being serious here, not sarcastic. I hope we in the 2004+ community don't start seeing similar hardware issues).

And, thanks for the feedback! It's much more helpful than, "They got me going again".

- Jack

 

ya, it froze once while goin back to stock the first time, unplugged and tried it again, and it worked. then after that it was "restore edge". so it could restore the canned tune capabilities. there was some "key" he had to give me to put into the lightning software to open up or connect to the correct files.

after i "restored" the tuning capabilities, he wanted me to try a tune, and it froze about halfway thru the tune. then i unplugged and tried again. this time it worked. so then i wanted to go back to the stock tune, so i selected restore stock settings. and it froze again(i forgot about this third freeze till now), then retried and it worked(thats where it is now, stock).... so he said something has to be wrong with the tuner or cable, so send them back and we will send you new ones.

hope that cleared it up.

Adam M

 

It pretty much does clear things up and it tells me there's not a danged thing any of us could have suggested to help you (or others with your problem).

This "erratic" behavior is a real puzzle though. Why should it work sometimes and not other times? I'd love to know where the fault is. As many of us know, solid state devices tend to work very reliably once they've been used enough to be considered "burned in". Your programmer was certainly in that category.

I can see though, that cable problems might lead to corrupted files in the Edge (since data is taken from the PCM to write them), and that sounds like what had to be repaired. So, this points to a bad data connection. The difference between a 1 and a 0 in digital electronics has gotten very small. It would not be hard for a 1-bit that was supposed to be anything between 2-3 volts to be seen as a 0-bit if the contact was poor and only 1 volt was passed. (And I'm guessing here on the voltages, they may actually be much smaller, making perfect data connections that much more important).

I DO hope Edge can get this cable problem fixed soon!

- Jack

 

Jack
Another thing I was thinking about while reading this is what supplies the initial 18 volts to start the reflash process? That part could have also deteriated so it wouldn't have enough charge first time around but second time it may gain a little bit more charge because of the usage. Thus allowing the completion of the programming.

 

You could easily be right about this too. I'd thought of it in passing, but then decided somehow (with my usual twisted logic) that it had to be a very low voltage data line, since they are particularly sensitive to weak connections (there's not enough voltage to "burn through" or "arc over" a poor contact point).

However, a connection that added enough resistance to cut the voltage below the minimum required to send a write signal to the PCM could probably give the same results.

- Jack