Mpguino Rebooting and Freezing but...
 

Hey everyone. I installed my Spiffie mpguino kit on my civic 2-3 weeks ago. Since day one I have never been able to use any of the screens except Big Tank MPG and Big Current MPG. All other screens eventually reset a few times or lock up and I have to unhook power to reboot it again. I notice the issue only happens while the car is running. I can drive the car from home to work, then when I park the car and turn the key off toggle through the different screens with 0 issues. I can even leave it on any screen I want over night without it freezing up or rebooting. So at this point I can never see instant mpg or gph while driving.

I have it installed with a ground to the chassis. Constant power through the ecu's backup power source(12v battery power at all times), vss on ecu, and injector #1 on ecu. I have tired while someone is driving the car to see if I can put pressure on the different components to see if I have a bad solder connection somewhere on the mpguino itself. Everything feels really solid and I am confident in my soldering job. Lastly, I noticed I am running V.73 if that makes a difference. I'd rather not have to mess with installing the latest version unless you all really feel it will help with my issues. I wanted to add that I do not have it in any sort of case at the moment and it does not feel hot or warm to the touch.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Erik

Have you installed the software on it at all, or are you running on the version that shipped with the kit? Either way, I would definitely try installing .75, it's not difficult to do, and there's a good chance that the software you're running on just has a glitch in it or something, especially if it's the one that came pre-installed.

It is what shipped with my spiffie kit. It came preinstalled. Are there changes in .75 that could make it more stable? Or are you suggesting it because it is a good idea to be able to rule out the software having a glitch? Thank you.

Both of them, actually. .75 has an instant GPH fix, and it's a good idea to install any version, because who knows if the one that came with the kit was the real version. It's a lot easier to install the software than it is to try to find a bad solder or something. Just make sure you write down your VSS and injector uSec values before you install it, in case they get erased.

I'll give it a try. Is there a how-to somewhere explaining the process?

I'm sure there are instructions somewhere, but I can't find them. It's pretty easy though:

1. Download and install Arduino 0011 for your operating system here (Make sure it's 0011, not another version)
2. Copy the code for the MPGuino V.75 (Available here
3. Plug in the MPGuino via the USB port
4. Run the Arduino program, and copy the code into the main space
5. Set the port by clicking Tools -> Serial Port -> COM X, where X is the port you plugged the MPGuino into. Mine was COM 4, it could be any number.
6. Click the 'Upload to I/O board' in the Arduino program
7. If it uploads properly, it'll say so at the bottom of the program, something like Upload complete, sketch size xxxx bytes.

That's it. If you're on a Mac, then for some reason, the file will be too large, and you'll have to delete a little bit from the MPGuino code. You should be fine on Windows though.

Wow, that is really helpful! Thank you so much. I am on a PC, I'll give it a try . Hope this helps my rebooting issues.

I am pleased to report that the update went well, no issues(thanks to your detailed instructions)! I am even happier to report that this morning I had my first succesful trip to work without it rebooting or freezing while using a screen that shows instant mpg on it!!!!! I still want to give it a little more time to be 100% sure, but it is looking like reflashing the software did the trick in my case :D:D:D

It is amazing how useful that instant feedback really is, I told myself before that I wouldnt miss it, but I was wrong, already on my first trip I have improved my trip mpg! I'll report back in a few days letting you all know how it is doing for me.

McTimson a big THANK YOU goes out to you.

Erik

Great, glad it worked! Yea, the instant MPG is definitely useful. Without, all you really know is whether you're doing better than your average, or worse than it, but you can't get a feel for how much better or worse.

Hope it stays fixed! And you should put some pictures of your car in your profile, I love MR2's.

How do you connect the mpguino to USB for flashing code?
 

I read the thread that says you can solve problems of the unit acting flaky by flashing the software to it. How do you connect the unit to USB?