P38A Nanocom not liking eas

wammers said:

Something is upsetting your ECU maybe a failed switch pack.

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As in, drivers switch pack with all the window switches? That would make sense.. (currently having issues with that, px window will go down but not up, same with rear px window - while using the switches in the centre console. Driver side fine though and mirrors fine)

.. But from what I could tell, diag with the EAS ecu is direct and doesn't touch the BECM or anything else?

domino said:

As in, drivers switch pack with all the window switches? That would make sense.. (currently having issues with that, px window will go down but not up, same with rear px window - while using the switches in the centre console. Driver side fine though and mirrors fine)

.. But from what I could tell, diag with the EAS ecu is direct and doesn't touch the BECM or anything else?

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No, driver pack on side of valve block.

wammers said:

No, driver pack on side of valve block.

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That's not required for diag to speak to the ecu though is it? I have spares though the one that's on it was repaired by me a few years back.

domino said:

That's not required for diag to speak to the ecu though is it? I have spares though the one that's on it was repaired by me a few years back.

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Ok carry on. You obviously know best.

wammers said:

Ok carry on. You obviously know best.

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That was a question but you do you, as per.

domino said:

That was a question but you do you, as per.

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The switch pack can scramble the ECU. It is normally a slave of the ECU but if circuits break down it can feedback into the ECU causing problems. The compressor side is a totally seperate circuit and nothing to do with the switch pack but they seem to be interacting. Try a new switch pack and see what you get.

Okay, that's better.

By that logic then (no tone intended) if I make sure the driver pack, compressor etc is all unplugged, then I should get comms with the ecu, albeit full of errors and fault codes. Right?

domino said:

Okay, that's better.

By that logic then (no tone intended) if I make sure the driver pack, compressor etc is all unplugged, then I should get comms with the ecu, albeit full of errors and fault codes. Right?

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Don't know try it.

I ran mine without a valveblock and compressor and no faults were logged on my RSW software.

Which was odd IMO!.

Without comms you get a list of crap.

But I guess comms of any sort is a great leap forward?

oakey said:

But I guess comms of any sort is a great leap forward?

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Yup - was going to do that earlier but couldn't resist taking it out for a 30 second spin round the block after it raised. Its on my first thing to do in the morning list.

So, did a few other non noisy bits first thing so as to not annoy the neighbours.

Disconnected everything under the bonnet to do with EAS and it made no difference at all. Also had the battery out overnight to give it a good charge/top up (was replacing steering wheel anyway so needed to disconnect).

I have one other problem that I don't know is related or not (I suspect not) - when the engine is running, the battery light occasionally flickers however the dashboard display does flicker between normal status and a door or bonnet being open (if it is). Previously, it was just stay on the message saying 'Bonnet Open' and stop when closed. At the moment, however, it flickers between that and 'normal' very quickly. I'll try get a link to a video on YouTube or something. Here's a video:

Sounds like you have a mirriaid of problems. Have you tried powering the Nanocom from the USB on your computer to see if all in EAS functions are selectable detached from car.

wammers said:

Sounds like you have a mirriaid of problems. Have you tried powering the Nanocom from the USB on your computer to see if all in EAS functions are selectable detached from car.

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Yes, I updated to the latest firmware earlier in the week and checked functionality while it was plugged in.

domino said:

Yes, I updated to the latest firmware earlier in the week and checked functionality while it was plugged in.

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Sort the easy things first bonnet switch etc. Then with EAS, it is either the ECU playng up or the switch pack upsetting it. As far as i recall EAS ECU connection to diag socket is exclusive with no connection to any other system. So it can really only be a problem with the EAS ECU being faulty or being upset by switch pack feeding back into it.

wammers said:

Sort the easy things first bonnet switch etc. Then with EAS, it is either the ECU playng up or the switch pack upsetting it. As far as i recall EAS ECU connection to diag socket is exclusive with no connection to any other system. So it can really only be a problem with the EAS ECU being faulty or being upset by switch pack feeding back into it.

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Understood. So, the whole flashy thing in the display happens regardless of what's open; bonnet, doors, boot so it's not specific to the bonnet or a single switch - unsure as yet what controls or monitors the open state of doors etc.

I disconnected the driver pack and it made no difference to comms. The only thing I haven't yet tried is a replacement relay (which is coming).

The EAS works, overall. Compressor runs when it should, it lifts and drops now depending on what is selected. It's just comms that seems to be the issue.

If the relay doesn't work, I'll cut and solder all the connectors in behind the LH kick panel but again.. Given none of that is required for comms, it's a bit of a road to nowhere. Checked continuity for odb pins to EAS relay and all was good.

Just... Dunno.

Is it possible your nanocom is knackered, or the lead?
Worth an email to Blackbox or a wee word on their forum?

domino said:

Understood. So, the whole flashy thing in the display happens regardless of what's open; bonnet, doors, boot so it's not specific to the bonnet or a single switch - unsure as yet what controls or monitors the open state of doors etc.

I disconnected the driver pack and it made no difference to comms. The only thing I haven't yet tried is a replacement relay (which is coming).

The EAS works, overall. Compressor runs when it should, it lifts and drops now depending on what is selected. It's just comms that seems to be the issue.

If the relay doesn't work, I'll cut and solder all the connectors in behind the LH kick panel but again.. Given none of that is required for comms, it's a bit of a road to nowhere. Checked continuity for odb pins to EAS relay and all was good.

Just... Dunno.

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Connections behind kick panel are interface EAS ECU to height selector switch and inhibit switch. Can be a problem if they are shorted out by corrosion.

oakey said:

Is it possible your nanocom is knackered, or the lead?
Worth an email to Blackbox or a wee word on their forum?

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Yeah, was thinking that might be an idea.

Nanocom should communicate to the EAS ECU regardless of whether the Driver pack is connected. The only exception is as Wammers said, i.e. driver pack shorting something in the ECU. Therefore disconnecting the connection to the valve block should eliminate this, assuming the ECU is not fried. It would require a short to ground inside the driver pack, which might overload the 12V output from the ECU, but as far as I know the outputs are overload protected.

All the outputs from ECU to driver pack are 12V on-off to trigger the solenoids. The pressure switch simply connects 12V to Pin-13 on the ECU when tank reached 140 PSI. So you can test the driver pack without the ECU. Simply power it up, and apply 12V to each input pin in turn to see if the valves operate. Pin connections are attached.

The timer relay must be working correctly to initiate communication with the ECU. Nanocom triggers the relay via Pin-3 to reset the ECU and start communications.

All other connections to the ECU are Input signals from other systems, such as Engine speed, Road Speed, Handbrake or Door Open. None of these should impact diagnostics operation.