TuneECU | Moto-Abruzzo

31/05/201326/05/2016

Making connections

Hooking up the netbook to the ECU when datalogging has always been a pain. Seats off, fumble around for the Molex connector, run the cable under the seats, refit the seats …… and away we go. So when I saw a neat little MIL style connector that Andy has fitted to his Capo, I couldn’t help asking about it.

Turns out it’s made by Deutsch Autosport and they make a whole range of high quality connectors specifically for the motorsport industry. Here’s a link to the catalogue. Anyway, all-round nice guy that he is, Andy made me a chassis socket and plug assembly with 300mm of loom at each end. Not only that, he popped them in the post to Italy … and they arrived a couple of days ago. And I must say ….. WOW! ….. beautifully machined and fully waterproof with a nice machined cap to keep the greeblies out.

So now I’ve reworked my old TuneBoy cable and installed the connector on the dash. I’ve used shielded cable back to the original molex plug to reduce interference on the data lines and it all works fine.

So it only remains to say a big thank you to Andy for doing this for me. I owe you one! Now if you’re thinking of hot-footing it over to the AF1 forum to send Andy a PM – don’t. This was a one-off kindness and he won’t be making any more, so please don’t ask.

23/05/201328/11/2017

A trundle up to Silverstone

Force_India While over in the UK I popped over to Sahara Force India Formula 1 team at Silverstone to meet up with Andy (Beasthonda) from the AF1 forum. We’ve been exchanging emails on and off for months now and this was a great chance to put a face to the name.

I took along my netbook and OBD cable and remapped his Capo while Andy hooked a patch-box and oscilloscope into the instrument panel wiring loom so we could accurately measure a particular signal from the ECU. It was certainly a whirlwind exercise – all done with one eye on the storm clouds brewing overhead! Everything went smoothly and afterwards Andy gave me a guided tour of the team headquarters, it was fantastic. So I’d like to thank Andy once again for his kindness, hopefully we’ll meet again when I’m next over on the Capo. Cheers!

UPDATE: See the foot (bottom right) of the picture above? A fine example of a foot I think you’ll agree …. but it’s not mine and it’s not Andy’s. It belongs to Rob Ashworth who tried desperately to get out of the shot but didn’t quite make it. Rob in fact supplied the oscilloscope and twiddled the knobs in a flurry of practised professionalism. As they say, better late than never ……. Rob, thank you for your assistance and it was a pleasure chatting to you.

12/10/201212/10/2012

TuneECU update

Not a major update, more a bug fix and more Triumph map support added. TuneECU is still the ECU software of choice for the Aprilia Caponord and hasn’t added any new features for us since the beginning. Each new version has primarily focused on new Triumph models and addressed a few minor bugs – only one of which has been relevant to the Caponord so far.

I do like to load the new versions and compare functionality with an older trusted version just to make sure that nothing untoward has crept in with each new release as far as the Capo is concerned. Oh and as I write this, I’ve just realised – it was two years ago this month that the Caponord/Futura were added to the bikes that TuneECU support ….. wow time flies! To download the new version and maps, click on the ‘TuneECU’ link on the menu bar.

17/05/201117/05/2011

Bug in TuneECU 1.9.3 regarding Sagem ECU

A new version of TuneECU has been released that may well be relevant to Caponord/Futura owners. If you have recently downloaded version 1.9.3 ……. remove it as it has a bug with regards to communication to/from the ECU. A new version 1.9.4 has been released (Monday 16/05/2011) that fixes this issue, although this is untested at the time of writing.