I bought a brand new MJLJ/E recently but when plugging it in with the program running, it just crashes with a Visual C++ runtime error. I have bought a new laptop (old one had Windows XP, new one has Windows 7) and a new FTDI USB/Serial adaptor and there is still no change. Is there anything else I can do?
I have been powering the device from a 9V supply and the LED comes on OK - would this happen if there wasn't enough power?
I'm really fed up as need to get the vehicle running again.
Still can't get the damn thing to work (MJLJ/E)
Moderators: JeffC, rdoherty, stieg, brentp
Are you saying this is a brand new laptop? Usually with crashing issues like this it points to display drivers that are out of date. You *might* try to update your display driver to see if there's a latest version. What graphics chipset does the laptop use?
Also, boot the computer in safe mode- this uses an alternate 'safer' display driver that help diagnose whether it's a display driver issue or something else.
Also, boot the computer in safe mode- this uses an alternate 'safer' display driver that help diagnose whether it's a display driver issue or something else.
Is there a way of launching MJLJ from the command line in a debugging mode?
I'll try it in safe mode but don't hold out much help.
As luck would have it, the USB-Serial converter I was initially using, that I assumed was a cheap crap one, has an FTDI chip in it too (like the new one) - I thought these were supposed to be the recommended types?
To be clear, I've got the MegaJolt/E box connected with power supply & earth only in the multi-plug and a modem cable in the other side that goes to a serial adaptor (this was as provided by the vendor). This serial adaptor then plugs into either a serial port or a USB-Serial port. It hasn't been anywhere near the vehicle yet!
I'll try it in safe mode but don't hold out much help.
As luck would have it, the USB-Serial converter I was initially using, that I assumed was a cheap crap one, has an FTDI chip in it too (like the new one) - I thought these were supposed to be the recommended types?
To be clear, I've got the MegaJolt/E box connected with power supply & earth only in the multi-plug and a modem cable in the other side that goes to a serial adaptor (this was as provided by the vendor). This serial adaptor then plugs into either a serial port or a USB-Serial port. It hasn't been anywhere near the vehicle yet!
Since it seems you're using similar adapters on different machines, could you try an adapter based on a different chipset? Yes, most FTDI adapters should work, but there are other variables at play.
If we can get yo up and running with an adapter that works then the next step will be to analyze why *that* particular adapter (and device driver / OS combination) is *not* working.
Also, can you test on a desktop machine with a built-in serial port, just as a test?
The LED is merely a power LED. it does not indicate communication status.
Thanks for your patience while we work to figure this out!
If we can get yo up and running with an adapter that works then the next step will be to analyze why *that* particular adapter (and device driver / OS combination) is *not* working.
Also, can you test on a desktop machine with a built-in serial port, just as a test?
The LED is merely a power LED. it does not indicate communication status.
Thanks for your patience while we work to figure this out!
My desktop machine runs Linux. The software starts fine under Wine but I had no joy communicating with the hardware. I've been using the settings I found for the V4 (32800, 8N1 from memory). If someone could tell me what to do in Minicom, I'd be grateful.
I'll see if I can find someone with a desktop PC but no-one springs to mind
I'll see if I can find someone with a desktop PC but no-one springs to mind
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Spockie-Tech
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:52 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Ive never tried to run the MJ software under WINE although I run Linux on a lot of my machines as well. I have had other serial devices work under VirtualBox with a Windows install in them, although I havent tried the Megajolt Tuner that way.
The Serial interface spec is here
http://www.autosportlabs.net/asl_dist/m ... n_v4.x.pdf
According to that, 38400, 8N1 is what you want, and you should be able to elicit a response from the MJ by sending it a capital "S" (Get Status) with any terminal program like Minicom although the result is not likely to be human intelligible, being raw (not ASCII) values - but you should see something come back everytime you send an S.
Dont send other characters or you might inadvertently change the configuration settings.
You can check that your serial adaptor can talk (to itself anyway), by bridging pins 2 and 3 (Tx and Rx) with a clip and you should get an echo - what you type should loop back and appear on the screen when the pins are bridged, and nothing appears when not bridged. Make sure com port handshaking is set to "none" for this test, since the handshake signals (RTS/CTS) will be not connected
As brent said, though this is not a guarrantee that it will be able to talk with the MJ, since voltage levels on many USB-Serial adapters can be variable.. it mainly shows that the software side of the serial IO is working ok.
I worked on an Autronic Fuel Injection system and a Pen-Plotter that each took about 4 goes before I found a particular brand converter that would talk to them successfully, not even a PC card or the on-motherboard Serial ports worked (weird), but eventually found a USB converter that did.
As far as crashing out the visual-C library goes, I'll leave that to Brent, I dont have experience in that area of coding to be able to help there
The Serial interface spec is here
http://www.autosportlabs.net/asl_dist/m ... n_v4.x.pdf
According to that, 38400, 8N1 is what you want, and you should be able to elicit a response from the MJ by sending it a capital "S" (Get Status) with any terminal program like Minicom although the result is not likely to be human intelligible, being raw (not ASCII) values - but you should see something come back everytime you send an S.
Dont send other characters or you might inadvertently change the configuration settings.
You can check that your serial adaptor can talk (to itself anyway), by bridging pins 2 and 3 (Tx and Rx) with a clip and you should get an echo - what you type should loop back and appear on the screen when the pins are bridged, and nothing appears when not bridged. Make sure com port handshaking is set to "none" for this test, since the handshake signals (RTS/CTS) will be not connected
As brent said, though this is not a guarrantee that it will be able to talk with the MJ, since voltage levels on many USB-Serial adapters can be variable.. it mainly shows that the software side of the serial IO is working ok.
I worked on an Autronic Fuel Injection system and a Pen-Plotter that each took about 4 goes before I found a particular brand converter that would talk to them successfully, not even a PC card or the on-motherboard Serial ports worked (weird), but eventually found a USB converter that did.
As far as crashing out the visual-C library goes, I'll leave that to Brent, I dont have experience in that area of coding to be able to help there
OK, I have tried the following operating systems:
Windows 2000 Professional*
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
SuSE Linux 11.1 (under WINE, plus Minicom)*
Mac OSX Leopard (under WINE and Parallels/WinXP)
* these machines had "proper" serial ports
With EVERY machine (yes, 6 different computers!) I have had the same error, the same crash. I had no luck with Hyperterminal either.
Trying the firmware update (to 4.0.2 - I don't know what it came with as I've never managed to connect) gives me the following:
but nothing more. This leads me to believe that it isn't the USB/Serial adaptors, or the graphics cards but the unit itself (or possibly the cable). I even tried a cable from my EFILive FlashScan V2 in desperation but that didn't work at all (wiring probably different).
Are the MJLJ/E's all tested before they leave the factory or could something be soldered up wrong inside? Don't want to dismantle it for a look as will doubtless void my warranty.
Infuriating - can't believe how much time I've spent on this project so far...
Windows 2000 Professional*
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
SuSE Linux 11.1 (under WINE, plus Minicom)*
Mac OSX Leopard (under WINE and Parallels/WinXP)
* these machines had "proper" serial ports
With EVERY machine (yes, 6 different computers!) I have had the same error, the same crash. I had no luck with Hyperterminal either.
Trying the firmware update (to 4.0.2 - I don't know what it came with as I've never managed to connect) gives me the following:
Code: Select all
Waiting for HC08 reset ACK...received 0xfc (good)Are the MJLJ/E's all tested before they leave the factory or could something be soldered up wrong inside? Don't want to dismantle it for a look as will doubtless void my warranty.
Infuriating - can't believe how much time I've spent on this project so far...
Hello,
Thank you for your patient testing so far, and very sorry you're experiencing this much trouble. I would be frustrated as well, as this is far from the typical user experience!!
Let's see what we can do next.
The Megajolt units are all completely tested before they're shipped- no exceptions! For your unit- aside from PC communication issues, does it actively control the ignition advance on the engine? You can verify this using a timing light. Observing it controlling ignition advance would tell you the unit is basically 'alive' and functioning.
After your extensive testing, it seems the other issue could be the cable. Assuming you purchased the included cable, there is a chance there could be a problem with the DB9 -> RJ11 adapter.
Inside the adapter are color-coded wires, and we've discovered there were very rare occasions where an adapter was built with inconsistent color codes (a flaw from the adapter manufacturer). Since then, we have been testing every adapter after configuration, and not assuming the wire color codes were correct for each adapter.
The firmware flash and Hyperterminal findings point to this as well, since it's an expansion beyond the configuration software.
So- could you take apart the DB9 adapter and check for proper wiring of the adapter? you will want to check continuity from the RJ11 all the way to the correct pin on the adapter:
http://autosportlabs.net/MJLJ_V4_Operat ... rial_Cable
There are only 3 wires to be concerned with- GND, TX and RX.
let us know what you find out and if there's a problem with the cable we will get that resolved ASAP.
Thank you for your patient testing so far, and very sorry you're experiencing this much trouble. I would be frustrated as well, as this is far from the typical user experience!!
Let's see what we can do next.
The Megajolt units are all completely tested before they're shipped- no exceptions! For your unit- aside from PC communication issues, does it actively control the ignition advance on the engine? You can verify this using a timing light. Observing it controlling ignition advance would tell you the unit is basically 'alive' and functioning.
After your extensive testing, it seems the other issue could be the cable. Assuming you purchased the included cable, there is a chance there could be a problem with the DB9 -> RJ11 adapter.
Inside the adapter are color-coded wires, and we've discovered there were very rare occasions where an adapter was built with inconsistent color codes (a flaw from the adapter manufacturer). Since then, we have been testing every adapter after configuration, and not assuming the wire color codes were correct for each adapter.
The firmware flash and Hyperterminal findings point to this as well, since it's an expansion beyond the configuration software.
So- could you take apart the DB9 adapter and check for proper wiring of the adapter? you will want to check continuity from the RJ11 all the way to the correct pin on the adapter:
http://autosportlabs.net/MJLJ_V4_Operat ... rial_Cable
There are only 3 wires to be concerned with- GND, TX and RX.
let us know what you find out and if there's a problem with the cable we will get that resolved ASAP.