Autosport Labs

I've had my MegaJolt installed on my air cooled VW motor for a little more than a year. I have NEVER gotten all the bugs worked out.... Now I have more issues.
The software suddenly stops "talking" to the MegaJolt. I can start the motor and the software will display the RPM etc for about 10-15 secs and then it says it cannot find the port.
I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software and I do not see any improvement.
This is after pulling my hair out over a continuous misfire that I can't explain or eliminate...
I'm real close to going back to a distributor.....
Any suggestions?

Sorry you're experiencing problems.


So we have seen cases where USB to Serial adapters get interference from the ignition system of the vehicle, causing them to 'lock up' and lose signal as you've described.

People have solved this by switching to a different brand USB to Serial adapter (typically a higher quality one), or; physically extending the computer *away* from the engine by using a serial extension cable.

Also, if you have access to a laptop with a real built in serial port where you don't need a USB-Serial adapter that seems to solve these types of problems as well.

Thanks for the info! Because of the other issues I have been having it was recommended to me to switch to a non-resistor spark plug. Perhaps the non-resistor plugs are making enough "noise" to cause a problem. I will switch back and see if that fixes the communication issue.

Oh yes; non resistor plugs can wreak havoc on electronic equipment. you should definitely use those. It's not clear to me in what cases you'd actually *need* non-resistor plugs.

I put the resistor plugs back in and that fixed the problem Thanks Brent!

Excellent! thank you for the update. this will be useful for others in the future.