Mem cal chip installation
Discussion
I got my new Moto-Concept mem cal chip today. The instructions on Sanj's site look good, except for one question. He mentions (and so does the pictures that came with it) you have to solder something?????????
Does the new chip get soldered to the blank chip it goes into?
Does the combined two together (unsoldered) get soldered to the circuit board they go into?
I did not sent them my old chip, they gave me a whole new one and a blank chip, if this helps any. Thanks.
Mike
>>> Edited by Skerd on Friday 4th October 01:00
Does the new chip get soldered to the blank chip it goes into?
Does the combined two together (unsoldered) get soldered to the circuit board they go into?
I did not sent them my old chip, they gave me a whole new one and a blank chip, if this helps any. Thanks.
Mike
>>> Edited by Skerd on Friday 4th October 01:00
Depends on what you have. In Sanj's site the memcal is the blue module that fits into a socket on the ECM. If you have gotten the chip only and perhaps a socket that the chip fits into you will have to desolder the exisiting chip from the memcal and solder in the socket then snap the chip into the socket then reinstall the memcal. You will need considerable skill with an iron and solder vac pump or wick. Solder/de-solder station is the prefered equipment or a plasma solder staion to de-solder the old chip then solder in the new chip. Fortunately I am a partner in an electronics company with access to such equipment. It is possible to desolder with a sucker or wick the solder out but you must not overheat the original chip when de-soldering or permenent damage may occur to the original chip. Hopefully you have bought the chip alrady installed in the memcal ready to be plugged into ECM. Sorry you are having such a hard time with things lately.
Calvin
Calvin
Calvin:
I am confused (surprise).
You mentioned three separate pieces that need to be installed: chip, socket, and mem cal. I only received two pieces?
Your last sentence said "hopefully you bought the chip already installed in the memcal ready to be plugged into the ECM." Since I only have two pieces, I guess I did, so is soldering still necessary?
Could an electronics place do the soldering?
Is the soldering just to hold it in securely? Is this absolutely necessary?
Thanks.
I am confused (surprise).
You mentioned three separate pieces that need to be installed: chip, socket, and mem cal. I only received two pieces?
Your last sentence said "hopefully you bought the chip already installed in the memcal ready to be plugged into the ECM." Since I only have two pieces, I guess I did, so is soldering still necessary?
Could an electronics place do the soldering?
Is the soldering just to hold it in securely? Is this absolutely necessary?
Thanks.
The ECM is the engine management computer.
The Memcal is the module that plugs into the computer that holds the actual chip and in the original configuration the chip is soldered in place in the memcal module.
The chip socket is soldered in place of the original chip which first must be de-soldered and removed. It is not nessesary to have this chip socket installed. The new chip maybe soldered in as was the original. It is advised that you do use the socket as it will facilitate future chip programming and/or replacement. Once the the socket is installed carefully align the legs or pins of the socket and press in to seat the chip. Once that is done replace the memcal in the ECM and you are set to go. Save old chip for reprogamming purposes. Also there are rumors of a new type of chip out there with two maps it. An a/b switch is wired to the drivers compartment and when activated can switch between the two maps. One map will cut the turbo boost for valet purposes and the other map as normal. Another option would be economy/performance race maps. I would be very interested in this type of chip if it is now available.
Calvin
The Memcal is the module that plugs into the computer that holds the actual chip and in the original configuration the chip is soldered in place in the memcal module.
The chip socket is soldered in place of the original chip which first must be de-soldered and removed. It is not nessesary to have this chip socket installed. The new chip maybe soldered in as was the original. It is advised that you do use the socket as it will facilitate future chip programming and/or replacement. Once the the socket is installed carefully align the legs or pins of the socket and press in to seat the chip. Once that is done replace the memcal in the ECM and you are set to go. Save old chip for reprogamming purposes. Also there are rumors of a new type of chip out there with two maps it. An a/b switch is wired to the drivers compartment and when activated can switch between the two maps. One map will cut the turbo boost for valet purposes and the other map as normal. Another option would be economy/performance race maps. I would be very interested in this type of chip if it is now available.
Calvin
Forgot to answer your other question. Yes a professional electronics firm should have an commercial solder/de-solder station and not just an iron plugged into the wall unless he is very skilled and used to working and removing chips out of boards. Common mistake is an iron too cold and left to heat the solder to liquify it. A hot iron for a fast heat to liquify and then introduce a rush of vacumum air to remove the solder and cool the electronic component is sometimes critial in chip replacemnt.
Calvin
Calvin
Calvin:
Thanks again. It makes sense now. Marcus also e-mailed me some pictures with good detail. The problem was I thought the OEM chip was also pushed inside of a blank chip(unsoldered), and THAT blank chip was soldered to the memcal module. I thought I could just pull out the old and push in the new, but I guess not.
So I guess cutting off the 28 "legs" of the original chip is unavoidable. It doesn't hurt the OEM chip brain part itself, and they can be put back on, right?
Mike
Thanks again. It makes sense now. Marcus also e-mailed me some pictures with good detail. The problem was I thought the OEM chip was also pushed inside of a blank chip(unsoldered), and THAT blank chip was soldered to the memcal module. I thought I could just pull out the old and push in the new, but I guess not.
So I guess cutting off the 28 "legs" of the original chip is unavoidable. It doesn't hurt the OEM chip brain part itself, and they can be put back on, right?
Mike
It is for a 1995 S4s. I guess you removed yor memcal and had it sent to Sanj to be updated, right? You did it the way I now know I should have. You can in fact just screw that into the ecm.....because he already did the soldering!! Stupid me, I thought getting a new chip (and still having the old one for emergencies) would be easier. So instead of paying around $ 225 which I think you did, I paid
$ 700 AND GET TO DO ALL THE WORK!!
AArrgghhh.
Mike
>> Edited by Skerd on Sunday 6th October 00:18
$ 700 AND GET TO DO ALL THE WORK!!
AArrgghhh.
Mike
>> Edited by Skerd on Sunday 6th October 00:18
Oh dear that was not a good price. I had found out at LOG the John Welch has a stock pile of S4s MK. V chips already soldered in spare memcals for just $250 and you get to keep the old chip as a spare. Did not realize that Marcus was selling his for that much. Unless you got the new modified ones that I have been hearing of with Andy's new program that cut's the turbo in at 2K rpm and lower radiator fan turn on. If you take the memcal to a shop vac/desilder staion they should be able to suck the solder out without cutting the legs. Also have them install a socket for future updates.
Calvin
Calvin
I'm still puzzled as to why you have to do any soldering... I took the MEMCAL off the ECM. It was at the bottom. Then I removed it from the socket and mailed it to Sanj. You said that Marcus sold you a MEMCAL that is soldered? Why would he do that, if it's going into an S4s? The MEMCAL are socketed on the S4s. I paid $400 for the MOTO Concept 330HP MEMCAL upgrade from Sanj. Sanj offered to sell me the MEMCAL for $300 + 400 for the code, so that's in line with what you paid -- since you didn't want to send in your core. I may get another core later and put the original code in it, in case I have problems with smog checks. For me, the MEMCAL is a worthy upgrade. The car is so much faster, and boost comes on earlier and full boost at 1.25 (Freescan verified).
emiller1:
Now I am confused! You said "the MEMCAL are socketed on the S4s". That would be great news. Keep in mind I have never seen the ECM out of the car, but I thought the MEMCAL (EPROM chip really) itself was soldered directly to the piece it attaches to when the car was originally built. If you are telling me you can just pull out the old chip and push in a new one (because there IS a blank socket already there) that would be great news. Let me know.
Do you notice any other changes in your car besides the 30 more hp? Things like smoother idle, improved tractability, more power down low or is it mostly higher up, etc. Any downsides?
If you fail the smog test, I could loan you my originaly chip, since hopefully I should have two when this is all said and done.
Mike
Now I am confused! You said "the MEMCAL are socketed on the S4s". That would be great news. Keep in mind I have never seen the ECM out of the car, but I thought the MEMCAL (EPROM chip really) itself was soldered directly to the piece it attaches to when the car was originally built. If you are telling me you can just pull out the old chip and push in a new one (because there IS a blank socket already there) that would be great news. Let me know.
Do you notice any other changes in your car besides the 30 more hp? Things like smoother idle, improved tractability, more power down low or is it mostly higher up, etc. Any downsides?
If you fail the smog test, I could loan you my originaly chip, since hopefully I should have two when this is all said and done.
Mike
Skerd,
There seems to be some confusion on what the memcal is. The memcal is usually in a blue colored holder with a chip soldered in place. When you buy the chip or upgrade from Sanj he desolders the original chip and installs a socket that the actual chip pushes into. With the socket installed to replace the chip from that point on one uses a small screw driver to carefully pry up the chip from the socket and a replacement pushed back it after a aligning the legs to the socket. If you have the tools a chip extractor and insertion tool would be nice but not nesessary. The blue memcal module then plugs into the ECM (the management computer). If you buy the chip you must do the work yourself. Send it to Sanj and tell him your story. He is a good guy and might take pity on you. In any case he is a fellow enthusist and really tries to keep costs to a minimum. The plug in is really easy, consider doing it yourself. I must give you an A+ for dedication. For all the money you have spent on your car.
Calvin 90 SE
There seems to be some confusion on what the memcal is. The memcal is usually in a blue colored holder with a chip soldered in place. When you buy the chip or upgrade from Sanj he desolders the original chip and installs a socket that the actual chip pushes into. With the socket installed to replace the chip from that point on one uses a small screw driver to carefully pry up the chip from the socket and a replacement pushed back it after a aligning the legs to the socket. If you have the tools a chip extractor and insertion tool would be nice but not nesessary. The blue memcal module then plugs into the ECM (the management computer). If you buy the chip you must do the work yourself. Send it to Sanj and tell him your story. He is a good guy and might take pity on you. In any case he is a fellow enthusist and really tries to keep costs to a minimum. The plug in is really easy, consider doing it yourself. I must give you an A+ for dedication. For all the money you have spent on your car.
Calvin 90 SE
The MEMCAL is a blue blank with an EPROM soldered to it. What you must do is simply plug in the blue MEMCAL into the socket located at the bottom of the ECM. If you received the blue MEMCAL with the upgraded EPROM installed, then you simply remove the old blue MEMCAL from the socket and insert the new one. The procedure is simple. No soldering required. Did the MEMCAL you received have the upgraded EPROM installed in it? For the price you paid, I'm sure it did....but you never know.
The Moto-Concept 330 hp MEMCAL upgrade did improve drivability in the lower end, but mostly boost comes on sooner, in fact, once the temperature reaches the magic threshold (82 degrees -- I think), then I get full boost all the time at will... the car is certainly more responsive. I also find myself shifting to 5th gear w/o having to downshift. Fifth gear has more torque and it pull hard all the way. I think you will be very pleased with the difference. The only downside that I can see is the clutch. Given that the Lotus components have a built-in failure points, the clutch will probably wear out sooner. I have been trying not to drive overly agreesive, to extend the life of the clutch. When my clutch finally goes, I will certainly try and get an upgraded version next time...
Mike,
Just to add a bit here to what has already been fairly thoroughly done.
You said, "but I thought the MEMCAL (EPROM chip really)"
The MEMCAL is not just the EPROM, it has more circuitry plus the EPROM. Also, the blank EPROM I think you are referring to would be called a DIP (dual inline) socket.
I asked Sanj to send me the low profile DIP socket, which he uses, for me to install the new S4s chip into my SE Esprit MEMCAL, since I have a soldering station and years experience at it. He said he cuts the pins to the old EPROM, then desolders them one at a time. The socket is not only low profile, but is a surface mount type socket. He found this easier/better to use than a standard pin-type socket.
He also provided the backup SE EPROM, since I'd be cutting off my pins to desolder the old one.
All three... the S4s EPROM, backup 91SE EPROM and low profile DIP socket including shipping was $65. I didn't get the motoconcept EPROM... not yet anyway, because it's so much more expensive, but once I put the socket in there, I can switch EPROM's at will. It sounds good though.
Also, great care should also be taken to avoid static electricity discharges to the circuit board or pins when handling the MEMCAL and EPROM.
Mark
Just to add a bit here to what has already been fairly thoroughly done.
You said, "but I thought the MEMCAL (EPROM chip really)"
The MEMCAL is not just the EPROM, it has more circuitry plus the EPROM. Also, the blank EPROM I think you are referring to would be called a DIP (dual inline) socket.
I asked Sanj to send me the low profile DIP socket, which he uses, for me to install the new S4s chip into my SE Esprit MEMCAL, since I have a soldering station and years experience at it. He said he cuts the pins to the old EPROM, then desolders them one at a time. The socket is not only low profile, but is a surface mount type socket. He found this easier/better to use than a standard pin-type socket.
He also provided the backup SE EPROM, since I'd be cutting off my pins to desolder the old one.
All three... the S4s EPROM, backup 91SE EPROM and low profile DIP socket including shipping was $65. I didn't get the motoconcept EPROM... not yet anyway, because it's so much more expensive, but once I put the socket in there, I can switch EPROM's at will. It sounds good though.
Also, great care should also be taken to avoid static electricity discharges to the circuit board or pins when handling the MEMCAL and EPROM.
Mark
emiller - I did not recieve the memcal from Moto-Concept. I paid over $ 700 for ONE EPROM CHIP, NOT THE BLUE THING. Hence the problem, getting the chip soldered to the memcal.
Mark - $ 65 for verything!!!!!!!!!!!!
By the time I add in my Lotus dealer removal/send to Georgia to solder new chip/Lotus dealer reinstall costs, I would say I will be around $ 1,500.
If I could get out my ECM I could send back the chip I paid for, send my memcal to Sanj, and let him do it.
I said if.
Mark - $ 65 for verything!!!!!!!!!!!!
By the time I add in my Lotus dealer removal/send to Georgia to solder new chip/Lotus dealer reinstall costs, I would say I will be around $ 1,500.
If I could get out my ECM I could send back the chip I paid for, send my memcal to Sanj, and let him do it.
I said if.
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