Help for my ECU headache

[SaigonR8]

Boys and girls, I have a major problem and I am looking for some expert advice.

My beautiful R8 now has a gorgeous TT system plumbed in and is, from a hardware perspective, ready to roll. The problem is that the ECU re-mapping was a screw up and I received corrupted files for my slave ECU - I suspect because the internet was not stable during the transfer process. In an interesting oversight, the tuner did not keep the original maps on their server in the U.S. so I cannot re-map back to original and start again. To compound the pain, my local Audi dealer is unwilling to re-flash the original maps back onto the ECUs so that I can re-start the process - unless I allow them to first remove the entire TT system. Jokers.

My questions are thus :

(1) Can anyone recommend a more client-friendly Audi dealer in the U.S. that I might be able to have a more sensible discussion with ?
(2) Can anyone recommend an ECU tuner in the U.S. that I can Fedex my ECUs to so that I can have this done onsite rather than relying on the vagaries of the internet for the flashing process ?
(3) Is there another solution that I am missing ?

In the meantime I shall look sadly at the pictures of the hardware additions and dream about the day when it will run as the literature promises.

[RS4Cab]

My car had APR tune when I brought in for Stasis Supercharger install. The Stasis software would not work over the APR and car had to be brought back to stock. The dealer cannot do without first contacting Audi in Germany, could you try contacting Audi yourself? Anyway that seems like really sucky service from your dealer.

[SaigonR8]

And once the dealer had re-set to the stock maps ? Who did the performance mapping ? Yes, I have contacted Audi AG to see if they can be more useful than the local rep. Assuming that works, it still leaves me with the need to have the ECU's performance mapped for the new hardware.

[RS4Cab]

They found this problem on a Saturday so Audi AG was not open and they told me they would have to wait till Monday to flash back to stock. The Stasis Tech could not wait around, the Stasis map had to be done on the bench anyways so after they got ECU's back to stock they overnighted them to Stasis to be done. ECU's come out with just a couple screws so guess you could send to whoever is mapping for you? The way dealer worked with stasis was one of the pluses going the Stasis way

[Heffner Performance]

Hi Damian,

I sent a couple of e mails to you and Joe to see when someone will be available to work on the car. Please give me a call when you get going today.

[M3R8]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, and I hope you get it resolved real soon.

From a technical perspective, it should not matter how crappy your internet connection is, because data of vital importance where a single flipped bit would cause trouble (unlike a random video, or music file, or maybe even a text document), such as ECU or firmware code should be checked, and double checked, using a standard hash function to verify that it came through A-OK, before it is flashed to a piece of hardware. If this is not done, then it's a sad oversight on part of whomever wrote this software and... for such an oversight they should pay with their job

Boys and girls, I have a major problem and I am looking for some expert advice.

My beautiful R8 now has a gorgeous TT system plumbed in and is, from a hardware perspective, ready to roll. The problem is that the ECU re-mapping was a screw up and I received corrupted files for my slave ECU - I suspect because the internet was not stable during the transfer process. In an interesting oversight, the tuner did not keep the original maps on their server in the U.S. so I cannot re-map back to original and start again. To compound the pain, my local Audi dealer is unwilling to re-flash the original maps back onto the ECUs so that I can re-start the process - unless I allow them to first remove the entire TT system. Jokers.

My questions are thus :

(1) Can anyone recommend a more client-friendly Audi dealer in the U.S. that I might be able to have a more sensible discussion with ?
(2) Can anyone recommend an ECU tuner in the U.S. that I can Fedex my ECUs to so that I can have this done onsite rather than relying on the vagaries of the internet for the flashing process ?
(3) Is there another solution that I am missing ?

In the meantime I shall look sadly at the pictures of the hardware additions and dream about the day when it will run as the literature promises.

[SaigonR8]

I appreciate the responses. Moral of the story is you have to keep swimming against the tide of mediocrity and never accept anything less than the best. And it was precisely that kind of thinking that landed me in this dilemma in the first place. Oh well. Onwards and upwards. Once things are resolved and all systems are go I shall pop the corks and post a video ..

[DxbR8]

Saigon, i hate to be the messenger with the bad news, but it seems that most likely you have bricked your ecu while flashing the map sent to you into your car. Bricking the ecu can occur due to several reasons, but the most popular causes are maps that are not compatible with ecu rom of different markets (ie USDM vs EDM vs GCC spec ecu roms)...another popular cause of bricking the ecu is the interruption of the flashing process.
The only cure that i know off from my experience with GTRs,Porsches and Evos is to bench flash the STOCK OEM rom back into the ecu and start over again..make sure you do not reflash the corrupted file into your car again and make sure your tuner sends you a revised tune.

hope this helps if any..

[SaigonR8]

Hello DxbR8

Not sure what 'bricked my ECU' means, but if it results in a host of error messages, which include non-communication between the master and slave then yes, that is indeed what we have.

To avoid a repeat of the previous problems I am sending the ECUs direct to the tuner so that at least removes any variability from file transfer process.

I have two questions for you, if you wouldn't mind :
(1) If an incompatible map (eg Euro version ) has been inadvertently flashed onto a US version ECU, can it be reset by the tuner or can this only be done by the manufacturer ?

(2) Can any damage be done to the ECU itself by flashing the wrong set of maps, thus necessitating a new ECU or is this just a matter of lines of code and thus a re-programming of the hardware ? <The reason that I ask what may be a very stupid question is that the local Audi dealer tried to convince me that this was the case. While I suspect that this is more a case of ignorance than intentional foul play it is rather irritating if it is completely untrue>

Saigon, i hate to be the messenger with the bad news, but it seems that most likely you have bricked your ecu while flashing the map sent to you into your car. Bricking the ecu can occur due to several reasons, but the most popular causes are maps that are not compatible with ecu rom of different markets (ie USDM vs EDM vs GCC spec ecu roms)...another popular cause of bricking the ecu is the interruption of the flashing process.
The only cure that i know off from my experience with GTRs,Porsches and Evos is to bench flash the STOCK OEM rom back into the ecu and start over again..make sure you do not reflash the corrupted file into your car again and make sure your tuner sends you a revised tune.

hope this helps if any..

[Sales@EPL]

Saigon, i hate to be the messenger with the bad news, but it seems that most likely you have bricked your ecu while flashing the map sent to you into your car. Bricking the ecu can occur due to several reasons, but the most popular causes are maps that are not compatible with ecu rom of different markets (ie USDM vs EDM vs GCC spec ecu roms)...another popular cause of bricking the ecu is the interruption of the flashing process.
The only cure that i know off from my experience with GTRs,Porsches and Evos is to bench flash the STOCK OEM rom back into the ecu and start over again..make sure you do not reflash the corrupted file into your car again and make sure your tuner sends you a revised tune.

hope this helps if any..

The ecu's are not bricked. Both still communicate, both still flash. The map that was loaded was built from the file that was extracted from these stock ecu's.

The ecu's will be in route Monday for repair and Im confident that this will be addressed quickly.