The ECU yellow LED does not come on

1. The ignition wire does not have 12Volt
2. There is a short on the 5 Volt output from the ECU. The magnetic crank or distributor sensor, TPS and MAP sensor all use this 5 volt. Check the wiring.

The Software does not connect to the ECU with the USB Converter

1. Ensure that the yellow led on the ECU is on. Check the cables are fully inserted.
2. No Driver for this Device installed – The USB converter must have drivers installed in Windows before connecting the cable.
3. Incorrect device settings in the Hyperspace software.
4. Faulty USB converter.
5. Faulty ECU.

The engine does not start for the first time

• Check for error codes. This is always the first place to look and a good indication of the problem.
• Go through the Startup Procedure to ensure ECU operation is correct.
• If you crank the engine and it does not want to start, disconnect the high tension leads at the spark plugs one by one and check for spark on the plugs. Use another sparkplug in the lead and hold the earth onto the engine. If no spark:

1. Check on the laptop and see if there are no errors. Make sure there is 200 rpm while cranking. If not, check the crank or distributor signals. Air gaps of the magnetic sensors to gear may be too large.
2. Check if sensor polarity is correct.
3. Check if the fuel and coil relays pull in at ignition on. If not check that the numbers on the relays are correctly wired. Electronic relays have a LED that will come on at Ignition on.
4. Test if the coils have positive supply +12 Volt when cranking the engine.
5. Test the coil resistance from the relevant connector to see if there is an open circuit.
6. Test the coil to see if it is faulty.
7. If it is distributor type, check the spark at the coil HT pole.

• If there is spark, take out one of the spark plugs. If it is dry it means, there is no fuel. Check for:

1. Check on the laptop and see if there are no errors.
2. Look at the injector milliseconds bar. It should indicate that the ECU is injecting fuel at around 10 milliseconds during cranking.
3. Ensure the fuel pump is running during cranking. If you switch ignition on it should pump for 3 seconds.
4. If it shows zero milliseconds, check the map calibration, TPS calibration, fuel cut off function settings. There should be an error code helping you to identify which control program prevent the injectors from pulsing.
5. Test the fuel pressure by loosening a bolt on the fuel rail somewhere. Hold a rag over the joint to prevent spillage. Keep a fire extinguisher close by.
6. Ensure that the injectors were checked and serviced if the engine stood for a long time.
7. Put your fingers on the injectors and feel if they pulse during cranking.

• If the plugs are wet, it means there is fuel. Check the following:

1. It may be that the start fueling was too much and the plugs were flooded. Dry them and try again. You may also push the throttle in completely and crank the engine till it starts or the plugs becomes dry.
2. It may be that ignition timing is setup incorrectly. Then firing occurs at the wrong time and failing to ignite the fuel mixture. Check the timing setup again for the specific engine.
3. The plugs may be old or dead. Replace.

• If the engine tends to stop cranking suddenly, check the following:

1. It may be that the timing is too fast. Reduce timing by 10 degrees. Add more teeth if a crank gear is used.
2. If there is a magnetic crank or distributor sensor, check that positive and negative wires are not switched around.
3. If more than one coil is used, check for incorrect wiring or firing order.

Engine Backfires during Cranking

• Check for error codes. This is always the first place to look and a good indication of the problem.
• The engine backfires through the intake.

1. Faulty ignition timing or firing order. Check again the timing setup for the specific engine.
2. If there is a magnetic crank or distributor sensor, check that positive and negative wires are not switched around.
3. If more than one coil is used, check for incorrect wiring or firing order.
4. Check if the RPM bar jumps erratic in the PC software. If it does, the gap of the magnetic sensors may be too large or the signal is too weak or interference from the ignition coils.
5. If it is a distributor check rotor phasing and that it is on the correct cylinder at TDC.

• The engine backfires through the exhaust.

1. Too lean fuel mixture. Increase by 10 at a time on the fuel ratio adjuster.
2. Water temperature sensor or compensation map incorrect.
3. Some of the plugs may be old or dead. Replace.

Engine start but it stalls directly afterwards

1. Check for error codes. This is always the first place to look and a good indication of the problem.
2. Check the map sensor in the fuel map field is operating. The olive color bar should be on your altitude pressure value. If not, it may be a calibrating error or faulty wiring.
3. The fuel mixture may be too lean. Try to enrich using the fuel ratio adjuster.
4. The temperature sensor may be faulty causing the cold engine to give a warm signal to the ECU. Thus leaning the mixture out.
5. Incorrect Fuel Cutoff settings. A symptom will be that the milliseconds bar on the real time block will jump to 0.
6. Incorrect Engine Limiter settings

Engine start but is very rich

1. Check the map sensor in the fuel map field is operating. The olive color bar should be on your altitude pressure value. If not, it may be a calibrating error or faulty wiring.
2. The fuel ratio adjuster is set too high. Start with 100%.
3. Check if the water temp sensor is working. If not, it will keep on enriching the mix as if for a cold engine.
4. Some of the plugs may be dead, and then the engine loses manifold vacuum resulting in enriching the other cylinders.
5. Fuel maps tuned too high. Lower the values.
6. Fuel pressure regulator regulates too high. Measure the pressure. It should be between 2.5 and 3.5 bar.

RPM signal very erratic.

1. Check for error codes. This is always the first place to look and a good indication of the problem.
2. Incorrect magnetic trigger polarity.
3. Interference on pickup. See also Precautions.

Engine start but do not rev up

1. Check for error codes. This is always the first place to look and a good indication of the problem.
2. Check the map sensor in the fuel map field is operating and calibrated. The olive color bar should move to the right if the throttle is pressed.
3. Too lean mixture. Try increasing the main jet value.
4. Rev limiter is set too low
5. Check the micro fueling and boost limiter blocks and see if the settings there are correct. A symptom will be that the milliseconds bar on the real time block will jump to 0.
6. The Fuel Cut-Off settings are wrong.
7. Incorrect rotor fazing or timing. Check with a timing light.
8. The magnetic crank or distributor sensor’s negative and positive wires are changed around. The gap may be too large.
9. Fuel pressure or flow rate to low. Dirty fuel filter.
10. Faulty fuel pump.

Idle Control does not work

1. Check if the wiring is correct as indicated on the drawing. If it is an idle valve, make sure the diode is intact. If it is a stepper controller, make sure the sequence is wired correctly. It may try to close instead of open.
2. Faulty TPS setting. Make sure the TPS is calibrated correctly. It must go from 0 to 100% over the full range.
3. Check the idle control settings according to the idle control explanation.
4. Make sure that the throttle position is set correctly at idling. The idle valve can only close as much as this setting.
5. Check if the idle valve or stepper motor is not stuck. The idle valve can be pulsed with 12Volt to see if it opens and the stepper normally vibrates when the ignition is switched on. It may still be stuck even if it vibrates. So take the stepper off and see if it opens.
6. If the blue LED on the stepper idle controller is constantly on during idle, it means that the idle computer does not receive the RPM pulse from the ECU. Recheck the wiring.
7. If the blue LED on the idle controller flash it means that the idle computer tries to adjust the RPM but nothing happens. The idle motor itself is sticky or wired incorrectly. Open it up and clean and lubricate. With the long shipment on ships it corrodes on the inside. The wiring to the idle motor may be incorrect. The airway of the idle motor is blocked.

The Automatic transmission does not shift

1. Connect to the TCU and see if the TPS and RPM signals are present. If not, ensure the correct wiring connections between the TCU and ECU are correct.
2. See the relevant TCU manual for information.

Spark plugs does not last

1. Fuel mixture too rich.
2. Wrong temperature plugs.
3. Charge time too long. Reduce the time.

Flat Spot when accelerating

1. Another vacuum line tied into the Map sensor line.
2. Restricted vacuum line.
3. Vacuum line too long.
4. Too small port for Map sensor on intake manifold.
5. Incorrect fuel setting of maps or accelerator pump.

Engine lack power, idle erratic, or runs lean

1. The fuel pressure is erratic. This may be due to the pump sucking air on the in feed which causes cavitation and loss of pressure. This happens more frequent when the engine is hot.
2. Injector positive is wired incorrectly. It does not have its own supply direct from the battery via relay 1.
3. Incorrect setting of fuel maps.
4. Fuel pressure or flow rate to low. Dirty fuel filter.
5. Faulty fuel pump.

ECU cuts and start erratic or randomly during driving – See Electrical Interference