PCIII not communicating

DailyCommuter · May 21, 2009

I installed it. I know its installed right. I've seen references to the not communicating problem but no real answers. Anyone know what the deal is with these things

ignition on or off?

kill switch on or off?

it is plugged into my usb on the lap top.

plugged in a 9V battery.

1 green light on the display face of the pcIII, (no idea what that means)

start the software and in the upper corner, it says

so what am I doing wrong.

I want to do the firmware update on the unit, and load a custom map, I haven't been able to do either.... :angry2: I don't get it.

cant even find any good directions to read anywhere. Help. I need to ride this with the new full Holeshot exhaust Its killing me sitting here in techno hell!

UselessPickles · May 21, 2009

While doing the firmware upgrade, your only option is the 9v battery. When using the 9v batter for power, leave the bike off and be sure to use a fresh battery (you do NOT want the battery to run low in the middle of an update).

When simply getting/sending the map, you can power the PCIII with the bike. The bike must be running. The PCIII receives power for a second or 2 when you turn the ignition on while the bike does it little startup tests (when the tach and speedo needles sweep, etc), but then quickly loses power until the bike is started.

If that doesn't help you, then the best thing to do is call DynoJet for technical support at 800-992-4993. Worst case is that they determine that the firmware is corrupt and you need to get it re-flashed. This happened to me after trying to do a firmware upgrade while the PCIII was powered by my running bike. While the new firmware was getting installed, the PCIII quit doing its job (can't run while its firmware is in a transient state), so the bike stalled and the PCIII lost power with an incomplete firmware upgrade. At that point, you can either find a local shop with the capability to re-flash a PCIII, or send it to DynoJet and they'll fix it and send it back.

When I called around to find a shop to fix my PCIII, most of them had no idea what I was talking about. They thought I just needed my map re-loaded. They could not understand that my PCIII was NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE COMPUTER so you can't just load a fresh map on it. So, if it comes to this, just make sure you clearly communicate what you need done before making a trip out to a shop that will just plug a laptop into your PCIII and say, "Sorry, I can't load the map onto it. It says the PCIII isn't communicating."

Good luck!

DailyCommuter · May 21, 2009

Thanks. You were one of 3 people I hoped would reply to this.

08FJR4ME · May 21, 2009

DailyCommuter said:
Thanks. You were one of 3 people I hoped would reply to this.

I could reply but it wouldn't be any help. :blink:

I am just running the stock map and left it at that. Good luck, hope it works out. Just post up some dumb *** question and you'll get plenty of help quick. especially on Fridays.

Just sayin.

Dave,

DailyCommuter · May 21, 2009

I don't know why but no matter what This POS won't communicate with my laptop. VERY DISAPPOINTING. I hate technology, it never works first try out of the box. There is always some ******** to make it work right, no matter what it is :angry2: .

Take exhaust parts for example. I got Dale's headers today. I took them out of the box bolted them on, and they work, No ******** involved.

The PCIII on the otherhand, take it out of the box, Install the software, update the software, download the firmware upgrade, install the PCIII in the bike, plug in the 9V battery, No communicate. Try to upgrade the firmware, No communicate. try to view the installed map that came with this thing, No communicate. WTF. Forgive the rant, But why the hell can't **** JUST FUKIN WORK?!? Now I'll have to spend 3 hours on the phone tomorrow with support. No I'm gonna have to uninstall the thing from the bike, take it somewhere, have them **** it up worse and then finally send it back to Dynojet Research and have them say I did something wrong and they can't fix it. ARRRRG!

Lots of people here have PCIII's right? I mean there was a group buy. So I know people have 'em. am I the only one that had this problem or did anyone else have the problem?

Pickles problem sounds similar, but this is right out of the box ****** up.

OH well My HOLESHOT system sound awesome. Think I'll go for a 11 PM ride now and pisssome people off, That'll make me feel better.. :devil: Be back in a while.....

HotRodZilla · May 21, 2009

Not to be a *******, but did you download the DynoJet software so your computer could run it? They usually work pretty well. I never had any problems with mine, and the three guys I have installed one for have not had any issues either. Don't sweat calling their techinal support. They answer the phone quick and have fast answers too. Its not as bad as you think.

Edit: Duh...Looking back at your post, you obviously loaded the DJ software or you would not have the map screen. I still bet its something simple.

UselessPickles · May 21, 2009

I just thought of this when replying to your PM: If the bike will start up and run with the PCIII installed, then the firmware is not corrupt. When my firmware was corrupt, the bike would not start up at all.

Did you ever hook the PCIII up to the computer with a 9v battery before installing it on the bike with any success, or has it always been "not communicating"?

If the bike runs with it installed, and it has never communicated successfully, then it's probably a Windows driver compatibility issue. If that's the case, it's impossible to know, but it could be Micro$oft's fault. Either way, DynoJet should be able to help you solve the problem and then you can forgive them (DynoJet; not M$... I will never forgive M$ for Internet Explorer).

08FJR4ME · May 21, 2009

DailyCommuter said:
I don't know why but no matter what This POS won't communicate with my laptop. VERY DISAPPOINTING. I hate technology, it never works first try out of the box. There is always some ******** to make it work right, no matter what it is :angry2: .Take exhaust parts for example. I got Dale's headers today. I took them out of the box bolted them on, and they work, No ******** involved.

The PCIII on the otherhand, take it out of the box, Install the software, update the software, download the firmware upgrade, install the PCIII in the bike, plug in the 9V battery, No communicate. Try to upgrade the firmware, No communicate. try to view the installed map that came with this thing, No communicate. WTF. Forgive the rant, But why the hell can't **** JUST FUKIN WORK?!? Now I'll have to spend 3 hours on the phone tomorrow with support. No I'm gonna have to uninstall the thing from the bike, take it somewhere, have them **** it up worse and then finally send it back to Dynojet Research and have them say I did something wrong and they can't fix it. ARRRRG!

Lots of people here have PCIII's right? I mean there was a group buy. So I know people have 'em. am I the only one that had this problem or did anyone else have the problem?

Pickles problem sounds similar, but this is right out of the box ****** up.

OH well My HOLESHOT system sound awesome. Think I'll go for a 11 PM ride now and pisssome people off, That'll make me feel better.. :devil: Be back in a while.....

The ride will be good therapy, works for me. Simular situation for me today also. Printer **** the bed this morning at work. Sooooooooooo i get another one. Load the software according to the directions then plug the USB cabel in when it says to walah! right? Install successful reboot! :glare:

6 hrs later she still no worky! I did a google search on the error message and guess what? Many others have had the same problem but no real fix other than a total re-install of software. I am ussually pretty good with computors but windows really sucks now! My old NT4.0 PC runs like a swiss clock. Not fast but dam reliable.

Tomorrow= total rebuild of pc.

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

UselessPickles said:
I just thought of this when replying to your PM: If the bike will start up and run with the PCIII installed, then the firmware is not corrupt. When my firmware was corrupt, the bike would not start up at all.
Did you ever hook the PCIII up to the computer with a 9v battery before installing it on the bike with any success, or has it always been "not communicating"?

If the bike runs with it installed, and it has never communicated successfully, then it's probably a Windows driver compatibility issue. If that's the case, it's impossible to know, but it could be Micro$oft's fault. Either way, DynoJet should be able to help you solve the problem and then you can forgive them (DynoJet; not M$... I will never forgive M$ for Internet Explorer).

I tried hooking it up before I installed it in the bike and it never communicated, Though when I plug the usb cable into my laptop, it acts as though it is installing the hard ware an says it is installed and ready to use. Never communicated though

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

08FJR4ME said:
DailyCommuter said:

I don't know why but no matter what This POS won't communicate with my laptop. VERY DISAPPOINTING. I hate technology, it never works first try out of the box. There is always some ******** to make it work right, no matter what it is :angry2: .Take exhaust parts for example. I got Dale's headers today. I took them out of the box bolted them on, and they work, No ******** involved.

The PCIII on the otherhand, take it out of the box, Install the software, update the software, download the firmware upgrade, install the PCIII in the bike, plug in the 9V battery, No communicate. Try to upgrade the firmware, No communicate. try to view the installed map that came with this thing, No communicate. WTF. Forgive the rant, But why the hell can't **** JUST FUKIN WORK?!? Now I'll have to spend 3 hours on the phone tomorrow with support. No I'm gonna have to uninstall the thing from the bike, take it somewhere, have them **** it up worse and then finally send it back to Dynojet Research and have them say I did something wrong and they can't fix it. ARRRRG!

Lots of people here have PCIII's right? I mean there was a group buy. So I know people have 'em. am I the only one that had this problem or did anyone else have the problem?

Pickles problem sounds similar, but this is right out of the box ****** up.

OH well My HOLESHOT system sound awesome. Think I'll go for a 11 PM ride now and pisssome people off, That'll make me feel better.. :devil: Be back in a while.....

Click to expand...

The ride will be good therapy, works for me. Simular situation for me today also. Printer **** the bed this morning at work. Sooooooooooo i get another one. Load the software according to the directions then plug the USB cabel in when it says to walah! right? Install successful reboot! :glare:

6 hrs later she still no worky! I did a google search on the error message and guess what? Many others have had the same problem but no real fix other than a total re-install of software. I am ussually pretty good with computors but windows really sucks now! My old NT4.0 PC runs like a swiss clock. Not fast but dam reliable.

Tomorrow= total rebuild of pc.

That's what I mean , Computers in general, SUCK, I'm sure it is a windows related problem, Always is....,

You were right. The ride was good therapy. Very nice sound from my bike. Very loud, and the stock map in the PCIII doesn't do the holeshot full system justice either. I hope that Dynojet will have an easy, or quick answer(fix) for me tomorrow.

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

HotRodZilla said:
Not to be a *******, but did you download the DynoJet software so your computer could run it? They usually work pretty well. I never had any problems with mine, and the three guys I have installed one for have not had any issues either. Don't sweat calling their techinal support. They answer the phone quick and have fast answers too. Its not as bad as you think.
Edit: Duh...Looking back at your post, you obviously loaded the DJ software or you would not have the map screen. I still bet its something simple.

Did you update the firmware for them? Did you load any custom maps onto the PCIII? I have the PCIII installed and is up and running fine with the stock map, My problem is getting the Laptop to communicate with the PCIII. Just for ***** and grins this AM I tried a different laptop to see if it was just mine. Same thing with the other one, no communicate. GRRRRRR

Mississippi · May 22, 2009

When I first installed my PCIII...same thing...would not communicate no matter what I tried. Finally figured out that it was the the USB cable that came with the unit...it was bad. Got a new cable and worked perfectly.

Also.....you have to have a good, FRESH battery......have seen this problem before. The PCIII will eat a battery pretty fast...I have to use a brand new one every time in order to get it to work. A slightly used battery will just not work for my unit

Good Luck

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

Mississippi said:
When I first installed my PCIII...same thing...would not communicate no matter what I tried. Finally figured out that it was the the USB cable that came with the unit...it was bad. Got a new cable and worked perfectly.
Also.....you have to have a good, FRESH battery......have seen this problem before. The PCIII will eat a battery pretty fast...I have to use a brand new one every time in order to get it to work. A slightly used battery will just not work for my unit

Good Luck

I'll try the cable, But the battery Is brand new.(was),

Also when the bike is running, is the little green light on the pcIII face supposed to do anything, because mine just sits there, One light lit. that's it?

And on a side note. A frigging battery. This is a $300.00 device. are you kidding me that there isn't a simple 9v AC adapter for it? How stupid is that. You have to play beat the clock with the thing on a battery before the battery dies and hope that you finish. gimme a break.

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

Nope tried a different cable, same thing. Does anyone know where in the hardware list in windows this device should appear. Like My Computer/properties/hardware/device manager/then what? what category. Mine seems to appear in the list of Human Interface device, like where your mouse and keyboard would be? I still think this thing is defective. Before I even installed it on the bike, tried connecting to the pc with 9V power, and it wouldn't communicate then, that was way beforeI even had a chance of screwing it up! Las Vegas should be on East Coast Time so I can call Tech Support. The city never sleeps there anyway.

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

well its after 8:00 AM Nevada time. I'm not too happy with the tech support I got. He ran me through all the same **** people on this and other forum had done already. Nothing new. No try this driver, or "oh yeah, All you need to do is this...", Nope I got a 0 help, nothing I can do and here is your Return Auth. #.

So let's see on a Fri. before a long weekend, I ship it to them at my expense. they get it by Tuesday if I spend big dough on shipping. 2 days in house to analyze and repare/relplace. reg. ground ups coming back to me,4-5 days he (DynoJet Guy) says transit time.. That's let me see 5/22 today.. Tuesday 5/26 they get it. Thusday 5/28 they send back. + Four to Five business days return ship to me. That means the earliest I get this back is June 3rd or 4th. 12-14 days to get a brand new PCIII replaced. Real nice. Thanks Dynojet Research. :finger: Outstanding Customer Service. :finger: Someone whether its DynoJet, Or Bike Effects, or Jeff's Distributor should be priority Mailing a brand new unit to me Overnight so I get it on Saturday. So far I'm waiting to see what Jeff's distributor is going to do. Hoping for something good here, Or I am going to be an unhappy camper.

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

Well, This doesn't have a good ending. Jeff tried and can't help. He doesn't have one in stock and neither does his distributor. So that leaves me with the above end which is 2 frigging weeks with no bike. I can't even begin to describe how pissed I am. I should have left well enough alone and not got into this modification ********. Farkles are one thing. Altering performance is another. I'm DONE! Over the last couple weeks I've spent in excess of $1600.00 on performance stuff, The only thing it gained me was some nice pictures, Hours of quality time in the garage wrenching, and losing my bike on a beautiful holiday weekend for riding. I know two weeks from now when I get this thing squared awy, I'll love everyone and everything FJR again, but for now.

[SIZE=36pt] :angry: ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG. :angry: [/SIZE]

ionbeam · May 22, 2009

It sounds like there is a problem with either the battery coupler or the battery. Can you check the battery connector at the PCIII with a DMM and confirm that you are getting 9 volts to the pins of the PCIII? Are you sure the USB port of your laptop is good? I know you have swapped the USB tcable and it did no good.

The Power Commander software says "Serial: N/A" at the top right hand corner of the screen and does not show any serial numbers or "TP" readings.

Answer: The Power Commander USB needs to be powered up by either the bike or a brand new 9 volt battery via the battery adapter. If the unit is not powered up, the computer will only see a USB device being plugged in, but will not allow the software to communicate. If a battery has been plugged in for around 5 minutes, it may be too low on power to allow good communication.

I am trying to communicate with my PCIIIusb using the supplied 9 volt adapter, but the computer does not see it. What should I check?

A low battery will keep the PCIIIusb from communicating. The PCIIIusb can quickly drain (about 20 minutes of use) a new battery, so make sure to not leave it plugged in longer than necessary. Also, make sure the cable is pushed all the way into the PCIIIusb’s port. Sometimes the connector needs a fair amount of pressure to fully seat it.

zenwhipper · May 22, 2009

DailyCommuter said:
Well, This doesn't have a good ending. Jeff tried and can't help. He doesn't have one in stock and neither does his distributor. So that leaves me with the above end which is 2 frigging weeks with no bike. I can't even begin to describe how pissed I am. I should have left well enough alone and not got into this modification ********. Farkles are one thing. Altering performance is another. I'm DONE! Over the last couple weeks I've spent in excess of $1600.00 on performance stuff, The only thing it gained me was some nice pictures, Hours of quality time in the garage wrenching, and losing my bike on a beautiful holiday weekend for riding. I know two weeks from now when I get this thing squared awy, I'll love everyone and everything FJR again, but for now. [SIZE=36pt] :angry: ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG. :angry: [/SIZE]

I feel your pain sir. I know these things should be plug and play - but how about unplug and play? I mean just take the thing out and get back to riding and enjoy life for a while. Then go back to the issue and see if you can get a replacement as time allows.

Scott

DailyCommuter · May 22, 2009

zenwhipper said:
DailyCommuter said:

Well, This doesn't have a good ending. Jeff tried and can't help. He doesn't have one in stock and neither does his distributor. So that leaves me with the above end which is 2 frigging weeks with no bike. I can't even begin to describe how pissed I am. I should have left well enough alone and not got into this modification ********. Farkles are one thing. Altering performance is another. I'm DONE! Over the last couple weeks I've spent in excess of $1600.00 on performance stuff, The only thing it gained me was some nice pictures, Hours of quality time in the garage wrenching, and losing my bike on a beautiful holiday weekend for riding. I know two weeks from now when I get this thing squared awy, I'll love everyone and everything FJR again, but for now. [SIZE=36pt] :angry: ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG. :angry: [/SIZE]

Click to expand...

I feel your pain sir. I know these things should be plug and play - but how about unplug and play? I mean just take the thing out and get back to riding and enjoy life for a while. Then go back to the issue and see if you can get a replacement as time allows.

Scott

Nice thought but, I have insalled the full header exhaust system now, Which eiminates the o2 sensor. so no matter what the bike wont run great now. And please don't anyone suggest that I put the old exhaust back on until I get the new PCIII. Seriously would you. Too much work, I'd rather not ride than do it all over again.

PCIII not communicating

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