ALL Unichip Questions / Problems

[greasemonkey524]

Ur Lucky! My spiked 21psi and held. Till it peferated my block with the # 4 piston rod.

That sucks! I felt the car pulling really hard and I knew something wasn't right. I looked at the gauge and thats when I saw the 17psi and let off the throttle really quick. Guess I got kinda lucky. No fuel cut though.

 

[Packerfan]

Both you guys stop thinking it is the boost controller it seems to me that it is a bad wastegate actuator pull the vacuum line from the source going to wastgate actuator and use it to blow into the wastegate if you can blow thru with no resistance then its no good.

 

[Rush]

Both you guys stop thinking it is the boost controller it seems to me that it is a bad wastegate actuator pull the vacuum line from the source going to wastgate actuator and use it to blow into the wastegate if you can blow thru with no resistance then its no good.

It's actually quite likely that it's a bad boost controller. That's a known issue with certain batches of the Unichip. While a WGA would compound the problem, it could very well be a bad boost solenoid.

 

[jmv]

I've owned a unichip for quite some time, but it was only on the car for about a week. Things weren't really going right, and under recommendations from others i tried putting it into a friends MSP to see how it worked, and it started smoking!! I put it away after that and haven't messed with it.

My parents are considering helping me pay to get it fixed for my birthday though, which is cool. Its probably gonna be pretty expensive ($85/hour plus parts!!!).

The real turmoil comes with what i should do after its fixed.... should i try putting it back on my car, knowing that i had issues before?? Or should i just sell it off once unichip has put it back to good working order??

... anyone got suggestions??

 

[greasemonkey524]

I guess it would depend on what your goals are for the car. I'm not sure what issues you had before but it seems like it was something internal if it was acting strange on you and started smoking in your friends car. Sounds like it could be a pretty expensive fix too. I would think it might need a whole new part (the part that was smoking). That is really a tough call. What part started to smoke. The little computer or the one that connects to your ECU?

 

[Packerfan]

It's actually quite likely that it's a bad boost controller. That's a known issue with certain batches of the Unichip. While a WGA would compound the problem, it could very well be a bad boost solenoid.

Yes I have heard that and the guy who tuned my unichip thought it was the boost controller we removed it and same thing spiked 28psi (GT28RS) thats when we realized it was wastegate very common problem with these cars Diaphram breaks and thats all she wrote

 

[jmv]

I guess it would depend on what your goals are for the car. I'm not sure what issues you had before but it seems like it was something internal if it was acting strange on you and started smoking in your friends car. Sounds like it could be a pretty expensive fix too. I would think it might need a whole new part (the part that was smoking). That is really a tough call. What part started to smoke. The little computer or the one that connects to your ECU?

goals for the car are entirely dependant upon funds, haha.

The issues i was having was some bucking at high rpms (like 5500-6000 rpms) on stock boost, and a spike and bucking at ~4000-4500 rpms at high boost. Also there was an instance of horrible idle and throwing a code when it was just sitting there in the driveway. And overall, even at stock boost the car didn't feel like it had ANY gains.... JDMSam tried to tune my boost spike out and said the topend of the car felt weak.

The part that started to smoke was the PnP unit, the piece that actually connects to the ECU. I think the smoking may have had something to do with my friends car, or rather what my friends car does with the unichip, because i think he bought a unichip as well, and it started smoking also. I think his repair was ~$200, but i probably won't know the price for mine till they've already done the work.

 

[LASERBLUE135]

Boost videos are up!

1st vid: stock boost
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVWM0_U2v8

2nd vid: high boost, the car actally held the boost today!!! No fuel cut. A few reasons for that: Temps were a little warmer, and the car didn't quite hit 15 psi possibly because the ecu has gotten more used to the unichip ecu and they are working better together. Anyway I'm very happy...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-kczm-rSPHs

Stewart warner boost gauge has max boost 15 psi, the video shows boost spikes to 14 psi and settles to 12 psi.

I'm getting a manual boost controler and setting down the boost, so don't freak out on me and tell me that I'm going to blow up my car, this was just to show you folks what the unichip does.

 

[1moreMPH]

AHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHH!!!!! YOURE GOING TO BLOWS UP THA CAR!!!! jk. shweeeet. glad you got it working.

As for the fixed unichip -- if it's gonna be fixed and working right, HELL YEA put it on your car!! i don't see the dilemma... Trust me if it's working well, you'll fall in love all over again. mines been runnin like a champ for a while now and i dig it.

 

[jmv]

AHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHH!!!!! YOURE GOING TO BLOWS UP THA CAR!!!! jk. shweeeet. glad you got it working.

As for the fixed unichip -- if it's gonna be fixed and working right, HELL YEA put it on your car!! i don't see the dilemma... Trust me if it's working well, you'll fall in love all over again. mines been runnin like a champ for a while now and i dig it.

i guess my dillema is i didn't really know for sure if it was a problem with the unichip or something else with my car. I didn't know for sure there was something wrong with the unichip till it started smoking in my friends car, lol. But i'm thinking i'll put it back on after i get it fixed, at least for a while.

 

[Spooled]

It's funny to me to hear everyone hitting high boost numbers with Unichip when I can't get mine to boost over stock, even after sending it back to Unichip TWICE, calling them 10+ times, and trying everything I could to get the thing working. In the end they will not return my calls or emails, and the thing still doesn't work (the pin that triggers the valve never closes to ground, but I can manually ground it and make it open). I don't understand why they couldn't figure out what the problem was (even after they replaced the harness the first time after finding that it was miswired, and the solenoid on the valve itself was backwards from the factory) and just completely ignored me. The sad thing is that my $35 MBC can boost to anything I want, but the $800 Unichip can't do anything. They couldn't even explain to me exactly how the Unichip handles the boost valve so I could troubleshoot it myself (ie - should it be active while not under load?). I would think that it would be active (bleed any pressure away from the WGA) all the time until target boost is reached, and then pulse to maintain. That way the WGA is not starting to close until the last second, allowing the turbo to spool faster. Has anyone ever figured out why there are several of these out there that just don't work, and why do those owners just accept it and buy another boost controller? I'm starting to regret not contacting the BBB at the time.

 

[JDM Sam]

The EBC it comes with really isn't that great anyways.

 

[MS38449]

It's funny to me to hear everyone hitting high boost numbers with Unichip when I can't get mine to boost over stock, even after sending it back to Unichip TWICE, calling them 10+ times, and trying everything I could to get the thing working. In the end they will not return my calls or emails, and the thing still doesn't work (the pin that triggers the valve never closes to ground, but I can manually ground it and make it open). I don't understand why they couldn't figure out what the problem was (even after they replaced the harness the first time after finding that it was miswired, and the solenoid on the valve itself was backwards from the factory) and just completely ignored me. The sad thing is that my $35 MBC can boost to anything I want, but the $800 Unichip can't do anything. They couldn't even explain to me exactly how the Unichip handles the boost valve so I could troubleshoot it myself (ie - should it be active while not under load?). I would think that it would be active (bleed any pressure away from the WGA) all the time until target boost is reached, and then pulse to maintain. That way the WGA is not starting to close until the last second, allowing the turbo to spool faster. Has anyone ever figured out why there are several of these out there that just don't work, and why do those owners just accept it and buy another boost controller? I'm starting to regret not contacting the BBB at the time.

I tried to tell ya way back in 03, Unichip was then and always will be.((((TRASH))))

MSDAll The Way!

 

[SleepyMSP]

has anyone ever had trouble using the stock tune of the unichip with a VTCS removed intake manifold?

 

[turbolife]

I tried to tell ya way back in 03, Unichip was then and always will be.((((TRASH))))

MSDAll The Way!

Unless you are going to answer this question, please stop spouting mindless dribble.

just my opinion.
Yes MSD would of worked @ the time (03.5) I had my MSP. I figure if I have not put dought in the mind by what I have said so that you might want to look in to what I have said, so be it. Y'all can waist the money.

And what MSD unit would this be?

This one - http://www.msdfuelinjection.com/blaster_efi.html ?

Only thing I notice on their site that looks to do what you are talking about, and that is $1400, won't work with the stock ignition, etc, etc....little different class than the Unichip man.

 

[Spooled]

The Unichip should be great, there are just several of them out there that are faulty from what I have read and experienced first hand. If they all worked consistantly, it would be the best deal around. I still don't get when people say "the Unichip EBC isn't very good" and use that as an excuse for it not working at all. I used to usee the exact same valve (24v solenoid, though) on $200k machinery and have only seen one ever fail. That's being surrounded by extreme heat, dirt and electromagnetic fields all day while being actuated on and off all the time. The valve is fine and is made for the abuse. It's the Unichip that isn't sending the signal, as I have verified using electrical schematics from Unichip. I can make the valve actuate all day long if I ground the right pin, but that doesn't do me any good if it's on all the time.

The other problem is that if the fuel/timing circuits (or maps that Unichip refused to verify for me) may not be working correctly if the boost controller isn't working. So essentially they have sold units that might as well be just a passthrough wire harness.

Now that I'm only a couple hours from Crossover, i plan on taking my car up there to have it tuned soon. There is a software switch that needs to be enabled to allow the boost tables to be active. Since Unichip was the one that told me this, but wouldn't verify that it was active on mine, I figure that I will have Crossover check it out and get it tuned at the same time (if it isn't faulty).

 

[jmv]

The Unichip should be great, there are just several of them out there that are faulty from what I have read and experienced first hand. If they all worked consistantly, it would be the best deal around. I still don't get when people say "the Unichip EBC isn't very good" and use that as an excuse for it not working at all. I used to usee the exact same valve (24v solenoid, though) on $200k machinery and have only seen one ever fail. That's being surrounded by extreme heat, dirt and electromagnetic fields all day while being actuated on and off all the time. The valve is fine and is made for the abuse. It's the Unichip that isn't sending the signal, as I have verified using electrical schematics from Unichip. I can make the valve actuate all day long if I ground the right pin, but that doesn't do me any good if it's on all the time.

The other problem is that if the fuel/timing circuits (or maps that Unichip refused to verify for me) may not be working correctly if the boost controller isn't working. So essentially they have sold units that might as well be just a passthrough wire harness.

Now that I'm only a couple hours from Crossover, i plan on taking my car up there to have it tuned soon. There is a software switch that needs to be enabled to allow the boost tables to be active. Since Unichip was the one that told me this, but wouldn't verify that it was active on mine, I figure that I will have Crossover check it out and get it tuned at the same time (if it isn't faulty).

Interesting info. Hopefully with mine currently at unichip to be checked over and fixed, when i get it back everything will be functioning properly.

 

[SleepyMSP]

has anyone ever had trouble using the stock tune of the unichip with a VTCS removed intake manifold?

bump for answer (thumb)

 

[Spooled]

Interesting info. Hopefully with mine currently at unichip to be checked over and fixed, when i get it back everything will be functioning properly.

Please keep us up on the results. I would really like to know if they find an answer for these problems. If so, I might send it in again.

 

[JDM Sam]

MS38449:
That's b/c you took it to Jotech who know nothing about this car!

The solenoid used often in other applicaions because it's a readily available solenoid. AEM uses it too in their AEM Tru-boost and so does one other company. If you want the best boost controller, you should get something that is closed loop. Unichip's software that you tune the solenoid with isn't that great either compared to a Greddy.