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Troubleshooting & Technical Questions & ModificationsHave technical or modification questions about the Crossfire?
Find out the answer, or give advice in here!
I'll try to fire up my computer this evening, and get a copy of the direct link to run the Enhanced Emulator. It's just a URL that you open in a browser. Pretty neat. This avoids the need to run the full WiTech software, and as a benefit, bypasses many of the problems with getting this package to actually work.
Problems, I guess you could sat that. 🙄
Thanks,
Dave
Give the URL method a go. I don't even bother going through the wiTech app hassle on any vehicle covered by the DRBIII, anymore. For the newer Chryslers (2006+, not Crossfires), I'll go into it, but no need for what is needed on these cars.
Sorry that the Windows stuff is slowing you down. It happens that I lived / worked through the whole introduction of PC's into offices, so have too much experience with the hassles.
Am interested in supporting this cloned Enhanced DRB III Emulator for Crossfire folks, and have a couple vintage laptops to experiment with. Will send you a personal message with a suggestion or two.
It should be noted that the latest clone version of the Micropod2 has a defect in it that will render it only partially useful on the Crossfire and all 2005 down Chrysler vehicles. Fortunately, the solution to the problem is fairly simple, if you have access to a precision soldering iron and someone with skills. I did not come up with the fix, but I am sharing it here, because we have an obvious interest in having the tools to maintain these older vehicles.
Quote:
Well due to popular demand I decided to just post the info needed to fix these clones. It is a little tricky, def need a very fine point solder iron. I also used a solder station with varying temp so I didn't overheat the trace. Also very important to use a ground strap, this is part of the reason I fried my first one. But mostly using T-pins to probe the board while it was powered on :P Like I mentioned before, the issue is the IC with marking 65 TI MAP doesnt have it's ground. The trace between the via and the pin is bad. What I did was use an Exacto knife to scrape the coating off the top of the via, and very carefully make a solder bridge from the pin to the via. I considered using a very fine piece of wire as a trace but if you have ever tried it, you would prob know why I decided not to. I made sure the IC pin had ground but wasn't accidently shorted to the pin next to it. Also make sure it's not shorted to R32 which is very close by. I figured this out partly because there is another IC with marking 65 TI MAP on the inside of the board and it had ground at the same pin. To be clear, the IC with ground issue is on same board side as the ARM chip as seen in photos. You DO NOT need to separate the boards to fix it. And that's it, when this IC has it's ground the output won't be floating high and the comm signal can be read by ARM chip.
Attached Thumbnails Original forum thread: https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310...73/index2.html
I can confirm that the fix above repairs the Micropod2 clone, and makes it operate properly.
nemiro, I was wondering if a small drop of solder paste between the trace and a fine piece of copper wire could be used successfully with a stationary fine soldering iron tip would work.
Joining the other end of the wire would be easy by comparison.
What is your opinion please?
You can try, but it will be tricky. Do you know anyone who is good with electronics locally to you? If so, this will take them all of 5 minutes to do, and you'll be on your way.
You can try, but it will be tricky. Do you know anyone who is good with electronics locally to you? If so, this will take them all of 5 minutes to do, and you'll be on your way.
Thanks for the answer I will have to think about that.
That repair looks like it requires equipment and SKILLS not in my collection. But more fundamentally: how would I recognize that this soldering was required? Do a lot of the cloned units need this? Is there a source which might be better than others, or must each buyer try it out?
Thanks for excellent information! (Now I have to confess that I must go back to read through this whole thread. But the possibility of having a completely functional DRB III for this price range is delicious!)
The older clones didn't have this defect. It seems to be in almost all of them made in the last 2-3 years. Without the fix, it will read the ECU, and that's it, and it will not run most of the diagnostics on it. It will also only read the ECU (PCM) on all other 2005 down Chryslers. With the mod in place, it reads everything. For almost all other 2006+ Chryslers, it will work fine, without the fix.
The older clones didn't have this defect. It seems to be in almost all of them made in the last 2-3 years. Without the fix, it will read the ECU, and that's it, and it will not run most of the diagnostics on it. It will also only read the ECU (PCM) on all other 2005 down Chryslers. With the mod in place, it reads everything. For almost all other 2006+ Chryslers, it will work fine, without the fix.
What are your thoughts on this method.
1, Use a fine piece of copper wire of a suitable length, tinned at both ends and flattened in the middle.
2, Use crazy glue to hold the flattened area of the wire in the correct position and while holding the wire down with a fine needle apply the soldering iron tip to the joint area which has a small amount of flux between the two faces. Do this to both ends of the wire.
Maybe a length of trace cut from some spare board could be used instead of the copper wire as it already tinned and flat.
The areas to be soldered or glued would be cleaned of any coating before soldering.
I am choosing a fine tipped iron at the moment, if you think this is a viable method I will order it.
My motto is ‘How hard can it be?’.
It might work, but odds are the heat and rosin will break it free. Better trick would be to strip it back and then bend an appropriate amount (1/4" or so), bend it into an L shape, using the long part as a handle. Solder it down, the clip off the excess.
It might work, but odds are the heat and rosin will break it free. Better trick would be to strip it back and then bend an appropriate amount (1/4" or so), bend it into an L shape, using the long part as a handle. Solder it down, the clip off the excess.
I had thought of that but thought that it would be hard to hold In place, without getting a dry joint. Holding a heatsink between the solder and the glue might help. I am open to ideas. ???
It won't be too hard. It is probably easier than you think.
What wattage soldering iron would you recommend and how large can the tip be? I would think 1/32" would do it.
I'll get one on Amazon.
This will only be used once by me.
Thanks for your ideas and thoughts on this.
15W or higher should do. Make sure you have a wet sponge, or at least a wet paper towel (folded up) to wipe the tip on. Use a rosin core lead solder, and you should be all set. 30AWG wire will do the trick.
15W or higher should do. Make sure you have a wet sponge, or at least a wet paper towel (folded up) to wipe the tip on. Use a rosin core lead solder, and you should be all set. 30AWG wire will do the trick.
Thanks for the tips I will report back ASAP. I have all the supplies except for the small iron.
Update, the iron came in less than 24 hours, now I have no excuse.
I finally managed to fix my hot tub, it lost heat. A $32 solenoid failed which I found out by accident as it was well hidden. This will prevent the possibility of a 1,500 litre ice cube. The insulation is pretty good though, it dropped nearly 40 deg.F in three weeks. Thankfully the weather has been warmer than normal, no snow on the ground it was 10 deg. when I got up, hooray for global warming, who needs electric cars anyway?
Last edited by onehundred80; Dec 16, 2021 at 10:13 AM.
Finally I added the jumper to the via, I practised before I attempted it, when you see how small the jumper is in length it is a bit intimidating. I modified the tip of the iron, tinned the via and used a 28 AWG tinned copper wire. It ain't pretty but hopefully it will do the job. The jumper was L shaped for holding when it was fitted and trimmed flush when soldered in place.
Re: DRB III Emulator?
