Gryphon Acting Up

[SDRANGER619]

Hello again everyone,

With Bill's awesome technical help I was able to download my custom tunes to my programmer and programmed the truck.

After a couple days of use looks like I'm having a pretty significant problem. I will summarize as best I can so that maybe can help troubleshoot. (truck runs great by the way)

The unit intermittenly turns on and off; this happened only a few times. Tonight, as I was driving it turned off, when I arrived at my destination I unplugged the unit and pluged it back in. I got a "Connecting to bridge" message. The message was there for about a minute and then I received this error:

Sorry the image is so blurry, but I think you can read what it says
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/moscosoee/CIMG0177.jpg?t=1275208498"The OBDII cable is not compatible with this Gryphon. Please call Tech Support to replace the cable." :thumbsdwn:

After fumbling around with it a bit, I finally got it to work, but then the unit froze and when I unplugged, and plugged back in, I got the same "Connecting to bridge" message and then the error message about the cable.

I hope this isn't anything major, I have to switch to my #2 tune since I will be towing this Friday. Anyone have any ideas as to what the heck is going on?

[DarkShadowSTX]

Sorry to hear you're having trouble again man. Read this over, it sounds like your problem: http://www.f150online.com/forums/chips-tuners-programming/403249-gryphon-users-am-i-screwed.html
When it's all said and done, it was the cable and PHP sent a new one out. Also check your battery like the thread suggests. Good luck.

[SDRANGER619]

Yeah Bill and I talked about the cable issues and the culprit being the battery. The battery on the truck is fairly new (about a year old).

[SDRANGER619]

man this keeps getting wierder. So I left the cable unplugged overnight. Pluged it back this morning and it's been working just fine...? Not sure what's going on.

[Jackpine]

DO get your battery checked out. Even though it's only a year old, it CAN be going bad. With the cable disconnected, you didn't have the 0.05A drain on the battery that a plugged-in Gryphon pulls.

I've posted about "resting voltage" before too. Open your hood when you finish driving for the day so you can get to the battery without opening an doors. At least 8 hours later or after overnight measure the voltage at the battery terminals with a voltmeter. It should show close to 12.7V if the battery is in excellent shape. If it's lower, I think you may have found the problem.

Monitor the battery PID on your Gryphon too, as you drive. If the alternator is good, you should see 13.9-14.2 volts when driving. Anything much less and I'd have the charging circuit checked.

Do you have a pre-04 truck? The "cable issues" were only showing up on those, I think.

- Jack

[Jackpine]

Ranger, please keep us updated. We'll keep tabs on you. ;)

Oh, and Jack... it's a 97-03.

Thanks, that DOES put it into the "cable" issue group, doesn't it?

- Jack

[SDRANGER619]

THanks for the prompt attention to this guy. As always you guys exceed expectations. I will keep an eye on this and advise if I find anything.


Thx

[SDRANGER619]

So I yanked the battery out of my truck yesterday and took it to two autoparts stores. They hooked up this little handheld machine to test it and they both said it was a good battery.

So, does that means it's the cable?

[Jackpine]

PHP would have to determine that, but if the problem continues, it probably IS a cable fault.

If things are working now, why don't you switch to the #2 tune now so you'll be ready for Friday? I'm planning to go on a trip with our trailer in a week, and I've already switched over to the towing tune. It's really a good all-around tune and I always like to make sure things are ok well in advance of starting out.

This way, even if you have to send in the OBD cable for replacement, the truck will be set up for the "demanding" usage. It can always be driven without having the Gryphon connected.

- Jack

[SDRANGER619]

PHP would have to determine that, but if the problem continues, it probably IS a cable fault.

If things are working now, why don't you switch to the #2 tune now so you'll be ready for Friday? I'm planning to go on a trip with our trailer in a week, and I've already switched over to the towing tune. It's really a good all-around tune and I always like to make sure things are ok well in advance of starting out.

This way, even if you have to send in the OBD cable for replacement, the truck will be set up for the "demanding" usage. It can always be driven without having the Gryphon connected.

- JackThanks Jack I think I will do that. I was under the impression I shouldn't run the tow tune and now be towing at that moment.

So just so I ensure I have the information correctly, I should continue to use the Gryphon like I usually do. Then after I do my towing and switch back to tune #1 should I send the cable to you guys to look at?

[Jackpine]

Thanks Jack I think I will do that. I was under the impression I shouldn't run the tow tune and now be towing at that moment.

So just so I ensure I have the information correctly, I should continue to use the Gryphon like I usually do. Then after I do my towing and switch back to tune #1 should I send the cable to you guys to look at?

No, I think you will need an RMA# before you send your cable to PHP. I simply thought it would be good to switch to the tow tune now, while things are working so that it will be in place when you need it for towing. It won't hurt to use the tow tune when not towing but, depending on the weight you pull, using a performance tune when towing can be hard on the engine and transmission. So I'd get the tow tune installed while it's still possible.

Then, if the problem you've been seeing comes up again, just get the RMA# from PHP so you can send in the cable. There should be no need to change your tune.

Obviously, if things continue to function ok and you are done with towing, you'd change your tune back to tune# 1.

- Jack

[SDRANGER619]

Hey guys,

well I was able to switch my tune to the tow tune, now I can't switch back. Unit is stuck on "Connecting to bridge". I'm assuming this is related to the cable. Any ideas?

[88Racing]

Does the truck run?
If it does then>>Leave it alone.
Call Bill@PHP.
That's my best advice.

[Power Hungry]

If you unplug the cable form the OBDII port and reconnect (which I assume you're already doing), are you still getting the "Connecting to Bridge" error? This is nearly always an indication of a failed/failing PC board in the cable and will require replacement of the cable.

Out of curiosity, have you had any starting/battery issues recently? More often than not, the cable will fail after having to have the vehicle jumped or some other low voltage incident.

If the error persists, let me know (e-mail or phone) and we'll arrange to have the cable replaced.

Take care.

[SDRANGER619]

Does the truck run?
If it does then>>Leave it alone.
Call Bill@PHP.
That's my best advice.It runs fine, thank goodness I switched to the tow tune when I needed it.

If you unplug the cable form the OBDII port and reconnect (which I assume you're already doing), are you still getting the "Connecting to Bridge" error? This is nearly always an indication of a failed/failing PC board in the cable and will require replacement of the cable.

Out of curiosity, have you had any starting/battery issues recently? More often than not, the cable will fail after having to have the vehicle jumped or some other low voltage incident.

If the error persists, let me know (e-mail or phone) and we'll arrange to have the cable replaced.

Take care.Hi Bill,

I've done the reconnect thing and all I get the the bridge message. During my trouble shooting phase of this problems (thanks jack for the tips) I took my battery to the auto parts store to get checked and see if it was bad because of the voltage sensitivity of the cable, battery is a little over a year old and is working fine.

I will follow this up with an email.

Thanks!

GO PHP!

[Power Hungry]

Thanks for the update Edgar. :)

[SDRANGER619]

I've followed up with a couple emails and no response. Is there a better way to connect with PHP about this? I have a gryphon programmer in my truck that hasn't been on since the summer...

I will be needing to return to stock in the near future so this hopefully will be resolved soon.

:help:

[Jackpine]

Good grief! This issue is still not resolved? :yikes2:

I've posted a note to Bill in the Moderator's forum, but I want you to submit a "Support Ticket" here - Support Login (http://www.readydeskhosted.com/phptune/customer/rdlogin.aspx)

This is probably the BEST way to get an immediate response.

- Jack

[DarkShadowSTX]

I'm surprised this issue still hasn't been solved yet. Good luck SDRANGER619. It seemed like you and Bill were already on top of everything and emailing or talking to one another.

[SDRANGER619]

Thanks guys. I will submit a support ticket.

[Power Hungry]

Edgar,

I'm not sure where the breakdown occurred, but I don't think I've received an e-mail from you in quite some time. In any event, I apologize for the delay in getting this resolved and I'll be in touch when we get back in the office.

Take care.

[SDRANGER619]

I submitted a support ticket at the beginning of January (2011) as directed and not sure why, but no one ever got back to me. Checked the status periodically and nothing. Today I go in there to see if any status changed and the Support Ticket System was taken offline, so here I am again.

Still patient, still optimistic I will get to use my $550 dollar paperweight sitting in my truck.
:shrug:

[Power Hungry]

Please fill in an RMA form (Download from here (http://fs21.formsite.com/Power_Hungry_Performance/form200430796/index.html)) and use RMA #30774. Send both the device and the cable so we can identify just what the problem is and get it resolved.

As for the support tickets, we were having unusual problems with the system and when the database crashed we finally gave up on it. Unfortunately, all the customer information was lost.

I'll be waiting for your package.

[SDRANGER619]

Awesome. thank you sir.

Will send it out asap.

[SDRANGER619]

Sent it out and already on it's way back. Thanks for the quick turn around. Any idea what the problem(s) is/are with the device?