voltage drop, Gryphon resetting?

RGSMDNR · #1 Sun, December 21st, 2008, 09:54 AM

I live in Canada and its been around -20 for a few days now. Ive noticed that when i start my truck, the Gryphon thinks it just got plugged in and displays the HEX file... is this anything to be concerned about? Should i unplug the programmer until it warms up a bit?

Corey Cohron RIP · #2 Sun, December 21st, 2008, 10:22 AM

I LOVE when I know the technical stuff!

One side effect of the Gryphon is that it can detect battery issues before they actually BECOME issues.

If the Gryphon is actually turning off when you shut down your vehicle, you might want to have your battery checked. When it's in "sleep" mode, the Gryphon actually pulls very little current from the battery, so if it's shutting down completely, there may be something wrong.

(And yes, the Big Guy sitting at his desk 10 feet away from me agrees.

)

jfuller5 · #3 Sun, December 21st, 2008, 01:50 PM

I would also check the pin connectors at the OBDII connection and make sure they grip the plug on the Gryphon connector very well. When temps drop connectors contract and sometimes will make poor connections, then as temp rises the connection is remade as the connector expands. This isnt uncommon in some connectionns in cars. The material used in electrical connectors can move quite a bit with temperature changes. Worth a check, Jim

***Power Hungry*** · #4 Sun, December 21st, 2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfuller5

I would also check the pin connectors at the OBDII connection and make sure they grip the plug on the Gryphon connector very well. When temps drop connectors contract and sometimes will make poor connections, then as temp rises the connection is remade as the connector expands. This isnt uncommon in some connectionns in cars. The material used in electrical connectors can move quite a bit with temperature changes. Worth a check, Jim

That's fantastic advice!

These are things you don't think about when you live this far south.

Corey Cohron RIP · #5 Mon, December 22nd, 2008, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RGSMDNR

I live in Canada and its been around -20 for a few days now. Ive noticed that when i start my truck, the Gryphon thinks it just got plugged in and displays the HEX file... is this anything to be concerned about? Should i unplug the programmer until it warms up a bit?

DAN! I hopped into my Expedition today to run some errands, and lo and behold -- my Gryphon was displaying my HEX code! (Bill mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we needed to consider getting a new battery, but we just haven't had the time.) I felt like part of an elite little club.

Any luck with your truck yet?

Northern Supercrew · #6 Mon, December 22nd, 2008, 08:45 PM

Almost killed my battery couple days ago...-43 and not being plugged in will do that. plugged the charger onto it and got it fired up. The Gryphon screen would not display until truck warmed up. Thought to myself....weak battery=tunes lost.:weeping: when truck warmed up, went into menu and seen they were still there

This little box is tough.

RGSMDNR · #7 Wed, December 24th, 2008, 08:21 AM

Its been a little warmer around here so i havent had the issue. Ive got the truck in the dealer right now because the 4wd doesnt operate properly. Ill keep and eye on the battery, the truck is only a year old so it should be ok...

thanks all!!!

***Jackpine*** · #8 Wed, December 24th, 2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northern Supercrew

Almost killed my battery couple days ago...-43 and not being plugged in will do that. plugged the charger onto it and got it fired up. The Gryphon screen would not display until truck warmed up. Thought to myself....weak battery=tunes lost.:weeping: when truck warmed up, went into menu and seen they were still there

This little box is tough.

One thing I DO know, Northern, is that a weak or dead battery will not destroy your tunes, either what's loaded in the PCM or in the programmable memory of the Gryphon.

Consider: you can take the Gryphon out of the vehicle for extended periods (which is equivalent to having no battery) and, you can take the battery out of the truck with the same results (although the PCM has to relearn its idle strategy and maybe a couple of other things I think after an extended period with no "keep alive" power).

The technology in both the Gryphon and the PCM is similar (maybe the same) as what you see in USB "thumb drives". Now, if you were to zap any of these with high voltage,

all bets are off.

- Jack

***Power Hungry*** · #9 Wed, December 24th, 2008, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

One thing I DO know, Northern, is that a weak or dead battery will not destroy your tunes, either what's loaded in the PCM or in the programmable memory of the Gryphon.

Consider: you can take the Gryphon out of the vehicle for extended periods (which is equivalent to having no battery) and, you can take the battery out of the truck with the same results (although the PCM has to relearn its idle strategy and maybe a couple of other things I think after an extended period with no "keep alive" power).

The technology in both the Gryphon and the PCM is similar (maybe the same) as what you see in USB "thumb drives". Now, if you were to zap any of these with high voltage, all bets are off.

- Jack

I wouldn't use it as a wheel chock either!

You are correct, Jack. Both the PCM and the Gryphon (as well as pretty much any other programmer on the market) use what is call "Flash" memory. This is the same stuff you find in thumb drives, digital cameras, and about a zillion other things.

Here's a quick rundown of Flash Memory:

Flash memory is really cool because it is BIG on storage, has a very small footprint (a 8GB Micro-SD is about the size of your pinkie nail), and is CHEAP to produce. It is non-volatile which means that unlike RAM (high speed memory used in most PCs), it doesn't need power to store the data. The data gets "burned" onto the storage grid. When you need to make a change, you can then "Flash" it to erase it and re-write it. It also has a LONG retention rate (on the order of years).

The drawbacks are it is SLOW (compare to RAM, anyway) and you can't erase and re-write 1 byte at a time. You have to erase the memory in blocks (4K, 8K, 64K, etc) which means you have to be able to copy a whole block of data elsewhere, erase the block, and write it back with the change included. Having to read and write 65,536 bytes to make 1 change is not fast. This is why 1 GB of RAM is roughly 50 times the size (footprint) of 1GB of Flash.

So as I said, most (if not all) programmers as well as all re-flashable use Flash Memory because of the reliability of the data retention. Remove the unit? No problem. Batter is dead? No problem.

I will mention that because of the way the data is written in Flash memory, this is why we DO NOT RECOMMEND programming in cold weather. If the flash temp is below spec, the data may not write correctly resulting in data errors.

See? Learned something new today!

Dixie Design · #10 Wed, January 7th, 2009, 09:04 AM

Just a side note, if ya'll are replacing your batteries, might not hurt when you purchase a new one to get one with more Cold Cranking Amps. That's probably all they sell up in Canada, lol. Was actually really difficult for me to find one with extra cold cranking amps down here in South Georgia!