Hi,
I have been looking at some reliability mods and concluded that a second hand Apexi Commander would be a cost effective and generally useful tool. I am jinxed with cars and still know very little about my FD, so I was amazed when I plugged it in and the thing lit up, gave me some options, from which I chose \'Monitor\' (not wishing to change anything), I got the stats up - great. My luck was in. Now for a test drive....FAIL
I now have two problems:
1. My car will not turn over more than a few times without stalling
2. I am getting a clicking/shorting noise from my alternator
This cannot be coincidence but I thought the Commander simply monitored, could it have reset the map? There is nothing in the manual that suggests this may occur. I have had the car 7 years now and never had such an issue
Any advice or tests I can do? I have unplugged the commander and tried to start the car, without success
first thing to try is plug your old ecu back in and take it for a drive.
Hey Steve,
Thanks for the quick reply. I have not changed my ECU, I have always had a Power FC. All I have done is plug a Commander in to the existing Power FC ECU. I have now unplugged the Commander and still cannot keep my car turning over - although it does just about start.
I took it for a run yesterday so it is possible something went (alternator?) on the way home and it is nothing to do with the Commander, but this is some coincidence..
..but wait.. you may be my lucky charm Steve!
Just tried starting again, same clicking from alternator, again failed to stay ticking over, repeated, repeated, then no ticking noise and she starts, so this looks like it may not be Commander related.
Can anyone confirm that plugging a Commander in to an Apexi FC and viewing only in monitor mode, cannot break or reset anything? This will help me trouble shoot.
The noise, combined with the frequency at which I recharge my car makes me think that perhaps it is time for a new alternator..any thoughts anyone?
It has nothing to do with the commander. Carry on looking into the alternator, battery, etc.
Start with the basics...battery terminals tight? Have you got a multimeter to see if your getting 14.4v at the battery terminals when running.
When you plugged the commander in have not disturbed anything ?
Could be one of those freak things that by plugging it in, the slight voltage change has disturbed something. The commander is just to monitor you can\'t affect anything on the power fc. Check your voltages as mentioned, also your grounds and clean and tight, and make sure the clicking isn\'t from a relay. If it is, look for the related fuse in that circuit, it\'s quite possible ones blown but the terminal barely touching which can cause intermittent problem ( I had this with my 12v constant issue on the fd). Good luck.
Thanks everyone for the quick replies.
I have been unable to reproduce the problem and now have the car running fine with the Commander plugged in.
I will post an update if the problem occurs again and I fix it.
Next.. it is time to research what my Commander should read if all is good..
Thing is when i had mine thing was permanetely on my lap...monitor mode boost and coolant temp! More boost higher coolant temp....thing made me paranoid ! And quickly realised the coolant temp gauge in car was highly inaccurate ! Research led me to the fact its non linear! Have a play and stick in the glove box!
LOL, thanks for the warning!
Hi buddy, are you having to recharge your battery you say?
Are you sure it\'s not a dead battery causing the problem?
That clicking sounds like a dead battery to me.
Quote from: alexgtr;883644That clicking sounds like a dead battery to me.
Just what I was going to say. But then realised it\'s a 3 month old thread :2Rolleyes