BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - 'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'

Vic Smith

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:43:28 -0500, wrote:

It was certainly easy enough to "flash" out the codes but you couldn't
see the data stream without the GM adapter and software for your lap
top. All the adapter had in it was a special Uart that could handle
that data stream and convert it to regular async. I had a copy of the
CD

Right you are. I once looked into going that route, deemed it too
expensive and overkill for me. Reading the fault code is all I've
ever needed to fix a problem, except for one time when it didn't throw
a code. That one time I had the ECU attached to a data stream reader
it couldn't find the intermittent problem, which was the engine
killing a few times for no reason.
My mechanic used the car as a utility vehicle at his shop with the
laptop hooked up whenever it went anywhere.
After a week I wanted my car back and he agreed that it would be best
to just wait until a failure, when the weather warmed up. It had just
turned cold the day I took it to the shop. Never had a problem all
winter, but the first warm day in spring it wouldn't start.
Bad ECU.
Did you ever get the your laptop diagnostics going, and was the data
useful?
Have you looked into code readers or stream readers for your outboard?

--Vic