GM Flashing 2

Cardone Flash2 All-Makes Reprogrammer and GM

We'll continue the GM Flashing from part 1. You should now have a GM server account and a current subscription. You'll need those to access the GM software to allow the flash to be done. Your pc will link you to GM and your J2534 device will link your pc to the GM vehicle. There are minimum pc requirements for the GM applications and the Cardone Flash2. You should check that your pc meets those. I'm using an old IBM Thinkpad w/XP Pro that works fine. I was happy to see that because it was an ebay purchase for $200. A very inexpensive investment.

The Cardone Flash2 software comes with installation instructions and I'd say it is idiot proof since I had no particular problem with it.

I do remember that after the software install I had problems with the Flash2 being recognized by the pc until I realized the Flash2 must be powered up (connected to the car obdII connector or to the a/c adapter) before opening the Flash2 program.

Now once you get the pc ready and the J2534 device ready, you have to get the car ready. You must have a good battery on the car and it must be fully charged. Test the battery. If it is bad, replace it. If it needs a charge, charge it. It has been my own experience that even with a good, fully charged battery most cars won't maintain voltage in the correct range throughout the programming process without some help. Many technicians use a booster pack connected to the battery and have good results with that. I've had better results with a charger connected and running at low charge. I should say at this point that the Cardone Flash2 instructions say do not leave the charger connected to the vehicle. I commonly get several interruptions during a flash session that extend the key on time. I also find complications arise in the process itself that extend key on time. Using a battery with a booster and no charger left me aborting the flash several times in a session to recharge the battery. Weighing the options I decided to start leaving the charger on low and have never had a problem from that. I can't say every charger would be fine to use. I suspect some would be a bad idea. Take a look at this 2002 Malibu charging system noise with engine running and alternator doing the work:

Now look at this from the shop charger on the 2 amp maintainer setting:

The 10 amp setting has about twice the a/c noise as the alternator output but this 2 amp setting keeps the battery up and is a very clean output. Does any of that matter? I'm not sure but it does work so I'm staying with it.

Now lets get started making all this work together. I'll turn the charger on the 2 amp maintainer setting. The pc is up and running. You should cancel automatic updates and any automatic shutdown you may have set. It is best to have your reprogramming pc do only that. You don't want it to be doing software updates, checking email or running other activities at the same time as you are performing a flash.

Make sure the usb cable from the Flash2 is connected to the pc. Connect the Flash2 data cable to the car's OBDII connector under the dash. Double-click the Flash2 icon on the desktop. The disclaimer screen will come up. If you agree to not hold Cardone responsible for anything you tear up then you click "agree". Click the GM icon in the OEM Reprogramming section.

At the next screen choose Flash2 Reprogramming.

On the next screen there is a choice to do the flash on-car or off-car. If you have purchased the extra leads you can flash an ecm with no car involved. I use the off-car for the convenience of other shops. They can bring me the ecm they need flashed and keep the car in their own shop. As long as the ecm is the same part number I can even reprogram a used module to work on a different vehicle. It is very easily done with most GM vehicles. For my own non-professional customers I prefer to do a flash on-car. Sometimes you need to be able to access more than one module and sometimes other issues arise such as security relearns. I think of it like this, I used to repair and overhaul carburetors. Actually I still do but it isn't very often any more. When a customer brings in only the carb for repair they can't get a complete job. With the complete car I can see that the carburetor is properly removed, installed, make adjustments and address any issues the car may have that affect the carb operation such as a misfire or vacuum leak. An off-car ecm flash is similar to that, the job can need further work to be complete.

Our volunteer vehicle for the example will be a 2002 Malibu w/3.1 engine. We'll choose on-car reprogramming. The next screen contains warnings such as no charger connected, disable popup blocker, close other programs, check connections, etc. Pay attention to the warnings and use good judgement. Click "next" when ready and you will be asked to turn the ignition on. Click "ok" when that is done. The next screen will allow a battery test to determine if voltage is in range for the flash procedure. The test can be skipped but I recommend it. The battery should be at least 12.5 volts and no more than 14 volts. The test will give the voltage reading and a pass or fail result. Because the car has automatic headlamps and they are on with the ignition key we get a "fail" message.

If I disable the automatic headlamps and wait a couple of minutes I get a "pass" but the voltage is at the minimum allowed.

Now I could crank the charger up a notch but since it is a controversial issue anyway I chose to add a booster pack to the mix. With the charger on 2 amp, a booster pack connected and the auto headlamps disabled I have a 12.8 volt battery test result so we'll click "next". A few more important instructions to read through and then we'll click "next" again. Choose GM or Saturn. We'll choose GM. Choose cd/dvd or web link. We are using the web link. After clicking "next" the GM server screen will come up and you can enter your user name and password. Scroll to the bottom of the "terms and conditions", choose "accept" and click "continue". Click "service and programming information". Click "TIS2 Web Service Programming". I always get a message popup that says there is unread news. Click "ok". Choose Service Programming System on the left of the next screen. Another popup, whatever is a current news message. Click "ok". Now always read your instructions that come up on each screen, especially when you are new to the process. On this next screen click "start sps".

SPS is a java program so make sure you have a late version of java installed. If your version is too old it won't work. Sometimes it doesn't work anyway.

I could dress this all up but it would be dishonest. The truth is that flashing can be very frustrating and is not for the faint of heart. Occasionally things go very smoothly, more often they do not. Now this could be a java error or a problem with my own computer. It could be a problem with the GM side of the application. "Details" is meaningless jargon to me so first a reboot is tried with no help. Next a system restore to a couple days earlier. That didn't work either. Uninstalling Java and then reinstalling Java did the trick.

Once the SDS application loads you will be offered an installation for Tech2 GM scan tool, skip that step. Select the J2534 device and choose either to reprogram an existing module or to replace and reprogram a different module. If you choose the first option you can only reprogram if an update exists. The second option allows programming over any current program.

In this case we will be updating a current module.

In the next few screens we'll select make, model year, vehicle type and make. The pc will communicate with the ecm and determine the vin. Check that the vin stored and communicated matches the vin of the car. The pc will check with the GM server and return a list of modules you can access. In this case it is only the PCM. Select programming type "normal" and click "next". A wealth of information is on the next screen. You can see the current PCM calibration is 12218554. You can see several calibration updates in history and what those updates were for. You can see that an update is available for the car. Update calibration 12588232 is to correct a misfire at 70 mph.

Select 12588232 and click "next". You'll see a brief summary of the situation.

What you see next is a visual of the reprogramming process. The update has been downloaded from the GM server to the pc and now the pc is loading the updated programming into the ECU through the J2534 Flash2 device. It is a very critical time. I had the pc lock up once during this process and destroy a PCM. I had to replace it. The programming had not proceeded far enough that the PCM would re-establish communication.

Once the programming is complete you'll see any specific instructions that may apply to the system. This one may need crankshaft variation relearned or set code P1336/P0315. If on restart I see this code then I will know to perform a crankshaft relearn.





We are done with the GM server and can cancel, returning to the Flash2 pc software to exit. The Flash2 software will ask us to leave the J2534 device connected for 30 seconds for a final burn of the new programming. Just follow the instructions. Now before exiting the software completely we can verify the new programming calibration using "analyze" mode.

Notice the calibration is now 12588232 or the most current available at this time. We have verified the flash was successful. We aren't done yet. Let's turn off the charger, disconnect the booster pack, replace those automatic headlamp relays and see if the car starts. Eureka! Sometimes a security relearn has to be done before the car will start. This one started fine so we want to notice if the Service Engine light is off. Remember we were warned there may be a crankshaft relearn to be done. Not in this case. The light is off and we are finished. There that wasn't so bad. It always feels good when you are done. I hope this gave you a good idea of what is involved in a flash session and what can happen. Next we'll cover a GM flash using the Snapon J2534 device, Pass Thru Pro II if there is interest.

Kenneth Hayes

AKA Deranger