Problems with SCT Tuner - Mustang GT
03-23-2013, 09:57 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CT
Posts: 10
Problems with SCT Tuner - Mustang GT
Hi everyone, I am sorry if I am not posting in the correct place, but this is my first post- I'll learn the ropes!!
I bought a 2002 Mustang GT back in August of 2012, and she ran and drove great. No mechanical/drivability issues whatsoever. It is a 5spd, and it shifted smooth, everything felt exactly like it should have. However, the only issue was: the speedometer was off by about 10mph. So I decided to pull the car out of the garage since it is officially Spring, took it for a spin; needless to say, it was awesome!
I then decided I would update the SCT SF3/X3 tuner with the newest updates and firmware- but first I returned the vehicle to stock, then proceeded to update the device. It updated successfully and still had the custom tunes from BAMA. I brought it out to the car and tried to load the 87 STREET tune, but I adjusted the tire size to 790 revs/mile because the car has 18" rims with 275/35/18 tires and I calculated it out to 787.9, and the tuner only increases by 5's so I figured that was the closest.
Instead, the idle RPMs are really low (500-600) and the car shuts off sometimes, even with the clutch all the way down. The speedometer is off (says 110mph when I'm going like 50). The RPMs don't drop after I shift up either. The RPMs don't dip like they are supposed to after a shift. The car just doesn't feel right at all, I really just want to bring it back to the tune I had before. I have tried returning the vehicle to stock with all tunes completely shut off, and the car still does the same thing and behaves the same way.
I am not sure what to do or how to go about it- all I know is that SCT Customer Service is very hard to get a hold of, even during their regular hours of operation.
I'm hoping that my new friends on here can give me some insight! I've even tried letting the car idle for 10 minutes, turning on the A/C and letting it idle for 5 minutes and repeating, but it doesn't smooth itself out.
The car is 11 years old now with 109k - so I don't think there's a warranty on the ECU
I appreciate any help or guidance, really, I do! Thanks in advance!
I bought a 2002 Mustang GT back in August of 2012, and she ran and drove great. No mechanical/drivability issues whatsoever. It is a 5spd, and it shifted smooth, everything felt exactly like it should have. However, the only issue was: the speedometer was off by about 10mph. So I decided to pull the car out of the garage since it is officially Spring, took it for a spin; needless to say, it was awesome!
I then decided I would update the SCT SF3/X3 tuner with the newest updates and firmware- but first I returned the vehicle to stock, then proceeded to update the device. It updated successfully and still had the custom tunes from BAMA. I brought it out to the car and tried to load the 87 STREET tune, but I adjusted the tire size to 790 revs/mile because the car has 18" rims with 275/35/18 tires and I calculated it out to 787.9, and the tuner only increases by 5's so I figured that was the closest.
Instead, the idle RPMs are really low (500-600) and the car shuts off sometimes, even with the clutch all the way down. The speedometer is off (says 110mph when I'm going like 50). The RPMs don't drop after I shift up either. The RPMs don't dip like they are supposed to after a shift. The car just doesn't feel right at all, I really just want to bring it back to the tune I had before. I have tried returning the vehicle to stock with all tunes completely shut off, and the car still does the same thing and behaves the same way.
I am not sure what to do or how to go about it- all I know is that SCT Customer Service is very hard to get a hold of, even during their regular hours of operation.
I'm hoping that my new friends on here can give me some insight! I've even tried letting the car idle for 10 minutes, turning on the A/C and letting it idle for 5 minutes and repeating, but it doesn't smooth itself out.
The car is 11 years old now with 109k - so I don't think there's a warranty on the ECU
I appreciate any help or guidance, really, I do! Thanks in advance!
03-23-2013, 11:16 AM
#2
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Missississippi
Posts: 6
Hey Big freeze. You can adjust your idle with your tuner. Does your car have any mods other than the tuner and the tire size? americanmotorsport.com can help you and return your emails that same day or immidiatly. Alberto will even call you with step by step instructions and give you pointers. After I bought my first custom tune and he gave me extra tunes till my car was absolutely perfect even with extra mods I placed on my car after the fact. Hope this helps you out.
03-24-2013, 08:43 AM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CT
Posts: 10
Hmmmm...
Hey Big freeze. You can adjust your idle with your tuner. Does your car have any mods other than the tuner and the tire size? americanmotorsport.com can help you and return your emails that same day or immidiatly. Alberto will even call you with step by step instructions and give you pointers. After I bought my first custom tune and he gave me extra tunes till my car was absolutely perfect even with extra mods I placed on my car after the fact. Hope this helps you out.
The problem is when I use the tuner option "RETURN TO STOCK", it 'brings it back to stock' but I keep having the same issues with the transmission. I wonder if it's an ecu/pcm issue?
I think I am going to try that website you provided me with- looks promising! I wonder if the car needs to be flashed back to stock by someone else first?
03-25-2013, 06:55 AM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Missississippi
Posts: 6
Your welcome Big Freeze. With that many mods and specifically the cams and the exhaust you'll need a specific tune. I suggest running at least 93 octane with a cai too. With the bigger cams you'll need a higher idle rpm. I don't think your having a clutch problem just a tune problem. www.americanmotorsport.com will fix your problem. Make sure you save your stock tune to your laptop or pc. Tuner can malfunction and you don't want a big paper weight.
03-25-2013, 10:27 AM
#6
TheBigFreeze,
Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the Mustang! It's very strange you weren't having issues before, until the tuner Firmware update. I'm assuming the Bama Street tune you uploaded is the same one you were running without any issues before? Or is this a new tune? The new Firmware may have just corrupted your old tune and you could just need a new one written for the most recent Firmware, which our Bama guys could do in no time!
Get back to me when you have a chance with your order number, too. I'll get everything over to the Bama Team and I'm sure they'll be able to find a solution, even if that means a direct contact with our SCT Rep!
Shane
Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the Mustang! It's very strange you weren't having issues before, until the tuner Firmware update. I'm assuming the Bama Street tune you uploaded is the same one you were running without any issues before? Or is this a new tune? The new Firmware may have just corrupted your old tune and you could just need a new one written for the most recent Firmware, which our Bama guys could do in no time!
Get back to me when you have a chance with your order number, too. I'll get everything over to the Bama Team and I'm sure they'll be able to find a solution, even if that means a direct contact with our SCT Rep!
Shane
03-25-2013, 12:02 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CT
Posts: 10
Your welcome Big Freeze. With that many mods and specifically the cams and the exhaust you'll need a specific tune. I suggest running at least 93 octane with a cai too. With the bigger cams you'll need a higher idle rpm. I don't think your having a clutch problem just a tune problem. www.americanmotorsport.com will fix your problem. Make sure you save your stock tune to your laptop or pc. Tuner can malfunction and you don't want a big paper weight.
03-25-2013, 12:10 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CT
Posts: 10
TheBigFreeze,
Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the Mustang! It's very strange you weren't having issues before, until the tuner Firmware update. I'm assuming the Bama Street tune you uploaded is the same one you were running without any issues before? Or is this a new tune? The new Firmware may have just corrupted your old tune and you could just need a new one written for the most recent Firmware, which our Bama guys could do in no time!
Get back to me when you have a chance with your order number, too. I'll get everything over to the Bama Team and I'm sure they'll be able to find a solution, even if that means a direct contact with our SCT Rep!
Shane
Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the Mustang! It's very strange you weren't having issues before, until the tuner Firmware update. I'm assuming the Bama Street tune you uploaded is the same one you were running without any issues before? Or is this a new tune? The new Firmware may have just corrupted your old tune and you could just need a new one written for the most recent Firmware, which our Bama guys could do in no time!
Get back to me when you have a chance with your order number, too. I'll get everything over to the Bama Team and I'm sure they'll be able to find a solution, even if that means a direct contact with our SCT Rep!
Shane
Hey Shane, thank you for your reply!
That is correct. I was having no issues whatsoever before the firmware upgrade. Yes, the Bama Street tune I uploaded is the same one I was running without any issues before. Those tunes are definitely at least 8 months old. Is it possible the firmware has corrupted the old tune?? In which case, has my STOCK file been corrupted? That would explain why when I return to stock I am having the same issues.
I just put through an order: 2061267
Thank you very much for setting me up with the right people. I can't wait to have my 'Stang fully functional again! Very stressful!!
03-26-2013, 12:53 PM
#9
Edit: After talking to the Bama Team, I got some things clarified. When updating your Firmware, you need to upload the factory tune to the PCM because all of the tunes will be erased on the SCT tuner. From there you need to recover the Factory tune from the PCM, after the Firmware is finished. Then have new tunes sent from Bama via email and transferred to the handheld. If you really did update your Firmware, there should not be any Bama tunes on the handheld. I think you might have uploaded a strategy tune by mistake, which is most likely causing your driving issues.
I also just had one of our Bama Tuners call the number under the order# 2061267 which is linked to a Michael Volpe. He apparently is no longer the owner of the car and sold it to you, if I'm not mistaken. So, at this point we need you to do a few things in order to move forward.
Are you sure you uploaded the stock tune to the PCM before updating the Firmware? If you lost the factory file, contact SCT directly to get a factory file back onto your SCT Tuner.
Then, if you're interested in one of our Bama custom tunes, we'll need you to purchase into our Free Tunes for Life program, since you're not enrolled at the moment. Then we'll be able to send you our Bama tunes.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Shane
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The factory file won't be corrupted if you flash it to the PCM before updating the firmware. However, the factory tune should be able to run smoothly since you have a no tune required intake and somewhat stock tire height.
Either way, I'm sure when of our Bama Tuning Specialists will be ale to set you straight. Let me check in with them and see what the progress. I'll have a response for you within 24 business hours!
Shane
I also just had one of our Bama Tuners call the number under the order# 2061267 which is linked to a Michael Volpe. He apparently is no longer the owner of the car and sold it to you, if I'm not mistaken. So, at this point we need you to do a few things in order to move forward.
Are you sure you uploaded the stock tune to the PCM before updating the Firmware? If you lost the factory file, contact SCT directly to get a factory file back onto your SCT Tuner.
Then, if you're interested in one of our Bama custom tunes, we'll need you to purchase into our Free Tunes for Life program, since you're not enrolled at the moment. Then we'll be able to send you our Bama tunes.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Shane
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Shane, thank you for your reply!
That is correct. I was having no issues whatsoever before the firmware upgrade. Yes, the Bama Street tune I uploaded is the same one I was running without any issues before. Those tunes are definitely at least 8 months old. Is it possible the firmware has corrupted the old tune?? In which case, has my STOCK file been corrupted? That would explain why when I return to stock I am having the same issues.
I just put through an order: 2061267
Thank you very much for setting me up with the right people. I can't wait to have my 'Stang fully functional again! Very stressful!!
That is correct. I was having no issues whatsoever before the firmware upgrade. Yes, the Bama Street tune I uploaded is the same one I was running without any issues before. Those tunes are definitely at least 8 months old. Is it possible the firmware has corrupted the old tune?? In which case, has my STOCK file been corrupted? That would explain why when I return to stock I am having the same issues.
I just put through an order: 2061267
Thank you very much for setting me up with the right people. I can't wait to have my 'Stang fully functional again! Very stressful!!
Either way, I'm sure when of our Bama Tuning Specialists will be ale to set you straight. Let me check in with them and see what the progress. I'll have a response for you within 24 business hours!
Shane
Last edited by AMWill; 03-26-2013 at 03:06 PM.
03-27-2013, 02:52 PM
#10
I understand you just want to get the car back on the road and I don't blame you one bit!
However, we're in a very tricky situation here. It's impossible to update the Firmware on a SF3 tuner without whipping the custom tunes from the tuner. This makes me think the Firmware update was unsuccessful, if you still have Bama tunes on there.
Plus, after looking at the Bama Teams notes, I see you have a Manual transmission swap with the factory Auto PCM installed. This explains why you can't upload the stock tune and have everything run smoothly. You have to use an custom tune at this point to adjust the Auto PCM's parameters for a manual transmission.
Your best bet is to get some new custom tunes specifically for the Auto PCM and manual transmission. If there's still Bama tunes on your SF3 after updating the Firmware, they could very well be corrupted, since they should have been erased.
Otherwise there's no way to tell if you have an issue with the tuner or not. The only other option is to contact SCT directly @ 407-774-2447 and send the SF3 into them to inspect.
Shane
However, we're in a very tricky situation here. It's impossible to update the Firmware on a SF3 tuner without whipping the custom tunes from the tuner. This makes me think the Firmware update was unsuccessful, if you still have Bama tunes on there.
Plus, after looking at the Bama Teams notes, I see you have a Manual transmission swap with the factory Auto PCM installed. This explains why you can't upload the stock tune and have everything run smoothly. You have to use an custom tune at this point to adjust the Auto PCM's parameters for a manual transmission.
Your best bet is to get some new custom tunes specifically for the Auto PCM and manual transmission. If there's still Bama tunes on your SF3 after updating the Firmware, they could very well be corrupted, since they should have been erased.
Otherwise there's no way to tell if you have an issue with the tuner or not. The only other option is to contact SCT directly @ 407-774-2447 and send the SF3 into them to inspect.
Shane