My engine chipping experience so far

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

Agreed

good to see you have it sorted barry, pity they couldnt have got it right form the start. Cheers samo

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

Hi Barry,
Let me know how this goes for you. I have had the firmware upgrade on my chip and it was still suffering from the same problems. Chip it then sent me the new harness which plugs into a 12v socket and still the problem persisted. I have even tried wiring the chip power to the dual battery with no luck. I have decided to send the chip back and ask for a full refund as it has never performed as advertised since purchasing it in December! The last time it went into limp home mode was when i went to accelerate across an intersection........ potentially a very dangerous time to loose all power! I no longer have confidence in this product! I will keep you all informed on how the refund request goes.
Cheers!

Sorry Vexpress. The dual battery effort would not have fixed it. It was either the 12 volts not dropping out. ie installed/connected to the wrong spot or the wrong firmware was flashed into the Chip. Both errors can be sorted out. We'll even send you a return paid bag to get it back to us.

It is our sincere intent to get you up and running ASAP so you can let people know the positives of the Chip.

Hope I caught you in time?

BTW, did you call us to ask for assistance? My number should have been given out to you for tech support. We, together, could have diagnosed the issue on the spot.

in any regards ... sorry that we caused the upset. That would have pissed me off as well. Especially having the car go into limp mode in the middle of the intersection. Scary!

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

I would be interested to hear what the problem is. I have had a similar problem, with the car going into limp home mode when I was in the middle of an intersection. Luckily I have a scangauge and simply cleared the code and continued. I have also had the problem where every now and then the car won't start, but if you stop and try again it starts no problems.

I wouldn't add a chip without having some sort of OBD scanner personally!

Well in fact you shouldn't need one but I do take your point. i have a OBDII scanner in my glove box at all times too. The little hand held jobbies we sell are small, very decent ... and cheap! does most of what the expensive scan tool from Snap On does at a faction of the price!!! Even has freeze frames and data readout via graph. Plus it tells you not only the code but what the code description is!

(trying not to make it sound like sales spin .. just being up front and if people are looking for a good cheap scanner ... well ... )

[Schniff Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schniff]

Hi guys.

Just been told about this thread and thought to join to say hi and to see if I can lend a hand with some Chip It issues. I might not have all the answers but I will try to be beneficial where I can.

The Prado and the 70 Series Land Crusiers are the only vehicles known to have the starting issue. The work around, as mentioned by a previous poster, is to take the power supply to the Chip It module from an ACC (accessories) supply. ie Cig lighter, head lights or in the case of the LC Toyota graciously supply a "POWER OUTLET" box under the bonnet (driver's side). Not sure of the latest model Prado but last years does not have an separate power outlet as the LC does.

Basically, the chip's 12 volts (+) power supply needs to cut out during engine cranking so the vehicle is starting on the base factory MAP. Then when the key is returned to the run position the chip is then active.

If the issue still exists, please check that the power supply you have is in fact dropping out on engine cranking. If it still exists we probably sent out the Chip with the firemware to suit a standard D4D engine. Sorry about that. But don't judge us on being human and making mistakes ... but how we handle those mistakes. I think we would all agree that its not the mistakes that makes or breaks a companies reputation but the after sales support. I know that's what I look for. Hopefully others think as I do.

If you wish to discuss, please call me on 0412 304030.

Many thanks

PS. we did kick the ass of the offender that flashed the wrong firmware ... he did it to about 5 customers before we picked it up.

So will this fix the problem of the check engine light coming on in the middle of intersections or just the failure to start problem? There isn't any ACC power supply under the bonnet as it is supplied from ECU B which is inside the cabin. I don't want to have to pull apart my centre console again if I don't have to. Will IGN power do the trick?

[Madkore Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Madkore]

Not often have I seen on here reps from a company sign up to address customer issues like this.

After having my heart set on a DP Chip, these Chip It modules have grabbed my attention.

[barryswanson Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close barryswanson]

Not often have I seen on here reps from a company sign up to address customer issues like this.

After having my heart set on a DP Chip, these Chip It modules have grabbed my attention.

Chip-It is the way to go mate. Even though my experience was a bit frustrating at the start in the end the guys sorted it out and my Prado hauls arse now. I no longer have to have a big run up to overtake people on the highway now, I just accelerate straight past them

[KJA Member Find all posts View Profile Close KJA]

I have just put in a Steinbauer chip a week ago and it seems the ants pants. Have not had any experience with other chips but this seems great
Ken

[DGW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close DGW]

I have watching this thread with much interest, as a chip is high on my list for my new Prado. My old 2001 Prado was chipped (DP Chip) and made it much nicer to drive.
I am impressed that a chip maker is showing interest in these issues and actively trying to help.

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

So will this fix the problem of the check engine light coming on in the middle of intersections or just the failure to start problem? There isn't any ACC power supply under the bonnet as it is supplied from ECU B which is inside the cabin. I don't want to have to pull apart my centre console again if I don't have to. Will IGN power do the trick?

The accessories power will sort the start issue. For the issue at intersection can you call me to discuss as I need to know HOW and at what stage this is happening. Please call me direct on 0412 304030 or Justin on 0400 346 129. It may be that the firmware needs to be re-written and if so ... my appologies in advance. If you call Justin let him know from the start what the issue was so he can diagnose it.

As I mentioned... we as as pissed off as you are that some chips left with the standard firmware. Its a bugger but its ONLY the Prado that needs the firmware update. It has a dual throttle input and is offset by 500 milliamps ... it took us a whilst to crack this one.

But we did crack it

[Chip It Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chip It]

Not often have I seen on here reps from a company sign up to address customer issues like this.

After having my heart set on a DP Chip, these Chip It modules have grabbed my attention.

I have watching this thread with much interest, as a chip is high on my list for my new Prado. My old 2001 Prado was chipped (DP Chip) and made it much nicer to drive.
I am impressed that a chip maker is showing interest in these issues and actively trying to help.

Thanks for that Madkore and DGW. We are very passionate about the industry and the product and appreciate it when people take the time to say thanks or give some positive feedback

Cheers

[chester ver 2.0 Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester ver 2.0]

"have recently noticed a sound coming from my brake pedal after start up. It's a "click" sort of sound very similar to the Down Hill Assist control sound. I have wondered if anyone else has noticed this or is there something wrong with my vehicle? I have been wondering if it has something to do with the feature that holds the brakes on for a moment when your doing a hill start. It also only seems to have appeared after I have put a Chip-It chip on my vehicle"

We noticed this noise on all of the mine prados if it is a manual you will find that it is probably the clutch interlock switch this was put on the 150 so the kiddies could not press the button and start the car in even nuetral you must have the clutch depressed. These switches have failed in approx 50% of the prados and new hiluxes up here signs of failure start as a random clicking to the point the car will not start 5 mins with the cutters and a rewire will fix ( we have to up here) but city folks can take it back to the dealer

[Ryzz Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryzz]

A question for you Robert, why do some people claim that increase the fuel line pressure is bad and other kit manufactures (aka Steinbauer) go about power increase through methods apart from increasing fuel line pressure, however places like DP & Chip-it, etc swear by this method. Im sure there are a lot of people on here that would be very interested in hearing some industry feedback on the good and bad of the different methods of power increases.

[Schniff Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schniff]

The accessories power will sort the start issue. For the issue at intersection can you call me to discuss as I need to know HOW and at what stage this is happening. Please call me direct on 0412 304030 or Justin on 0400 346 129. It may be that the firmware needs to be re-written and if so ... my appologies in advance. If you call Justin let him know from the start what the issue was so he can diagnose it.

As I mentioned... we as as pissed off as you are that some chips left with the standard firmware. Its a bugger but its ONLY the Prado that needs the firmware update. It has a dual throttle input and is offset by 500 milliamps ... it took us a whilst to crack this one.

But we did crack it

It only started happening recently, and it doesn't happen with any regularity or predictability. I recently did a trip from Adelaide to the SA/Vic border track and back with no issues, but last night driving home from work the check engine light came on, fault code 0000, with 4Lo flashing and the car had no power. When it happens, it seems to be within 10 minutes of startup. This issue has been noted by another member in this thread.

[rhs58 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rhs58]

Im sure there are a lot of people on here that would be very interested in hearing some industry feedback on the good and bad of the different methods of power increases.

I for one would like to hear views on this very question.
The options appear to be - changing injection timing/duration vs increasing common rail pressure vs increasing turbo boost or combinations of these.
Which is best? I dunno, but await eagerly opinions and view.


Steinbauer seems to have no reports of problems from Pradopoint users of their product.
DP has some reported glitches (and their advert in the off road mags spends time pouring scorn on a competitor - not the type of advertising that convinces me).
Chipit is relatively new in the field, is Aussie, but there's been a few glitches reported too. Price is very competitive. I appreciate that they have engaged in dialogue in this thread addressing concerns raised, but right now I just feel they have a little more R&D to go before I'm convinced they've got it right.

Ron

[Giles Member Find all posts View Profile Close Giles]

I for one would like to hear views on this very question.
The options appear to be - changing injection timing/duration vs increasing common rail pressure vs increasing turbo boost or combinations of these.
Which is best? I dunno, but await eagerly opinions and view.


Steinbauer seems to have no reports of problems from Pradopoint users of their product.
DP has some reported glitches (and their advert in the off road mags spends time pouring scorn on a competitor - not the type of advertising that convinces me).
Chipit is relatively new in the field, is Aussie, but there's been a few glitches reported too. Price is very competitive. I appreciate that they have engaged in dialogue in this thread addressing concerns raised, but right now I just feel they have a little more R&D to go before I'm convinced they've got it right.

Ron

Our Kakadu goes great with the Steinbauer,then again so does the Hilux and 200! Glad your enjoying yours ken