How To Program and Flash A

Cat ECM

In this article we’re going to be showing you how to flash and program a cat engine
control, module, I would send this ECM and ask to see if it was communicating and if it
was working and it was not, and you can see it’s off the truck I’m bench testing it here
most of the time, you’re gonna be doing this while the ECM is on the truck, unless you
have a jump out of the harness.

So obviously this is the old ECM. We need to see if it’s going to communicate first and
I’m, using a comet after three, which is a CAT Caterpillar ET. You don’t have to use a
common after three if you want to, but you are gonna have to use cat electronic
technician with it, which is a software program. There are other adapters out there like
the neck, sick, and some other ones, but comment after three is the best one, so we’re
gonna be using it a lot. This is an electronic technician. This is how we’re going to flash
and program or ECM. So we’re trying to do is communicate with the old ECM and try to
get the information off of it first now notice that the j 1708 is not blinking green. This is a
bad indication that the ECM is fried and is not communicating, which is bad, because
this means we’re gonna have to manually program the ccm, and trying to get
information off of it’s going to be difficult, so give it a few seconds here.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

It’s gonna come up with a prompt that says: ECM is not found so unable to
communicate with an ECM. This was tried a couple of times. Ccm is dead, I cannot
communicate with it. So that’s unfortunate and the unfortunate reason is that we can’t
do a copy config and the copy config is under service right here. Copy configuration if
you could communicate you’d want to do a copy config to save all of your parameters.
So what we’re looking at here is the cysts web home screen. Now, if you look down
here, it says service software files, you’re gonna, click on that and that’s going to take
you to the place we’re going to get our flash file which will need for a new ECM. Now, if
you look over here there are sims I and tmi we’re gonna discuss those later, but for the
most part, we just need to go to our service software files section here now you need a
cyst login, which means you have to be in the cat system. If you are not in there, you’re
gonna have to have to get your flash files from somewhere else, so we’re gonna click
on the flash file there. After we click on the server software file and you’re gonna be
given this prompt and you can type in your engine.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

Serial number, which you will need, and then it’s going to give you a flash file- part
number okay. So after you type that in you’re gonna type search- and it’s gonna give
you the number you need now. This is a download. Now, let’s talk about this flash file
name here, if you know the old flash file number of the old ECM, if you’d be able to
communicate with it, you would want to type that in and not use the serial number. The
reason for that is if the engines have been re-rated and you’d search by serial number,
it’s gonna give the wrong file name now we don’t know the old flash file. So what we’re
gonna do is click on this and then we’re gonna, save it to our desktop and remember.
We got this by searching by engine serial number and you’re, just gonna click the little
arrow and save as and save it to your desktop, and then we’re gonna go back into e t.
So we’re back in eighty we’re now connected to our new ECM. So it’s going to be
searching for a new ECM. Now you can skip this step and go directly to win flash but I
like to make sure that it is going to communicate with the new ECM. So came up with a
blank box with flash required you’re gonna click flash which is gonna. Take you to win
flash, which is this and it’s gonna, disconnect and reconnect and win. Flash is only used
for flashing the ECM. It’s not used for doing your parameters or anything else. Now, if
you are just updating a flash file and you’re reusing the same ECM you’d also be doing
the same procedure, you’d be getting the new flash file and you would be using one
flash to update the flash file so like I, said in win flash it’s going to disconnect I’m gonna
reconnect.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

So you got to go through this step here so once it loads I’ll show you how to select your
flash file and, of course, this video is not the most exciting. It’s a very technical video.
But if you’re trying to program an ECM, this video is going to show you how to do that.
So once it brings up come on come on sorry, this takes forever. This is the actual time it
takes to reconnect and win flesh in any second. Now it’s gonna pop up there we go
okay, now my computer’s a piece of crap. So it’s gonna give me this to many clients’
server issues, but your computer probably won’t come up with that.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

Now you’re gonna go to the top right and you’re gonna your files and you’re gonna
select the best top and then you’re going to search and find that flash file which this one
was a two-four six, eight two three five and you’re gonna select it and then click open
now, once it opens you’re going to check the flash file, so do you see where it says:
3126 below, box and there’s? Some writing here. Look here make sure that the
horsepower and torque are accurate because if you get it wrong now, especially if you
get it too low now, it’s gonna want to rewrite in the future, which will prompt factory,
passwords, and gonna charge you a fee. So if that’s correct, which this is correct for this
engine, you’re gonna have the bottom left where it says, begin flash and you’re gonna
click it, and then on the bottom right, there’s gonna be a little progress bar and I’m, not
gonna, make you sit through this whole thing I’m going to skip ahead here to about a
hundred percent. So it’s pretty much done. It doesn’t take very long on these older
engines on the regen engines. It takes quite a while so flash completely. That’s good
we’re gonna click back on cat et now and then we’re gonna go back to cat et and of
course, it’s going to disconnect and reconnect, but I’m gonna skip ahead and it’s gonna
prompt you for a warranty download you’re not gonna, do that yet because you have not
programmed the ucm you’ve just flashed it now. Looking at the status screen here- or
this is the little header information, there’s no engine serial number date and time or not
program, pretty much. The whole configuration is gonna be blank, except for a few
presets and I want to be showing you how to program these. Now, if you see these, it’s
a history, eraser button just kidding, so these are f, ls, and f ts, but we’re going to be
going through the entire parameters. Here, not gonna, be gone through everyone, just
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM
the important ones. You’ll have to program most of yourself, so the first ones we need to
identify here at the very top once we’ve expanded.

All is your rating number now most they’re, just gonna have one rating number select
that next is going to be our engines serial number. This is very important. You want to
get this correct. This is letting you know once you program an engine serial number, you
can’t put it in test mode. Don’t worry about that! Just put the right serial number in and
then once you program that we’re gonna move on to our truck manufacturer, which is a
feature that’s kind of annoying, because it’s gonna make us disconnect and reconnect
again, and you can see it right here, truck manufacturer. This needs to be programmed.
There are usually only two settings gm or other if it’s a gm, so it’s a gm if it’s a freight
line or anything else put it to other. This isn’t an RV with a Freightliner chassis, so we’re
gonna set it to other. So, let’s select other and click ok, it’s going to disconnect and
reconnect.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

Unfortunately, now it’s disconnecting it’s gonna reconnect. I’m gonna cut out most of the
waiting time here. So let me cut this section here. We’re gonna skip ahead and it’s
gonna prompt you again for a warranty. The download you’re not gonna, do a warranty
download again because we haven’t finished programming. Yet now I’m not like I, said
I’m, not gonna go over the entire configuration, but the important ones here. Some of
these in the configuration you’re gonna, have to find yourself like the vehicle speed
calibration tachometer things like that I’m going to show you a trick, though, if you could
not connect with the old ECM on how to program that so we’re gonna spanned all again
and we’re gonna get back down to our fl s and f ts. So we have our fl s, +, f, ts, and
we’re gonna need a program these and there are other things. We’re gonna need to
program such as our timing calibration and injector trim depending on which engine this
is 31 26. So there’s no injector trim. If you have to program you or timing calibration I’m
going to show you a trick here and it involves using copy configuration you can see our
engine speed signal calibration has not been performed yet now, if you could have
communicated with the old ECM, you would have done something called a copy
configuration which, basically you just open the old ECM, go to copy configuration which
I’ll be doing here in a second, so you’re gonna go up and go to copy configuration under
service.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

Ecm replacement, not fleet configuration, easy and replacement, and it’s gonna ask you
if you want to open a file now, if you could have communicated with the old ECM, you
would have said, cancel and it would have brought up all the information and you can
save it now. What we’re doing here is we need a seven, an s file. C, no data is
available.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

We need a 70 s. File so I found one on another laptop c 70s. Now, this is a different 7a
s than the one we’re working on, but it doesn’t matter all we’re gonna do is carry the
timing over. So this is, like I, said, a different engine, but it’s the same series. So it’s 31
26, the 70s, you’re, gonna, deselect, everything and the reason you’re deselecting the
configuration and the totals is that remember this is a different engine, so you might be
wondering: what’s it going to carry over it’s just going to carry over the timing file, so
we’re going to copy config, but we’re not doing anything so we’re gonna click program.
Ecm and it’s gonna, ask you: if you want to change your truck manufacturer nope, we
do not because it’s already set the other and it’s gonna cope with a little prompt and it’s
gonna go pretty quick because it’s not carrying much over and hopefully it’ll say timing.
Successful timing calibration was successfully transferred, so you don’t have to do
timing anymore. That’s a good trick! Really. The smart guy showed me how to do that
and for our next trick, we argued going into the f ls and the fees. Now, these are very
important. This is your full load setting in your full torque setting. These have to be
programmed correctly, don’t want to just enter any numbers in there and higher
numbers don’t mean more power. You want to set the numbers from what the factory
had them set now. If you don’t know what those are I’m going to show you how to find
those, so once those are set, those are good to go now, if you put the wrong ones,
you’re gonna have to get a factory password to change them.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

That’s hard to do. Unless you have high-level cat access now, the next thing would be
set. Your current totals I was in the copy config file. Here, you’re gonna go up and select
your current totals and if you know them such as your distance, so the engine hours
you’ll enter that in obviously, you’re not gonna, know what most of these are. So getting
back to our sis home page here, I’m going to show you sims I. Now not everyone has
access to this, but if you do have access to it and you’re programming, a team that is
dead and you can’t communicate with this is going to help you or it can help you and the
reason for that is you can view old downloads of the ECM, so you’ll have a hard copy of
your configuration. So once you click on sims I, it’s going to be this screen.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

You’re gonna click on service reporting on the top here and that’s gonna. Take you to
another page, and this page is going to have some more information on the left. You’re,
gonna click on view, ECM download and once you click view, ECM download. It’s
gonna. Take you to view the ECM download page on this page. You’re gonna enter the
engine serial number now I’m just going to enter a random one, mxs zero one. Two-
three four and, as you can see, this has at multiple downloads, you’re, gonna click on
view right there and hopefully, there’s been a download if downloads never been done
on this engine. You’re not going to have this option, but this one had downloaded and if
you click view, it’s gonna open up another page, and that page is this. This is gonna be
about ten pages long. This is a download, and this download is gonna. Have a printout
of the entire engine configuration it’s not as good as a copy configuration, but it’s better
than nothing because at least this way you know your tachometer, your vehicle, speed,
f, ls, and FC s all that stuff. Now, if there’s never been a download, you’re gonna have
to click on tmi on our system. Now you see where it says view more underneath here. If
your additional service information doesn’t have these options, you can find them in
view more, but once you click tmi, it’s gonna bring you to this screen and follow my
arrow again, where there’s a search bar and if you type in the engine serial number
there and then click retrieve data, which is to the bottom left of my arrow, that’s going to
bring up another screen and that’s gonna be a diner run of that engine.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

But, more importantly, that’s gonna. Have your full load setting and your full torque
setting your f ls in your f ts, and that would be what you’re entering in for your f ls and
your f ts. You cannot leave them blank and you don’t put the wrong numbers in. So if
you don’t have a download, you can use tmi to at least get your f ls, an f ts, really
technical video hope. You guys enjoyed it now, it’s time for a little segment, I like to call
so we have a co-worker of mine who’s. Doing a rebuild- and he found in this truck
engine, these large pieces of metal that were in the oil pan. This is a rebuild that got
towed in it. Wasn’t running and there are some pieces of piston rings there as well and
turns out it was this liner. The piston itself was actually in good condition other than the
rings, but as you could see, the liner was not in the will say best of conditions. It was
broken. I’ve never seen a liner just totally blown apart like this before, and yet the
pistons are still in good condition. Kind of weird. This is on a c-13 cat, more destruction
another company makes diesel engines called Cummins, and this Cummins,
unfortunately, is a buddy of mine in driving his truck around and side of the highway.
How To Program and Flash A
Cat ECM

He was like hey there’s a piece of engine sticking out of the side of my engine, not very
good news for him, but he’s already got a fixed hope.