Adamw

Ok, I'm sorry to say this suggests its likely some failed hardware on the bottom board then. Can you submit the service request form here: http://www.linkecu.com/contact/ecu-service-requests/ and get it back to us for inspection. For the fault description on the form you can just link to this thread.

If you were testing between 97 & ground then that is wrong. To test the ground output out of pin 97 you would want to connect your test light/multimeter like so: One probe to pin 97, the other to battery +ve. The lamp should glow or the multimeter should show 12V when you turn ignition on.

If you have too much cranking advance it can cause the engine to kick back but it doesnt sound like that too me. To test if this is the cause you can just unplug the coils and try cranking - if it cranks faster when there is no spark then you could possibly conclude it is related to a timing issue.

Can you confirm the number of teeth on the crank trigger? Is it one of those “flying magnet” types with 4 magnets?

If you havent connected them to anything then turn them off.

You have AN Volt 4,5 & 6 set up as generic 0-5V channels and they are presently all measuring below what you have set up as the error low voltage. If they are not connected to anything then turn them off. If they are connected to something then set their error conditions up to something more suitable.

The PC can see the USB chip in the ECU but it cant communicate until it is powered up. To help with troubleshooting, this is a basic overview of how the power circuit works in that car, start at number 1 and report back which bit is missing: Whenever the ignition switch is on you should get a +12V "key on" signal on pin 118. Whenever pin 118 is live, the ECU sends a ground out of pin 97. This grounds the main DME relay coil. The DME relay then engages and connects the main +12V supply to pin 120, ecu then powers up.

Can you please do the triggerscope. Does the coil have built in ignitors?

That along with you connection issue suggests the ECU is not powered up. Pin 120 is the main +14V supply, ground is on pin 114. Can you back probe these pins and check there is power there with key on.

Go to linkecu.com, get on the webchat thing and start a webchat with tech support. I will catch you there

Do you have internet access near car so I can log in with teamviewer and have a poke around?

LOL, I was assuming a Nissan Z20... I just realised Vaxhual have a Z20 too, which is probably what you are talking about..

Im not sure what you are asking here, but yes, all sensors must be correctly calibrated before starting. Click on that "set base timing" spanner, you can only enter the offset in that screen. Make sure you hit enter after typing it in so the box turns blue.

With ecu connected and ignition on, can you go to windows device manager and have a look if you have a Link or Vipec USB ECU showing under COM ports:

Note the non-vvt engine has a different trigger pattern so just in case you didnt know that there is some basic set up info in the help file. You can ignore the "twin distributor" setting. You can do that by setting injection mode to "off". Once you have checked the base timing, here is the basic start up procedure:

I dont think I have even seen a Z20 for about 20years... Can you do a trigger scope at idle and attach it here.

Are the injectors high impedance? Probably the first place to start is to open up the runtimes screen (F12), take a look at the triggers/limits tab while cranking. We want to see trig 1 & 2 signal turn green, check eng speed reads about 200RPM and check there are no red errors showing.

Unplug the ecu, leave it off for a few minutes. Then power up again and try to run the Firmware update again (pc link doesn’t need to connect). You can just install the same firmware again.

Yes it will work just the same with an ecu log. You just need to ensure the relevant parameters are included in the log set.

The ECU will usually only get stuck in boot mode if there is a wiring problem that is preventing the ECU from fully shutting down during the "power cycle" step. So to make sure it is getting completely powered down either unplug the main ecu connector or disconnect battery. Re-connect then do the firmware update again, this time when it gets to the power cycle step, disconnect ecu/battery again for a few seconds before reconnecting then click ok to continue.

For an i series you should be using iVTS, not VTS. Can you confirm that you are using iVTS. Do you get any error messages or any clues?

Parallel installs on modern auto trans cars can be very challenging. Im not sure how much interaction between ECU and trans there would be in a '98 Merc, but there will usually at least be some sort of torque reduction strategy - possibly also converter lock up and some other functions. The Torque reduction is the difficult bit to do once you take E-throttle and ignition control away from the OEM ECU.

When a DI is used for a Cam position its status parameter will always show "off", so what you are seeing here is normal. Your cam control is probably working fine. The best place to check is open runtimes screen (F12 key), move to VVT tab. Check parameters Inlet LH & Inlet RH status - if they show active you are good.

Set Equation load source to MAP, then put TP on your main fuel table axis. If you are using traditional mode then make sure open loop lambda table is turned on and put MAP or MGP on its Y axis. MAP will then be taken care of automatically in the background and the open loop lambda table will take care of the fact that you want a richer mixture at higher boost. You will unlikely need a 4D table or BAP/MAP Xover mode.

As above, this was fixed some time ago. Update to the latest firmware.