Need help, have questions? We'll jump through hoops to see you're satisfied.
Fill out form or send an email to Customer Support. .
General
- Who or what is EFILive?
- How much does EFILive cost?
- Where and how can I purchase EFILive?
- Can EFILive be used to program my PCM?
- What is the difference between EFILive Personal and Commercial?
- Can I use my AutoTap interface cable with the EFILive Scan Tool?
- AT1 V1.x*
- AT123 V1.x*
- AT1 V2.x
- AT123 V2.x
- ATUSB
- Can I use my AutoTap interface cable with the EFILive Tuning Tool?
- How do I completely uninstall EFILive V5?
- Save your logged data files.
- Uninstall the EFILive V5 installation.
- Delete the EFILive installation folder.
- Remove the registry settings.
- Air mass per cylinder g/cyl
- Power at flywheel hp/kW
- Power at rear wheels hp/kW
- G-force g
- Damped VSS kmh/mph
- Injector Duty Cycle Bank 1 %
- Injector Duty Cycle Bank 2 %
- Volumetric Efficiency %
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.cht
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.cus
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dsh
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.efi*
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.map
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pid
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EFIChartFile
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EFICustomerFile
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EFIDashFile
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EFILogFile
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EFIMapFile
- \\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EFIPidFile
- Will EFILive work with my vehicle?
- Why does EFILive report that my interface is unregistered?
- How do I enter my registration details?
EFILive is both a company and a product. EFILive is a Scan Tool that began life as CarBytes which can still be downloaded and used free of charge. Carbytes is a scan tool for use with GM's 8192 baud, ALDL protocol. Carbytes was updated to work with 8192 baud (and 160 baud) ALDL networks and was relaunched as EFILiveV4. In 2001, EFILive was completely re-written to support OBDII. The first public release of EFILive for OBDII shipped on July 1, 2002 as EFILive V5. EFILive V6 replaced EFILiveV5 in December 2003. EFILive V7 replaced EFILive V6 in January 2005.
The official EFILive price list can be viewed on our EFILive info page. You may be able to find a better price from one our many EFILive distributors, particularly if you are able to participate in a group purchase. All EFILive software products may be downloaded and evaluated free of charge so that you can "try before you buy".
US customers can find a dealer on the Dealer locater page.
EFILive Scan Tool cannot permanently reprogram or alter your PCM. EFILive Tuning Tool with the FlashScan interface is a full featured LS1/LS6 PCM tuner and editor. The EFILive Scan Tool has the ability to temporarily override some PCM functions - including spark and fuel. However, it cannot and should not be used instead of the EFILive Tuning Tool for PCM reprogramming. Any changes made to the PCM by the EFILive Scan Tool are discarded when it is terminated or disconnected.
EFILive Personal and EFILive Commercial are identical in every way except for the following difference: The EFILive Commercial Scan Tool has bi-directional controls, the EFILive Personal Scan Tool does not. See this comparison for a full list of features.
The EFILive Scan Tool can use any of the following AutoTap interface cables:
You may download the EFILive Scan Tool software and evaluate it (free of charge) using your AutoTap interface. However, to log data using the EFILive Scan Tool you must purchase an EFILive Scan Tool software license.
EFILive V4 requires an OBD I (ALDL) interface cable and therefore cannot be used with AutoTap's OBDII interface cables.
No, you can only use EFILive's FlashScan cable to reflash you PCM using the EFILive Tuning Tool software.
NOTE: There is no requirement to uninstall EFILive V5 before installing EFILive V6. They can both reside on the same PC. You can even run them simultaneously. >However, you cannot have both connected to the same vehicle at the same time.
There are four steps to removing EFILive V5.
Currently there is no automated process for steps 1, 3 and 4.
The following instructions assume that you installed EFILive V5 in the default installation folder.
Step 1 - Save your logged data files:
The logged data files are stored in *.efi files in the C:\Program files\Starr Performance\EFILive V5 OBD-II\EFI folder. Copy the logged data files that you wish to save to a safe location.
If there are any calculated PIDs that you wish to save from EFILive V5, please take note of their details so that you may re-enter them into EFILive V6. Calculated PIDs are not automatically upgraded to V6. Note: EFILive V6 is preconfigured with the following calculated PIDs:
Step 2 - Uninstall EFILive V5:
Open up the Windows Control Panel (Start->Settings->Control Panel) and double click on "Add/Remove Programs".
Select "EFILive V5 OBDII" and click on [Remove].
Step 3 - Delete the EFILive installation folder:
If there are any files in the EFILive V5 installation folder that you wish to save, please save them now.
Delete the EFILive V5 installation folder: C:\Program files\Starr Performance\EFILive V5 OBDII
Step 4 - Remove the registry settings:
WARNING - Editing the registry incorrectly can cause your system to malfunction or stop working completely. Only change/Remove the registry keys as explained below.
Remove the following registry keys and all their subkeys:
\\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Starr Performance\EFILive V5
1. Delete the following registry keys - only if their Default value begins with "EFI":
*DO NOT delete if EFILive V6 is installed
2. Delete the following registry keys:
*WARNING - If you have already installed EFILive V6 then there may be two extras keys: EFILive.EFILIve and EFILiveEfi - DO NOT DELETE them, they are part of the V6 installation.
EFILive FlashScan V7 Tuning Tool has been certified to operate with 1997 to 2005 LS1/LS6 based Powertrain Control Modules (PCMs) along with LLY and LB7 Diesel engined trucks.
EFILive V7 Scan Tool has been certified to operate with GM's LS1 or LS6 Powertrain Control Modules (PCMs) and therefore carries full technical support from EFILive when used to connect to an OBDII, LS1 or LS6 equipped GM vehicle.
While the EFILive V7 Scan Tool may work on other GM OBDII powertrains, at this time EFILive does not guarantee support for anything other than LS1, LS6 or Duramax powertrains.
EFILive welcomes comments and information regarding any attempts to use EFILive's Scan Tool with GM vehicles other than LS1 and will endeavour to assist where possible.
EFILive V4 is designed for pre-OBDII (ALDL) GM vehicles.
The EFILive software is free to download, copy and distribute. It is also free to use with your existing AutoTap interface cable. However, If you wish to monitor and/or log data from any vehicle, then you must purchase a registration key from an EFILive authorized distributor.
The registration key is a 16 character key that is matched with your interface's serial number. Together they provide the EFILive software with the authorization to monitor and/or log data from any vehicle using that interface.
If you are using EFILive with an unregistered interface then EFILive will display a warning that some features have been disabled because the interface is not registered.
EFILive V7
Please observe the following guidelines when entering your EFILive V7 registration information:
Always enter twelve digits for the serial number. Add or remove leading zeros to make the serial number twelve digits.
Select the license type that matches your registration details.
Select the Issue date that matches your registration details. The date appears in your registration in the form YYYYMMDD.
Normally, licenses do not include Name or Contact details, these fields must be left blank unless otherwise noted.
Enter your key into the four small Key fields. EFILive will automatically convert the data to uppercase and will only allow characters. If you try to enter an invalid character it will not be accepted.
If you received your license via email, you should copy the license details to the Windows clipboard by highlighting the license data in the email and pressing Ctrl+C. Then click on the [Paste] button in the EFILive License manager to paste the details directly into EFILive.
EFILive V6
Please observe the following guidelines when entering your EFILive V6 registration information:
Always enter twelve digits for the serial number. Add or remove leading zeros to make the serial number twelve digits.
(Note: EFILive V5 license details requires a sixteen digit serial number)Select the license type that matches your registration details.
If the key entry area is one large field then you must enter the key in uppercase characters and separate each four characters of the key with a hyphen character: "-".
i.e. ABCD-EFGH-IJKL-MNOPIf the key entry area is four separate fields then EFILive V6 will only allow four uppercase characters to be entered in each field.
Bi-directional controls
- Why are bi-directional controls temporary?
- Do any of EFILive's changes remain in the PCM once disconnected?
- Clear/Reset diagnostic trouble codes is residual.
- Clear learned long term fuel trims is residual.
- Changing the vehicle's VIN is permanent.
- Crank position sensor relearn is permanent.
- Can I override two or more controls at the same time?
- Can overrides be used at the track or strip?
- Can I change the VIN stored in the PCM?
- Will changing the VIN stored in the PCM bypass VIN locked programs?
Built into the PCM is a set of controls that can be activated by an off-board test tool. These controls are known as bi-directional controls because they require two way communication between the scan tool and the PCM.
GM built in many safeguards to prevent these bi-directional controls from corrupting or permanently altering the programmed calibrations. One such safeguard is that the PCM requires the scan tool to send a "keep alive" message to the PCM every 5 seconds. If the next "keep alive" message is not received within 5 seconds of the previous one then the PCM automatically terminates ALL bi-directional control settings and returns control to the programmed calibrations.
That means whenever EFILive is unplugged or the vehicle's ignition is switched off, the PCM will always return to its programmed calibrations.
Yes.
There are a number of changes that EFILive can make to the PCM that are either permanent or residual.
Yes.
Depending on the number of overrides, the update frequency is between 5-10 times per second which is not fast enough for race-track or drag-strip use. The spark and fuel settings would lag actual conditions by up to 1/2 a second.
The Spark and fuel maps are designed for altering only one or two parameters under the controlled conditions of a dynamometer - not for a 10 second blast down the 1/4 mile.
While it could be done, we do not recommend it nor do we believe it would be effective.
Yes, the VIN change option was introduced in V6.4.1. Use the menu option Bi-directional->Change VIN.
No.
Parameters
- How can I log air flow with no MAF?
- If a MAF sensor is fitted use {SAE.MAF} to log grams of air per second.
- If a MAF sensor is fitted use {CALC.CYLAIR} to log grams of air per cylinder.
- If no MAF sensor is fitted use {GM.DYNAIR} to log estimated grams of air per second.
- How can I log injector duty cycle?
- How can injector duty cycle be greater than 100%?
- At 50% duty cycle the PCM is commanding the injectors open for 1 revolution every 2 revolutions.
- At 80% duty cycle the PCM is commanding the injectors open for 1.6 revolutions every 2 revolutions.
- At 100% duty cycle the PCM is commanding the injectors open for 2 revolutions every 2 revolutions.
- At 120% duty cycle the PCM is trying to command the injectors open for 2.4 revolutions every 2 revolutions - which is not physically possible.
- Why can't I log oil pressure on my F body?
- How many PIDs can I log at the same time?
- General logging allows up to 96 Parameters to be selected.
- Dynamic logging allows up to 36 parameters to be selected.
- Asynchronous 5x24fps and 10x24fps logging allows up to 24 parameters to be selected.
- How fast is the EFILive scanner?
You need to select the two injector pulse width PIDs: {GM.IBPW1} and {GM.IBPW2}; and the two calculated injector duty cycle PIDs: {CALC.INJDC1} and {CALC.INJDC2}
These four PIDs should already be selected by default when you start EFILiveV6. If not, the easiest way to select them is to load the Default.pid file, by clicking on the "Open PID selection file" icon in the mini-toolbar (it only has 4 buttons) in the [OBDII (F7)] tab page, [PIDs] sub page.
Then just log data - they will be plotted on the bottom chart of the default dashboard on the [Dash-B (F10)] tab page.
The injector duty cycle is a calculated PID and may display values greater than 100%.
Values greater than 100% are "imaginary" duty cycles, the physical duty cycle of the injectors cannot be greater than 100%.
What it means when the calculated duty cycle is greater than 100% is that the PCM is attempting to open the injectors for the next squirt of fuel before it has closed the injectors from the previous squirt. Physically that is not possible.
Values above 100% are a theoretical indication of how far out your injectors really are.
EFILive calculates duty cycle for banks 1 and 2, using the following formulas:
{GM.IBPW1}*{SAE.RPM}/1200
{GM.IBPW2}*{SAE.RPM}/1200
Technically speaking, the duty cycle is the percentage of time that the PCM is commanding the injectors open per 2 engine revolutions (4 stroke engine = 2 rpm per cycle).
The F-Body PCM does not provide an oil pressure PID value. The PCM software reports that the oil pressure PID is supported, however the PCM does not provide oil pressure data for that PID. The oil pressure is sent directly to the instrument gauge.
The oil pressure PID has been removed from EFILive V6 for F body applications.
The Y body oil pressure PID is supported and does report oil pressure.
The GM-H Commodore oil pressure PID is supported and does report oil pressure.
There is no hard limit on the number of PIDs that can be scanned.
However, there are a number of methods for a scan tool to request PID data from the PCM.
Whichever method is implemented by a scan tool will influence the number of PIDs that can be selected.
EFILive implements 3 different scan modes:
Depending on the number of parameters selected, EFILive will automatically select the best logging method.
All Speeds are given in complete frames per second.
General and Dynamic logging speeds can be greatly improved by prioritizing PIDs so that slow changing PIDs are scanned at a lower rate than fast changing PIDs.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
*Full speed may not be achievable on all laptop, interface cable and PCM combinations.
Vehicle
- How do injector numbers and cylinder numbers differ?
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The LS1 injector firing order is the reverse of the injector numbers: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, which means the cylinder firing order is 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3.
Miscellaneous
- How can I store a comment with each of my log files?
- How do I report an error with EFILive?
- An email address where you may be contacted.
- The error report that was displayed by EFILive. If no error report was displayed, please manually generate a report – see here (next question) for instructions on how to manually produce an error report.
- For the most recently connected vehicle:
- Model year (i.e. 2002).
- Model (i.e. Corvette).
- Engine type (i.e. LS1).
- The type of USB to serial converter (if one is required).
- A brief description of the problem.
- The actions required to reproduce the problem.
- Any other information that you believe may be helpful.
- How can I generate an error report to send to EFILive support?
- Select the menu option: File->Generate error report, or press the Ctrl+G hotkey. It may take a few seconds for the report to be generated.
- Select the [Report] tab page which contains the [Copy] button. On newer versions of EFILive V6, the [Copy] button is visible from all tab pages.
- Click on the [Copy] button. (Or you may choose to save the error report in a text file so that you can copy the file to another computer that has email access.)
- Paste (Ctrl-V) the error report into an email (or attach the file in which you saved the report) and send to support@efilive.com along with the other information.
Select the menu option "File->Log file information..." or press the hotkey Ctrl-I.
Don't forget to save the log file after adding a comment to it.
Before reporting any problem that you may experience with EFILive, make sure you are using the latest version. To determine which version of EFILive you are using, select the menu option: Help->About. The latest version of EFILive can be downloaded from here.
Please include the following information:
EFILive is not officially supported for use on engines other than LS1/LS6. However, please send any issues that you may have with non LS1/LS6 GM engines. There is no guarantee that we can resolve those issues, but we may be able to offer some assistance.
EFILive provides a moderated forum where you can post questions or comments for other EFILive users. The EFILive user community has many qualified and experienced scan tool users and PCM tuners. You can browse the forum here without registering. If you want to post a question or comment then you must register. Registration is free.
