USB connector in Holley ECU is VERY delicate

[jwhotrod]

I have a Holley HP ecu in my streetrod and I tried to connect my pc to the ecu and couldn't, when I checked I found the connector in the ECU had collapsed. The little plastic thing in the connector that held the contacts had disintegrated. So I called Holley and they said they couldn't help me it is a nonreplicable component, and I ha probably tugged on it or twisted it so it was my fault. Well the onlt thing that was attached to it was their USB cable with the screw on connector so I didn't know how I could have abused it. Any way the choices were to take the ECU to a computer shop and have them dig out the connector and replace it with a pigtail (my risk), or spend $700 for a touch pad or buy a new ECU both Very expensive options.

So what I am doing here is Warning all of you the USB connector in Holley ECUs are very delicate and VERY easy to damage in normal useage, and NOT replaceable. So be very very careful.
Caveat Emptor buyer beware!!!

[TheSilverBuick]

Pictures?

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

I have a Holley HP ecu in my streetrod and I tried to connect my pc to the ecu and couldn't, when I checked I found the connector in the ECU had collapsed. The little plastic thing in the connector that held the contacts had disintegrated. So I called Holley and they said they couldn't help me it is a nonreplicable component, and I ha probably tugged on it or twisted it so it was my fault. Well the onlt thing that was attached to it was their USB cable with the screw on connector so I didn't know how I could have abused it. Any way the choices were to take the ECU to a computer shop and have them dig out the connector and replace it with a pigtail (my risk), or spend $700 for a touch pad or buy a new ECU both Very expensive options.

So what I am doing here is Warning all of you the USB connector in Holley ECUs are very delicate and VERY easy to damage in normal useage, and NOT replaceable. So be very very careful.
Caveat Emptor buyer beware!!!

Any ubs or other port on a circuit board is "delicate" and it can be replaced/fixed.. Holley doesn't make the ECU'S and has no way to fix them, other than send them out.. only way it's not fixable is it the board is the part that broke.. any computer repair shop should be able to handle the repair.. I've fixed 3 ubs ports 2 on my desk top and one on my older 2006 dell laptop..

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-Type-A-Female-right-angle-through-point-USB-jack-port-plug-PCB-NEW-/160791113747?_trksid=p2054897.l4276

[Matt Cramer]

I'm guessing the connector is epoxy potted in? If not, it should be pretty straightforward to replace.

[jwhotrod]

yes it is potted, and they cant tell me what else is around it. The plug is one of the new mini plugs in a screw together connector. I will post pictures when I get the ECU back from Holley. If Holley doesn't make their ECU's who does?

[dieselgeek]

yes it is potted, and they cant tell me what else is around it. The plug is one of the new mini plugs in a screw together connector. I will post pictures when I get the ECU back from Holley. If Holley doesn't make their ECU's who does?

The only guys making their own ECUs in house are the megasquirt guys. Everyone else has them assembled elsewhere by companies that specialize in placing components.

Holley told me that they at least designed their own board and firmware, but I was told that by AEM once too which is a joke, their series 1 and 2 were outsourced designs originally intended for OEM use. So you never know. That being said, I am surprised Holley didn't help you out more than that.

I have used a ton of HPs and Dominators without the problem, if it "crumbled" then there is a materials defect in my opinion. Did you exhaust all options with Holley, politely?

[dieselgeek]

Any ubs or other port on a circuit board is "delicate" and it can be replaced/fixed.. Holley doesn't make the ECU'S and has no way to fix them, other than send them out.. only way it's not fixable is it the board is the part that broke.. any computer repair shop should be able to handle the repair.. I've fixed 3 ubs ports 2 on my desk top and one on my older 2006 dell laptop..

There are a ton of designs where the connector is integrated and cannot be replaced. Don't assume just because you had one laptop that was repairable that every single USB connector out there is as well.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

yes it is potted, and they cant tell me what else is around it. The plug is one of the new mini plugs in a screw together connector. I will post pictures when I get the ECU back from Holley. If Holley doesn't make their ECU's who does?

places like Rockford fosgate.. that spent millions on a factory that build boards with parts soldered to it but not through it.. when the economy tanked, and the hifi auto gear market tanked they moved to putting stuff together for others... not say'n holleys is made there.. most likely not as ,it's in America.. but many factories do the same..

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

There are a ton of designs where the connector is integrated and cannot be replaced. Don't assume just because you had one laptop that was repairable that every single USB connector out there is as well.

understood, that's why I said unless it's the board that broke

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

The only guys making their own ECUs in house are the megasquirt guys. Everyone else has them assembled elsewhere by companies that specialize in placing components.

Holley told me that they at least designed their own board and firmware, but I was told that by AEM once too which is a joke, their series 1 and 2 were outsourced designs originally intended for OEM use. So you never know. That being said, I am surprised Holley didn't help you out more than that.

I have used a ton of HPs and Dominators without the problem, if it "crumbled" then there is a materials defect in my opinion. Did you exhaust all options with Holley, politely?

THE MS GUYS have a machine that does the boards that are not solder through, but placed on top.. or they send that out.. as that machinery is very costly..

[Beagle]

THE MS GUYS have a machine that does the boards that are not solder through, but placed on top.. or they send that out.. as that machinery is very costly..

Huh?



I'd prototype one and then I would have it manufactured. Making the part is not the hard part. Designing it is. What are you getting at?

OP - do you have a picture of the USB connection to the board? Some of the stuff I have looked at is not easily disassembled. I *wish* I had my dad's skill at that, he worked for TI in a test department where lots of stuff got one offed and "repaired"... point being that somebody who is good at it can probably repair it a lot easier than some of the rest of us... and it would be money well spent.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

Huh?



I'd prototype one and then I would have it manufactured. Making the part is not the hard part. Designing it is. What are you getting at?

OP - do you have a picture of the USB connection to the board? Some of the stuff I have looked at is not easily disassembled. I *wish* I had my dad's skill at that, he worked for TI in a test department where lots of stuff got one offed and "repaired"... point being that somebody who is good at it can probably repair it a lot easier than some of the rest of us... and it would be money well spent.

huh.. Surface-mount technology emerged in the 1960s, gained momentum in the early 1980s and became widely used by the mid-1990s. Components were mechanically redesigned to have small metal tabs or end caps that could be soldered directly onto the PCB surface, instead of wire leads to pass through holes. Components became much smaller and component placement on both sides of the board became more common than with through-hole mounting, allowing much smaller PCB assemblies with much higher circuit densities. Surface mounting lends itself well to a high degree of automation, reducing labour costs and greatly increasing production rates. Components can be supplied mounted on carrier tapes. Surface mount components can be about one-quarter to one-tenth of the size and weight of through-hole components, and passive components much cheaper; prices of semiconductor surface mount devices (SMDs) are determined more by the chip itself than the package, with little price advantage over larger packages. Some wire-ended components, such as 1N4148 small-signal switch diodes, are actually significantly cheaper than SMD equivalents.

[TheSilverBuick]

Mark is talking about the 3.57 board (as well as the MS3 Pro and microsquirt) with the surface mount small components. There are mass manufactured MegaSquirt options.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

Mark is talking about the 3.57 board (as well as the MS3 Pro and microsquirt) with the surface mount small components. There are mass manufactured MegaSquirt options.

That unless MS has the machine to do that, they are sending those out to someone else.. and you'd not have build it yourself kits.. as it wouldn't be worth it to not use the machine... so I'm thinking D/G say'n ms guys are the only ecu guys that build them in house.. might not be totally true.. I got to watch years ago Rockford fosgate go to this type boards.. and see them go through the machine live.. it was cool stuff. but that machine was out of the price line of anything but high volume movers.. and why they came out with an amp line that was lower cost than the "punch line" low volume would never make the investment worth it.. Holley knows this and sublets it out.. I don't even think my pro jection ecu was build by them.. it looked way to much like an MSD product