Possible door/window microprocessor software variations
Discussion
I think around 2000-2001 the software programmed onto the door/window micro controller changed. I don't have enough data for this to be anything more than a conjecture currently but I know of two pre 2000-2001 boxes that behave differently to two post 2001 boxes.
The ecu in my current 4.5 is a 2004 one and the functions behave slightly differently to a 98 box. On the 98 box when you lock the car the windows rise if they are below a certain height for an amount of time or until they are shut. If the window is very low or slow the amount of time the windows closes isn't sufficient and a gap is left. On the 2004 box I have in my car the first part of this sequence is the same but then once the windows stop rising and after a delay of around 1.5 seconds they will go again and shut fully every time regardless of the starting point.
This behavior was the same on my last 4.5. That had a 98 box which would attempt to close the windows in one go and often left a gap but I replaced the box with a 2001 or 2002 box and the windows always shut tightly as it had this second shut step after the first.
It may all just be coincidence or it may be that customers were complaining to TVR and in/around 2001 TVR put an additional piece of code into the chip programming to do a second shut procedure.
If the code is different on the chip (I can't remember what sort of chip is in there) it may be possible to read the later chip software and flash it onto earlier ones to make earlier boxes behave like later ones and always tightly shut the windows.
So the question is for Cerbera owners do your windows close in one attempt after locking or do they come close (about an inch gap if you start with the window very low) pause for 1.5 seconds and then go again to ram the window tightly shut into the seal?
The ecu in my current 4.5 is a 2004 one and the functions behave slightly differently to a 98 box. On the 98 box when you lock the car the windows rise if they are below a certain height for an amount of time or until they are shut. If the window is very low or slow the amount of time the windows closes isn't sufficient and a gap is left. On the 2004 box I have in my car the first part of this sequence is the same but then once the windows stop rising and after a delay of around 1.5 seconds they will go again and shut fully every time regardless of the starting point.
This behavior was the same on my last 4.5. That had a 98 box which would attempt to close the windows in one go and often left a gap but I replaced the box with a 2001 or 2002 box and the windows always shut tightly as it had this second shut step after the first.
It may all just be coincidence or it may be that customers were complaining to TVR and in/around 2001 TVR put an additional piece of code into the chip programming to do a second shut procedure.
If the code is different on the chip (I can't remember what sort of chip is in there) it may be possible to read the later chip software and flash it onto earlier ones to make earlier boxes behave like later ones and always tightly shut the windows.
So the question is for Cerbera owners do your windows close in one attempt after locking or do they come close (about an inch gap if you start with the window very low) pause for 1.5 seconds and then go again to ram the window tightly shut into the seal?
I wonder what date that box would be. It might be a later one/had work done as when I opened up my 97 box (from my 98 car) it certainly didn't have any writing on the chips and it had a green circuit board not blue.
I don't know if yours is original - it looks like it has either had work or is a later one.
The double shunt to close is a better design in my mind as you always get tight window seals.
I don't know if yours is original - it looks like it has either had work or is a later one.
The double shunt to close is a better design in my mind as you always get tight window seals.
spitfire4v8 said:
I think this probably coincided with the introduction of the double bubble door seals. I remember doing conversions to the later seals which included the door seals themselves, new body seals with a deeper lip on them for the door glass to lip under, extra door hinge spacers to space the whole door away from the thicker seals if required, and a new chip for the door control box...
Ah - that's probably it. The extra shunt at the end of the normal operation may have been required if the seals were tighter and the window wasn't making it up in the normal time.If this is the case and somebody with an earlier car has the later seals it may explain why their windows don't fully shut if they still have an early control unit.
I wonder if TVR locked the code space on their micro-controllers? If not then it should be possible to read a later chip with the revised software and flash it onto a new chip to be placed in an older ECU to update the program.
I may have a look online for a reader to see if it can be done.
Byker28i said:
Ah Carol. All my boxes on my 97 were built by Carol or Tina.
Mine doesn't do the double hit.
Thanks - my first 4.5 was a 98 with a 97 box in built by Carol and didn't either. P9 AJP has a 96 and that doesn't. So that is three known pre-2000 boxes that do not double shut. and two post 2000 boxes that do (I had a 2002 and now have a 2004, they both did/do).Mine doesn't do the double hit.
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