Flashed or Not Flashed,

That’s the Question

by Mike Souza

members.atra.com www.atra.com

Figure 1

A

GM 4 wheel drive vehicle rolls into your shop with oversized tires, a turbo diesel engine and a

lift kit (figure 1). You begin to wonder has this vehicle’s computer software also been modified. So is it “flashed or not flashed, that’s the question”, and sometimes the customer may not be so willing to admit to it, especially if the vehicle has a repeat failure. Or maybe it just has street tires and no turbo at all (figure 2). The problem for the techni- cian in today’s market is the availability

The problem for the technician in today’s market is the availability of aftermarket soft- ware upgrades that will allow the engine to produce more horsepower.

Figure 2

8 GEARS May/June 2010

of aftermarket software upgrades that will allow the engine to produce more horsepower. This same software may not change the ability for the transmis- sion to handle this added horsepower. The transmission in itself is only

designed to handle the amount of out- put that the engine software was pro- grammed to produce from the man- ufacturer. The General Motors soft- ware in some cases is programmed to detune the engine’s output so it will not damage the transmission. In some

cases the transmission by design can- not handle any more horsepower than what has already been provided. This would mean that this vehicle would need a more heavy duty transmission application. Most aftermarket software upgrades are designed for “off road use” whether it is four wheeling in the mud or racing down the pavement on the street or track. So what can we do in the shop to

determine if this GM vehicle’s software has been modified? When dealing with Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92