COBRARTP FlashOnline User manual

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FlashOnline
user manual
www.cobrartp.com
FlashOnline
User Manual
Document revision 2.0

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FlashOnline
user manual
WARNING
1. Connect (disconnect) the device to the ECU only in a de-energized
state. Connecting during operation (switched on) may damage the
device or the vehicle's ECU!
2. Be careful when handling the device even when it is switched off
due to the presence of a battery (cell CR2032). Short-circuiting the
battery for a long time may cause an explosion or fire!
3. Be extremely careful when working with high temperatures!
4. When disconnecting (removing) the cable from the emulator and
the SOP44 adapter, pull strictly perpendicularly, in no case do not pull
it to the side, you will damage the connector!
5. Carefully study this manual to avoid unwanted consequences! The
operation of this device requires certain skills.

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FlashOnline
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GETTING STARTED
USB - connection
FlashOnline is connected to a PC using a Mini-USB cable.
FlashOnline can only be connected to a PC, i.e. there is no need to install
(connect) the emulator in the ECU, or connect a separate power source.
Install USB Driver for Rev 3.x boards version
After connecting, you should have a new device in the Device manager.
After that, you need to install the USB driver.
Drivers can be downloaded on our website:
https://cobrartp.com/en/downloads, by selecting an item for the appropriate
version of Windows.
After downloading the driver archive, you must also select the appropriate
installer, depending on the bit depth of your operating system x86 (x32) or x64.
Drivers tested on Windoes XP, Windows 7, Windows 10. Official website of the
driver provider: https://www.silabs.com/products/development-
tools/software/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers.
Type of driver distribution.
The installation process is standard.
If there is no installer in the folder (Windows 10/11), the driver must be
installed through the Device Manager: By device (FlashOnline), right-click -
Properties - Driver - Update driver. Next, select the folder with the
downloaded drivers.

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After the driver installation is successfully completed, a virtual COM port
should appear in the device manager, if there is a connected emulator:
View of the device in the device manager upon successful driver installation.
After installing the drivers, you can use the emulator with the
configuration software, and also check it in the CobraRTP Utility.
Install USB Driver for Rev 4.x boards version
For revisions R4.x and later, the driver is not required in the case of
Windows 10/11. If you have Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.x driver installation is
required. The driver can also be downloaded from our website:
https://cobrartp.com/en/downloads.
To install the driver, use the installer for the appropriate version of Windows
(W):
After the driver installation is successfully completed, a virtual COM port
will appear in the device manager, if there is a connected emulator:
After installing the drivers, you can use the emulator with the configuration
software, and also check it in the CobraRTP Utility.

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FlashOnline
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Bluetooth (wireless) connection (versions with Bluetooth only)
Wireless connection on your PC requires Bluetooth v2.0 (hereinafter
referred to as BT) or higher. Connection is made in the following sequence:
1. Connect the emulator to the ECU or via USB. At the same time, the red
indicator of the BT module should blink quickly (about 3 times / sec)
2. Turn on the BT module of the PC and pair with a new device (the name
is usually “FlashOnline BT”). Password 1234 or 0000 (Necessarily).
3. After successful pairing, 2 virtual COM ports should appear (see Device
Manager), one of which will be used for data exchange. How correctly programs
(TunerPRO RT, CobraRTP Utility) find the right port automatically if the device
is turned on and ready to pair.
Attention! When working via BT, the emulator must not be connected
via USB, otherwise a conflict is possible!
Notes:
1. After each disconnection of the emulator (for example, when the ignition is
turned off), in order to continue working in the software, it is necessary to reconnect
(in the program).
2. Many ECUs do not de-energize immediately after the ignition is turned off, and
continue to work for some time (20-60 seconds), keep this in mind, although on the
other hand this is an advantage, given p1.
You can check the device using our software - CobraRTP Utility
(https://cobrartp.com/en/cobrartp-utility):

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FlashOnline
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1. – emulator firmware version.
2. - the number of the used COM port on which the device is operating at a
given time (may differ in your case).
Note: read the utility manual in the archive with the program (pdf).
To check and work with the emulator on a PC, there is no need to connect to
an ECU! The device can be powered both from the ECU and from the USB
connector.
Attention! If the emulator is not recognized in TunerPRO RT, CobraRTP
Utility or other software, check if the emulator is currently connected in
another program! The emulator port can only be connected in one
program at a time, so before connecting, make sure that the device is not
currently connected in another program (process).

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INSTALLATION AND CONNECTION TO ECU
The FlashOnline board is connected to the ECU using a proprietary adapter
(SOP44 adapter) using a special cable from the kit:
Before installation, pay attention to the correct connection of the adapter
(the locks must be on one side):

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Since the device is an emulator of a memory chip, for correct operation it
is required to dismantle or disconnect the standard flash memory chip from the
ECU board.
1) Removing the flash memory chip from the ECU board
With this method, the flash memory chip must be removed from the ECU
board. For this we recommend using hot air, i.e. hot air soldering station with
high quality neutral flux gel. We also recommend using a board preheater
whenever possible.
The air temperature at the outlet of the nozzle and the distance should be
selected in such a way that the temperature of the computer board eventually
reaches a temperature of 210-220°C and no more than 240°C.
After removing the chip, prepare the pads:

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After you remove the chip, the board surface should look like this:
ATTENTION: be careful when removing the chip, since there is a high
probability of touching and moving or completely losing other elements
on the board when the melting temperature of the solder of the elements
of the ECU board is reached! You should also pay special attention to the
elements on the back of the board! Therefore, for these works, we
strongly recommend using a special holder or a preheater of the boards.
2) Mounting the adapter
Remember to apply flux to the pads before installing the adapter:

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Next, you can and mount it on the ECU board.
Installation can be done in two ways - using hot air or using a soldering
iron:
The first method is faster, but each heating of the ECU board and adapter
negatively affects the printed circuit boards and their elements, so we
recommend the second method, the essence of which is to solder each contact
with a soldering iron.
In both cases, you should get the following:
ATTENTION: be extremely careful when installing the adapter in the
first way, since the solder on all contacts of the adapter board also reaches
the melting temperature and, accordingly, you can accidentally move or
completely separate the connector (cable connection socket) of the
adapter from the board! Also note that the maximum temperature of the
adapter connector material is 240°C, exceeding which the connector may
be irreversibly damaged! Check, if possible, the actual outlet temperature
of your hot air station. Leave the heated elements at rest until they cool
completely!
After you have done these steps, check all connections and contacts,
connect the emulator using a flat cable. When the computer is turned on (the
emulator should not be connected via USB), the “Status” indicator on the
emulator board should light up, if this does not happen - check the correct
connection and contacts. If the indicator lights up - get to work!

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Removing the adapter
The adapter is dismantled at the installation temperature, otherwise the
same rules are followed as when dismantling the chip, but you should pay
attention to the adapter connector, the maximum temperature of the material
of which is 240°C, as well as the fact that the solder holding the connector also
melts and it can be easy to move.
Never pull on the connector when removing the adapter! It is allowed
to hold the adapter during instsall / deinstal only for a fee (base)! Heating
of each side separately is also not allowed! Heat both sides of the adapter
evenly!

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FlashOnline
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CONFIGURATION JUMPERS OF THE SOP44 ADAPTER
On the SOP44 adapter board, you can see jumpers (J1, J2) that are designed
to eliminate conflict situations when working with some ECUs with 28F200,
29F200, 29F400 chips. The fact is that for these chips, some address lines are
not used in the ECU, and can be either disabled or connected in an unintended
way, for example, to Vcc (+ 5V) or to GND. For FlashOnline to work properly,
these lines must be free when emulating the above chips. This affects the
selection of the correct memory block and, accordingly, the correct operation
of the Dual-Mod mode.
At the time of writing this version of the document, this must be done for
the following ECUs: Bosch ME3.8.3
If your FlashOnline does not work properly with your ECU, then you must
configure using these jumpers (X – remove, ν - soldered):
Type J1 J2
28f200, 29f200 X X
29F400 X ν
29F800 ν ν

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USE WITH PC SOFTWARE
TunerPRO RT
To work with TunerPRO RT, make sure you have build version
5.00.9332.00 or higher (Help -> About…):
We recommend downloading the program from the official website: www.tunerpro.net
Further, if this condition is met, the device is connected, and the drivers
are installed correctly, then at startup the program will automatically detect the
device:
After that the program is ready to work.
We recommend that you study our article on using TunerPRO RT:
https://cobrartp.com/en/online_tuning
Attention! If the emulator is not recognized in TunerPRO RT, check if
the emulator is currently connected in another program! The emulator
port can only be connected in one program at a time, so before
connecting, make sure that the device is not currently connected in
another program (process).

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Address (tables) hit tracking
Hardware tracing is a feature that allows you to track which areas of
memory the ECU processor is accessing without using any third-party
hardware. In other words, you can observe the coordinates in the maps of
interest, according to which the ECU is working at a particular moment in time.
To accomplish this, this function is supported in TunerPRO RT, as well as in
CobraRTP Utility with v2.8 (Address watch function).
To enable this function in TunerPRO RT, use the corresponding button on
the toolbar of the table of interest:
Note: you may not see the pointer (yellow cell) on certain maps at a
certain point in time. This does not mean that this function is not working
correctly, it means that the ECU processor does not access this card
(address range) at the expected time. It is also possible that the card is not
used at all during normal engine operation, such as cranking cards.
Call Address watch, i.e. tracing the addresses by which the ECU processor
accesses a given address range (memory area). It works on the principle of the
table trace function in TunerPRO RT (for more details, see the manual for
CobraRTP Utility):

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CobraRTP Utility
This is a proprietary utility for working with CobraRTP emulators, incl.
and with FlashOnile since version 2.7. Allows you to load (read) firmware into
the emulator, check and download firmware updates, configure the device,
check the operability.
A detailed manual is contained in the archive with the program.
More information, as well as download the latest version of the program:
https://cobrartp.com/en/cobrartp-utility/
Other software
You can use other firmware editors, for example WinOLS, RomRaider, ECM
Titanium, etc., which save the firmware in binary format (.bin), and then upload
the firmware via CobraRTP Utility. With the powerful "Live scan" function, the
firmware will be automatically loaded online when its file is changed, ie. after
saving (overwriting) the file to disk. (more in the CobraRTP Utility manual).

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General note on used firmware
1. For the emulator to work, you need to download the full ECU
firmware (256-1024kb) at least once for a specific ECU, then you can change
(upload) only individual maps, tables, parameters (calibrations) of the
firmware online in TunerPRO RT, WinOLS, RomRaider, etc. and, accordingly,
there is no need to download the firmware completely every time, for this there
is a "Live scanner" function in our utility, or, if you use TunerPRO RT, the maps
are loaded from the program itself online (See. нашу статью о TunerPRO).
2. Check if you need to correct the checksum for a specific firmware
(ECU), as well as when editing the firmware for writing to flash memory!
FlashOnline does not correct the checksum! In TunerPRO, you can check this in
the XDF edit section:
3. Use firmware 100% compatible with your ECU and only complete,
not calibrations (the emulator performs the same role as the chip that was
uploaded - it will work!). Ideally, the firmware can be downloaded via the OBD
connector from the ECU with which you will use FlashOnline.
4. After downloading the full firmware, many ECUs require a
complete restart, at least by turning off the ignition. In this case, the emulator
does not need to be restarted, turned off, etc.

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DUAL-MOD feature
Dual-mod is an additional function that allows you to upload several
independent complete firmwares to the emulator, then switch online.
For this purpose, the FlashOnline board has corresponding contacts, upon
closing or opening of which the corresponding memory block of the emulator
is selected (firmware):
Dual-mod works only in emulation mode 28F200, 28F400, 29F200,
29F400, i.e. with firmware 256-512kB, tk. FlashOnline total memory 1024kB
(100000h) or 2 conventional blocks of 512kB each. When emulating 29F800,
this function does not work.!
To select a memory block into which the firmware will be loaded, you must
install in the utility:
Selecting memory blocks (switching) on the FlashOnline board:
Block 0 - contacts open
Block 1 - contacts closed (jumper installed)
Note: In TunerPRO, only memory block 0 is used by default. Therefore, for
full use of the dual-mod with TunerPRO, save the firmware (bin) and load them
through the CobraRTP Utility already with the ability to select memory blocks.

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FLASHONLINE RESTRICTIONS
1. FlashOnline can only work in read mode, i.e. there is no hardware ability
to program the emulator via the ECU as well as the chip (for example, via the
OBD2 connector)! Data can only be recorded via the USB interface of the device.
In this regard, for ECUs that use flash memory to record calibrations
(adaptations) in normal ECU operation, data will not be written to FlashOnline
as well as to a flash memory chip.
2. FlashOnline can be installed and used instead of the memory chip on a
permanent basis, but it should be borne in mind that the CR2032 3V battery
installed on the device board serves to power the volatile memory, which stores
the firmware (s) when the device is turned off. Accordingly, the charge of this
element is sufficient for 1.5-2 years. After the cell is discharged below 1.5V, the
data in the memory will be corrupted after each power outage.
3. Dual-mod function only works in emulation mode 29f200 / 28f200,
29f400 / 28f400 (256-512kB), and is not supported for 29f800 (1024kB).

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TROUBLESHOOTING
The engine will not start and the ECU does not go to diagnostics
 Сheck if the firmware is compatible with your ECU
 Сheck if the checksum is correct
 It may be necessary to perform actions according to paragraph "CONFIGURATION
JUMPERS"
 The wrong memory block of the emulator (DualMod) may be selected
• Сheck if you need to apply encoding for your ECU in CobraRTP Utility (see utility
manual)
 When loading the firmware via CobraRTP Utility, the wrong type of emulated memory
was selected
 Check all contacts and connections of the device with the computer.
Tracing does not work in TunerPRO RT
1. Perhaps you have selected an inactive map (see the paragraph on tracing, note)
2. Check if Memory Block 0 is selected in DualMod
3. Make sure the XDF file matches your firmware (bin).
4. Make sure your FlashOnline firmware version is v1.20 or later.
An error appears when loading data into the emulator
1. If an error occurs during the download/read process - replace the USB cable.
2. If the error occurs only in TunerPRO RT, and in CobraRTP Utrility the data exchange
with the emulator is in order, check if the bin file parameters are specified correctly in the
XDF settings - Bin size (HEX) and offset, It’s must be equal to the size of the bin file and
divided by 2. For example: if file size is 512kB, then it should be 80000.
3. If you use Bluetooth pairing, do not forget to connect again in the program after turning
off the emulator (ignition).
4. If the problem persists, contact technical support.
After turning off the emulator for a while, the car stops starting,
although it did start before turning off
Check the backup battery (CR2032), the voltage in the disconnected state should not be
lower than 2.5V. Replace the element.

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Specifications
Supply voltage 4.7 - 5.5V
Supply current 70mA
Ambient temperature 0 - 50°С
Maximum Bluetooth Range 10m
Weight 80g
CobraRTP Team 2018-2022 cobrartp.com/en