M4 4.6

[KarlH]

Hello all,

I have recently purchased a mk1 escort with a 2.0 pinto running Motec M4 and was told by the last owner that I can only run the 4.6 version of the M4 software, Could this be because my M4 unit is too old to update or should I be able to flash/update the unit and use newer software? if there is no good reason to update then I may also get an old laptop running xp with a parallel port and just use it for the car, I did get the parrallel to usb cable with it though!

Cheers,

Karl

[AdamW]

You need a special device (SUU) to upgrade the firmware on these older ECU's, you cant do it with a PC alone. Most of the bigger Motec dealers that have been around for sometime would probably have an SUU and could update you for a small fee if you need any of the newer features.
However there is probably no real need for you to update if the engine is running ok and you have all the features that you need. The are quite a few improvements in the newer firmwares but the main differences I remember are more configurable antilag and boost control tables, more ref/sync modes and improvements to some of the features like gear cut etc. If you download and install the latest software there is a readme file that lists all the changes if you want to know what you are missing.

if there is no good reason to update then I may also get an old laptop running xp with a parallel port and just use it for the car, I did get the parallel to usb cable with it though!

M4's connect via serial port - not parallel. Serial has 9 pins in the connector, parallel has 25. You can get USB to serial port adapters if you laptop doesn't have a serial - they are not always reliable but usually will work. You will also need the motec "PCI cable" to connect between the ECU and your serial port. You don't need xp, the software will run in win7 or 8 as long as it's a 32bit version.

[KarlH]

Adam,

Yes I did mean serial port, and I do have the PCI cable, I also have a serial to usb cable that I may not use, I dont think I will update my firmware as it works fine as it is, I shall track down a laptop with a 32 bit operating system and hopefully a serial port.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate your help.

Karl