97-00 EBCM reverse engineering
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 236
Likes: 53
From: New Zealand
I could not care less about lawsuits lol, I don't live in the USA.
There are three BGA chips on the main logic board that are not identifiable. We are pretty sure we have identified them and are in the process of trying to get the compiled code off them. The chips appear to have memory built into them, and being BGA it is far more difficult, but not impossible.
There are three BGA chips on the main logic board that are not identifiable. We are pretty sure we have identified them and are in the process of trying to get the compiled code off them. The chips appear to have memory built into them, and being BGA it is far more difficult, but not impossible.
Night Owl for life
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 24,725
Likes: 4,564
From: Bugs Bunny should'a made a left turn here
I could not care less about lawsuits lol, I don't live in the USA.
There are three BGA chips on the main logic board that are not identifiable. We are pretty sure we have identified them and are in the process of trying to get the compiled code off them. The chips appear to have memory built into them, and being BGA it is far more difficult, but not impossible.
There are three BGA chips on the main logic board that are not identifiable. We are pretty sure we have identified them and are in the process of trying to get the compiled code off them. The chips appear to have memory built into them, and being BGA it is far more difficult, but not impossible.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,305
Likes: 1,582
From: East Metro (Twin Cities) Minnesota
St. Jude Donor '21
I could not care less about lawsuits lol, I don't live in the USA.
There are three BGA chips on the main logic board that are not identifiable. We are pretty sure we have identified them and are in the process of trying to get the compiled code off them. The chips appear to have memory built into them, and being BGA it is far more difficult, but not impossible.
There are three BGA chips on the main logic board that are not identifiable. We are pretty sure we have identified them and are in the process of trying to get the compiled code off them. The chips appear to have memory built into them, and being BGA it is far more difficult, but not impossible.
Just when I start to feel good about my level of knowledge, I read something like this.......
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,152
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
So, how many of those IC's are still available?
It makes for an interesting exercise. With enough motivation, you might be able to figure out the basic control logic behind what it is doing assuming you get the code pulled. But, that still leaves this project far away from ever seeing replacements being manufactured and available on the open market like some people here believe will happen shortly after you're successful.
Someone with enough motivation and with access to the right equipment could possibly fix their own. But heck, you could gather a few bad ones and make a working one out of them if you were sufficiently motived. As already noted, removing that board and fixing it as a commercial venture is not viable today.
It makes for an interesting exercise. With enough motivation, you might be able to figure out the basic control logic behind what it is doing assuming you get the code pulled. But, that still leaves this project far away from ever seeing replacements being manufactured and available on the open market like some people here believe will happen shortly after you're successful.
Someone with enough motivation and with access to the right equipment could possibly fix their own. But heck, you could gather a few bad ones and make a working one out of them if you were sufficiently motived. As already noted, removing that board and fixing it as a commercial venture is not viable today.
Last edited by lionelhutz; Nov 20, 2020 at 02:56 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 303
It might be easier to approach this from a different direction - understand the inputs and outputs, create a custom PCB to interface them with a modern, well-supported CPU (anything used in the Arduino family), and then write new software to perform the basic responsibilities of the original module.
Being in the software industry I'll admit that I'm quite biased, but reverse engineering the entire thing sounds a lot harder than just reverse engineering the inputs and outputs. And the custom-board / custom-software approach sounds more amenable to an open-source, collaborative development model, which I think also increases the chances of success. Many hands make light work, easy IP licensing, negligible licensing / profit-sharing issues to sort out.
Would ABS software written by amateurs be as good as the original GM stuff? Probably not. But would it be better than a dead EBCM? I think so.
I'm been wanting to do this with my 2002 EBCM, but I've barely scratched the surface. Hardware is not my forte.
Being in the software industry I'll admit that I'm quite biased, but reverse engineering the entire thing sounds a lot harder than just reverse engineering the inputs and outputs. And the custom-board / custom-software approach sounds more amenable to an open-source, collaborative development model, which I think also increases the chances of success. Many hands make light work, easy IP licensing, negligible licensing / profit-sharing issues to sort out.
Would ABS software written by amateurs be as good as the original GM stuff? Probably not. But would it be better than a dead EBCM? I think so.
I'm been wanting to do this with my 2002 EBCM, but I've barely scratched the surface. Hardware is not my forte.
Last edited by NSFW; Nov 25, 2020 at 02:38 PM. Reason: I meant PCB, not PCM...
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,804
Likes: 358
From: Northville, MI
grasshopper645
I was going thru some C5 parts to sell and ran across the 12 volume 1997 PAD (Product Assemble Documentation) binders I had acquired years ago. One of the volumes is labelled 1997 Electrical Schematics. Among the pages were those for Real Time Dampening and the ABS/ASR module. If they would be of help to you I can copy them and email to you. About 6 pages
I was going thru some C5 parts to sell and ran across the 12 volume 1997 PAD (Product Assemble Documentation) binders I had acquired years ago. One of the volumes is labelled 1997 Electrical Schematics. Among the pages were those for Real Time Dampening and the ABS/ASR module. If they would be of help to you I can copy them and email to you. About 6 pages
Last edited by Gordy M; Nov 25, 2020 at 02:10 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 303
grasshopper645
I was going thru some C5 parts to sell and ran across the 12 volume 1997 PAD (Product Assemble Documentation) binders I had acquired years ago. One of the volumes is labelled 1997 Electrical Schematics. Among the pages were those for Real Time Dampening and the ABS/ASR module. If they would be of help to you I can copy them and email to you. About 6 pages
I was going thru some C5 parts to sell and ran across the 12 volume 1997 PAD (Product Assemble Documentation) binders I had acquired years ago. One of the volumes is labelled 1997 Electrical Schematics. Among the pages were those for Real Time Dampening and the ABS/ASR module. If they would be of help to you I can copy them and email to you. About 6 pages
And if anyone out there has corresponding documentation for 2001-2004 ABS / EBCM stuff, I'd love to see that too.
Thanks!
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