Back in a Diesel

2004LB7

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2010
6,987
2,146
113
Norcal
So I’ve never bricked one before. I found a supposed good used out of a wrecked truck. No idea if it is stock or tuned. Recommendations on what to do after I get it in the truck? Read it, see if it’s stock and if it is full flash to my stock tune before I flash my dsp5?
safest bet would be to have the dealership or someone with the tech 2 flash it with a stock calibration. before loading any tunes. to get around security you could use the scan tool to fix the vin number so you can at least drive it

you could always read the tune and see what the checksum and calibration number or OS number is. if the checksum is good that is a pretty good indicator that it is stock
 

TheBac

Why do I keep doing this?
Staff member
Apr 19, 2008
15,611
1,868
113
Mid Michigan
Did the same thing I did Tom?
Years ago, I did try to upload tunes to mine, even had Tony try, and we both figured it had a tune already in it. My past experience with BullyDog tuning told me that that was probably the reason the ECM was worthless. In the end I killed it, so now its just a paperweight.
 

LBZ

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jul 2, 2007
9,903
149
63
46
B.C.
you could always read the tune and see what the checksum and calibration number or OS number is. if the checksum is good that is a pretty good indicator that it is stock
This was what I was thinking of doing.
 

LBZ

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jul 2, 2007
9,903
149
63
46
B.C.
So something must have been wrong with the stock tune. I got a good replacement ecm, read it and it was good, flashed it with my stock again and it bricked. This time it showed a VIN and one other segment, but that’s it. Couldn’t reflash it or do anything.

I turfed everything I had for this truck and luckily Dallas had a good ecm in his pile of miscellaneous units and I flashed a tune in from a truck I had previously tuned and all was good.

I wish licenses came VIN locked somehow so if you dicked an ecm you got a one time reuse for that VIN before you lost it. Toasted 2 licenses in 20 min.