kaldek

Coil on plug gives a higher voltage and better spark. However, the 5th-gen already had dedicated coils at least, so the difference isn't huge.

Awesome mate! So is that now running with the 6th-gen throttle body and injectors as well?

Not so sure a 17 toother'll fit in there... Bueller?? They sure do. My dealer accidentally fitted a 17 tooth sprocket to my 2002 and I rode around like that for 8 months, wondering why I never used 6th gear.

Trust Honda to be "different" as always. Like everyone else using wideband O2 sensors now, except Honda.

That, and lots of cars, but yeah. Seems like you've picked a winner then!

Are you sure that's going to work mate? The three pins aren't "an extra ground", the third pin is the trigger. So, for example on the 6th-gen there is a constant 12 volts and ground provided to the coil and the third wire is the trigger. It's basically a simple transistor if I recall correctly; any 12v signal (regardless of strength) trips the transistor, which cuts the normal 12v source and causing collapse of the low voltage field and hence generation of the high voltage spark. But anyway, are the 5th-gen coils also three wire? If they are, your two-wire coil-on-plug system won't work because the ECU only activates the high voltage coil by sending a trigger command to the coil as opposed to actually cutting the 12 volt signal directly in the ECU.

If it's jumping around I'd be checking my earth connections as well!

Hey this is meant to be my mod thread - stop hijacking it, you lot!!

I think the only answer I can give to that is "it takes one to know one". Once I've made the change I'll be able to say whether it helped. Or not, as the case may be!

Actually he seems to have everything I need, *except* for the wiring harness-side connectors and he would need to order 600 of them in bulk. Don't think that's gonna be realistic. However he did say he has close ties to the HRC team and can tell me a lot about PGM-FI systems. So, I'm taking that angle - gain knowledge on the inner workings of the Honda ECU. I know how Honda works at the back end - they have this notion of "A" and "B" secrets, which can't be distributed. I guess I have to find out what stuff I *can* get access to. Certainly I'm sick of dealing with Dynojet because they're obtuse. Here's a question for you which you'd think Dynojet should just freakin' answer straight up (but won't): Is it not a bit "odd" to overlay an Alpha-N system such as the Powercommander over an ECU which is mapping fuel using Speed-Density (MAP sensor) at small throttle positions? Wouldn't this be wildly inaccurate UNLESS you ALWAYS did map-by-gear in a PCV to take out engine load as a varying factor? Go on, ask someone at Dynojet that question and see what kind of answer you get. I've asked them questions about the problems with the way Autotune works (doesn't take Delta throttle into account, doesn't take decelerating engine into account) and their answers aren't exactly inspiring.

You mean a service manual? There's already an updated wiring schematic for the '06 here at VFRD, which I think was an appendix released by Honda to the 2002 manual we all have. It's on the third page.

Huh. Just found a guy - in Australia no less - who has access to Honda ECU connectors, specifically for this kind of work (actually replacement of stock ECU with aftermarket into existing wiring harness). I wonder what he'll say - I've asked him if he has the stuff I would need to make an adapter block.

This is a fair call, but I see this as actually quite risky. The pins are different sizes so it basically needs a de-solder and re-solder on each of the 64 wires. That would take longer than replacing the wiring harness. Anyway, if I was really smart, I'd engage some factory to make '02-to-'06 ECU adapter connectors so that you keep your old wiring harness. But that would involve finding what the connectors are called, tracing all the wiring, etc. I'm too lazy for that at the moment but maybe I'll learn enough that I think this is possible? It wouldn't be the first Honda owner to start building and selling their own electrical kits. There's a guy named Patrick Fruth (pdfruth) on the 1000rr.net forums who builds exhaust servo simulators using PIC hardware and sells them for $20. It did wonders for my CBR1000RR track bike's constant MIL light problem!

There are no additional sensors. Essentially what you're suggesting is what I'm doing, except that I have Aussie headlight switch and indicator hardware which needs some tweaks to the front harness. Believe me if I could just plug an '06 main harness into an '02 front harness I'd freakin' do it, but the other member (CBR600F4i) who has already done this mod said that's not possible.

Nah, checked that and the camshaft parts for all bikes are identical. Also, all the parts for the transmission (gearbox) are also identical, as is the sprockets. Various other threads have confirmed all the changes were electrical or fuel related, with the ECU and injectors being the major functional change to the way the engine sucks air & gas. I already have the injectors in my bike.

Heh. I think we have a language barrier! What you guys call the headlight switch I would call the high beam switch, because the right-handlebar has always been used for turning headlights on or off in Australia. It's only modern bikes which have the switch removed so that the lights can't be turned off. We literally have a blank plate where the switch would be on the right handlebar. Up until 2005 at least, the European bikes did not have hazard lights but DID have a switch on the right handlebar for turning the headlights on and off, which in your case appears to be used for hazards. I guess this means that I have some customisations to my bike which none of you would see.

Doing some research tonight, I've discoverd my first snag. Aussie bikes do not have a headlight switch - they are forced on all the time by law - and we also do not have a hazard switch (at least on '02 models). Can someone with an '06 or later tell me how many positions their headlight switch has? Is it OFF-HEADLIGHT-HAZARD?

Yeah it is map by gear, but as for how different each gear's map is? Anyone's guess really. But yeah, I already have the PCV speed sensor rigged up and have previously toyed with different maps and Autotune AFR tables per gear. So I'm all set on that front.

I did say it's a BUILD thread!!! The parts are on their way to Seb's house, then he's gonna forward them to me as a bulk job. Gotta give a man some time! I'll edit my first post to remove the tease factor.

This thread was intended to describe the conversion of my bike from a 2002 ECU to a 2006 ECU. The process was a success, however it showed that there was something else wrong I couldn't diagnose or work on anymore. So, the job changed to a complete swap-out of my 2002 motor with the motor from a 2006 bike, as well as the wiring harness and ECU from the donor bike. The ultimate job was success. For any 2002-2005 bike with a good motor and no existing strange misfring problems that come and go, the conversion to a 2006+ ECU will work fine. Just make sure that you have eradicated all possible mechanical issues before you tackle it, because in my case the new ECU on my old engine only made the existing problem worse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: This is currently a build in progress! Job 'aint done yet, folks. CURRENT STATUS: Bike is now running with the 2006 ECU, having some misfiring problems (unsure about relation to ECU upgrade). Skip to the end of the thread for full details. Well, after many years with my 2002 VFR and the various driveability issues at part throttle, I have decided to bite the bullet and fit a 2006 model ECU. I am not the first person to do this, but I'm going to document the whole process from beginning to end including pictures and videos. And of course, I will describe the results and changes in engine behaviour in detail. When I find the money, I will also get another custom tune. As parts arrive and I work through the process I'll post updates to this thread. Why am I doing this? Don't get me wrong, I love my bike. But every time I think I have the part-throttle response problem licked, the bike goes weird on me for a day, or two days, or one day in three, or on the ride TO work but not the ride FROM work. Sure it's not really that bad but it bugs the crap out of me not knowing what's changing and what the root cause is. I've thrown too much money at it over the years with not a huge amount to show for it. The new ECU changes lots of things! It has a much faster processor, was specifically tuned by Honda for better part throttle response, and kicks in VTEC at 6,400rpm rather than 6,800rpm meaning a fatter midrange. It was also tuned for better cruise economy. Next is the price - I have ordered all the necessary parts for $200 (all second-hand of course) and can do the swapout over the course of a weekend; one of our other members did it in five hours! What needs to be done? Unfortunately it's not good enough to just buy the ECU; the 2006+ ECU is based on the newer hardware used on the CBR1000RR and has completely different connectors. Whilst you theoretically COULD map the function of each wire and splice into the old wiring harness - after all it still plugs into the same sensors and stuff - there is 64 potential wires that need splicing. This would take quite some time! So, you need the new ECU and you also need the main wiring harness. However, the connection into the front sub-harness is ALSO different and so you need the front sub-harness as well. Subsequently, the headlight switch is wired differently in the new harness and the indicators use different connectors which are not compatible with the old indicator assemblies (these you will need to splice yourself into the old indicator plugs). Given the above, the procedure at a high level looks to be as follows: Remove old wiring harness Install new sub-harness, re-wiring the headlight connector plug and splicing into the old indicator connectors. Install main wiring harness, splicing into old rear indicator connectors Install new ECU Hit the ignition and pray the magic smoke doesn't escape! What are the likely problems? Broken wires in the new harness are the most likely problem, along with possibly poor connections made to the old engine sensors and control devices causing poor engine running. Also, for either the ABS or non-ABS model of the bike, there were five different main wiring harness part codes from Honda. How different are they? Hard to say unless you had them all in your hand, but it could be as much as a change in wire gauge, or as little as a longer or shorter piece of wire. The parts I have purchased are all from a 2007 model bike, although I don't know if the main harness is ABS or not. It shouldn't matter too much but I will need to tape up any loose ABS plugs. What am I expecting to get out of this? More consistent smooth running, better part throttle response, and better cruise fuel economy. What other benefits are there? Have you ever said to yourself "man if I could only get the wiring harness out, I would do XXXX"? I know I have. So when the new harness arrives I will remove the ground blocks and solder all the wires together, and then fit heavy gauge wire all the way from the regulator plug to the 30 amp Main Fuse B.

Speaking of dirty... do you clean the oil that flings off after every ride or just let it build??? Actually there's very little fling with this oil (SAE 190). So the answer to your question is no, I'm doing it every week or so (since I commute to work and my rides are daily).

Heh true - clock needs to be set. I was more worried you'd say "185KM and less than half a tank???!"

Hey folks, I made a video on reading the FI error codes on a VTEC.

Is a bigger oil cooler always better? I've read that there is an ideal oil temperature, and lower than that is not ideal. Certainly thicker oil and less flow would come to mind. Anyone got any better knowledge on the science of oil coolers?