Turn around time for dsmlink ecu socketing?

[TooFastTooG]

Hey guys just a quick question, I didnt see it anywhere on dsmlinks site, I was just wondering the turn around time for dsmlink to socket my ecu. I live near chicago, and have to plan this right cause this car is my only one and have to borrow a car from my uncle while its out and have let him know.

How long did it take from shipping it out to when it arrives back at your doorstep?

 

[turbo90gsx]

I shipped mine out on Monday and had it back by Friday. Their turn around time is very nice!

 

[Kevin Jewer]

That obviously depends on where you live and what shipping service you choose. The DSMlink guys are extremely busy, but still do an incredible job of turning the ECU around in one day the vast majority of the time.

 

[steve]

Depending on if you willing to drive to drop it off and pick it up or if you wind up mailing it it could be as short as same day. Tom and Dave are busy working an DSMLink V3 and are refering people to this old guy, Steve, in Chicagoland for socketing and repairs.

Steve

 

[dnhieu]

Depending on if you willing to drive to drop it off and pick it up or if you wind up mailing it it could be as short as same day. Tom and Dave are busy working an DSMLink V3 and are refering people to this old guy, Steve, in Chicagoland for socketing and repairs.

Steve

this guy named "steve" does a very good job mite i add

 

[TooFastTooG]

Will they give me info on this? Same day would be very nice...

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Have any of you sent them an ecu with keydiver for DSMlink? I'm wondering if that counts as socketing service to have to remove it. I'm probably going to order the $350 95 ecu w/stage 3 keydiver, then send it to DSMlink guys to get the link eprom. I don't trust buying an eprom ecu off classifieds.

 

[bfdahl]

I was fortunate to have an Eprom in my car when I got it, and I bought new caps and a socket from DSM chips and just took it to a TV electronics repair place near my house.

Had it back same day, and it cost 25$

It is a simple job (with the right tools, and skills) and can be handled locally anywhere.

 

[steve]

Will they give me info on this? Same day would be very nice...

Send them an email asking about having your ECU socketed and see what happens.

Have any of you sent them an ecu with keydiver for DSMlink? I'm wondering if that counts as socketing service to have to remove it. I'm probably going to order the $350 95 ecu w/stage 3 keydiver, then send it to DSMlink guys to get the link eprom.

You have to socket a EPROM ECU to use one of Keydiver's chips. So if you get a ECU from Jeff with a Stage 3 chip installed you just need to pop the chip out and plug the DSMLink chip/daughterboard in it's place. No need to send that ECU to anybody, just order your DSMLink and install it yourself.

Steve

 

[Kevin Jewer]

Crap, I forgot they are outsourcing the socketing and ECU repair. I have also heard who ever does it is pretty good, but I only have personal experience with Dave's work/turn-around time.

 

[olmytsi]

Mine took 3 days. I forget which one of the 2 link guys does it but i sent him the ECU with a $35 money order ($30 for socketing and $5 for return shipping). And he also checks the ecu for anything else that could be wrong.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Send them an email asking about having your ECU socketed and see what happens.

You have to socket a EPROM ECU to use one of Keydiver's chips. So if you get a ECU from Jeff with a Stage 3 chip installed you just need to pop the chip out and plug the DSMLink chip/daughterboard in it's place. No need to send that ECU to anybody, just order your DSMLink and install it yourself.

Steve

Oh that's great then! I thought it was soldered or something. Thanks for info.

 

[TimG]

When I socketed my eprom, I got fed up and impatient and did it myself along with my caps. $1.67CDN in parts and I had my chip in and functioning properly. I had no prior experience with socketing or caps. I just practised on an old ECU I had laying around and actually got it to work again by simply changing the caps.

I say go for it yourself if you are wreckless like I am.

 

[steve]

I say go for it yourself if you are wreckless like I am.

I love it when people do this. I get to charge them for socketing and repairs afterward.

Steve

 

[TimG]

Soldering is an easy skill to pick up and be able to do. I've done over 5 eproms since my first one and probably 10+ boards with new caps. I've never killed a pad and ruined a trace. Solder wick is your friend.

 

[TooFastTooG]

Ok so I didnt even make the connection that is was YOU that you were talking about.

 

[steve]

Ok so I didnt even make the connection that is was YOU that you were talking about.

Ya, talking in the third person is confusing to me too. Sad attempt at humor on my part.

It is a simple job (with the right tools, and skills) and can be handled locally anywhere.

Soldering is an easy skill to pick up and be able to do.

I agree that soldering is an easy skill to develop. I've been doing it since I was about 10.
1G ECUs are pretty simple double sided circuit boards with fat traces, 2G ECUs are much more difficult and fragile.

The bottom line is cost. Buying a correct soldering iron, solder, vacuum sucker, and wick is more expensive than having the job done. Your time has some value, I know mine does. Experence and knowlege are also costly. While the local TV guy can often replace the caps and socket an ECU, they don't know the schematic, have no idea what else to watch for, or how to test the ECU.

When it comes to socketing, the fastest way is to cut the pins off the factory EPROM and desolder the loose ones but that destroys the chip. Make sure if you go to a TV guy that they don't do it. I know that Dave, Jeff, and I always remove the chip intact so you have a way to restore the ECU to stock for debugging or when you sell it.
There are different types of sockets with different qualities. The common stamped wiper contact low profile sockets don't retain the chips very well and aren't recommended for applications subject to shock and vibration. Over time the chip will work it's way out of the socket. Machine pin sockets are slightly more expensive but have far greater retaining force and are designed fir this trype of application. Their contact are usually gold plated to resist corrosion. Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) sockets have contacts that open and close on the pins. This is a great advantage when you have lots of fragile pins like on a CPU chip but it's just a convience on a 28 pin EPROM. These are usually used by people burning their own chips and changing them all the time. The socket has a lever that works the contacts and requires clearance to operate that interferes with daughter cards like the 1G DSMLink.

Steve