Hondata

We asked the question about the spark plugs bacause non-resistor spark plugs will cause enough interference to cause the USB to disconnect.

There is no issue with Dell laptops as far as I know - I have used one myself for the last 4 years without any problem.

The source of the interference needs to be addressed, rather than the symptom. When the laptop disconnects it is because something in the vehicle causes interference on the USB line. If we could make a hardware change to stop this, we would, but the issue is once the signal to noise on the USB drops below a certain level, the USB stops working, so it would require re-designing USB. We know that non resistor plugs will cause interference, as well as poor vehicle grounds and relocated batteries - this is why we direct customers to look at these areas first.

spectacle

Plenty of people have made note that Dell laptops don't play nice with Kpro.

So let me ask this question...barring my Dell laptop (D430) just being a POS, what would cause Neptunes TV2 to work 100% without fail but my laptop not being able to take a WOT pull without disconnecting? It worked perfect when I was N/A but with my turbo kit, it never works. Only thing changed was the spark plugs...and I use the same ones everyone else does - NGK #2668.

Again, the TV2 works flawlessly. When I plug in my laptop, its a crapshoot. Other laptops seem to work better...I don't have concrete evidence of this yet but may this weekend.

Hondata

Probably because the TV is on the same ground plane as the ECU and so the USB signal to noise is much better. The noise will still be there, but it hasn't degraded the USB signal to the point where the connector will stop. Don't think of the interference as a on/off condition, either present or not present, because usually it is there when you think things are fine, but just not bad enough to cause a problem.

spectacle

So, given that information, what's the next thing I check?

Hondata

Without knowing what your exact setup it, the general approach is to test for ground current flows and voltage spikes using a digital multimeter and oscilloscope and then start to make changes based on what has been altered from stock until the problem is identified. See the post above for testing for ground offsets using a multimeter.

In our past experience the following have been found to cause ground offsets / interference:
- non-resistor spark plugs, and some of the time plugs which are gapper too high, or sometimes a particular brand of spark plug.
- battery relocations which add resistence and radiating length to the battery cable. Sometimes the ground return path from the new battery location causes a ground offset even if grounded correctly at the battery end.
- missing grounds.
- ground points which are not metal to metal.
- bad engine harness ground (end of the cylinder head on the S2000).
- the use of a power inverter which does not isolate the ground to the laptop power supply.
- dirty connectors in the engine bay.
- engine bay wiring which has been exposed to more heat than normal. The copper wire work hardens and then breaks inside the insulator. On the RSX turbo kits are notorious for doing this as the wiring runs right past the compressor. It could also be that some of the wiring heatsheild wrap causes problems too.
- electronics wired into the ECU power supply, or sensor power / ground lines.

EliteTuning

no issues here and i tune plenty of setups with my inspiron 6000. Sometimes, extra grounds are necessary to keep things in order.

I'd follow Hondata's advise. The fact that they are here replying to this thread shows their devotion to customer service. If they didn't care, they wouldn't answer/help

spectacle

I'm happy to report that this issue is solved for me. Here's the breakdown:

[QUOTE=Hondata,Mar 31 2010, 05:38 PM]Probably because the TV is on the same ground plane as the ECU and so the USB signal to noise is much better.

dstevens

The main harness ground is on the back of the cylinder head, and is very hard to see. Adding extra grounds generally is not a good idea as it will create potential ground loops. Use the multimeter to narrow the problem down as outlined above.

spectacle

Did you miss the part where I said it fixed my issue?