Ask the Radical Factory #9 – Hi there I have 2 sr3’s with Life ECU’s (a 2009 and a 2010) that are new to me. I am unable to get ecu data off both cars, so I think it’s something I’m doing. I go thru the prompts and make up the file for the Life data for the car. The computer is properly plugged into the car, main switch on, ignition on. I go to where it says auto read, or just read, all seems to work and comes up with the download screen but then at the bottom I’m meet with a red message: > “no logged data to download happens on both cars what am I doing wrong? Aim data works fine. From Jack A. in Australia
Hi Jack, this message most likely means the battery in the ECU has died and the ECU is unable to save the logbook or previous data after shutting off. This is relatively common on older cars, and Radical offers a service to replace the battery.
One thing that you can do to confirm it is the ECU battery: using LifeView, (File, Load Logbook) navigate to the folder where you attempted to download the data, there will be a logbook file present (it generates one every time data is downloaded), and open this logbook file. I am willing to bet it shows “NoRTC” at the top of the box that appears. This stands for “No Realtime Clock”, meaning the ECU is unable to keep track of the ECU date and time because of the dead battery. Below is an example of what that looks like.
You can also confirm it is logging data: start the car, run it for a little bit, shut the ignition switch off “but leave the master switch on“ and download the data. It should have generated some data from running.
The next step would be to contact your local Radical dealer (there are two in Australia), send them the ECU, and they can coordinate the repair. There is a cost associated with it, but it will be good for a long time after, as Life will update the circuitry to prevent premature failure.
One more note: This little battery in the ECU charges when the ECU is on. Switching the car on once a month can help prevent this (maybe even start it for a few minutes to keep things moving in the engine doesn’t hurt either).
