BikiROM install

These are the tools and equipment I used. Left to right, anti-static strap, fine rosin core solder, PCB cleaner, solder sucker and soldering iron.

The anti-static strap should always be worn as a precaution when working on electronic equipment (in this case, the alligator clip was connected to the case of the ECU). You might be able to get away without it, but it's not recommended (I worked without one for many years quite successfully, but I was quite careful to always earth myself before touching any electro-static sensitive devices).

The PCB cleaner is needed to remove the lacquer that coats the areas that we wish to work on. You may be able to do this without removing the lacquer, but it will make it difficult and messy. The lacquer will burn when you heat the areas for soldering and may give off smoke and an acrid smell. The tip of your soldering iron will also become dirty and make it difficult to get a good clean solder joint.

You may be able to use solder wick rather than a solder sucker like I used. Though, it can be difficult to remove the solder from the through-plated holes with Solder Wick.

The soldering iron I use is temperature controlled (albeit a cheap Dick Smith unit) with a fine tip. You can use a cheaper low powered (25W or so) soldering iron, but it will need a fine tip to be able to work with the small surfaces involved.

The first job is to remove the solder from the holes that the header needs to install into. The header should then be inserted into the top of the board. Although the header has a keyway opening on the side. it does not make any difference which way round you insert it, as there is no corresponding key on the daughterboard (the board only fits in one direction, in any case).

The next thing to do is remove the surface mount 0 ohm resistor from location CJ1 and solder it to location CJ2. Removing surface mount devices can be quite awkward as they are normally both glued to the surface and soldered to the pads. Be patient and try not to put too much heat into the pad. Too much heat may cause the track and pad to lift from the board.

Here is the daughterboard installed in its correct location. A little care is needed here to ensure that the pins are lined up correctly, as it is possible to insert the board and miss one row of pins. The car won't run correctly if you plug the ECU back in with a misaligned daughterboard.

I wrapped some bubble-wrap around the daughterboard to provide a little protection for the board and also to hold the board a little more firmly in place. The bubble-wrap insulates the board underneath and pads it from the lid above.

Before re-assembly, make sure that the correct map is enabled via the DIP switch on the daughterboard. The settings are listed on the board. Depending on the EPROM size, there is space for either 2 or 4 maps. On the BikiROM I received, it had space for 4 maps, though only 2 were occupied. Map 1 was the standard SR20DET map with only the limits removed, Map 2 was a mildly modified "performance" map from Badbiki's collection (to suit a car with only exhaust and intake modifications).

Reinstallation of the ECU is simply the reverse of the removal procedure. The only thing to watch out for, is to not be too heavy handed with doing up the bolt connecting the harness to the ECU. It should be firm, but not over tight. It is only there to stop it from becoming  disconnected.

Test driving after reinstall should show the car starting easily and accelerating smoothly (very similar to stock). In my case, on Map 2, there was a small, but noticeable improvement in acceleration, with boost coming on stronger. There was an increase of 1 to 2 PSI in boost over the standard map (peaking at 11-12 PSI, up from 9-10 PSI).

This upgrade isn't intended to replace tuning the engine, and shouldn't be used so. Simply buying a BikiROM and installing is unlikely to give the best performance, as the supplied maps, by necessity, must be safe for a wide variety of configurations (much the same as the standard Nissan map, though perhaps not quite as conservative). The ROM should be only used as a starting point to create a map that suits your specific car and it's modifications. A properly tuned ECU can show quite considerable gains across the entire rev range and result in much better drivability.

Not all dyno tuners have the facilities to program ROMs like these, or may only be able to program ROMs from specific suppliers. You should enquire with your local tuners before deciding on installing a BikiROM.