Tech 2 Purchase

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sunureu13

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Sorry for the delay in responding to the tags. Haven't been back to the forums since I got my BCM programmed.

As for getting the tech 2 to work with the new Techline Connect / SPS2 system, I was told by the tech on the phone (I can't remember his name, sorry), that the tech 2 won't work with it anymore and that's a known issue and they have no plans to fix it. The first tech I talked to the week before didn't know about that and concluded I must have a hardware issue, since we went through all the troubleshooting with no success.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to provide any screenshots or detailed step-by-step instructions on how it all worked. But I can give a brief overview of what we went through.

Step 0 is to buy a vin slot from https://www.acdelcotds.com/ so you can get access to Techline Connect / SPS2, and I'm sure the tech will check your account to make sure you have it so it doesn't look like you're trying to get free programming. It was $40 for the single vin, 2 year subscription. That's the cheapest. Do note that I had a helluva time trying to purchase it. I used 3 different browsers and 2 different devices to finally get it. The last issue I was having was that the name and address on my account were different than the billing address I entered. Make sure those are the same. The error message did not tell me what the issue was.

Step 1 was to try to get the Tech 2 Legacy Pass-Thru programming to work. If it's giving you a "VCI (MDI) cannot connect" error after you click the use my vin slot button, that likely means you won't be able to get SPS2 to work. If you get any other errors like it doesn't detect the device, you might have a connection issue. Either your rs232 cable, serial adapter, or VCM isn't working right.
I'd recommend getting the Tripplite USA-19HS serial adapter. It's known to work and is the most commonly used one. About $20-30 online. Also be sure to update the serial adapter driver. All that info can be found on the wiki here: https://tech2wiki.com/content/tech2...echline/usb-to-serial/usb2serial_working.html
Also be sure to run the self-diagnostic test to verify the VCM is working.

Once you've verified your device and connection is working, step 2 is to call the tech support line at 888-212-8959. This number was pulled from their site if you'd like to verify, https://www.acdelcotds.com/help
Be prepared to be on hold. My first call was on hold for 45 minutes, next call was over 2 hours on hold. Also have time set aside for getting walked through setting up SPS1. That took about 20 minutes for me since the downloads from their site are very slow. I have a fairly quick laptop (SSD storage) as well so it might take even longer for someone with a traditional spinning HDD.

I told the tech that I've called once before and did all the troubleshooting steps but I still can't connect my tech 2 to Techline and that I know for sure there is no connection or device issue. You will probably want to say that as well so you don't have to go through all the troubleshooting. That'd be a nice waste of time.
Once the tech acknowledged the situation he said that he'd be able to add Tis2Web / SPS1 access to my account, but only for 24 hours. I'm fairly certain that's because it doesn't use the vin slot that you purchased for SPS2 and they don't want you to have unlimited access to programming etc. You access Tis2Web the same way you access Techline Connect, but going through the acdelco site.
He had me download a specific version of java through the site. This was different than the java version for Techline Connect. It took a number of steps to get everything installed but overall it was very easy, especially since the tech knew how to walk me through it. Using the SPS1 programming software was very easy, and there are a bunch of videos online on how to use it if you get stuck.

That's about it. From when I finally got to talk to someone to being able to actually program was about half an hour. The programming can take a bit of time depending on which module. I think I spent about 20 minutes waiting for the TCM to finish.
Speaking of which, my TCM programming succeeded, but SPS1 locked up and I had to restart it. I was able to fire up my truck and everything but had a weird throttle or transmission issue. I redid the TCM programming and that went away. It looks like one portion of the program got messed up since it took a few minutes to do that part but the rest went instantly, like it was already done and it knew it. Just keep an eye out for that.

Or you can bypass all this runaround by buying an MDI 1 or MDI 2 clone to do your programming. I'm not sure what other benefits that device has or how it compares to the tech 2, but the MDI devices are known to work with Techline. The tech also said that some Autel devices had issues working with it too.

If you have any other questions just tag me and I'll try my best to answer them.
 

Fubar0715

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Well, that was not what I was hoping to hear. I am going to take a run at using a VXDiag Nana and use it as a pass through device. If I get that working-will share all I have found out and how I went about it.
 

George B

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Sorry for the delay in responding to the tags. Haven't been back to the forums since I got my BCM programmed.

As for getting the tech 2 to work with the new Techline Connect / SPS2 system, I was told by the tech on the phone (I can't remember his name, sorry), that the tech 2 won't work with it anymore and that's a known issue and they have no plans to fix it. The first tech I talked to the week before didn't know about that and concluded I must have a hardware issue, since we went through all the troubleshooting with no success.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to provide any screenshots or detailed step-by-step instructions on how it all worked. But I can give a brief overview of what we went through.

Step 0 is to buy a vin slot from https://www.acdelcotds.com/ so you can get access to Techline Connect / SPS2, and I'm sure the tech will check your account to make sure you have it so it doesn't look like you're trying to get free programming. It was $40 for the single vin, 2 year subscription. That's the cheapest. Do note that I had a helluva time trying to purchase it. I used 3 different browsers and 2 different devices to finally get it. The last issue I was having was that the name and address on my account were different than the billing address I entered. Make sure those are the same. The error message did not tell me what the issue was.

Step 1 was to try to get the Tech 2 Legacy Pass-Thru programming to work. If it's giving you a "VCI (MDI) cannot connect" error after you click the use my vin slot button, that likely means you won't be able to get SPS2 to work. If you get any other errors like it doesn't detect the device, you might have a connection issue. Either your rs232 cable, serial adapter, or VCM isn't working right.
I'd recommend getting the Tripplite USA-19HS serial adapter. It's known to work and is the most commonly used one. About $20-30 online. Also be sure to update the serial adapter driver. All that info can be found on the wiki here: https://tech2wiki.com/content/tech2...echline/usb-to-serial/usb2serial_working.html
Also be sure to run the self-diagnostic test to verify the VCM is working.

Once you've verified your device and connection is working, step 2 is to call the tech support line at 888-212-8959. This number was pulled from their site if you'd like to verify, https://www.acdelcotds.com/help
Be prepared to be on hold. My first call was on hold for 45 minutes, next call was over 2 hours on hold. Also have time set aside for getting walked through setting up SPS1. That took about 20 minutes for me since the downloads from their site are very slow. I have a fairly quick laptop (SSD storage) as well so it might take even longer for someone with a traditional spinning HDD.

I told the tech that I've called once before and did all the troubleshooting steps but I still can't connect my tech 2 to Techline and that I know for sure there is no connection or device issue. You will probably want to say that as well so you don't have to go through all the troubleshooting. That'd be a nice waste of time.
Once the tech acknowledged the situation he said that he'd be able to add Tis2Web / SPS1 access to my account, but only for 24 hours. I'm fairly certain that's because it doesn't use the vin slot that you purchased for SPS2 and they don't want you to have unlimited access to programming etc. You access Tis2Web the same way you access Techline Connect, but going through the acdelco site.
He had me download a specific version of java through the site. This was different than the java version for Techline Connect. It took a number of steps to get everything installed but overall it was very easy, especially since the tech knew how to walk me through it. Using the SPS1 programming software was very easy, and there are a bunch of videos online on how to use it if you get stuck.

That's about it. From when I finally got to talk to someone to being able to actually program was about half an hour. The programming can take a bit of time depending on which module. I think I spent about 20 minutes waiting for the TCM to finish.
Speaking of which, my TCM programming succeeded, but SPS1 locked up and I had to restart it. I was able to fire up my truck and everything but had a weird throttle or transmission issue. I redid the TCM programming and that went away. It looks like one portion of the program got messed up since it took a few minutes to do that part but the rest went instantly, like it was already done and it knew it. Just keep an eye out for that.

Or you can bypass all this runaround by buying an MDI 1 or MDI 2 clone to do your programming. I'm not sure what other benefits that device has or how it compares to the tech 2, but the MDI devices are known to work with Techline. The tech also said that some Autel devices had issues working with it too.

If you have any other questions just tag me and I'll try my best to answer them.
Thank you very much for this!
 

Joseph Garcia

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Well, that was not what I was hoping to hear. I am going to take a run at using a VXDiag Nana and use it as a pass through device. If I get that working-will share all I have found out and how I went about it.
Get a Techline Connect Tech to work with you, as he worked with @sunureu13, to get your programming completed. My wait time was much shorter, and the time to program the module, once connected, was also much shorter than @sunureu13 experienced.
 

Fubar0715

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I had ordered a VXDiag Nano earlier in the week (I also have another newer GM vehicle) so that I could move toward using a MDI instead. After several hours of reading, downloading, and installing/reinstalling software - I finally got the Nano and SPS2 Techline to communicate. I got a few minutes to go out and test and low and behold-I can see all the systems and will allow me to program. However, we got a rain storm coming so I was foiled in my efforts but I am optimistic.

I originally setup a spare laptop to use in the garage so I will be going through the setup process again and make screen shots so that a sticky can be shared with the community. Those interested, be on the look out in the next day or so for a tutorial of the process.
 

TrybalRage

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Well, this news is kind of unfortunate. I'm about to pull the trigger on a chinacardiags Tech2 and now I'm wondering if this is worth the hassle.
 

Doubeleive

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Just got the blue screen issue. Was going to look at some stuff for @swathdiver and my tech2 wont work. Runs its self test and then stays on a blank blue screen. View attachment 380239
take all the cables and the module out and blow everything out like a nintendo 64 and put it back together again.
 
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