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By Usefuluser Aug2005
Well, I finally did it, I have bought a Power Commander! Why?.....my
riding ability will is not up to the ability of this bike anyway!
The way I ride doesn’t necessitate the need for a Power Commander.
But....
The reason I like riding is because it takes 100%..... 100%
concentration, 100% effort, 100% commitment and I am in control.
With a power commander I am also in control of what the engine does,
and that intrigues and excites me and there is no other reason
(except that I might get it that little bit closer to perfection!).
So, the pack arrived in the post, and I unwrapped it. The first
thing I read was the installation leaflet, which is very good, so I
have chosen to write this in the style of the leaflet, adding bits
where I struggled or I felt they didn’t cover with enough detail for
me. Inside the pack you get:
-
The Power Commander
-
A USB Cable
-
A little Red Wire Tap (Which fell out of the box)
-
A CD-Rom with the PC software and Maps on it
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The Installation Guide
-
A Power Cable that allows you to use the Power Commander while it is
off the bike, or while the engine is not on.
-
Power Commander & Dynojet Decals
-
A Velcro Strip to secure the Commander to the bike
-
An Alcohol Swab to allow the Velcro Strip to secure properly
The Software
Being computer minded, the first thing I did was install the
software on to my computer, find a 9v battery for the power cable,
plug everything in, and see if the software and the power commander
worked.
As you put power to the commander, the lights on the left hand side
give a re-assuring sweep of their range, and settle, with one light
on at the bottom, just above the ‘-fuel’ label.
As this is a set of instructions on how to install a Power
Commander, and most people will either use a standard map or take
their bike to a Dyno centre and get it set up professionally, I will
not go into detail on how the software works, but I will give it a
few paragraphs.
On initial setup, you will see no numbers in the big grid in the
middle of the screen. When you initially plug in the Power Commander
(And that is all I did, no serial ports to configure and address, no
difficult setup procedure) the software automatically uploads the
standard map from the Commander. All power commander III USB’s are
the same, the reason for buying an SV1000 one is so you get the
right connections and length of cable, and that you will have a
standard map for the SV already loaded. If you are reasonably good
with cables and electronics, I cannot see any problems with buying
any PCIIIusb for an SV, because the software is readily available
from Dynojet on the net, but the length and accuracy of the cables
that came with mine would convince me that they can do a far better
job than I could.
Plugging in the Power Commander was also easy, I put the 9v battery
into its clips and plugged it in to the top of the PCIIIusb, plugged
the small end of the USB cable into the other socket on the PCIIIusb,
set the software running on my computer, and plugged the USB cable
into it. Within a second the screen had downloaded the map from the
PCIIIusb and I was ready to play.
If you search on the web and especially on the Power Commander site:
www.powercommander.com/314-411.shtml
....you will find a number of maps, one of these might fit your
setup quite closely, or of course, you can go to a dyno and get them
to set your bike up exactly. Or like me, you have a friend with an
SV with almost exactly the same setup, who has already had his bike
dyno’ed, and you load his map!!
Installing a Power Commander
1. Remove the main seat and the passenger seat (Fig. 1, using
Fig. 2)
|
Fig.1 These are
the bits you need to take off.
Seat, passengers seat
and the two side panels. |
Fig. 2
...and these are the tools I used:
Two sizes of hex driver, my version of a prop rod, a cross
head, and long thin flat headed screwdriver (Will be explained
later) |
2. Prop the front of the fuel tank up using the
Suzuki Prop rod (Fig. 4)
(This is where I start to differ from the instructions....being that
my prop rod is a piece of bamboo cane, cut to size, with a dowel in
the end to support the tank!)
| Fig. 3 My expensive tool in action :-) |
Fig. 4
Routing the harness - the easy bit |
3. Route the Power Commander harness from the
tail section towards the engine (Fig. 4) 4. Locate
the stock black fuel connector. This connector is located to the
left side of the engine, just inside the frame rail
a. Ha Ha Ha Ha,
Figure 5 shows the picture that comes with the instructions, the
plug is in the clear, and easy to see. b. Figure 6 tries to
show it on my bike, it was further back towards the shocks, and
difficult to get to.
|
Fig. 5
The black fuel connector in clear view |
Fig. 6
An attempt to show mine |
c. No matter how much I wiggled and shifted, I could not get
it out any further.
d. This is where the long handled flat headed screw driver comes
in. Because of the difficulty I had in accessing mine, I used the screw driver, down
from above, beside the air box, and got it under the lip of the plug catch, and
clicked it free and open.
e. Spend some time plugging the power commander plugs together
to sort out how the plug disconnects, if you have not come across this type of
plug before, it will take you a few minutes. I was one of those, and struggled
for a while till I sussed it.
f. In summary, to open this plug, there is a catch in the
middle, shown on front in figure 5 and on top in figure 6 on my bike. You need
to lift this catch up and it releases its hold of the two sides of the plug
g. Also note, I have lifted the tick-over adjuster out of the
way, for better access
4. Unplug this connector and plug the Power Commander
connectors in-line
|
Fig. 7
One end plugged in and idle adjuster replaced |
Fig. 8
The other side and in the background the TPS |
5. Locate the throttle Position Sensor connector, located on the left side of
the throttle body.
|
Fig. 9
The TPS with the wire tap in place before it is closed |
Fig. 10
As per instructions |
|
Fig. 11
Colour version of Fig. 10 (my SV1000) |
Fig. 12
Space for a picture of a good bike! |
6. Unplug the connector from the TPS. Connect the supplied wire tap to the
pink wire with the white stripe. (Fig. 9)
a. This is not a problem, you need to wriggle the black cover that is
covering the three wires out of the way, and push the wire tap in place.
b. I have had problems with wire taps before, so I very carefully cut the
wire sheath before putting in the wire tap, to ensure a good connection. This
can also cause problems if you cut through and break the wire, it is very close
to the plug, and would be awkward to repair.
7. Connect the grey wire from the Power Commander to the wire tap. Plug the
connector back onto the TPS (Fig. 11)
a. As it says in the instructions, cover this connection with dielectric
grease, it is an open wire, and subject to the elements, so give it some
protection.
8. Attach the ground wire from the Power Commander to the negative side of the
battery
|
Fig. 13
Connection to the battery negative terminal |
Fig. 14
Fig.E from the instructions |
9. Install the Power Commander in the tail section. If you are not going to
keep the tool kit then you can lay the PC flat against the inner fender or you
can mount as shown
a. I have placed mine quite well back in the seat so that I can get to the
USB port if I ever take my bike to a Dyno. On its side it might be even easier
to reach.
|
Fig. 15
The Power Commander in place
(The engine is on, the unit is powered) |
Fig. 16
The Power Commander on its side |
10. Bolt the fuel tank back down. Install the main seat and the passenger
seat.
|
Fig. 17
Working with the software |
Fig. 18
It is a great bike! |
11. As you will see, on the computer it states “Disconnect lambda sensor.
Unplug pin 23 on ECU connector to disable FI light"
24/09/2005: To be continued - final steps will be added in the
next couple of days
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