Factory ECM lockout
 

Have no idea if this is good information or BS; however, since it came from a Harley Tech. thought I had better pass it along just in case. If this has already been talked about, then my apologies. I stopped in today to do the ECM change to allow the fog lights to stay on with the high beam. I told the tech. my ECM was not stock and was tuned with FP3 for some engine/exhaust mods and to NOT, under any circumstances, re-flash the ECM. When the job was finished, The Technician told me that Harley might be sending out a letter or e-mail informing customers of new bikes of a new ECM re-flash update for 2017s. The tech. told me this new re-flash was a new ECM locking program designed to lock the ECM and prevent it from being overridden/modified by any tuner except Harley approved downloads or their street legal tuner. The Tech. said this was a "voluntary" re-flash but that many shops would probably do the re-flash as a matter of normal business. Again, don’t know if this is good info. or not so don't shoot or otherwise chastise the messenger. :icon_look:

fake news

Just more haters dreaming up more BS.

I think there could very well be some truth to it in the sense that something could be coming. HD has ALWAYS locked the ECM's, this is nothing new. Since the Delphi ECM came out back in 2001 there have been several different locking methods used by HD. So to think they would not be coming out with another newer method, yet again, is normal for them.

What exactly is mean't by "locked the ECM"?

The easiest way I can think to describe it would be to think about it like the lock and key on your front door at home. Once you insert the key into the lock you can open the door. The ECM is much the same, a lock is used on 100% of all factory ECM's. Now, if we used the same key on all the locks in each ECM that would make it pretty easy for anyone to go into the ECM and change things. The Delphi ECM has basically 32 thousand different lock/key combinations used. Now about every 5 years or so they go and change those 32 thousand combinations. To think that they might be changing them again is just normal business to us.

Thanks... but maybe I'm still thinking wrong. How do tuners like fp3 and power vision tune the ecm if they've been locked since 2002?

Well that would seem to be a fair question. How do they do that?

Same way any locksmith would unlock a lock without the original key. You have to go in and figure it out and then supply the new key to unlock the door. This isn't anything new, I have been working with ECM's since back in the early 1980's and they have been locked since back then. While the locks back then were not all the hard to figure out, each time they change, they get harder and harder. Delphi has been at this for a long time and has been locking there ECM's for just as long, that's why I have to laugh when people think a locked ECM is something new. Each and EVERY HD EFI bike has a locked ECM, always has always will.

...and each and every time a smart hacker figures out how to break the code