A 4-image board, with both Open and Closed loop proms, both available in Standard or Mountain tunings. e.g. After installing a board with open loop selected in an Open loop car, a dashboard switch can be used to introduce 'Mountain' tuning (Kilimanjaro or Everest), then at a later date when an O2 sensor and wiring is added the ECU can be opened up and a jumper installed to switch the ECU into closed loop. The dashboard switch will then switch between closed loop standard and closed loop mountain tunings.
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Original Post:
One of my recent projects was to understand a little more about the M100 ECU, and as an offshoot of that I started to look at the "Moates" boards as used by Alan McNicol(ESM) in the Mountain chip upgrades.
I found that the chip used in my Everest board had double the capacity of the original Eprom it replaced. So I wondered if the extra memory could be used - I butchered my Everest board to make the top address line switchable, then programmed a new chip with 2 prom images - a 9929 and a 1499 - Lo and behold I could switch between them on my spare ECU! The Eprom selection is made via a "Jumper" the same as used on PC Motherboards, though it's not beyond the wit of man to extend that to a switch external to the ECU casing.
The next steps were to design a new board with the mods incorporated, including the ability to have only 1 prom image if desired - and to have some prototypes fabricated. Meanwhile the original 28-pin DIL chip went obsolete, so I figured the boards I had made wouldn't be a long-term solution. However I did get my hands on a small number of genuine chips before the market was flooded with knock-off copies.
Back to the design software, and a Mark II board was designed to use a 32-pin PLCC chip which was physically different but electrically identical to the original. Needless to say that one also went obsolete soon after, but I managed to find enough to make a small supply of boards.
There are beta versions of these boards in use by several LEC members, perhaps they could chime in on this thread to give their opinions?
My original idea was to offer the boards with either 2 eprom images, e.g. open loop + closed loop, or a single image, e.g. 9930 for those with marginal MOT emissions.
Several people enquired whether I could burn Everest images onto my boards, but although it was technically feasible I didn't want to tread on any toes, so emailed Alan to ask for his permission...
That permission was recently granted, so I'd like to offer them here alongside the standard prom versions.
Please refer to the Mountain Chips website for technical details, boost figures, etc (Link at top of this page if you're signed in).
Initially I'm offering Mark II boards with:
1 or 2 prom images, in the following versions:
- 9929 - Used in later SEs in UK.
9930 - As 9929 but with better adjust-ability of CO Pot for emissions - released with "Emissions service bulletin 1995/24". N.B. If you're changing from an earlier prom to a 9930 your CO Pot WILL need adjusting using an exhaust gas analyser.
1499 - Closed Loop, used in all S2s, RoW SEs with Catalysts and USA 49 States SEs - can be used in non-Catalyst UK and RoW SEs but needs an O2 sensor installed to function (and if you're unlucky some extra wiring).
To address the chip supply situation I also have a Mark III board in development which uses a newer chip, usually found on PC motherboards. These are made by multiple companies so hopefully won't go obsolete any time soon. Details to follow once I've tested the prototype in my car, but (spoiler alert) these chips are large enough to hold several prom images.
Pricing - This was the most difficult part of the whole process, but in the end I decided to honour Alan's prices for boards with Mountain chips code, the last price on Alan's website is £150 for a V4.5 chip and board.
For standard code i.e. no extra boost, the price is £80. Useful if you don't want the extra power of a Mountain chip, but want to go closed loop or reduce emissions on an SE.
Please bear in mind these boards are hand-soldered and each one takes several hours to make, program and test, also this is just a hobby so other things may take priority in my life. In other words there may be some delays in supplying boards!
For those who already have a Mountain chip, I will soon be able to offer upgrades of early prom versions to 9930, from Open loop to Closed loop and Kilimanjaro to Everest by re-programming your existing chip for £36.
If you're interested in getting a board, please add your name to the list starting in Post 2 of this thread in the usual LEC manner, and don't forget to say if you require 1 or 2 images, the prom version, and whether Standard, Kilimanjaro or Everest.
>>>> EDIT: For those who may not know the "usual LEC manner", just reply to this thread copying the last post that had a list and add your name and choices to the next available slot.
DISCLAIMER: You modify your ECU at your own risk, and as with any increase in power your Engine needs to be in good condition and you need to have adequate brakes (preferably upgraded) to cope with the extra power.
Reminder - For more information on the Mountain chip range, please see the link at the top of this page.
Edit 08/24: Alan's site is down for maintenance at the moment, but the previous version is still available on the Wayback Machine: HERE
and I can confirm that in my experience both his products are 'quality' (and bring smiles 
)
