GM EVs Software Update Process with Techline Connect

 

GM software update processes for EVs using compatible J2534 devices (i.e VXDIAG VCX FD GM) and Techline Connect.

For those of you that perform vehicle programming there are some different processes when updating software in the EVs. This is all of the ultium chassis vehicles. It is coming to all new GM models soon.

The new GM ultium chassis vehicles use the new VIP communication platform. The easiest way to identify if a vehicle has VIP systems is to listen to the door chime. If it is multiple tones it has VIP.

Well what’s different? They have moved to vehicle wide programming, VWP. Almost all of the modules will be updated during the flash process. I say almost all because the radio is still USB. The telematics module may need to be flashed independently also.

There a few different steps to perform a VWP event. The vehicle software levels need to be read first.
Almost all of the following functions are done with the power off or in accessory mode. They will not complete in ready mode. Another point to mention is that the MDI (or Other compatible J2534 devices) must be hardwired to the laptop it will not perform a VWP wirelessly

Entering accessory power mode is also new. The EVs do not have a power button to enter ready mode. The driver simply enters the vehicle with the fob or a phone if equipped with Bluetooth start, steps on the brake and it enters ready mode. Programming most modules will not complete in ready mode.

To enter accessory mode and bypass ready mode: enter the vehicle with the fob, close and open the door, depress the accelerator pedal 3X it will now enter accessory mode. This will be evident by the cluster being on without the green ready symbol.

Ok now go into TLC. Select read data for VWP. This will actually work with the power off in most cases. Once software is read it is checked against the latest calibration levels. If a module needs an update it will be in the list with the calibration numbers listed.

Now go back into VWP, it will guide the operator through the rest of the steps.

Updating the radio is done through usb. Like most new vehicles these are equipped with usb-c ports. You will need a minimum of a 16 gig USB-c storage device. The memory device must be able to be formatted to NTFS and not ex-Fat32. I use a PNY brand 256 gig it was like 17 bucks. I was told the GMs do not like the sandisk ones for some reason. There are several TSBs stating the requirements for the flash storage device. I am telling you this so you can purchase one before you need it.

To program the radio login to TLC. Select radio. Follow the steps in order. Prepare for USB. Download USB. Flash process 1. Flash process 2. Register software.
The USB flash port is in the front of the console. The software is downloaded to the USB. Install the USB into the port. Continue the process using the scan tool to initialize the flash from the USB to the vehicle.

It took me about 25 minutes for the VWP. Another 45 minutes for the radio and the telematics. So all in all about 1.5 hours start to finish.

Included are some pictures of the operation.

 

VXDIAG Reprogram GM Volt 2012 HPCM2 with Techline Connect on Win10

 

Another GM Volt HPCM2 reprogramming review using VXDIAG VCX NANO GM scanner and Techlinne Connect subscription.

 

“I have a 2012 Volt that keeps throwing a bogus code about low coolant in the high voltage battery coolant reservoir. Not often, maybe once a year or once every 6 months. I have no idea why it is doing this. I tried the plug that basically hardwires the right resister to the leads. I checked and even cleaned up and resoldered the leads from the sensor where they go into the wiring harness and still, sometimes it just trips. When it does, the HPCM2 needs to be reprogrammed. I finally got tired of taking it to the dealership and decided to try the VXDIAG VCX Nano. I’d post the latest on how I successfully pulled it off.

1: Use a windows 10 computer. Windows 11 may work, but I didn’t try.
2: Order a VCX Nano. It went on sale for $105.
3: Download the latest VX Manager software installer from the vxdiagshop.com site where you ordered your VCX Nano. Surprisingly, that appears to be clean.
4: When installing, check the box for J2354 Passthru driver, NOT any of the manufacturer specific ones and NOT the GM ones.
5: Go to acdelcotds.com, create an account, and buy the $45, 1-VIN software subscription for 2 years.
6: After buying that, go back to the subscriptions page. You will see an ‘Add VIN‘ link, but only if you’re logged in and you have to log in again every single time you go there. They must have some of the worst web application developers out there. Click it. It will take you to a page where you can download the TLC (Techline Connect) installer.) Fear not. On the pricing page, a license for Techline Connect is over $4,300 per year. Don’t worry, you won’t need a license, but you will need the software.
7: Run the installer. When it completes, it will run Techline Connect. Close it. The username and password you created on acdelcotds.com will not work in the username and password fields to login to Techline Connect, so don’t bother trying.
8: Go back to acdelcotds.com, Login, and again click the ‘Add VIN’ link again. On the page that comes where you downloaded Techline Connect, leave the ‘Run as admin’ checkbox unchecked and click ‘Launch Techline Connect’. When it runs, it will see there are a boatload of updates that it does not have and it will go through them all. It is going to install a lot of software.
9: When it’s all done, it will close. Again go back to acdelcotds.com and repeat above process for launching Techline Connect. This time, you should make it all the way into the application. Click on the SPS option on the icons in the list of icons on the menu at the left of the window.
10: VXDIAG should show up as a device option. After this, the VIN should be automatically detected and then you can keep clicking Next and make it through the process. When it gets to the modules, it’s a much longer list than most vehicles. Find the Hybrid Powertrain Control Module 2 option and click it. Then, just keep clicking next and agreeing to everything until it’s done.

After programming is complete, you may need to turn the car off and turn it back on again if the check engine light is lit.

Start to to finish, you’re looking at around 1 to 2 hours depending on how fast you are.

For ~$147 I now have the capability to clear codes whether it’s a real problem or not.”

Updated:

It works fine on Windows 11 as well.

Another review:

“I ordered VCX Nano from vxdiagshop.com and followed the above instructions on my Windows 11 Computer with the virus protection off. I followed your steps exactly and in 2-3 hours I was able to clear the DTC’s, and I plugged in and got a green charging light again. I have never been so happy to see my Volt charging. And it worked using Windows 11 without a hitch.”

How to Use Techline Connect with VXDIAG VCX FD?

VXDIAG VCX NANO GM and VCX SE don’t support CAN FD protocol. To program modules for new GM CAN FD models via Techline Connect, you will need the new VXDIAG VCX FD J2534 passthru.

 

Here vxdiagshop.com will show how to set up VXDIAG VCX FD with Techline Connect SPS2 for online programming.

First we are going to get the ACDelco Techline Connect software. We'll just open up your browser type in ACDelcoTDS, go log in or register. If you don't have an account you can click Don't have an account and sign up.

If already have one, go to log in.  Scroll down accept the terms and conditions. You can get subscriptions for all the different diagnostic tools.

Any one of these will get you into the TDS software. If you didn't already have a subscription you could click here and add one vehicle.

You'll have to add the VIN for the vehicle but in order to do that first you need the software so if you click on this should bring us up to the page where we can get the software here. We are click on this Download Techline Connect and you should see it start downloading up there.

Take a bit, 9 minutes left. Download is done.  We can go into our downloads folder and click on that file and it should install the software.

Just hit yes it'll do its thing. It's done. We can hit Finish and it's automatically starting up Techline Connect application.

But we need to launch it through the the browser so we'll just close out of this and it's important to not have this launch Techline Connect as admin checked for some reason it doesn't work if you have that box check off so we'll just hit this launch Techline Connect button and hopefully it'll open up again.

We'll probably have to restart this a few times see it's installing some software updates. We will just close out of that.  It's a little bit of a painful process. Now if we close this go back to our admin thing same thing go launch Techline Connect you got to hit yes and you'll see it's in installing updates to all of these software packages here and whenever something like this pops up just keep hitting next or yes or or whatever it takes to get it done for.

We're in so this is where you would connect to the vehicle but the problem is we don't have a j2534 tool yet and that is where we’re going to use the VXDIAG VCX FD GM J2534.

So we'll just close out of this for now and we'll go back to our web browser and open up a new tab. Visit www.vxdiagshop.com or vxdiag.net to download VX Manager Beta 1.8.9 for VCX FD. 

Make sure you install the correct vx manager driver for VCX FD. Don’t use regular vx manager for VCX SE/VCX NANO series. 

Then go into your downloads folder and it’s a zip file so you got to right click on it Go extract all and and now you’re inside the folder you can just click on this and it should install the software for you. We will run VX Manager 1.8.9 Beta.

Just hit finish and the software will fire up.

Then connect VCX FD adapter with laptop.

It will show up device. Update firmware and license.

Then go to Diagnostic tab to update Passthru driver. Install passthru driver only. Don’t need to install GDS2 driver in vx manager. There is “+” icon means the Passthru driver requires update. If does not have “+” icon, ignore it.

We can close this and go back to our browser. Plug the vcx FD into the vehicle. We’ve got the VCX FD plugged into both the laptop and the OBD2 port in the vehicle.

Let’s back into vehicle programming software, hit View and Add VIN, launch Techline Connect.

It is loading the SPS Program, we can go select vehicle. Then select the VXDIAG J2534 device. Hit continue.

Now you go into this SPS2 tab over here. Click on that and this is where you can program all your modules.

It's already got the VIN of your vehicle. You could manually enter a VIN or you can detect a new vehicle.

We'll go Next. This is where it finds all the controllers on the vehicle. You can scroll down and see all the different modules. Select the module you need to program. 

There are many programming examples on our blog.

https://www.vxdiagshop.com/service/how-to-use-vxdiag-vcx-fd-with-techline-connect.html

How to Use VXDIAG VCX NANO with Techline Connect [2024 Guide]

 

How to use the Tech2win diagnostic feature of the ACDelco Techline Connect system?  We have shown some setup instructions (search our blog). Here is the 2024 step-by-step guide on setting up vxdiag vcx nano gm with Techline Connect system.

It is a service that you have to pay for. How to use the paid version?  Many of us cannot get vcx nano to work on the VM Virtual Box virtual machine. Here will show how to install the software on the main portion of the laptop.

 

First we are going to get the ACDelco Techline Connect software. We'll just open up your browser type in ACDelcoTDS, go log in or register. If you don't have an account you can click Don't have an account and sign up.

If already have one, go to log in.  Scroll down accept the terms and conditions. You can get subscriptions for all the different diagnostic tools.

Any one of these will get you into the TDS software. If you didn't already have a subscription you could click here and add one vehicle.

You'll have to add the VIN for the vehicle but in order to do that first you need the software so if you click on this should bring us up to the page where we can get the software here. We are click on this Download Techline Connect and you should see it start downloading up there.

Take a bit, 9 minutes left. Download is done.  We can go into our downloads folder and click on that file and it should install the software.

Just hit yes it'll do its thing. It's done. We can hit Finish and it's automatically starting up Techline Connect application.

But we need to launch it through the the browser so we'll just close out of this and it's important to not have this launch Techline Connect as admin checked for some reason it doesn't work if you have that box check off so we'll just hit this launch Techline Connect button and hopefully it'll open up again.

We'll probably have to restart this a few times see it's installing some software updates. We will just close out of that.  It's a little bit of a painful process. Now if we close this go back to our admin thing same thing go launch Techline Connect you got to hit yes and you'll see it's in installing updates to all of these software packages here and whenever something like this pops up just keep hitting next or yes or or whatever it takes to get it done for.

We're in so this is where you would connect to the vehicle but the problem is we don't have a j2534 tool yet and that is where we're going to use the VXDIAG VCX Nano GM J2534.

So we'll just close out of this for now and we'll go back to our web browser and open up a new tab. Visit www.vxdiagshop.com and go to the Download page. Download VX Manager.

Then go into your downloads folder and it's a zip file so you got to right click on it Go extract all and and now you're inside the folder you can just click on this and it should install the software for you. We will run VX Manager.

Just hit finish and the software will fire up. There is no device detected because we don't connect vcx nano j2534 yet.

We are going to plug the VCX NANO into the laptop. In the vx manager, click on Re-connect.

It will show up device. Update firmware and license.

Then go to the Diagnostic tab to update Passthru driver.

We can close this and go back to our browser. Plug the vcx nano into the vehicle. We've got the vcx nano plugged into both the laptop and the OBD2 port in the vehicle.

Let's back into vehicle programming software, hit View and Add VIN, launch Techline Connect.

It is loading the SPS Program, we can go select vehicle. Then select the VXDIAG J2534 device. Hit continue.

Now you go into this SPS2 tab over here. Click on that and this is where you can program all your modules.

It's already got the VIN of your vehicle. You could manually enter a VIN or you can detect a new vehicle.

We'll go Next. This is where it finds all the controllers on the vehicle. You can scroll down and see all the different modules. Select the module you need to program. 

There are many programming example on our blog, here is an example.

 https://www.vxdiagshop.com/service/set-up-vxdiag-vcx-nano-gm-with-techline-connect.html