I figured I'd just put this here, since nobody cares but SS/TC owners. If a moderator wants to move it to the How-to's, go for it.

Some of you might already know that if you remove your RPD the car will no longer start. This is because the RPD is a pass-thru module on the high speed GMLAN BUS just like your OnStar VCIM or anything else on this BUS. For some people the RPD may no longer really hold any value, thus why I removed it. You can then reuse the RPD connector for things like a dashdaq or the like since its a direct link to the GMLAN.

Getting around this is very easy, and here is how:

Notice on your RPD connector there are two brown wires and two brown+black wires. They are more tan than brown, but you get the picture. Make two jumpers and connect the brown to brown and the brown+black to brown+black and voila you're all done. Use this same method if you want to remove the OnStar VCIM. The same color wires are on the middle / smaller connector of the VCIM.

You will went to make something cleaner than this, but here is an example of how I did this. More than anything you want to use some shrink tube around the base of your pins to ensure they dont short out. I happened to have some pins laying around off an old wiring harness and they worked great. I had to use those crimp caps since my soldering iron is packed away in a box right now.







And for people who might think I'm full of ****, here is a picture of it jumped + idling w/no MIL:

 

Sweet! Well we must've misconnected the wires then. Good to know that it can be done, especially that easily.

 

Makes me mad that you guys that have the RPD are ripping them out while I'm wishing I had got one!

Edit: Say.... Wasn't there a walkthrough that didn't require the entire car's wiring harness be switched out? Could I buy an RPD from one of you guys that don't want them and have it work?

 

Only reason I'm removing mine is because at a certain performance point the RPD gives pretty much useless data. So I'm going to swap over to a dashdaq.

I listed my RPD + a pillar up for sale, and you do not need to change the whole harness or anything silly like that. Look at my for sale post and I have the how-to install article linked to it.

Remember, my price is OBO

 

Yes you can. I've done the swap on a friend's. Now that I've done it I can probably do another in under an hour easy. You'll need to tap into some of the wires that go into your boost gauge (ignition and ground) and the rest of the signals come off of the OBDII. We wired it up in such a way that the boost gauge wiring and OBDII wiring all stayed functional in case they wanted to use them concurrently or revert back or something.

It will work in any '09. If it's an '08, it'll still work, but you may need a friend with the harness swap the measurement units to whatever you're wanting since the '08 BCM doesn't know to do it.

To bad you're not local or I'd just do the refit for you.

 

Out of curiosity at which point does it become useless? Big turbo guys with agressive tunes? Also which parts of the RPD give out useless data, boost, A/F...?

 

Basically anyone running a tune + pill/mbc/whatever ... and maybe even the infiniboost trifecta guys. The boost is no longer really meaningful (its just pegged at 25-26psi and then says NO DATA), the power calculator (not that it really ever was) has no basis and honestly... I never saw knock shown on my RPD even when I did have some.

I just wanted a device that could show > 1 parameter at a time and also offers datalogging. This is all stuff the RPD can't do.

 

^qft. He's right on.

Coming from an infiniboost point of view, I can tell you that the ECU will give you a screen on the RPD if you're above 22.5 or so for longer than a few seconds. The torque and HP screen is useful until you are tuned, at which point it is no longer accurate. He is correct about the knock readout too. I think it may have a smoothing function to it or something because mine has never shown knock even though HPT/Trifecta logs have picked up on it.

I'm trying to get ZZP to come out with an RPD + gauge(s) pillar so I can see more at once that would normally be on separate RPD pages or display the things where the RPD falls short. I think RPD+dual Interceptors could be a winning combo.

 

Hmmm.... Well, seeing how the knock information was the main thing I was going to want to watch, maybe the whole RPD is not for me. Seeing how the Aeroforce interceptor is only $250 for the single gauge, it might just be the right way to go for me too. Can you use the stock boost gague with the aeroforce in a dual pod a-pillar setup? Would be nice to have the boost needle and then still have all the other data too.

 

when you get the dashdaq and wire it into your car make a post about it.
i might get rid of my rpd then...

 

nicely done

 

Yes you can. Interceptors come off of the OBDII with a connector, so there's no rewiring or anything. It'll work fine.

 

I should've bagged on the RPD after mine sold, d'oh

 

Will theses interchange with the ss/sc

 

I love my RPD.

 

Most likely not because the SS/TC is on the CAN platform.

 

Buy mine and have two! One for the passenger