Powergate Software Instructions
Okay, let’s do this!
There are three steps we’re going to go through:
- Download the Powergate software
- Transfer the file you read from your car to your computer and email it to us.
- We will modify that file and send it back to you so you can program your car!
What you will need:
- Windows PC with USB port. Must be Window 8 or newer
- Powergate Software – download here
Battery Charger is mandatory to keep a constant 12volts when programming. Failure to maintain voltage could cause a battery to die even if new and damage the ECU
But first some important information!
IF YOU EVER GET AN ERROR WHILE PROGRAMMING, DO NOT TURN THE KEY OFF OR UNPLUG THE POWERGATE! THIS WILL DAMAGE THE ECU!
All you do is go back to tuning (this will make sense in a bit) and start the programming of the file again, or program back to stock and start over (again, this will make sense a little later.)
NOTE: You cannot do any damage to the ECU while reading it, only when programming it. They usually only fail if the battery goes flat (turn off the air conditioning, radio, basically all accessories while reading and programming) or if the connection to the car is interrupted. You will need a battery charger, connect it to the vehicle battery before you begin programming to reduce the risk of this occurring. If you suspect your battery may be weak, you should address this before you attempt to program the car.
THE PROGRAMMING MUST COMPLETE SUCCESSFULLY BEFORE YOU DISCONNECT THE CABLE OR TURN OFF THE KEY.
Okay, here we go!
In your box should be the Powergate, an OBD2 plug and a USB plug
YOU MUST HAVE A SOLID INTERNET CONNECTION TO USE POWERGATE.
Utilizing a PC with Windows 8 or higher “download ” the Powergate Software.
Once you download the software, run the installer. It will walk you through like any other program on installing it.
Once the Powergate software is downloaded, open it up to install, then using the supplied USB cord plug in the Powergate into the computer’s usb port and it will identify the device and update it.
If it says it cannot initialize the device, unplug it and plug it in again, keeping the software running. It will eventually identify the device and start working.
Now, let’s get familiar with the touch screen.
Tuning: We’ll use this first to start the process of reading your car.
Setup: This one is pretty apparent – accessing the setup menu.
Diagnosis: Again, used to access the screen that allows you to diagnose your vehicle.
Information: This is where you’ll see the hardware and software version, the serial number and info about the ECU if you’ve already read your vehicle.
There’s also a navigation bar on the touch screen to make your way around the system.
After updating the software you can unplug the powergate and head to your vehicle. Locate your vehicles OBD2 port and plug the powergate in.
Turn the car to the ON position so all the lights are on the dashboard but the vehicle is not running. Be sure to turn off all the accessories. With keyless cars press the start button but do not start the car. Typically, this means don’t put your foot on the brake. The ECU will power up without starting the car.
At this point you will notice that the Powergate has turned on and loaded the home screen.
Click on the TUNING icon. Remember these are touch screens so just press with your finger!
Now select the vehicle Make, Model, and Engine that is closest match to your car, if there’s no exact match.
Once you have selected your vehicle using the arrow buttons it will say “stock file missing, start to read the ECU?” Select YES and it will start reading the OEM stock file from your car.
WHILE THIS IS GOING ON, DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING AND LET IT COMPLETE THE READING PROCESS.
Make sure that the powergate comes up with a message telling you that the ECU has been read successfully and you may disconnect it.
NOTE: YOU ONLY READ THE OEM FILE ONE TIME, YOU NEVER NEED TO READ IT A SECOND TIME!
With the reading complete, turn the key off and unplug the ECU from the diagnostics port and head back to your PC computer.
Plug the Powergate back into your PC and relaunch the Powergate software. Once the device reconnects, you can access your left side menu.
Select Download Data. This will then provide you prompts to download the file you have read on to your PC.
Save this file to your documents on your computer, not your desktop
PLEASE INCLUDE THE MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR OF THE VEHICLE IN THE FILE NAME
Then open an email. Select “attach file” and select the file you just saved and email your file for tuning making sure that you include all your contact and vehicle information.
Send us your file to the email address below:
The process can take 24-48 hours for us to return a modified file to you.
Step 3
We will modify the file you sent us, then send it back to you to upload to your car.
Save the file we send back to you as an attachment in our email to your documents.
Now you just need to get it from the PC, to the Powergate, and onto your vehicle. Very simple!
Open the Powergate Software again and link up to your Powergate device.
Now you select Upload Data. Choose the file we sent you. This will upload the new tune to the Powergate.
Once the file has been successfully uploaded to your Powergate, it will notify you this is complete. You can now unplug the Powergate from your PC and head back to your vehicle.
Plug the Powergate into the OBDII port (same as in Step 1) and select tuning, you will see an ORIGINAL file and the new TUNED file you just uploaded.
Select the tuned file we sent you that you have uploaded to the Powergate.
It may ask you to do a series of turning your vehicle key on and off. Once this is done, it will tell you the vehicle has finished writing.
To end the process, it will tell you you can unplug the device. Keep the device in your vehicle. The Powergate allows you to easily flash back to the original file and also has a Diagnosis function on it.