Boost Controller OBD1 ECU Chipping Guide

What Is Boost By Gear?

Boost by gear's primary function is to prevent traction loss in lower gears. Boost by gear enables the control of boost pressure levels for each gear. Some gears you may want to decrease the boost psi to keep traction, where's other gears you may want to increase the boost pressure because you have enough traction and want to make more horsepower. The idea is to be able to push the pedal to the floor and not lose traction, boost by gear enables you to do this.

In order to boost by gear with the OBD1 ECU you will need to add several electrical components to the main OBD1 ECU motherboard. If you have already completed this step and would like to install the electronic boost solenoid, you can find that installation guide HERE. *To do the boost solenoid installation you will need to purchase the following items: boost solenoid, vacuum hose, cable ties, 22g wire, soldering kit, heat shrink tubing and The Boost Chipping Kit.

What Do I Need To Make Boost By Gear Work?

What Electrical Components Do I Need For My ECU To Work With Boost By Gear?

When running a boost solenoid with a chipped Hondata, Neptune or eCtune OBD1 ECU you will need the following electrical components. Transistor E3055T 314, PNP Digital Transistor DTA143XSA, 1A 100V Diode 1N4002, 220 Ohm 1/4 Watt 5% resistor and a 330 Ohm 1/4 Watt 5% resistor. *Buy Boost Chipping Kit HERE.

What Tools And Equipment Do I Need To Chip For Boost By Gear?

The first thing you will need is a OBD1 ECU. The ECU's you will need for Honda are p28, po6, and p72. The tools you will need to chip the ECU are, soldering iron kit, flux, rubbing alcohol and the electronic chips to socket the ECU. It is advised to wear a anti static wristband when soldering the ECU to keep static from discharging to the motherboard and shorting it out.

I've Never Soldered Before, How Do I Solder?

It's fairly simple. I like to turn up my soldering iron to 400 Fahrenheit. I make my own homemade soldering flux out of rubbing alcohol and yellow paste flux. I mix certain parts of flux to the rubbing alcohol, then I shake it up until it dissolves to a liquid. I like to use a glass eyedropper vile, this helps me apply the flux. The first thing I do is de-sorder the socket. I apply the soldering iron to the socket until it melts the solder, then I will place my solder suction tool over the hot soldering iron making contact with the hot soldering iron tip, then I press the button sucking the solder out which clears the joint. Now I'm ready to install the chip and apply a little liquid flux to the Joint. I place the soldering iron to the joint, once the homemade liquid flux starts to bubble I quickly push in some solder. I always hold the soldering iron to the joint a few extra seconds after the joint melts and then remove the soldering iron. You will find with this method you have a very nice clean,smooth and shiny soldering joint.

Chipping The OBD1 ECU For Boost By Gear

(Step 1)
The first chip you are going to install is the Transistor E3055T 314. You will install this transistor to "Q29" on the motherboard.

(Step 2)
Install the 1A 100V Diode 1N4002 to "D14" on the motherboard. *WARNING: When installing this diode you need to "pay attention" to the WHITE/SILVER line on the diode. This line indicates the negative side of the diode and needs to be to the left of the motherboard facing the plugs where the ECU would get plugged into the vehicles harness. You can see the arrow on the motherboard pointing to the left D14 pin, that is where the line on the diode should be placed when soldering. Diodes have polarity, reversing the diode in the wrong direction can damage the motherboard and other electrical components.

(Step 3)
Install the 220 Ohm 1/4 Watt 5% resistor to "R70" on the motherboard. This resistor's color code is Gold/Brown/Red/Red. Resistors do not have polarity, this means that you can place the resistor in any direction and it will not matter. If you decide to put the gold band on the resistor to the left, or the gold to the right, it will not make a difference and will not harm anything.

(Step 4)
Install the 330 Ohm 1/4 Watt 5% resistor to "R71" on the motherboard. This resistor's color code is Gold/Brown/Orange/Orange. Follow the same information as (*Step 3).

(Step 5)
Install the PNP Digital Transistor A143XSA to "Q20" on the motherboard. Make sure that the letters and numbers on the transistor are facing away from the silver ECU frame. You can see demonstrated in the pictures how the numbers and letters are facing forward like the rest of the transistors in front of it and the side of it.

(Step 6)
Go over all of your soldering connections and make sure that you clipped the extra legs on the electronical components. You do not want the legs on the back side touching any other component or grounding and shorting themselves out. You can see in the pictures how the legs were cut off the back side of the motherboard. Always check for droplets of solder and make sure that no pieces of metal are laying on the board. It's always a good idea to take a paint brush or toothbrush and scrub the whole motherboard down gently removing any excess solder. I always take some rubbing alcohol and put a little bit on a toothbrush and scrub the the new solder joints clean. Then take a blow dryer and blow the entire motherboard down so it's dry.