JFA Elite Flash: fitting your gearbox tune

Elite Flash is our own tool and it is the simplest thing we make. It arrives
with your gearbox software already on it, so there is nothing to read, nothing to
send and nothing to download. You plug it in, it writes, you unplug it.

It unlocks the shift settings the manufacturer left on the table: quicker, more
decisive changes, higher torque handling where the box allows it, and an
adaptation reset as part of the job.

Before you start

• Battery charger on the car, or at the very least a healthy
  battery reading over 12 volts. The write is short, but the car sits with the
  ignition on and the engine off while it happens.
• Check you are at the right car. The tool locks to your car’s
  chassis number the moment it is connected.

One tool, one car

Plugging this into a second vehicle after it has locked can cause damage to
that vehicle’s control units that cannot be undone. If you have
two cars, you need two tools.

Fitting it

1. Turn the ignition to position two, so the dashboard is lit but
   the engine is not running.
2. Plug the Elite Flash into the diagnostic socket.
3. It beeps once, then starts writing to the gearbox control unit. Do not
   unplug it and do not switch the ignition off. Either risks damaging the
   control units.
4. Wait for the continuous beeping. That confirms the software is loaded and
   programming is finished.
5. Switch the ignition off and take the key out. Only then unplug
   the tool.
6. Start the engine and let it idle for ten minutes without touching the
   throttle. The engine and gearbox are taking their base adaptation, and it
   matters.
7. After the ten minutes it is finished and you can drive.

Letting the gearbox learn

This is the part people skip and then ring us about. The box adapts to the new
software over the first few hundred miles and the shifts get quicker as it learns.
It learns fastest from lots of gentle, light throttle gearchanges, which means
ordinary town driving is ideal.

Driving it hard during the adaptation period is strongly not advised. Give it a
week of normal use before you judge it.

Taking it back off

If you are selling the car and want the gearbox back to standard, it needs a
full factory software flash at a main dealer, who will put the latest genuine
manufacturer software on the unit. Book that in rather than trying to reverse it
yourself.

If it stops part way through

Stop and read this before you do anything

Do not unplug the tool. Do not switch the ignition off. Leave
the car exactly as it is, leave the charger connected, and call us on
01622 321500.

A write that has stopped is usually recoverable while everything is still
connected. The same write becomes a much bigger job once the tool has been pulled
out and the ignition cycled. We would far rather take the call.

Do not contact the tool manufacturer. They only deal with the workshop, not the
end user, so going direct will cost you a day. We are your support.

Have not got a tool yet?

Everything above assumes one of ours is already in your hand. If you are
starting from scratch, tell us the car and what you are after and we will say
honestly whether it can be done on your drive or whether it needs to come to us,
and which of the three tools suits it.

Get a home tuning price
Ask us about your car