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Way back when I purchased an MS3 Enhanced for an 01-05 built by @Reverant (Dimitris). The box was DOA and had to pull teeth to get a new, fully functioning replacement that I promptly sold off (related reading here and here).
A buddy of mine with an 04 MSM bought his Rev MS3 Enhanced at the same time (we actually bought through the same vendor in a single large buy). I want to talk about his story here because he isn't a poster, but his experience is worth sharing for anyone looking to drop funds on a MS3 from Rev.
Out of the box, he hooked up his squirt to his MSM and it started right up. Rev's idle was actually pretty smooth. Unfortunately a few mins running, smoke started to come from the box. Immediately shutting it down and opening the box, looks like something on the board shorted and burned up. Rev's response: "It's a redundant part, run it. Its gonna be fine." Run it he did.
This is what we call "burn in"
The MSM was later tuned by Jei @ Blacktrax (those familiar with Blacktrax, they have tuned many a miata (including mine), even though Hondas are his bread and butter) and the car showed some good numbers on his heartbreaker of a dyno (197/ 197). Jei did spend a good amount of extra time getting the car to communicate to his copy of tuner studio as well as tuning this particular squirt compared to other models. The issue was around the butterfly valve thingy in the intake manifold unique for 99-00 / MSMs (possibly not related, but worth mentioning).
the MSM is a square...
Fast forward to 2020, no more than 2-3k miles and a few of track days later, buddy was trying to start up his MSM and it would not. Pulling the box, he noticed new "crispy" components.
Reaching out to Rev, he was quick to reply and suggested to ship the box back to Greece (from California). crispy he's dead, Jim
6 months pass, delays in shipping due to COVID and the fact that Rev in another country, it took a while for the MSM MS3 to get repaired and shipped back.
With box in hand, this is what Rev's repairs look like:
Instead of replacing the board, look at those wires! ...
So does after all this, does the box work? NOPE. The IAC can’t be controlled, no matter what kind of values are entered in TunerStudio. Furthermore, we couldn’t load a tune through TunerStudio and TS would show VVT Control errors (FYI, MSMs do not have VVT).
This been replicated on a couple laptops connected to this MS3. As of today (12/7/2020), @Reverant has yet to reply to a single email in regards to my buddy's new issue after receiving the repaired box back in the US.
TLDR: If you are in the market for a MegaSquirt for your Miata (or S2k - Rev makes em for that platform as well), you may want to steer clear of a Rev built MS3
The ECU was purchased in 2017, and was one year out of warranty when it arrived back to me. I repaired it free of charge, including paying for the shipping to me and back plus a few bucks more.
The damage on the board is probably (ie not 100% sure) not related to the uC capacitor. The cause can't be established. Should I replace the entire board for an ECU that is one year out of warranty? In a covid-restricted locked down country where we are but a very small business, unfortunately it wasn't a choice.
Also, "I have yet to reply to any of your customer's emails" is a lie. I didn't reply to his email on Nov 25th and his follow up on Dec 1st. When in fact, after more than 1 month after shipping, I emailed HIM asking if he had received the ECU and whether it is ok.
As it has been brought to light many time, being a small business I do tend to not reply to emails sometimes, especially when I am busy and the response needs be to technical. This is clearly my own fault and I do need to apologize and fix this, starting with Sal right now.
The ECU was purchased in 2017, and was one year out of warranty when it arrived back to me. I repaired it free of charge, including paying for the shipping to me and back plus a few bucks more.
The damage on the board is probably (ie not 100% sure) not related to the uC capacitor. The cause can't be established. Should I replace the entire board for an ECU that is one year out of warranty? In a covid-restricted locked down country where we are but a very small business, unfortunately it wasn't a choice.
Also, "I have yet to reply to any of your customer's emails" is a lie. I didn't reply to his email on Nov 25th and his follow up on Dec 1st. When in fact, after more than 1 month after shipping, I emailed HIM asking if he had received the ECU and whether it is ok.
As it has been brought to light many time, being a small business I do tend to not reply to emails sometimes, especially when I am busy and the response needs be to technical. This is clearly my own fault and I do need to apologize and fix this, starting with Sal right now.
Rev, thank you for chiming in here, I appreciate you are willing to chime in on threads that are "not so rosy." With regards to "not replying" please let me clarify that you have not responded to his 11-25th and on emails. You have been responsive to him beforehand.
In the post above, I've tried to be as descriptive as I can with the variables I am aware of. COVID, shipping, and time zones are out of our control, and we are all are trying to do our best with what we can control.
To clarify, he was not asking for a free repair / hand out, he knows that you know your boards better than anyone one else, and looked to you for help. He actually mentioned that he was surprised that you were offering to fix the box free of charge. He's willing to pay for support, and just wants his miata running.
I'll let him know to look out for your correspondence.
Come on dude, you drilled a hole in the pcb and routed a wire through the board. That is bullshit
I make these boards and know exactly where to drill so that there is no problem in doing so. Sorry if it's not aesthetically pleasing, repairs seldom are.
12-07-2020, 03:51 PM
Calling out Rev on shitty workmanship
I await the flames.
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