2202 South Riverside Drive, Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5363 Internet: http://www.agleader.com
1. Scope
This document describes how to use the SAM Code Upload application. The code upload is
assumed to occur on an existing system on a vehicle that already has the SA Module harness and
Main Data harness already installed.
2. System Requirements
In order to properly use the software, the following components are required
PC with Microsoft Windows and at least 1 RS-232 communication port
SA Module Programming cable (Novariant P/N: 201-0350-01)
SA Module
Microsoft’s .NET must be installed on the computer
3. Introduction to "SAM Code Upload" Utility
The SAM Code Upload utility was designed to allow new SA Module firmware uploads in the
field. The SA Module programming cable must be connected to the SA Module harness at the inline connection between Main Data harness and SA Module harness (12-way Deutsch). The
power to the SA Module programming cable can be taken from the Main Data harness in-line
power to SA Module (2-way Deutsch). The serial connection from the SA Module programming
harness must be connected to the PC serial port and then the application can be started.
4. Software Installation
The software package includes several files:
SAMCodeUpload.exe
SAMCodeUpload.mse
MSFCS32.dll
MSLibrary.dll
SA Module Code Upload User Manual.pdf
sam18.mcs
samwh19.mcs
samwh111_0.mcs
In order for the programming utility to run, Microsoft’s .NET framework (version 2.0 or later)
must be installed on the user’s computer. If an error “The application failed to initialize properly
(0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application” shows up when the utility is started,
Microsoft’s .NET framework has not been installed yet. To install Microsoft’s .NET framework,
download the file from the Dealer Portal and run the dotnetfx.exe executable file. It is strongly
recommended not to edit, rename or change in any way any of the *.mcs files.
P/N 4002312
Rev B
2202 South Riverside Drive, Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5363 Internet: http://www.agleader.com
5. Description of the Software
When the software is started, the window shown on Figure 1 will appear.
Figure 1 – SAM Firmware Upload Tool startup screen
At this point, the user must select a serial port to be used to connect to the SA Module. The
software will list the available COM ports to choose from as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 – COM port selection
Once a COM port has been selected, the Start Comm with SAM button becomes enabled.
Pressing this button will open the COM port and start the communication with the SA Module.
Figure 3 shows the application screen with the button enabled.
P/N 4002312
Rev B
2202 South Riverside Drive, Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5363 Internet: http://www.agleader.com
Note: Depending on the computer’s available COM ports, the list of COM ports will be different
than those shown in the figure.
Figure 3 -Application window ready to go
After pressing the Start Comm with SAM button, the application starts a message counter in the
bottom right of the application window and enables the Get SA Module Info button as shown in
Figure 4. As long as the utility is connected to the SA Module and the communications have
been enabled, the counter will continue to count up. If the counter stops, the communications
have stopped.
Figure 4 – SA Module communication is running
P/N 4002312
Rev B
2202 South Riverside Drive, Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5363 Internet: http://www.agleader.com
After pressing the Get SAM Info button, the application displays the information of the current
SA Module. It displays the Current SAM FW Version, Current FW Build Date & Time, Current
FW Identification, and the Current SAM HW Type. This information drives the choice of
firmware that can be uploaded to the SA Module. Figure 5 shows the application window with
the SA Module info.
Figure 5 – SA Module info on display
The user can now select the firmware version to upload to the SA Module. Once the Select
Firmware to Upload has been selected, the Upload Firmware button becomes enabled as shown
in Figure 6 and the application is ready to start the code upload to the SA Module. Press the
Upload Firmware button to begin the process.
Figure 6 – SA Module ready to upload
P/N 4002312
Rev B
2202 South Riverside Drive, Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5363 Internet: http://www.agleader.com
While the application performs the code upload, the progress bar will increase. If the process gets
interrupted during the upload, refer to the troubleshooting section. Once the firmware has
successfully uploaded, the application displays the message "Upload successful!" in the status
bar while the SA Module is rebooting as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7 – SA Module Firmware successfully uploaded
After the SA Module has re-started, the Current SAM FW and Hardware information should be
updated showing the firmware version that was uploaded as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8 – Window update after code upload
The SA Module has now been successfully uploaded. The program can be closed and the SA
Module programming cable can be removed. Reconnect the original harness connections as they
were for vehicle operations.
P/N 4002312
Rev B
2202 South Riverside Drive, Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5363 Internet: http://www.agleader.com
6. Downgrade Firmware Requirements
Downgrading the SA Module firmware is not suggested. If downgrading is necessary, before
performing it verify the current vehicle type set in the SA Module is set to a supported vehicle
type allowed by the downgraded SA Module firmware, for example, Standard Wheeled.
7. Troubleshooting
“The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the
application“error message appears
The following error shows up when the SAM Upload Utility is run.
Figure 9: Error message on program start
Download and install Microsoft’s dotnetfx.exe executable file. This file can be downloaded from
the Dealer Portal or from Microsoft’s web site. After running this program, the problem should
not happen any more. This only has to be installed once.
SA Module is unresponsive
If all the connections are right and the SA Module does not seem to communicate with the
application (the message counter at the right end of the status bar is not incrementing), power
cycle the SA Module. When the code upload process is interrupted, the SA Module is in code
upload mode and is not sending measurement messages out on the serial port. Resetting the SA
Module by power-cycling it usually fixes the problem without causing any damage on the SA
Module.
SA Module Code Upload application is unresponsive
If pressing the Get SA Module Info button does not seem to do anything or the message counter
in the status bar is slowing down, the application might be too slow for the stream of messages
coming from the SA Module. This can occur on a slow machine or if the computer's virtual
memory is running low. Usually stopping and then restarting the communication is not sufficient.
The user should completely shut-down the utility and restart it.
P/N 4002312
Rev B
2202 South Riverside Drive, Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-232-5363 Internet: http://www.agleader.com
SA Module measurement message counter is erratic
If the measurement packet counter (right side of the status bar) is erratic, increasing by some
number then pausing for a while, etc. The user may have more than one SA Module connected to
the SA Module Programming harness. In AFTracker or AutoLevel architectures, the serial
connection does not work properly since it is designed for point to point communication but has
multiple SA Modules connected. To program the SA Module in this case, the user must
disconnect the other SA Module before performing the upgrade.
8. Appendix A – Quick Reference
SA Module Code Upload application screen
P/N 4002312
Rev B
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