ECU Wanted - Page 2

crofts · 8th December 2006, 01:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike

Interesting info Crofts............the manufacturer always maintained that the car ECU was one time programmable to a single car only.

Anyone heard reports of a s/h unit being reprogrammed successfully?

Mike

Yes Mike, I was quite surprised to see their 1/2 page advert in Car Mechanics.
I'm a dunce when it comes to sophisticated electronics but their blurb sounded very positive that they can recode second hand ECU's etc. They do mention Rover in the list of cars they can assist with.
They also do an 'airbag controller crash data removal service'
As I suggested, no harm in giving them a ring and asking. Could be a lot cheaper than new !
I would imagine they could also determine whether a drowned ECU can be 'resucitated'. Don't think I could remove the board and dry it out etc.

DeeCee · 8th December 2006, 10:09

Checkout....
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=163284

The price cdauto paid for a ECU seems very low !

Simon · 8th December 2006, 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColinW

Theory/
As an electronic engineer, I would say you have a better than 50/50 chance of getting it to work again.
By itself, water is not the problem. Unfortunately, the contaminated water, which will be electrolytic, gets onto the printed circuit board, and because the power is on, behaves as if there are many short circuits all across the circuit board. In a few cases this can cause catastropic failure. However, it can just cause the programme to go mad, thus disabling the car.

Remedy/
Dissonnect battery & remove the ECU module. I do not know if this is possible, but try and extract the ECU printed circuit board, ie the board with all the Chips on. Try not to touch the board except by the connector, as electrostatic discharge from yourself can destroy the IC's.
It is worth just having a look on the board for evidence of salt deposits. These need be not that obvious, but you can see sort of water marks, particulary where the water has been.
Now you will have to wash the board, initialy with warm tap water, and a soft brush, pay particular attention to the watermarked areas.

DO NOT BE AFRAID ABOUT THE WATER. BOARDS ARE CLEANED IN THE FACTORY USING WATER AND QUITE AGRESSIVE CLEANERS TO REMOVE SOLDERING FLUXES..

The next step is the most important. You now have to rinse the board with a good quality de-ionised water. Do this several times in fresh de-i .
Shake off as much of the water as you can. Do not be tempted to blow it off with your breath . You can blow it off with a good quality electronic airduster aerosol, that is used for computers etc
Now you must dry it thoroughly. A fan oven set to 50- deg C. Make sure the oven is at temp before you put it in. Leave for about 1/2 hr, or longer if you have the time.

Now at this point it is important, that you put it back in the case ASAP, having previously wash & dried the case as well.

Now what I don't know, and I'm sure somebody will, if the ECU needs some form of reset after putting it back. Batteries are disconnected routinely, so it should start working again.

NOW. If it works again, it is worth taking the ECU out once more, and coating the printed circuit board with a protective lacquer. This is routinely done in aerospace and militatry electronics for this very reason. Even condensed water droplets cause havoc with modern electrtonics.

Hope this helps, you have nothing to lose.

Good luck

Colin

That is excellent advice, Collin - I never new PCB's were that robust

Great info and welcome to the club!

sholloway · 27th December 2006, 20:53

Thanks for all your info guys. I'm sure I'll get there in the end (ever the optimist!).

Saga so far: I managed to find one on ebay, which the vendor sent directly to the garage. When the garage tried to fit it they said that it seemed to be functioning OK but that the diagnostic equipment indicated that it wouldn't work without its partner security ECU (which, they said, forms part of a unique matched pair with the engine management ECU). I emailed the guy I bought it from to ask if he still had the security ECU. I'm still awaiting a reply!

Does this sound a plausible diagnosis, or is there something more fundamental which ties the ECU to the car?

In the meantime I'll try Colin's solution. It had crossed my mind to try something like that on the basis that there's nothing to lose.

Many thanks in advance.

Stephen

Simon · 27th December 2006, 21:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by sholloway

Thanks for all your info guys. I'm sure I'll get there in the end (ever the optimist!).

Saga so far: I managed to find one on ebay, which the vendor sent directly to the garage. When the garage tried to fit it they said that it seemed to be functioning OK but that the diagnostic equipment indicated that it wouldn't work without its partner security ECU (which, they said, forms part of a unique matched pair with the engine management ECU). I emailed the guy I bought it from to ask if he still had the security ECU. I'm still awaiting a reply!

Does this sound a plausible diagnosis, or is there something more fundamental which ties the ECU to the car?

In the meantime I'll try Colin's solution. It had crossed my mind to try something like that on the basis that there's nothing to lose.

Many thanks in advance.

Stephen

I don't know of a specific security chip but I do know that numerous other PCB's in the car have VIN data stored on them. Take the IPK (instrument pack) and the LSM (module that controls the cars lighting). Both these 'talk' to each other to verify vehicle milleage data and both store VIN data, so it's entirely plausable that if the ECU detects the VIN data is different on to it's own built-in settings to that of the LSM or IPK then it may refuse to work.

Could be one the many security-concious features built in to the car to deter clocking and thieft but alas are detrimental to our honest and good-intentioned attempts at repairs and upgrades

Simon · 27th December 2006, 21:37

Just another thought... It may not be the IPK or LSM as people have swapped the IPK on cars and discoverd that the car works, only milleage data is incorrect and generates error codes on T4 as well as the dashboard display.

Of course that still leaves one thousand and one other PCB's and modules as the culprit...

27th December 2006, 20:53	#14
sholloway Newbie Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lincoln Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Matched pair with security ECU? Thanks for all your info guys. I'm sure I'll get there in the end (ever the optimist!). Saga so far: I managed to find one on ebay, which the vendor sent directly to the garage. When the garage tried to fit it they said that it seemed to be functioning OK but that the diagnostic equipment indicated that it wouldn't work without its partner security ECU (which, they said, forms part of a unique matched pair with the engine management ECU). I emailed the guy I bought it from to ask if he still had the security ECU. I'm still awaiting a reply! Does this sound a plausible diagnosis, or is there something more fundamental which ties the ECU to the car? In the meantime I'll try Colin's solution. It had crossed my mind to try something like that on the basis that there's nothing to lose. Many thanks in advance. Stephen Last edited by sholloway; 27th December 2006 at 21:01..

8th December 2006, 10:09	#12
DeeCee Regular poster none Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: none Posts: 93 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Checkout.... http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=163284 The price cdauto paid for a ECU seems very low !

27th December 2006, 21:37	#16
Simon Banned - Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: - Posts: 10,318 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Just another thought... It may not be the IPK or LSM as people have swapped the IPK on cars and discoverd that the car works, only milleage data is incorrect and generates error codes on T4 as well as the dashboard display. Of course that still leaves one thousand and one other PCB's and modules as the culprit...