I bought a used ECU and the car wont start. Why? Is this true?

"It wont start because the v.i.n number is burned into ecu, for theft purposes, the v.i.n number in the ecu has to match the, the ecu you bought is worthless, You will need to go to oreillys or napa or autozone, they will get your v.i.n number and they will order one thats programed for you r car with your v.i.n number burned into it, or you will have to go to dealer if not available aftermarket, but the one from the junk yard is junk, sorry"..

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

 

Paul, I do believe this is true.

Sorry bud.

 

The ECU has to be married to the car. Any Chrysler dealer should be able to do this for you.

 

It is not junk.... it just dosent know who he is.... a dealer or shop with the right equipment can teach it who to talk to....

 

Thanks. I will call the dealership today. I hope its not crazy expensive!

 

call a local independent benz repair shop, should be cheaper then the benz dealership

 

Hey Paul,

PM Lantana he has to do something similar to get the V8 to run in his Cross. If anyone on this forum can put you in touch with a fix for this it will be Lantana. Good luck Paul. Stay safe...


Respectfully,


Paul (MisterTaz)

 

Update, the Chrysler dealer said they can flash the ECU for $90. I will give it a try because I'm pressed for time. My end goal is to have a stock ECU for dragging with Nitrous and my tuned ECU for pleasure driving. Thanks again!

 

$90 sounds pretty reasonable... good luck with the new setup...

 

Just got back from Chrysler, its true a used ECU can not be re-burned with another car's VIN, therefore a used ECU will not work! Does anyone know how much a new ECU sells for? I did not ask while I was there because I know better than pay full retail .

 

Post in the parts section in sowardcustoms thread. He gives a 20 percent discount.

 

The ECU lists for $1775.00 your cost $1420.00.....

 

WOW! That is how much I spent on a very low mileage MB V8, wiring harness AND ECU.

Besides the VIN, I also believe information on the key is stored as well and when you turn on the key the ECU checks everything to make sure you aren't stealing the car.

If you want two ECU's you can send the used one to Beckman Technologies. They can unlock the ECU which basically tuns it into a brand new unprogrammed ECU. You can call them and discuss this. I believe they charge about $250 to do this. They told me that once I get it back, do not try to just start it. You only get three turns of the key before the ECU locks again. Once unlocked you have to use the Star Diagnostic system or Auto logix with MB module to reprogram the ECU to the car. Used ECU cannot be unlocked by the dealer or repair shop. Beckman website:

http://www.beckmanntechnologies.com/

I have heard of another option of which a guy france just posted on my V8 conversion diary, which is to unsolder the EPROM that contains the data and solder into the new ECU. this option will not give you two ECU's to use but could be an option for me. BTW, the soldering cannot be done by an inexperienced DIY'er with a solder gun!

Another way that I have been reading up on is dissabling the Immobilization. You can find some info by searching for Immo bypass or Immo disable.

Here is another site I just started to read tonight that can teach us a few things about these ECU's or see my next post

http://www.dubspeedracing.com/forums...ead.php?t=5928

My first recomendation is to call Beckman since they are in the business of making used ECU's work for people who don't want to pay thousands for a new one. Hope this helps

P.S. I was just tonight thinking we should have a ECU thread where we can post real confirmed information about our ECU's and then found this thread. If we come up with ways to deal with these ECU's, all sorts of possibilities open up!

 

Read this all the way through as it talks about multiple programs that can be switched on and off without changing ECU's!

On another forum, it came to my attention that there is a lot of misinformation being spread about the chiptuning on our cars. With the release of several programs due out in the next few months, you the consumer needs to know whats going on in order to make the right decision.

If you knew anything about chipping methods before (B5, B6), forget about them. None of the methods of the past (Chip Socketing, EEPROM Programming) work now, EXCEPT for OBDII Programming. In the past, you were able to remove the socketed EEPROM and flash it using a programmer. Not the case anymore. You CANNOT remove the EEPROM anymore... here's why.

The ME9 ECU uses the Motorola MPC555 - 565 Chipset. "This generation of Motorola processors contain 448KB - 1MB Flash memory. That memory cannot be read and programmed with an eprom programmer." So, the old methods won't work with this.

There are three methods in use for tuning our ECUs, Only two of which are TRUE programming methods.

The first of the three methods of programming, isn't really programming at all. One such tuner that begins with O and ends in .T is using Adaptation channels to "tune" the car via OBDII port. This is nothing but messing with some numbers via VAG-COM really, calling it programming, and selling it to unsuspecting poor souls that don't know any better. Stay away from anything that uses this so called programming method as its not even a half-*** program. More of a 1/4 to 1/8th of an *** program

The first REAL method and probably the most common up to now is BDM programming. This is a backdoor method of programming since it bybasses some checksums that are used to check the validity of the flash. Currently Neuspeed and MTM use BDM programming. To program via BDM, you must first open the ECU chastity belt (dead giveaway to your dealer), and then open the ECU. The ECUs now have a fairly wide band of gled security glue on one side of them that is also a dead giveaway to anyone that the ECU has been opened. The BDM programmer is then plugged directly to the board inside your ECU and then flashed.

In the photo below, note the security glue to the right side of the ECU (Greyish White Substance).



The downside to this is that you have now opened up your ECU, effectivly voiding the warranty on your ECU and could very well void the warranty on the whole powertrain. It is VERY visible that the ECU has been tampered with, and will be obvious to your dealer. You also risk breaking the ECU when trying to open it due to the security glue on the board. The chances of someone making switchable programming for BDM is slim to none since the checksums are purchased from German companies called EVC and CSW. No programming is really done on the code side by the "tuner", only tweaks to the performance side of things.

The last and best method of programming is through the OBDII port, which is what APR is doing. ME9 architecture uses RSA encryption and is very difficult to break. ONLY ONE TUNER SO FAR IN THE WORLD HAS MANAGED TO BREAK THE ENCRYPTION AND SUCCESSFULLY FLASH CARS USING OBDII. APR was able to get into the ECU, extract the code, log data using their OWN in-house engineering programs, and develop software more or less from the ground up. This allowed APR to have full control over the programming, as well as incorporate things such as security lockout, multiple programs, fault code erasing, and trial programming.

The beauty of OBDII programming is that it never even requires you to open your hood. This is all done from within the cabin of your car, and nothing at all under the hood is touched. Multiple programs allow you to switch between Stock Modes, 91 octane, 93 octane, and 100/104 octane programs with the flip of your cruise control stalk. Security lockout will keep prying eyes from flipping between your programs to see what else lies beneath. Lock it in stock mode and no one will know the wiser.

In this day and age, there is no reason you should have to open your ECU to chip your car. If MTM is in bed with Audi like they say they are, why haven't they figured out OBDII programming? Think about the pros and cons of each method and product before you make your decision. Remember that NO chip company on the planet for your Audi is going to guarantee you that it won't void your warranty. There are always risks you take by upgrading your car in any way, shape or form. Just remember you have to pay to play and know the risks before you do anything.

The point of this post is not to say one company is better than the other, but provide you with enough information to make an educated decision down the road. That said, happy motoring, and enjoy your 2.0T equipped car. I know I do...especially now that its chipped

 

WOW! The dealership last week quoted me $3000 for a new ECU in my SRT-6. Glad mine was covered under warranty!

 

The SRT one is $2835.00 list cost $2268.00

 

I spoke to Beckman today, and he told me that he can return a used ECU to a virgin state for $250. As stated by Lantana it will then need to be flashed and matched to the car by a dealer.

 

OUCH! I could just part the SRT out for more than I could get for it in one piece! Hmmmm now thats and Idea~

 

Yeah that's not bad for $250 + 98 programing. But that is half the price of a custom tune. I going to think about this carefully, because I been buying every mod available and retuning every year is a must.

 

I purchased a few parts in bulk from a Chrysler dealership that was going out of business in Georgia last year. One of the items that I received was a brand new ECU, it was for the 2004 - 2006 N/A Crossfire. I was told by my very trusted and knowledgeable Tech that it can be reflashed with a new vin for a flat rate of $75.00. I sold the ECU to one of our members here on the forum and told him that if it could not be reflashed , he could return it and get a refund. To date he has not contacted me so I guess his dealer was willing and able to do the reflash.