We have two Skoda's in the family, one 1.6 GLXi hatch R reg and a 1.3 mpi engined LXi estate, R reg.

The problem I have is my Daughter's 1.3 LXi estate broke down whilst driving it to a friends. The Alternator has fried one of the components mounted on it and the the battery is now non functional. An independent garage says the ECU is faulty and caused the problem. I was not there at the time so I am not sure of all the facts.

Looking at the Haynes manual, I can see no way the ECU can control the alternator as there is no direct connection in the wiring diagrams. Anyway, I can imaging the alternator might have fried the ECU. Just in case the ECU is faulty, how easy is it to change out the ECU and get it working. The Skoda dealer is talking loads of money to repair if the ECU is faulty.

Any ideas/suggestions out there please.

Many Thanks

The Old Man

I would just try changing the alternator and the battery first, and try it all on your own. If you are still having trouble then it might point to the ECU.

I would definitley try an alternator and battery before moving onto the ECU.

you would be right in saying that the alternator is not controlled by the ecu. but if the alternator is over charging it may damage the voltage regulator inside the ecu.

it is more likely to be a fauly alternator

it is dead easy to change the ecu, just unplug one and plug in another.... simple!

Yes its easy to change them as TeflonTom says, try a second hand one first.

The over voltage caused by a faulty voltage regulator on the alternator will cause the battery to gas, it's the Sulphuric mist that the ECU doesn't like. It would be worth checking the fusebox for a blown fuse that would give the impression of a faulty ECU as the diagnostic equipment will not be able to communicate with the ECU if the fuse is blown.

Fitting a used ECU is not as straight forward as has been mentioned, unless you are lucky to get one with exactly the same immobiliser code as has been logged into your old one.

When replacing the ECU with a used one, you need to erase the learned values to allow the car to start - this will need to be done with diagnostic equipment.

:)You can change the voltage regulator on it's own, often no need to replace the whole alternator.

Fitting a used ECU is not as straight forward as has been mentioned, unless you are lucky to get one with exactly the same immobiliser code as has been logged into your old one.

the immobilizer is a seperate unit on the felicia, it's not part of the ecu

the immobilizer is a seperate unit on the felicia, it's not part of the ecu

It's not part of the ECU on any Skoda.

The ECU is authorised by the immobiliser and has a learned value from the immobiliser stored in it. With a replacement these learned values will not correspond and the car won't start, by erasing the learned values the ECU can accept a new learned value generated by the immobiliser.

That's what I had to do when replacing one a few weeks back.

Yep its as easy as going into the engine ecu, basic setting, channel 00.

Feli 1.3 ecu on ebay at the moment

Item number: 280208031140

£14.99 + £5 postage

you would be right in saying that the alternator is not controlled by the ecu. but if the alternator is over charging it may damage the voltage regulator inside the ecu.

it is more likely to be a fauly alternator

it is dead easy to change the ecu, just unplug one and plug in another.... simple!

You cant just swop over the ecu as the immobiliser values have to be set with the computer