ECU problem

[pphilos]

Hi

Had a remap 3 months ago and last week went shopping. On returning to my car it would not start. AA came and said they could not communicate with ECU as no power getting to it. Took it in to D.M. Keith Skoda and at the moment they are trying to acquire the "original" master code so they can REFLASH the ECU as they cannot get access to it due to some kind of lock-out? They say that every car has a unique code for this.

Can anyone confirm if this is true, 'cos my bull**** detector is going crazy at the moment?

I'm anticipating a very costly outcome + no remap.

Any advice please?

Thanks

Phil

[simonlb]

Have you contacted the company who did the remap and queried this with them? They may be able to assist as there should be a warranty with the remap.

[VRStu]

They'll be trying to source the code for your ECU. It's not entirely unique but there are different versions.

[pphilos]

I'll have to check with the remap people - there was a 7 day money back deal, but they might argue something else must have caused this. Shall check the small print. Can't drive the car anyway, so not sure how that would get resolved.

Could this simply be an immobiliser thing? Is a reflash required. If this does not work out they are talking about a new ECU £££££££££ ker-ching!

Think I'm gonna get raped here. They've already claimed to have done 2 hours diagnosis on an ecu that they cannot read!!!!!

Could do with some informed advice. Anyone?

Thanks

Phil

[VRStu]

My first thought to be honest is new ECU. Main dealers don't really tend to mess around with them they just swap them out.

[kpap]

Are you shure that this is not a immo problem ?

If you are sure that is the ECU then ask the guys on the company that flashes your ECU about the backup of the original file from your ECU(the original program that comes with the car) they must have keep one on their archives.

If the serviceman saids that no communication occur then the best way to resolve this is to remove the faulty ECU and send it to the remap company for check.

They must be able to remove the flash memory chip onboard and reprogram the chip so the ECU can work again.

If it doesn't works then you can have a faulty ECU.

Do it before spending money for a new ECU.

Best regards.

[ap0gee1978]

I'll have to check with the remap people - there was a 7 day money back deal, but they might argue something else must have caused this. Shall check the small print. Can't drive the car anyway, so not sure how that would get resolved.

Don't worry about 7 days or not. That will have been suffixed by 'your statutory rights are not affected' or similar. This means that they've, erm, graciously allowed you 7 days to change your mind and get a refund no-questions-asked. Your statutory rights under the various revisions of the Sale of Goods Act, however, allow you to claim against the supplier in cases where goods or services are faulty, not fit for the purpose intended or not of merchandable quality. There is some good (if basic) guidance, here. You really should be leaving this to the remappers to fix and not the dealer, though, 'cos the remappers could now point the finger of blame at the dealers and it could be very difficult to prove who was at fault. If all else fails, a letter from a solicitor threatening action though the Small Claims Court might be required...

Good luck!

[pphilos]

Thanks for your replies guys. I've agreed for them to fit a new ecu, this will have 2 years warranty, so if there is some other underlying problem I'll have some assurance. What I am curious about is if I take the old ecu and show that it is not "dead", surely Skoda would need to give me a partial refund?

[redbaron]

i would be discussing this with your tuner before ordering a new ECU.

but to be fair when you modify a car you accept it has no warranty left other than that provided by the tuner.

[VRStu]

New ECU - That's gonna cost you.

My money would be on a checksum error.

[Tech1e]

Thing is even with a checksum error you should still have diagnostic access to the ECU. Unless the remap was not a flash and they changed the chip and the solder onto the board has failed in some way.

[pphilos]

They've put in a new ECU but still not working as they are getting a "NACK" error message which they've never seen before. Wonder if they've reprogrammed the key? They don't seem to know what they are doing. £850 by the way. Anyone know what this NACK meassage is. I know in pc terms it is refusal or non acknowledgement, which would suggest a security or authorisation setting has not been satisfied. any clues?

[pphilos]

They now say that the new ecu has blown some more fuses so they are checking to see if the replacement ecu is faulty. Been 2 weeks now and I'm fed up with it. Called skoda head office who will try and push forward. If it's not repaired today I'm thinking of getting it sorted somwhere else and sending the bill to skoda.

[RichB86]

have you contacted the tuner yet to ask as the ECU remap could of cooked something else which caused the new ecu to blow?