Engine Control Unit worth replacing

[Slcarc]

I've got a 2002 Leon Cupra 1.8 20V Turbo in black. I've had it since new and it has 83,000 on the clock.

It runs brilliantly, though I do have problems with condensation, though I had the seals replaced last year, which helped. However, it wouldn't fire at the weekend and, having had it recovered, the garage tells me that the ECU was completely flooded and lots of the terminals are coroded.

It's going to cost me £1,200 to repair. Can anyone give me any advice as to what you think I should do? Because it's water damage (and I know the Leon's are renowned for it!), I don't know if this will only be a temporary fix until something else packs up because it's coroded. And obviously, as it won't run at the moment, I can't sell it as a runner or part exchange it.

I love this car and the idea of parting with it is really quite emotional, but I really don't know if it's worth repairing (unfortunately I'm not able to garage it to avoid further water problems and I only use it at weekends) or what the resell or trade-in value might be (if it was running)?

All advice would be much appreciated

Thank you!

 

[ozaudio]

so they say.. have you seen the damage yourself? is it the connections between the ecu & the wiring loom if so take the ecu out and clean the connections yourself.
a fully broken ecu, I would just find a second hand one on the net and have it coded to your car.

 

[Slcarc]

Thanks ozaudio. Haven't seen it myself, but the garage (independent VWG specialist) said that the ECU was completely flooded and that several of the terminals were coroded. When the RAC came out initially, they had problems getting the ECU to respond and when it did, it came up with numerous error messages, so clearly something wrong with it.

He did mention that you couldn't get an old ECU from the breakers these days as they had to be coded because of the immobiliser etc, so a new part would be £740 (+VAT), plus 1/2 to 1 hour labour and £50 for an approved engineer to come out and code it.

From what you're saying, do you think second hand units can be re-coded?

I love this car and if I thought that paying that amount would fix it and keep it on the road for another couple of years, I would pay it. However, because of the problems I've already had with leaking door seals (now replaced), I'm concerned that the leak that's obviously coming in under the bonnet might have affected other things too and further corrosion will cause other parts to start failing.

What do you think? Really appreciate any advice!

 

[spudboy6]

approved engineer hmmm , any VW specialist will carry VAG COM diagnostics which is capable of coding ecu's and other items that need coding , far as im aware all second hand ecu's can be re-coded aslong as the part numbers are the same

ive done an ecu swap on my old golf with a second hand ecu . doesn't take 5 mins on vag com but all depends if you need vag tacho to obtain any extra info from the original ecu to transfer

im sure someone will be along soon to give you some better advice but that's my understanding

best bit is to ring around other specialists for a quote to compare even try main dealer you may be surprised

 

[Slcarc]

Thanks spudboy6. Will take your advice and make some calls. Fingers crossed someone will be able to the second hand option that both you and ozaudio suggest.

Really appreciate the advice. Will let you know what the feedback is.

 

[Dan FR]

Where are you based?

As long as you get an ecu with the same part number, then somebody with the right tools can code it in for you without issue. Certainly no need to spend that much, just make sure you fix the water leak first to avoid it happening again

 

[Hobbiniho]

you could try cleaning the ecu first before you splash out on a new/second hand one, http://www.vwcaddy.com/showthread.php?75821-ECU-cleaning-thread-how-to

 

[ibizacupra]

approved engineer hmmm , any VW specialist will carry VAG COM diagnostics which is capable of coding ecu's and other items that need coding , far as im aware all second hand ecu's can be re-coded aslong as the part numbers are the same

ive done an ecu swap on my old golf with a second hand ecu . doesn't take 5 mins on vag com but all depends if you need vag tacho to obtain any extra info from the original ecu to transfer

im sure someone will be along soon to give you some better advice but that's my understanding

best bit is to ring around other specialists for a quote to compare even try main dealer you may be surprised

vagcom wont get the 7 digit code out of the instruments.
need vag tacho or equivalent..

however find another wideband ecu off the bay and just get your ecu cloned into it and its plug and play. and most certainly not a mega ££ job

message me for more info

 

[IH786]

2nd hand ECU will be around £50 and about the same again to code it to your car.

Clean the contacts, make sure everything is water tight and job done