W210 ECU swap - security lockup ?

[rschultz101]

just got a ECU from the junkyard, mine W210 E300 TD 99 , can I just swap the ECU, or will it crap out, not start, lockup ? does it have some sort of security / theft code inside ? haven't checked the dealer, how much to reprogram it also the ECU I got from the junkyard, was a non turbo, but same partnumber A 025 545 55 92 idea behind it, to keep the stock one, and have the other reflashed , chip tuned, possible with EGR delete, and still swap to original, if needed . what you think ? just hate to try it, and possible having a dead car, needing a tow to the stealer,...... also , how to reset that thing, don't think a generic obd will do, and don't have a mercedes tool .... any recommendations ?

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[EdzBenz]

It won't work if you swap them outright. The ECU's get "mated" to the specific car they are installed in. I had to purchase a remanufactured unit from Mercedes after mine crapped out. It was quite expensive.

There may be some way to get it reprogrammed though. Please post updates on what happens with your project.

[rschultz101]

found some notes
All DAS Versions
Note the following when testing DAS systems:
• DAS or RCL module replacement means that all of the remote transmitters and transponder keys must be synchronized and version-coded using the factory scan tool.
• The ME control module and either the EIS (DAS 3) or DAS control module are electronically permanently married to each other after 40 engine starts. There is no factory procedure to undo this. This means that a used engine, EIS or DAS control unit cannot be used on another vehicle. A new control unit can be installed for testing provided the 40 engine starts are not exceeded. Note that the new control unit must be variant coded before it can be used. Technicians have reported successfully resetting the counter to 0 on a test ECU at about count 20 by removing the version coding and ECU power for 10 to 30 minutes.


now still don't believe , the permanent part,
since that would mean, any mercedes used ECU is useless !!

do believe a dealership can reprogam the ECU, but don't know, what they would charge ?!

the other thing, even if reprogrammed, I want to be able to swap if needed,
and not beeing stuck with the new flashed one, aka. can't swap back.

so looks like , you can't borrow an ECU while having one chip tuned ,
and can't swap either. so no car for 2-3 days.

anybody knows of some tools to program ECU's ?

[rschultz101]

anybody tried to read / write to the ECU via carsoft ?
7.4 , 7.6 ? any luck ?

the KWP2000 plus, ain't doing much of anything ? a problem
I mean, the european CDI's and diesels listed,
though it would read/write the BOSCH EDC's ,
how to find out ?

[MB211]

can NOT be reprogrammed to another vin.

[rschultz101]

MB211, so you saying all the used ECU's are worthless ?

that should mean, there should be NO used ECU forsale on ebay !?

find that hard to believe.

[EdzBenz]

Originally Posted by rschultz101

MB211, so you saying all the used ECU's are worthless ?

that should mean, there should be NO used ECU forsale on ebay !?

find that hard to believe.

-To your first question the answer is Yes
-To you second question: I don't really understand your second question. People sell all sorts of junk and crap on ebay. Why can't used ECU's be sold? You can sell anything you want on ebay. The seller is probably ignorant to the fact that the ECU can't be re-used.

I tried your route of finding a used ECU when mine went bad. I was quite thorough with my research and in the end had to go with a reman unit direct from Mercedes.

[baitou]

Some used ECU's can be virginized and mated to an existing immo in Benz cars. For example, on a 1996 W210 E230, the ECU has the info in a 24C02 chip. If your old ECU has a readable chip, you can move this over to a used ECU and your immo (IFZ/DAS for old Benzes) will think it is still
talking to the old ECU. I have done this a number of times and it works.

There are ways to hack into the ECU to put it in what is called a "virgin" state. Once it is in a virgin state, you can mount it and use Star Diagnostics to mate it with the other components. One step usually done is to do Variant coding to put back the original specs of the car (Based on the VIN). For newer benzes, this approach does not work. They require SCN coding which means you need to get a code from Mercedes.

[AMGDave]

Originally Posted by baitou

Some used ECU's can be virginized and mated to an existing immo in Benz cars. There are ways to hack into the ECU to put it in what is called a "virgin" state. Once it is in a virgin state, you can mount it and use Star Diagnostics to mate it with the other components. One step usually done is to do Variant coding to put back the original specs of the car (Based on the VIN).

OK, how can we do this? Car in question is a W210 1997 E420 with ME injection. I have a spare/used ECU which of course won't work... how can I virginize it? There are no socketed chips inside, they are all soldered to the circuit board.

[desired_speeds]

you need to swap the EIS as it is paired with the ECU.

[CKonstantin]

You'll need to find people in your area, that reset Air Bags/SRS or possibly correct milage, they'll typically have experience required to do this.

As far as I know there's two methods, one if both ECUs are identical(HW version) the chip can be simply transplanted from the old unit to the new.

The other as baitou has mentioned, you wipe out the chip, to return it to 'vergin' state.

Programs like Car Soft are capable of doing version coding, but in order to access the chips in question you'll need to physically open up the ECU, so they're not much help here.

Dealerships won't do this for you either, most likely they don't know how even if they wanted to...

I would really recommend contacting someone with experience to do this job, unless you have extensive experience working with electronics, because even if you somehow find all the necessary info, if you attempt the job yourself something as small as bad solder connection can ruin your ECU and/or strand you somewhere because the car won't run anymore...

As for them being permanently mated, that is 100% true, because as far as an average Joe and Dealerships for that matter are concerned, there is no way to Rewrite ECUs part of the memory which stores Immo data once the 10 starts have expired.

Good luck.

[AMGDave]

It looks like Beckmann can unlock the modules... haven't called for a price yet though:

http://www.beckmanntechnologies.com/products.php

There is no way for the dealer to unlock them, the normal HHT/SDS does not have this capability.