Hello Everyone,

My ecu was damaged and lost connection to it. I bought used unit with same numbers. I took it to one key shop to make it work on my car, It worked, but software is wrong. The used unit is for S550 2013 and my car is CLS63 PPP 2012.

I don't have my original software but I have its number. I bought a matching software number from dynochip-tuning and when trying to flash it into my car using FLEX OBD it gives me an error. Some people told me that the ecu will lock if I changed its software.

ECU : MED17.7.1
Original SW: 540338
Car: CLS63
Year: 2012

Any solution or thoughts?

 

The original Mercedes format SMRF software's can be easily uploaded with an 15$ Openport interface. But...SW is HW dependent, so if you want the original non-manipulated Mercedes SW, you will need an ECU with HW number compatible.

 

I bought a spare ECU for mine, and I had to clone it. If your old ECU is dead, you can't clone it, obviously. You can go to the dealer, but I've heard stories of people in this boat and it costed many thousands. For one, the dealer won't fix your used ECU, you have to buy a brand new one. Next is the car has to be there, so you have to get it there, which for many people can be very expensive.

Since I cloned my good ECU, making the used ECU work was easy. My car is a 2016 E550, the used ECU from an ebay junkyard was from a 2015 E63. They were both 17.7.3. Not sure how the .1 is different, but fyi.
Cloning hardware with software costs ~$60, ecu was $200, so $260 and I have a spare ECU to play with and keep as a spare just in case.

If you want to make your used ECU work in your car, without going to the dealer, I think you should ask BenzNinja if he can do it.

 

The Hardware I've bought is exactly the same numbers of my original hardware.. and the software I purchased is .bin software (I assume it only contains the maps, not a full software)

 

That's what I wanted to do.. However, my ecu is dead which is a rock. I've found used 63 ecu's but none of them were Performance Package so I didn't consider..
I've read that the correct procedure now is "Virginizing" the ecu to match the software I need. Already contacted the dealer to get a quotation. Meanwhile, I took my old ecu to check if it could be repaired and then clone it.

 

.bin software? The one I use is KESS:
https://aliexpress.us/item/3256807290677396.html
Click on the far right unit for $50

I looked into virginizing back in 2021 but decided it wasn't what I wanted. I think that procedure takes an ECU that wasn't yours, and wipe the security stuff so someone can load the oem tune into it from the MB servers? The MB dealers I asked, and other people in the same boat, said the same; the dealer will not touch a used ECU. Of course they can load it, they just won't. Why would they when they force you to buy a new ECU. That's why I mentioned BenzNinja, who I'd imagine can load a virginized ECU remotely, or if not, would know what options you have.
If you want to learn more online and maybe ask "dark-ish" web people who actually know about what you're facing, you can go to *******.com
Pix because they block posting that scary website:
The Software and Tuning sections are where you want to go, and search MED 17.7.1, and I'd imagine 17.7.3 because I think it's virtually the same? For example, KESS doesn't show my .3 ECU on its website list of ECU's it can do. It doesn't show up in the software either, so I have to select MED 17.7.1 when I copy/write. What is actually different I have no idea, but I've wondered if I could load my copy onto a .1, or your .1 to a .3.
Also, I opened the tune on the older E63 ECU for a look-c, and while different than mine, it's very similar. It seems mine has more stuff in it but it still fits.

The most difficult part of using KESS, for me, was accessing the "Boot Pin" on the ECU, which is not a pin but a spot on the board you have to apply power to get the ECU to cooperate. Mostly because prying the ECU cover off was a battle, then finding and getting power to that teeny boot pin spot on the board. To make it easier I ended up soldering a wire to that spot, then that leads to an actual pin (straight pin like for sewing) and the head of the pin sticks out the vent hole under the ECU. Now I don't have to pull the cover off the ECU to access it, or battle getting power to the tiny boot pin spot. I also bought a plug that fits the ECU and wired the KESS wires to it. Now I simply plug the ECU in and attach a alligator clip to the external boot pin and I'm ready. If you want that plug I can see if it shows up in my aliexpress history. It would no doubt come in handy regardless of what tool/software you use to do this sort of work.

I bought KESS because it Ghosts the ECU. Ghost is very old computer software that makes a no bs simple and easy complete backup of your drive or partition. When you re-Ghost (write) to your drive, or a new drive, it's exactly the same as it was the day you Ghosted it. All your settings, everything, is 100% as it was, which is very much unlike System Restore and many other bs backup programs today.
Since I was going to tinker with the ECU I wanted this Ghost type of backup and KESS was it, and cheap. Turns out this literally saved my car because my copy is from Jan '22 and the car had no errors/codes then. More specifically it was ready to smog. That is not the case today because I have and one code causing a CEL that will not go away. Ironically, the problem is not smog related, but a CEL is an automatic fail. So I load the Jan '22 copy and the code, history of it etc are gone! As long as I don't turn the ignition off for more than ~60 seconds I'm good. So I do that and straight to the smog place. If I do turn it off for 60sec I get the CEL and the smog party is over. So without this old copy I'd have to physically dig into the car and find a work-around, or spend a lot of $ on parts, neither of which I want to do.

I don't know about the performance package of which you speak, but it may be hardware, not software? Like maybe better exhaust or something? I'm guessing, but either way I'm not sure it matters because I don't think there is a way to load your security data to an ECU without overwriting all the data. So, imo, it doesn't matter what was on it before. Like with my KESS I can copy and write only two files. One is just the tune, the other is the tune plus the secret security stuff that allows it to work on my exact VIN. I can't copy or write just the security part. Not sure why, but fyi. Maybe other software can, but you might want to look into it before spending a bunch of time looking for this special ECU. I'd also imagine that virginizing will wipe it, and even if it didn't, a dealer load will. Even a simple ECU update is a wipe. Lotta people lose their tunes to that. Take it in for service and get it back minus your expensive tune, so yet another reason to have KESS or similar.

Before I bought the KESS I asked around for virginizing, cloning, repairs etc. I discovered that places that specialize in selling new or used ECU's will not sell to me. Apparently it's a security rule. I did order one online from one place. The next day I get an email saying my $ was refunded and go pound sand. I then found a place that said they would get me a used ECU and clone it to mine, but I had to send them mine, and $2600, and wait about a week. I think it was PressureTech? No thank you. I also found a place that does repairs, but they couldn't do the MED 17.7.3. I'd imagine that applies to yours as well, but just a guess.

I'm curious what makes the ECU dead? Did you do something to F it up, or it just died one day? Have you opened it up? I was curious if maybe it got oil in it. Seems everyone just replaces oily ECU's but I always wanted to try cleaning it and see what happens. Otherwise I'd be looking for burnt connections or parts and maybe take a stab at fixing it? Long shot, but maybe.

 

Thank you for your detailed answer..
I already have KESS. The reason my ecu broke is because I've already opened it and tried to connect using K-TAG.. it requires going to boot mode, I connected to it once and was able to export the EEPROM. When I tried to backup the maps it was reaching 90% then shows an error.. I thought maybe something was wrong with the ecu so I disconnected everything and put it back on the car and it worked okay. I went back and connected KESS, I'm unexperienced in soldering so I burnt the connections near the boot pin. That's why I believe my ecu was dead.. I took it to many ecu shops and none fixed it, they did some connections fixings but it didn't work.

 

Oic, that changes things, maybe. So when you say you burnt something, what exactly did you burn? Got pix? Did you really Fk it up or?
You don't really "need" to fix burnt copper traces you Fk'd up, just jumper them. You can use needles and just long enough to get the data off.
If you ripped the little pad off, you may still be able to save it.

The file you pulled was a "Read" or "Backup Read"? It's the Backup Read you need to Clone another ECU. If so, you're good. Well, at least that how it was with my KESS, but I assume the KTAG is no different?
My file sizes for the two are here, and they are the exact same size for the 2014 E63 that also uses the 17.7.3. So no guarantee your .1 is the same, but fyi:



To solder that pin, or any delicate electronics imo, you do not follow any instructions on how to solder! I often wonder if solder instructions were written by people who had no experience, or it was done on purpose to make sure people screw up and buy more parts or new devices.
To solder delicate parts you put a little flux on the delicate part, you don't need much. Then, ideally, you need a nice clean and tinned solder tip. The iron should be hotter than suggested, how much hotter I never paid attention, but probably 150F or more hotter that what "they" say. If I'm using a weak Iron I'll boost it with a torch. I put a teeny bit of solder on the tip, to basically match the part I want to coat, or "tin" it with solder. Then touch that solder to the part. No need to touch the part with the Iron, just the solder. It's ok to touch it with the Iron, just no need.
When you kiss the part with the solder it should "flow" in a fraction of a second, and the split second it flows you immediately pull the iron off. Now the part is tinned but with minimal heat transfer. This is also why you want the solder hotter, because if cooler it takes much longer to get it to flow and ultimately the part ends up hotter. E.g. 950F for a a quarter or half second vs 800F for 2 seconds.
As you may know, the "instructions" say to heat the part with the iron, then add solder, like TIG welding. This will really heat the bejeezus out of it. If you want to screw things up, this is how you do it.

Then you do the same to tin the wire but there is little risk here because it's just a wire. You want the wire tinned, but no blob of solder hanging from it, just nicely filled with solder.
Now, again, add a dab of solder to the iron, press the tinned wire against the tinned boot pin, or whatever it is you're soldering. Then, using the Iron, press the molten solder against the wire and push it down into the spot you're soldering.
It will take a sec but you will see the dab of solder melt into the solder on the wire, then it will melt the solder on the part, boot pin or whatever. At that exact moment you're done and remove the Iron. The solder solidifies in a second or two and you're done.

Of course I'd suggest you practice with the wire you're using and something similar, like the another wire or the legs of a resistor or something to get a feel for it. It shouldn't take long to "get it" and you'll never have a problem again.
And again, this is about heat. You need heat to solder, obviously, but this method transfers the minimal about of heat possible. This is also why I tin the parts first because it doesn't heat the part much to do that. Now that it's tinned the next soldering step also takes less heat because solder flows to solder easier, and that is also why you add a dab of solder for the final step, because if you don't it again take longer to do.
Optionally, if the part is super delicate, expensive etc, you can use a wet tissue or Q-Tip to cool it the moment you remove the Iron.
A smaller Iron tip is often useful, but I usually don't need it and just use the generic size tip. Remember, I'm using the little dab of solder on the tip to do the soldering, so the Irons tip is usually irrelevant .

The little "pad" aka boot pin is delicate, but if that's all you burned, or if you ripped it off, then you're not dead yet. Use a pin and put it in the hole where the pad was because there is likely some metal left to connect to. The pins they use for ECU work are very thin and sharp, but I think a small sewing needle would also work just fine.
What I do is wrap electrical tape around the ECU three times, so the band of tape passes over the boot pin. Then I put some thin cardboard, like from a business card, on the sticky side of the tape over the boot pin, which is to reinforce it. Just a little 1/2" square is plenty. Now you lift up on the tape and stick your needle in there, sharp end on the boot pin or the hole where it was, and the tape acts like a rubber band to hold it there. The cardboard is so the eyelet side of the needle won't poke through the tape. Then of course you put the Alligator clip on the pin. Done.
If that fails, and assuming your ECU is like mine, you can also access the boot pin from the other side of the board, the very difficult side. I tried to pry one ECU apart and it I don't think it'll come out without breaking it, but I've seen pix online where people had done it. I've also seen pix where people said Fk it and drilled a hole on the fin side to access it. For my ECU there was pix of the pin on the difficult side in the KESS instructions, and for pix on the easy side I used this pix:
https://evc.de/en/product/bsl/showEc....7.3%20Bootpin
I was curious if that looks like yours?

Soldering story:
Once I was repairing some Diodes, I think there was four of them, all inside a single metal 5mm housing. Why did I have to repair it? For one it was one of a kind and cost $5000 and the guy that soldered the legs did it per the "instructions" and Fk'd it up. Inside this teeny 5mm housing, that I had to cut apart btw, was all the legs that extended out of the case for you to solder to, and on the inside there was extremely fine Gold thread connecting those legs to the actual contacts on the diodes. I was using a normal size solder Iron tip because it was all I had, and a 30X eye loupe to see the super teeny connections. Again, this is a 5mm housing, like this but with 5 thinner legs coming out: https://tinyurl.com/2v22w9cn
The solder job the guy did had melted the fine Gold wire, or melted the soldered on it, but whatever the case there was only one wire still attached. I had to repair it with what I had lying around, which was strands from 24GA wire. Those strands compared to the orig wires looked like I was using a telephone pole to replace a pencil. I had to hold my breath or I'd move the Iron too much, and even my pulse was upsetting my work.
Not only was that puppy $5k, it was for a test that was the guys Masters Thesis and he had one shot at using this device, that day, and only a window of about 4 hours. If it failed he would have to reschedule his project and it could be months or a year away, but he didn't have another $5k so it didn't matter. All because he didn't know how to solder and followed the "instructions". It took me about an hour, but I did get it working and did the test. And you should've see now nervous the guy and his professor was when I was cutting that little housing apart with a 3" cutting wheel on a Die Grinder, freehand. I told them I was a certified redneck and not to worry, but worry they did and I'm certain the only reason he agreed was he has zero other options.