DAgo

I bought a 1 owner vehicle that was very well known to the dealership. They claim that the car has a 'chip' that was installed shortly after the car was originally bought in 2003; but they don't have any details. I thought all OBDII cars wehre programmed through the ECU and not a chip.

Does anyone know of or have any idea or what kind of chip might have been installed? Brands maybe?

Thank you, Nick

C43AMG

If they are going to accuse you of something,the least they can do is provide the proof.The ECU is flashed, no "chip" is installed.

jmf003

+1

No chip installed.

Your ECU may have been flashed and if I recall correctly, there's a data table in the ECU that gets updated every time the ECU is flashed. That would enable the dealer to tell you that the ECU had been flashed but wouldn't enable them to tell you what changed with the ECU flash.

Are they giving you a hassle about service because of the ECU flash?

MJ50

just go to different dealer...

jtc55

+1, don't bother to try to prove anything to them, ur already behind the 8-ball w/ this dealership. find another dealership.

DAgo

Actually no, they are not giving me any trouble... they told me about it before purchase and the tech I talked to about my recent IC pump issue mentioned it again as being a 'chip'... although they don't have any details (it was done 6 years ago), so I am thinking that the board might be able to give some insight...

Marcus Frost

FYI, some ECU tuners do solder in a chip.

-m

DAgo

Which ones?

tuningtechnician

If you can"t flash a car through the OBDII you desolder the factory memory chip from your ECU board, put it in an Eprom reader, remove whatever software is installed and then reflash with a different software. There is a picture of the equipment that you would use in my photo album.

itsmeek

I've seen that a million times on other cars- but "tuningtechnician", since you make the claim. Where have you seen this on a mercedes? Eprom readers are only used when you have a software program capable of remapping said ecu.

MARK CUMMINS

One CAN detect ME control unit changes Via SDS IF they know what to look for
But MOST tuners do take apart the ME control unit to make the changes..seen several warranties voided because of this.

tuningtechnician

What are you questioning with my explanation?

If it is the fact that I didn't mention "having" the software to change the program then my bad. I just thought that most of the knowledgeable posters on MBWorld would guess that I have the software capable of doing what I explained.

PS I also have the developer mode unlocked on my SDS so I can do it through the factory OBDII.

Jakpro1

1) Being "chipped" is just an old term meaning you had your ECU flashed.

2) If it was done 6 years ago, just about every major tuner was flashing by removing the chip and reflashing. (least on our 55's) I watched Cory at Klee do mine right in front of me. In a recent conversation, he told me that is all history now. No more soldering thank God.

jangy

Nowadays, most tuners just flash through the OBDII.


Is the car just "chipped"? any other hardware? If not, how does it run? I can't see much gains in a 55k without hardware or extreme timing....