Remapped ecu problem

[dainott2105]

Hi all, bought a spare ecu the other day so i could get it remapped (which i have had done now) by a postal company (i know its not the best way to do it but for £125 i thought it was worth a go and they have good feedback). I have had the ecu back and tried to put it in the car last night and replace the clocks at the same time and the immobiliser light came on and after a second the engine cut out. I have had a quick look on the Rosstech and they say that the only thing i can do is ring the dealership and request the 7 digit SKC number, but want to ask if i have to pay for this number? Plus if i was to take my replacement ecu and dials with me does anyone know what sort of price it would be for them to get it working before GTI International. Guy who did the remap wants £80 to do it for me. I have a copy of VAGCOM but for some strange reason there is 4 comm ports appearing when i start it up but no usb option?? Cheers for any help folks

 

[dainott2105]

OOO just thinking aswell that i am going to have to change the chips in the keys aint i?!?! I havent got the transponder chips either so have to get virgin ones and get them coded. What the name of that place that sells them balton vickle or something crazy like that aint it? Can Vag com program those chips?

 

[jamiebennett81]

hang on.......

you bought a remap for £125 (which to be quite frank, no wonder you have issues, get what you pay for) but anyway, you now have issues with the car, and the guy who has done the remap now wants ANOTHER £80 on top to fix the issue?

the ECU you bought, this is the spare one you had mapped right?

So I am guessing you still have the original which should work fine, so what happens if you try to install that one again?

Who is the tuner? website?

why did you not go for a more well known tuner on here, loads of discounts from the bigger firms (thats if it is not someone off here of course?)

 

[dainott2105]

i bought the new ecu a while back as a spare to muck about with (i have the original on the car so dont have any problems using the car) and sent it off to get it remaped the other day. I had it back but when i put it in the immobiliser light was flashing as i thought it might cos it has never been in the car before so i removed it and replaced with the original which worked fine again.
So basically i wanna know the best way to get the new remapped ecu to work with my car. The guy wanted £80 to get it working when i told him the same as above. I am guessing that i will have to get some transponders and have them coded but not sure if it is possible through vagcom.

 

[LEE69]

Only the dealer can match new transponders to the ecu.
The guy who mapped the ecu was probably going to bypass the immobiliser on it.

 

[jamiebennett81]

Only the dealer can match new transponders to the ecu.
The guy who mapped the ecu was probably going to bypass the immobiliser on it.

To be honest I would want my money back

I dont believe current tuners like Jabbasport, P-Torque bypass any type of immobiliser, but then that is on the current ECU

for sake of time, effort, why dont you just go to a company like P-Torque and get a stg1/2 custom map?

now you are talking about getting different keys coded etc etc, which is A LOT of hassle and IMO is just not worth it

what happens if you go through all of that process and it still does not work. Seat won't refund you and I bet this guy wont either

not only that, but what happens if something on the car goes wrong? what level of after care or service does this guy provide? I sure as hell bet it is nothing like the aftercare service you would receive at P-Torque who has a proper workshop to investigate, diagnose and fix any issues

as I say you get what you pay for, and paying £125 for a remap is just asking for trouble

especially seeing the issues you are already having and you have not even got as far as the car running in a decent state yet.......

 

[LEE69]

I agree mate i have seen the ECU re-map on ebay the guy is on about i'm sure.

 

[dainott2105]

yea know what you mean lads but lets not get on the back of the guy who remapped it as at the moment this issue has nothing to do with it. It was my choice to buy the spare ecu and get it remapped. The guy has hundreds of very good feedback and i would have had to travel a good few hours to get it remapped at custom code etc which i just dont have the time for at the mo (i know that sorting this will take time but its only because it is a new ecu and not the one on the car). With the aftercare side of things the guy is only 40 minutes from my house and has been really helpful so far. I will give him a ring and ask if he would bypass the immobiliser and would not be interested if he was planning to do that. I will have to order a few virgin transponder chips and speak to my dealership about matching them

 

[Muttley]

Did you not try the spare ECU in the car before you sent it off to be remapped? That would have brought all these issues to light and allowed you to solve them first.

The ECU is matched to the immobiliser, so changing ECU means re-adapting everything. You aren't meant to swap from one ECU to another and back, only replace a busted one, so you will probably find that you can associate your existing key transponders with the "spare" ECU but then they won't work with the original.

I think that if you get a new key or keys with new transponders, get it cut for your existing lock and then get it adapted with the new ECU. Only a dealer can adapt keys, it isn't a DIY option - I'm told that current VAG practice is to download the SKC directly into the diagnostic equipment over the Dealer Network, without displaying it, so the dealer can't give you the SKC even if they wanted to.

 

[dainott2105]

yea i agree mate should have checked it first and guessed that i was gonna get some probs. I spoke to the guy that remapped the ECU last night and fair play to him he was very helpful and said that he was going do some investigating and i will ring him later today and discuss the easiest way to sort it. I knew when i did it that would have a few probs swapping the ecu but always had problems with the display on my clocks so thought that it was worth changing them. Cheers for the info so far lads.
PS Anyone know why i dont have a usb option on my vagcom (only the 4 comms ports)?

 

[DPJ]

PS Anyone know why i dont have a usb option on my vagcom (only the 4 comms ports)?

USB uses one of the com ports. Try Com3 or Com4.

 

[dainott2105]

cheers, stange though cos it finds the interface but when i scan if finds nothing!!

 

[P-torque.co.uk]

I hate Ebay tuners/cowboys.

 

[jamiebennett81]

I hate Ebay tuners/cowboys.

you get what you pay for Will. for a couple of hundred quid extra for your map in this instance, I would rather fork out the money as I know its backed up with a superior level of aftercare, work shop facilities etc

with this type of scenario I see it devoloping into nothing else but a severe headache, and even then you are not guaranteed the spare mapped ECU will work after all this bother

 

[dainott2105]

yea can see what you mean in a way but i bought the spare ecu for a valid reason (the ecu on my car was not the correct one and wanted to change it so the display was correct) and dont think its fair that people have started to slate the company that remapped my new ecu when its not their fault. At the end of the day i paid £132 for a generic remap that most companies (not saying your all the same at any point) would want around £250 for and the feedback the guy has had is all positive so think everyone who is busy slagging this company off needs to chill out. I have spoken to them and they have been very helpful and due to ring him back in a bit to discuss how i can get this ecu matched to my car. It was my choice to buy a spare and i knew there would be issues, just trying to get it sorted now!!

 

[warren_cox]

A brave move, but I guess a costly one to resolve. By the time you have a satisfactory conclusion you may as well have coughed up for a full price map.

I know there may be a tendency to think a remap (just some bits of coding) is very expensive, especially when some tuners charge upto £1000 for a remap (MTM). It costs that because they spend hours on RR's and out on the public roads testing , tweaking and refining the maps for every variant of car / gearbox / engine configuration. They then have to advertise, distribute, support, enhance (Stg1/2/3) and endorse the product for its lifecycle.

I hope that you end up with the outcome you want, at least the bloke you have used sounds helpful. Best of luck with getting it sorted.

 

[LEE69]

Would have been ok mate if you sent the ecu you are using in the car now, but because it all needs pairing up that's where the cost will come in.

 

[jamiebennett81]

yea can see what you mean in a way but i bought the spare ecu for a valid reason (the ecu on my car was not the correct one and wanted to change it so the display was correct QUOTE]

eh?

the ECU on your car was the incorrect one?

and we are not starting off a slagging off match, but a lot of us (me included) would never touch an ebay tuner, regardless of feedback etc for that person, not because of the cost, but its all to do with the after care and support (and from our own experiences and reading previous bad experiences on others who have chosen this unfortunate route, in essence, the cheapest initially is sometimes the most expensive in the long term, as perhaps in this case)

sure enough this guy is helpful enough, but with the issues you are experiencing, things will come to a halt, especially if you get the keys all done to match etc, and then it will still not work

where is the blame to lye? the tuner, the ECU, or the keys direct from Seat. see what I mean, you are entering into no mans land where no one will take the blame or front the responsibility of fixing it, due to an "internet" type tuner or so many components now added to the equation, which any one of them could be at fault....how can you tell?

I know CC may be a couple of hours away, but it has to be worth a 2 hour drive for peace of mind, solid after support, and a well known tuner who knows their stuff? not saying this ebay guy doesn't, but the level of service will never be the same as a proper VAG tuner, despite saving yourself £200 or so (technically you will be at a loss with spending time getting the keys coded, back and fourth place to place to do this, petrol costs etc)

hence why none of us on here NEVER recommend or would touch a tuner off ebay. Each to their own of course and I hope you get this sorted, but from what you have described to us all so far, this is going to be one very long and irritating head ache for you mate

hope it works out for you

 

[dainott2105]

dont want people to think that im having a go cos i aint. I understand as coxw said that the price is reflective of the amount of time and effort that has been put in by the company developing the map and not saying that i am expecting amazing things with this one. Just modding on a tight budget these days and want a bit more power until i can save up for a nice big turbo conversion and wanted to get the ecu changed since i had the car so worth the hassle at the mo as the car is still useable on the other ecu until its sorted. Just got to get this bl**dy VAGCOM working now but if its not one thing its her mother

 

[dainott2105]

yea my leon was parked next to car that caught fire and so i bought it as damaged but the salvage company i bought it off had a black 51 plate cupra breaking (same colour) so changed a load of parts over before i bought it (i drove the car home for well under half the price it would have cost me for a straight one, with the horrible old style cupra bumper). They had replaced the ecu as the original had shorted out so i have been looking for a replacement with white dials and the speedo was broken (sorted that by soldering a new motor in the dials) and for an 04 plate for a while and one came up so i bought it. Now the costs that i am going to have would have been the same if i had taken it to any other company and asked them to fit it for me before remapping. I know everyone hates these companies but as i said above i am not planning on keeping it on the original turbo and when my house is finished, next thing is a nice big turbo conversion so the idea is to have a bit more power at the moment and save for that. Dont get me wrong i would never normally do things in halves and not the type to put a cherry bomb on my leon and this is the only mod that i have done on the cheap, but i could get my spare ecu remapped now so thought i would give it a try! I understand that the consequences could be lengthy and will never get the power gains that a custom remap will deliver but could never afford that at the mo. God this is turning into war and peace on my part lol. If i was in all your shoes i would be saying the same thing to me so can see where your all coming from.