To scrap or to sell? Peugeot 307 Failed ECU
Discussion
Hi guys,
I'm a bit stumped with regards to my car which I've had for just over 3 and a half years now. I own a Peugeot 307 1.4 S. It's an 04 reg which was bought with 55K on the clock. It's now at 83K and in that time it's had new clutch plates, a reconstructed gearbox, a new head gasket and loads of other bits and bobs. It's been incredibly expensive to maintain and has had to be towed more times than I care to admit.
About 6 months ago, the throttle started to play up and the engine would have no power for about 2-3 seconds even with my foot right down, before suddenly jolting forwards. Finally about a month ago I went to start the car and it wouldn't turn over at all. I've since taken it to about four different garages - none of which can confirm what the problem is. They all agree it's an electrical failure and think a new ECU might be needed.
Having spent the amount of money I have in the past I think it's best to just get rid of it and get the most for it as I can. I'm fairly inexperienced in these matters so I was just wondering what you guys thought might be best. Stick it on eBay/Gumtree/PH or to just give it to a scrapyard? The scrappies have quoted me around £200 and I can't help but feel that's a serious undervaluation...though having said that I'm not hugely in the know about these things.
Really appreciate your advice. Cheers!
I'm a bit stumped with regards to my car which I've had for just over 3 and a half years now. I own a Peugeot 307 1.4 S. It's an 04 reg which was bought with 55K on the clock. It's now at 83K and in that time it's had new clutch plates, a reconstructed gearbox, a new head gasket and loads of other bits and bobs. It's been incredibly expensive to maintain and has had to be towed more times than I care to admit.
About 6 months ago, the throttle started to play up and the engine would have no power for about 2-3 seconds even with my foot right down, before suddenly jolting forwards. Finally about a month ago I went to start the car and it wouldn't turn over at all. I've since taken it to about four different garages - none of which can confirm what the problem is. They all agree it's an electrical failure and think a new ECU might be needed.
Having spent the amount of money I have in the past I think it's best to just get rid of it and get the most for it as I can. I'm fairly inexperienced in these matters so I was just wondering what you guys thought might be best. Stick it on eBay/Gumtree/PH or to just give it to a scrapyard? The scrappies have quoted me around £200 and I can't help but feel that's a serious undervaluation...though having said that I'm not hugely in the know about these things.
Really appreciate your advice. Cheers!
Plug it into a computer, preferably Planet2000 but any generic code reader would do the job. If it's something simple like a sensor, a fault code would be logged and you can take it from there. If you have a faulty ECU, in my experience, it will throw up a lot of different fault codes. Worst case scenario, buy an ECU kit off a scrappy or even Ebay, £80 tops. Fix it, learn a lesson, sell it on, never buy a 307 again. Worst abomination on the road for electrical problems, second only to modern Renaults.
How much is a new ECU?
I don't think it's as simple as getting a 2nd hand ECU from a scrappy these days either - I am sure that even the same model of car has lots of different ECU's with different part numbers, depending upon the spec of the car.
Certainly this was the case with even my old 1999 Ford Fiesta. The switching transistors for the coil went, and some digging round discovered a raft of different ECU's with different part numbers, even in these older Fiestas, depending upon things like the engine type, whether it had aircon or not, and even the type of dashboard (i.e. some were simple without rev counters, others had more dials on them). The consensus was that it was unlikely another ECU with a different part number would work - and even if it did allow the engine to run, some of the car's systems wouldn't work.
Plus, the key was coded to the ECU - so a 2nd hand one HAD to have the original red key with it.
However, another poster has rightly said that there are lots of companies who repair them. I found one reasonably local to me, and sent it off. It was back within 3 days, all sorted for £115 including vat. A good result, and probably a decent shout for yours?
I don't think it's as simple as getting a 2nd hand ECU from a scrappy these days either - I am sure that even the same model of car has lots of different ECU's with different part numbers, depending upon the spec of the car.
Certainly this was the case with even my old 1999 Ford Fiesta. The switching transistors for the coil went, and some digging round discovered a raft of different ECU's with different part numbers, even in these older Fiestas, depending upon things like the engine type, whether it had aircon or not, and even the type of dashboard (i.e. some were simple without rev counters, others had more dials on them). The consensus was that it was unlikely another ECU with a different part number would work - and even if it did allow the engine to run, some of the car's systems wouldn't work.
Plus, the key was coded to the ECU - so a 2nd hand one HAD to have the original red key with it.
However, another poster has rightly said that there are lots of companies who repair them. I found one reasonably local to me, and sent it off. It was back within 3 days, all sorted for £115 including vat. A good result, and probably a decent shout for yours?
A lot of my friends use these guys in Colchester, Essex.
http://www.actronics.eu/en/content/43/ECU-ABS-ECU....
http://www.actronics.eu/en/content/43/ECU-ABS-ECU....
530dTPhil said:
There is a company that we use for our fleet to 'fix' failed ECUs on Peugeot vans and cars. They give a twenty four hour turn around and charge around £100 (I think). If you are interested, let me know and I will post details tomorrow.
If you could give the details for this, I'd really appreciate it chief! Also, just some more info on the car: the AA came and looked at twice and on both occasions it was suspected to be a crankshaft sensor. I had this replaced but it didn't help. I'm beginning to think more and more this is an ECU issue but honestly I'm not very car-savvy so I wouldn't be surprised if I was completely wrong!
SpaceGhost said:
Plug it into a computer, preferably Planet2000 but any generic code reader would do the job. If it's something simple like a sensor, a fault code would be logged and you can take it from there. If you have a faulty ECU, in my experience, it will throw up a lot of different fault codes. Worst case scenario, buy an ECU kit off a scrappy or even Ebay, £80 tops. Fix it, learn a lesson, sell it on, never buy a 307 again. Worst abomination on the road for electrical problems, second only to modern Renaults.
According to the AA, there aren't any engine related ECU faults though there are few other 'random' fault codes. Not sure what this might mean? Though I take your point about 307s entirely. It's been a nightmare maintaining this thing.Edited by eszul on Tuesday 17th September 21:25
^That, if people with decent knowledge think that the ecu is dead then just send it to be tested first.
These garages that you sent it to, were they Peugeot specialists? May be an ecu fault is the sort of thing that I would expect a random backstreet garage who works on anything to say.
These garages that you sent it to, were they Peugeot specialists? May be an ecu fault is the sort of thing that I would expect a random backstreet garage who works on anything to say.
s p a c e m a n said:
^That, if people with decent knowledge think that the ecu is dead then just send it to be tested first.
These garages that you sent it to, were they Peugeot specialists? May be an ecu fault is the sort of thing that I would expect a random backstreet garage who works on anything to say.
Nope. Definitely not Peugeot 'specialists' as such but I trust them enough to say they know what they're talking about. Save one of the garages, no-one would actually confirm that an ECU repair would definitively fix the fault but felt like it was the best course of action. I just need to get it tested now I suppose. What would you guys say is the most cost-effective option? These garages that you sent it to, were they Peugeot specialists? May be an ecu fault is the sort of thing that I would expect a random backstreet garage who works on anything to say.
A quick browse of some pug forums suggests phone this lot and see if they can have a look at your ecu, then go from there. If you need to know how to get your ecu out to send to them I'm sure someone here will give you an idea.
http://www.bba-reman.com/catalogue/index.aspx
http://www.bba-reman.com/catalogue/index.aspx
Just to chuck my two penneth worth in - I specialise in diagnostics, and I find the ECU's fail in about 5% of the cases I diagnose. However, failed ECU is a common problem I hear - generally about 60% of the time.
Result is loads of people think it's the ECU because they don't understand how to test the rest of the electronics and engine management sensors.
In my opinion, the above comment applies to main dealers more than anyone.
Of course it's not to say the ECU is not fried, but.........
Result is loads of people think it's the ECU because they don't understand how to test the rest of the electronics and engine management sensors.
In my opinion, the above comment applies to main dealers more than anyone.
Of course it's not to say the ECU is not fried, but.........
eszul said:
530dTPhil said:
There is a company that we use for our fleet to 'fix' failed ECUs on Peugeot vans and cars. They give a twenty four hour turn around and charge around £100 (I think). If you are interested, let me know and I will post details tomorrow.
If you could give the details for this, I'd really appreciate it chief! Nottingham 01623 886470
Very quick turnaround and excellent communication. They will need the Bosch ECU number when you ring up.
530dTPhil said:
Blue Streak Electronics
Nottingham 01623 886470
Very quick turnaround and excellent communication. They will need the Bosch ECU number when you ring up.
Cheers 530dTPhil - I've emailed them so hopefully hear back soon. Nottingham 01623 886470
Very quick turnaround and excellent communication. They will need the Bosch ECU number when you ring up.
After doing some research it seems the ECU failure is quite a common fault due to water ingress into the ECU. This leads to corrosion, naturally, and so requires a new ECU. I had had the 'Anti-Pollution' light come on in the months running up to the failure and I'm pretty certain these two are related.
http://www.peugeotforums.com/forums/207-36/howto-f...
Hopefully get this sorted now but thanks to everyone for their help!
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