E36 ECUs

[V8mate]

My E36 was made during the deadzone of '95. It's a second generation car (a 323i) but it doesn't have the later programmable ECU; just the dumb old thing.

I've made the necessary mods to restore the inlet parts of the engine to M50 status (or better) and have been advised that fitting the ECU from a 90-95 325 will improve that set-up's lot.

1. Will this be a plug 'n' play exercise, or will loom changes be necessary too?

2. Will it affect any other parts of the car, e.g. ignition, door locks etc?

Thanks

[disco!!!!]

your main problem will be the EWS system (immobiliser)
The ECU,EWS and the chip inside the key are coded to each other, take one of them away and the car wont start
EWS was fitted from 94 onwards. The 90-94 wont have the EWS system so should you swap the ECU then the system wont find the code in the ECU and the car wont start

as far as i know the ECU should be the same as the one fitted to all the 323s up until production ended

as for the other electrics, early E36s used relays to work the likes of the electric windows etc where as the later E36s used a ZKE module, swapping the ECU should make no difference to the operation of the other electrics as the ECU only controls the engine

[TheEnd]

You'd need the engine loom as the pins are different on those ECUs, and you might also need a few sensors, specifically the MAF, but other might have different plugs on them.
The injectors might need swapping also.

[V8mate]

TheEnd said:

You'd need the engine loom as the pins are different on those ECUs, and you might also need a few sensors, specifically the MAF, but other might have different plugs on them.
The injectors might need swapping also.

And I'd still have the EWS issues suggested above too?

[TheEnd]

If you have a pre 1/95 ECU from a 325, it'll be fine.
You might need to snip a wire, but you can completely remove the EWS at that point if you want to.

[V8mate]

Ok - might not be a completely unattainable job then. Thanks

[V8mate]

Quick additional question: does it make any difference if the ECU and loom are from an auto if I want to fit them to a manual?

[TheEnd]

Nope, although you may have some left over wires and plugs.

[V8mate]

Right - I've bought an ECU, loom and coil packs from a '93 325i.

Heaven knows what I've let myself in for