ECU replacement / cost

[andy-w]

Hello all...

My car is in the garage for its overfuelling problem and they are confident it is a failed ECU. They have sent it off to be tested but while i am waiting, does anyone know how much it is for a replacement, either second hand or new and which one to go for????

Its a 4ltr BTW, not that that matters!!!

[david beer]

I bought my spare from a Land Rover breaker for £50. No help really apart from try "non TVR" places.

[andy-w]

Hello David,

Was the land rover one ok...i know you would have had to have changed the chip...but apart from that it has worked ok???

Andy

[david beer]

I did not actually need it, it was a "trial and error" to see if my ecu was my intermittant poor performance(it wasnt). I would not believe all the stuff about new chips, but thats another story. If you would care to borrow it, email me, its only sat in the shed, its a 500 though.

[bigdods]

I would have thought any decent garage would have a spare ECU or two knocking around as its a common item to test. Surely they could just lend you a spare for a short while and you could test it out ?

[andy-w]

The car is still at the garage and will be there till tuesday now so i cant test it...they tend to deal more with Aston Martin and Ferrari's and did not have a spare ecu so they have sent mine off to test.

David YHM.

Did your car run ok with this ecu on?
Surprised about the 'not changing the chip'...i thought that would have been a definate?

[ntel]

Andy, Have a chat with Dom or Jamie at TVR Power. They are good guys and may well be able to help.

Dave

[GarryM]

Mark Adams will repair them (assuming that's possible) which may be your cheapest route. I was quoted £360 for an exchange ECU.

[Cider Andy]

Be wary about replacing the ECU with a Range Rover item, as there are quite a few differences between them, some achieved electronically, but some are physical (eg. the EPROM will most likely be soldered in place on a standard Range Rover unit, whereas a TVR unit has it mounted in a socket).

Refer to Steve Heath's bible (Second Edition p.109) for a list of the differences.

[GreenV8S]

I thought that ALL the original ECUs came with soldered in chips, and it was normal to replace these with a socket when chipping the ECU. It's an easy change to make if you know which end of a soldering iron to hold.

[andy-w]

I had a look at the inside of mine a few months back (Computer geek so curiosity got the better of me and i wanted to see how easy it was to change the chip!!!) and from what i remember it is soldered in place.

[Cider Andy]

According to a letter from John Ravenscroft to 'Sprint', which is the item I refer to in the bible,

'...All TVR ECUs have a socketed EPROM holder to allow the chip to be changed easily. Standard Range Rover ECUs do not.'

I'm not certain, but I think the PCB is multi-layered too. If it is and you're no expert with a soldering iron, I'd leave it to someone who is.

[andy-w]

hmmmm...my pcb was not multi layered from what i can remember and i am very confident that it was soldered in place not socketed...looks like i am going to be sourcing a new ecu!!!

[david beer]

"Trackcar" was "Joospeed", will do a replacement ECU for £500 which will do ignition and fuel !
The "spare" ECU i purchaced, had the plug in chip adaptor, maybe rare.
I tried the standard ECU3.9 in my 500 and quite honestly, i forgot which was which ! Foolishly i tried the 500 in my Rangie, thinking it would get to 60 in 4.2 sec, no change(that is a joke, by the way).

[GreenV8S]

Well mine originally had the chip soldered to the PCB, and it is a standard single layer double sided PCB. To unsoldering the chip and solder a socket in its place is a simple twenty minute job if you know which end of a soldering iron to hold.

[andy-w]

david beer said:

Foolishly i tried the 500 in my Rangie, thinking it would get to 60 in 4.2 sec, no change(that is a joke, by the way).

0-60 in 4.2 landy....if that had of worked i would have paid to have a go!!!

I shall let yo all know what the outcome is tomorrow or tuesday on the results of the ECU test...!!!

I am sure i read in the bible somewhere that a standard TVR 4ltr chip is £30 roughly???