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Beautiful South Martin

Citroen C4 ECU replacement

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Ive got a Citroen C4 1.4 Petrol which has been diagnosed by local auto electrician as needing a new ECU unit. I can get a second hand kit, ECU, dashboard body control, keys etc from a local Citroen breaker for about £100+. Only problem is my C4 has only done 36k genuine miles and if I go the 2nd hand route it is going to transfer the mileage off the old unit onto my nice low miler. The chances of finding a used kit with same mileage as mine is probably going to be nigh on impossible.

Has anyone had an ecu reprogrammed to mirror the mileage by a auto electrician? or can it not be done?

 

Thanks

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Have you tried sending it to ECU testing to see if they can rebuild it. that way you retain all the immobiliser and mileage etc. 

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+1 on trying to have it repaired, we've used BBA Reman before for electronic repairs and they've been ok, only heard good things about ECU testing.

Swapping with another unit of unknown quality and all the other parts necessary would really be a last resort for us.

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Definitely go down the repair route if possible. Otherwise, any mileage correction (man in a van) will be able to alter an ECU to your requirements. 

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local auto electricians can be wrong

have you tried a proper wake up procedure?

i believe its now possible to reset mileage on replacement bsi via oebd if man has proper dodgy equipment

be aware most of these cars are scrapped because of body control issues

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1 hour ago, pmpants said:

we've used BBA Reman before for electronic repairs and they've been ok, only heard good things about ECU testing.

 

Funny how different experiences can be...I wouldn't trust those guys to change a light bulb, complete imbeciles IMO.

Why not just fit the second hand ECU and have it programmed to show correctly by a laptop guy? Gotta be the simplest route surely?

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On 02/01/2018 at 8:25 PM, grant8064 said:

Funny how different experiences can be...I wouldn't trust those guys to change a light bulb, complete imbeciles IMO.

Why not just fit the second hand ECU and have it programmed to show correctly by a laptop guy? Gotta be the simplest route surely?

Yes & yes. I’ve had 2 goes with them & won’t bother using them again.

Ecu Testing once had concerns because a decorative plastic shroud on an ABS unit had a corner snapped off. When I discussed it with them over the phone they very reluctantly agreed to test it. A few days later I got a knock at the door - postie returning it. It had a note “unable to repair, unit incomplete”. It was a f***ing plastic beauty cover!!

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I have a theory about these ECU repair companies.... I reckon most of their money is made from testing.

I have never had a genuine faulty ECU fixed... i.e blown circuits etc.

Whats the fault on the current one?

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10 hours ago, Beautiful South Martin said:

Thanks S & B how do you go about doing a wake up procedure?

hi mate google is your friend

 

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12 minutes ago, Stalker said:

I have a theory about these ECU repair companies.... I reckon most of their money is made from testing.

I have never had a genuine faulty ECU fixed... i.e blown circuits etc.

Whats the fault on the current one?

i used to do a lot of saxo's and had keyboard input problems where default 1111 never worked so i tried these so called ecu places and most of them wanted a fee to check it out first but i saw this as going into their workshop with it whilst i was at the counter they count to 100 and then come out and pronounce it dead but still wanting their fee

this is why ive always gone the s/h ecu route if ive ever had problems

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Hi Stalker

C4 has a flat spot/miss when you pull away and a general lack of power, down to second gear on a hill, also a smell of petrol after it gets warm. So far I'm into a new coil pack, 2 oxygen sensors and a map sensor. Local sparky has had the car a week and seems to think it points towards an ecu fault, really mixed messages on diagnostic, mixture problems and Bank 1 oxygen sensor, hence replacingthem both..... Another option I have been told is both O2 sensors came from Euro car parts, which are not the best and to try a genuine Citroen one. The car is genuine 36k so seems an ecu fault a bit strange.....Any input would be appreciated.

 

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Has anyone done a compression test? Checked cam timing?

Sparkys don't often have the nous to check this first.

Can you post the exact codes?

 

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2 hours ago, Beautiful South Martin said:

Hi Stalker

C4 has a flat spot/miss when you pull away and a general lack of power, down to second gear on a hill, also a smell of petrol after it gets warm. So far I'm into a new coil pack, 2 oxygen sensors and a map sensor. Local sparky has had the car a week and seems to think it points towards an ecu fault, really mixed messages on diagnostic, mixture problems and Bank 1 oxygen sensor, hence replacingthem both..... Another option I have been told is both O2 sensors came from Euro car parts, which are not the best and to try a genuine Citroen one. The car is genuine 36k so seems an ecu fault a bit strange.....Any input would be appreciated.

 

Too put it mildly, if my auto electrician was a footballer he would be Messi. I might be going down there after work, if i do I'll ask him  for you.

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The problem with that code is that it could either be electrical or mechanical. Its saying that the signal from that sensor is reading too high and it cant adjust fueling to get it within spec. It doesn't necessarily mean the sensor is duff.

As tradex says, coolant temp sensors are a real weak spot on these. I think they even have problems leaking and running down wires to the ecu if my memory serves me right?

Although i would have thought if your sparky was any good he would have checked this already.

 

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