Technical New Abarth ECUs knocking around for sale

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Technical New Abarth ECUs knocking around for sale

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There are a few Abarth 500 ECUs knocking around on the second hand market due to people buying an EsseEsse kit when the car is "new". They seem to be in proper FIAT boxes and people say they are "brand new". What is the situation here. Are they really unused? Have they never been plugged into the car and therefore coded to the body computer/key. Are they virgin or not?
 
they come off the cars they are converting, the box is what the upgrade ecu came in, they are coded to the cars they came off, would need revirginising (if they can be)
This is what I thought until I read the part number on the sticker on the open box of the ECU this guy is selling: 51832948. That is the standard Abarth ECU. I tried to ask the guy what the deal was but I blew his mind asking whether it had been plugged in before. He just said "it was upgraded by girlfriend but is brand new". He might be thick or something.
 
There is a whole new ecu included in the kit that needs to be mated to the car with the examiner system and a download from Turin. Most of the parts that get taken off the car during SSing are perfectly useable on other cars.

The ECU that is taken off however is pretty much just a paperweight, as Dave says it has been mated to the original car and can't really be used with another without some serious Fiat kit.
 
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Yes, I recognise that once mated, forever smitten and from what you say, the car is built and arrives with the said ECU attahced.

However, how does it come in a box with the non-SS part number on? Just don't get it. Would very much expect the other way round.
 
It works out cheaper for Fiat to supply a new ECU on any cars which take up the SS upgrade than suppling each dealership with the relevant equipment & training to access the already on ECU SS map.

It seems a bit back to front the way it's done but that's the way they do it.
 
It works out cheaper for Fiat to supply a new ECU on any cars which take up the SS upgrade than suppling each dealership with the relevant equipment & training to access the already on ECU SS map.

It seems a bit back to front the way it's done but that's the way they do it.
Sure, but that still doesn't explain the supply of an apparently new, in a properly stickered box, normal Abarth ECU? It will have had to be attached to the car when it left the factory and was driven onto transporter, etc. as has been suggested. It will then be swapped out by the dealer.

The only appropriate explaination I can come up with is that the EsseEsse kit comes with an empty cardboard box with a non-SS ECU part number on it so the dealers can put the replaced ECU in this box for the customer. I know I'm labouring the point a bit and the process has been largely explained to me now, but this part is still unanswered for me.
 
Possible explanation is Abarth buys standard Abarth ECU boxes in from Fiat and maps them when they put together with the kit. So they just pop it straight back in the box it came in and then into the SS kit crate rather than getting a new box and putting a new sticker on it. Crate goes to dealer who does the swap, dealer puts old ecu back in the crate box. Voila bog standard abarth ecu in box with part number on but has been on a car.

Note I am just theorycrafting here as the SS ECU does have a seperate part number, of course they could just have bought a spare one for some reason. Still not sure what you'd do with one as it is the least powerful of the possible 1.4Tjet ecus
 
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Possible explanation is Abarth buys standard Abarth ECU boxes in from Fiat and maps them when they put together with the kit. So they just pop it straight back in the box it came in and then into the SS kit crate rather than getting a new box and putting a new sticker on it. Crate goes to dealer who does the swap, dealer puts old ecu back in the crate box. Voila bog standard abarth ecu in box with part number on but has been on a car.

Note I am just theorycrafting here as the SS ECU does have a seperate part number, of course they could just have bought a spare one for some reason. Still not sure what you'd do with one as it is the least powerful of the possible 1.4Tjet ecus

thats what i said in post 4
 
Still not sure what you'd do with one as it is the least powerful of the possible 1.4Tjet ecus
A500 has more power than the 120 T-Jets, but anyhow I could use it in place of a problematic GP unit on a future project I am planning. I don't care what its got on it now in terms of map performance as I will have it remapped anyhow. Fundamentally all the 1.4T ECUs are the same part with different maps. They all have the same features and pinouts on all the diagrams I have.
 
Just a note related to this issue – the re-setting of ECU’s is quite easy, if (and it is quite a big if) you have the right software, it takes just a moment. Had done on my 156 in a very around about way.

In Alfa’s case getting that software in nigh on impossible to obtain and imagine the same for Fiat. Goodness having such information available would certainly cut into those spares’ profits

Cannot understand why anyone would think they could sell their standard ECU and cannot understand anyone who would buy
 
just to let you know, I just fitted what is allegedly (sp?) an SS ecu. got it for about 400€. Car goes like stink now, normal mode is realy pleasant now as opposed to the slightly asthmatic feeling it had with the original 135 hp ecu. On sport mode it's the bomb :)

Installation was easy, had "check engine" message first time i turned the key to "mar" but ignition of and 4-5 pumps of the clutch and ingition on again it was gone. Car started and runs without problems.

There are several people selling them on the italian cinquecenisti forum.

I wonder how they get hold of them. Are the ecu's "re-virginised" from write off SS's? or are they getting them through the back door of abarth spa? Are the ecu's in fact reflashed standard ecu's with a copy of the SS mappings?

Plot thickens. lol

Anyway, so far I'm more than happy, I got an esseesse'd engine for a bargain, money saved for a Bilstein kit I guess, lol
 
just to let you know, I just fitted what is allegedly (sp?) an SS ecu. got it for about 400€. Car goes like stink now, normal mode is realy pleasant now as opposed to the slightly asthmatic feeling it had with the original 135 hp ecu. On sport mode it's the bomb :)

Installation was easy, had "check engine" message first time i turned the key to "mar" but ignition of and 4-5 pumps of the clutch and ingition on again it was gone. Car started and runs without problems.

There are several people selling them on the italian cinquecenisti forum.

I wonder how they get hold of them. Are the ecu's "re-virginised" from write off SS's? or are they getting them through the back door of abarth spa? Are the ecu's in fact reflashed standard ecu's with a copy of the SS mappings?

Plot thickens. lol

Anyway, so far I'm more than happy, I got an esseesse'd engine for a bargain, money saved for a Bilstein kit I guess, lol

In the Uk some tuners have access to the Essesse map & can simply remap your existing ecu to that
 
Yes, but as ecu's and bodycomputer "pairs" as I understand it, the ecu I got must be either:
A brand new ecu
A "virginised" second hand ecu
A hacked ecu that doees not bother with the body computer (not likely, car would not work at all if ecu not recognised by body computer and handshakes done properly i guess)

I guess I have to get hold of fiatecuscan to find out if this ecu has been reflashed (seems fiatecuscan can report that).

Will report my findings when i have got my copy of ecuscan (funds permitting)
 
I guess I have to get hold of fiatecuscan to find out if this ecu has been reflashed (seems fiatecuscan can report that).

Will report my findings when i have got my copy of ecuscan (funds permitting)
The demo is free and can tell you that. It seems likely the ECUs you have seen are virginised used ECUs from the "EsseEsse upgrade" source". You need to be clever to do that stuff.
 
Yes, but need an ELM interface (allready have vagcom kll bits, used it for alfadiag in my old 156). Might just as well buy the whole package :) I wonder allso if the ecu's are not re-virginised, wonder if they will show a reflash is done if so?
 
Ok, got a bt elm interface in the post today, if I can get it to work I'll report what I can find out from the ecu..
 
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