Technical 2016 Ducato virgin ECU

[Bc201081]

Hi all, I am trying to understand what I need to do to replace the engine ECU in a 2016 Ducato multijet 180 3.0, back story of what has happened is I bought the Vehicle as a non runner knowing it had clutch issues, while being worked on the engine ecu was removed from engine bay has been lost. Is a replacment "virgin" ecu plug and play or do I still need it programmed for my particular vehicle?

 

[vbarros]

Hello, the Engine ECU is "plug and play" means you dont need to flash a new firmware. however, you do have do run some procedures, like proxy alignment, injector coding, etc, that will require a good universal diagnostic device. regards

 

[bugsymike]

Hi all, I am trying to understand what I need to do to replace the engine ECU in a 2016 Ducato multijet 180 3.0, back story of what has happened is I bought the Vehicle as a non runner knowing it had clutch issues, while being worked on the engine ecu was removed from engine bay has been lost. Is a replacment "virgin" ecu plug and play or do I still need it programmed for my particular vehicle?

I agree as long as the replacement ""virgin" is a genuine brand new ECU and not a second hand one that has been on a vehicle with the Vin.Number logged internally.
I am not sure if a S/H one can be electronically cleaned to be like a new Virgin ECU as I don't have the knowledge, but I do know that most vehicles that I connect to diagnostic tools read the Vin.number as part of their identifying the vehicle details correctly before fault code diagnosis.

 

[vbarros]

I agree as long as the replacement ""virgin" is a genuine brand new ECU and not a second hand one that has been on a vehicle with the Vin.Number logged internally.
I am not sure if a S/H one can be electronically cleaned to be like a new Virgin ECU as I don't have the knowledge, but I do know that most vehicles that I connect to diagnostic tools read the Vin.number as part of their identifying the vehicle details correctly before fault code diagnosis.

It doesn’t need to be brand new; a used ECU with the same part number will suffice. The VIN number will be updated through a proxy alignment process (note that the VIN is stored in several modules, not just the engine ECU). The odometer reading will remain unchanged, both on the display and in the ECU. Additionally, the engine ECU has a counter for "kilometers since ECU replacement," which can be accessed electronically.

However, some post-installation procedures are required, such as injector coding and pedal/clutch calibration. If an advanced diagnostic tool is unavailable, the ECU should still function in a "plug-and-play" manner, provided there are no other issues. Keep in mind, though, that the vehicle may experience rough idling until these procedures are completed.

 

[bugsymike]

It doesn’t need to be brand new; a used ECU with the same part number will suffice. The VIN number will be updated through a proxy alignment process (note that the VIN is stored in several modules, not just the engine ECU). The odometer reading will remain unchanged, both on the display and in the ECU. Additionally, the engine ECU has a counter for "kilometers since ECU replacement," which can be accessed electronically.

However, some post-installation procedures are required, such as injector coding and pedal/clutch calibration. If an advanced diagnostic tool is unavailable, the ECU should still function in a "plug-and-play" manner, provided there are no other issues. Keep in mind, though, that the vehicle may experience rough idling until these procedures are completed.

I learn something new every day.
I had heard anecdotally that people had tried fitting S/H ECUs supposedly "virginised" and couldn't start their vehicles.
Out of interest what diagnostic tool do you recommend, is it more advanced than the full version of MES that many use on Forum if wanting to confirm the Vin.Number etc.?

 

[vbarros]

Well, the anecdote holds true for many ECUs and car makers. I just happened to get a bad engine ECU on my Ducato once and had to dig really deep into it to get it running again. I ended up going so deep that I started my own garage, specializing in diagnostics and ECUs!

That said, I don’t recommend any specific diagnostic tool. From my experience, all the high-end brands and models make big promises like ‘ECU programming’ and ‘remote programming,’ but you can’t really know for sure what they can and can’t do until you’ve plugged them into a car.

 

[RS3100]

AlfaOBD can write a new VIN into the engine ECU

 

[bugsymike]

Well, the anecdote holds true for many ECUs and car makers. I just happened to get a bad engine ECU on my Ducato once and had to dig really deep into it to get it running again. I ended up going so deep that I started my own garage, specializing in diagnostics and ECUs!

That said, I don’t recommend any specific diagnostic tool. From my experience, all the high-end brands and models make big promises like ‘ECU programming’ and ‘remote programming,’ but you can’t really know for sure what they can and can’t do until you’ve plugged them into a car.

"Hats off to you" I am always impressed with those sort of skills.
When I started in the motortrade around 1969 the most complicated electrics on a vehicle were probably voltage regulators for the charging system and indicator flasher units, some customers cars still had semaphore arm indicators.
When PC computers first came out I was interested enough to learn how to fault find/repair and build those from the early days of 8086 chip ones onwards, however programming etc. was not a skill I mastered, it was more the hardware side.

 

[Steady1234]

It doesn’t need to be brand new; a used ECU with the same part number will suffice. The VIN number will be updated through a proxy alignment process (note that the VIN is stored in several modules, not just the engine ECU). The odometer reading will remain unchanged, both on the display and in the ECU. Additionally, the engine ECU has a counter for "kilometers since ECU replacement," which can be accessed electronically.

However, some post-installation procedures are required, such as injector coding and pedal/clutch calibration. If an advanced diagnostic tool is unavailable, the ECU should still function in a "plug-and-play" manner, provided there are no other issues. Keep in mind, though, that the vehicle may experience rough idling until these procedures are completed.

Could I just ask what is the correct part number on the ecu, there’s a few different numbers on it ? Cheers

 

[the green vanper]

Those are the usual FIAT part numbers (a couple of screenshots taken randomly to show how does the FIAT part numbers look like):