Hi all,

Hoping someone might be willing to help me out.
I would like to send my ECM to the UK to have it Tornado-ed by Mark Adams, but I would like the car to remain mobile so I need another ECM to keep the car running here in SA while my original ECM is travelling. Additionally I also want an ECM with the Lambda/Oxygen sensor control activated for the two upstream sensors, hence my need for a UK ECM.

All this for a 2001 4.6 Thor (Bosch) car.

Would anyone be willing to purchase an ECM for me there in the UK from an appropriate vehicle and then send it on to my freight forwarder in London who will then get it to me here in SA.
Obviously I'm happy to pay for all related expenses, I'm assuming Paypal would be easiest?

Cheers,
Justus

How will you get around the security issue or can you do a security learn with the Bosch ECU?

Yes, I have a Faultmate MSV2, with which I believe I can change the ECM security code on the BECM to match the ECM (as I understand it).
At the moment I'm willing to take the risk for the cost of the ECM, but if someone has done this and can confirm that it does/doesn't work as I described here that would be great and I can then adjust my plan as required.

This one looks like it is the correct one for your car, not expensive either https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224464962586

I didn't even think of using ebay, thanks Richard!

See if the seller will post directly to you or get them to send to your freight forwarder if they won't. I know there used to be restrictions sending stuff to SA years ago (during the time of sanctions I think) but not sure how it is theses days. I used to run the owners club for a different make of car and an owner in SA was rebuilding his engine. He wasn't sure about the restrictions so I phoned the SA embassy in London to be told that an SA resident could receive gifts up to the value of around £20. I ended up getting everything he needed and sending it to a hotel in London where it was split amongst the crew of an SAA aircraft so they could all bring a bit in at a time. I often wondered what the excuse would have been if anyone had found a stewardess with a set of big end shells, another with a set of main bearings, a pilot with a set of piston rings, etc.

ECM ordered from Ebay. Thanks for the tip! It should arrive with my freight courier by next week and then will likely take another week to get to me.

Interesting story, so weird how things have changed. Now SAA has been managed into the ground, had bailouts from our government to the tune of around 21billion over the past few years and still they are not a going concern. What car club did you run if I may ask?

The Matra Enthusiasts Club. I had a Bagheera, an M530 and ran a Murena 2.2 as a daily car for almost 15 years before replacing it with a 1990 Maserati Biturbo Spider E. I bought my first Matra in 1982 then in 84 bought the Murena (which I still have and will get around to doing something with it one day). The owners club had it's first club meeting in 1982, not long after I'd bought my first one and I ended up as club Chairman, magazine editor, chief contributor, meeting organiser, show coordinator, etc. from 83 until 91.

might be best to send off the new purchased one and get it coded for your car as well as get the chip fitted , then you have a spare just in case. then it plug and play out of the box so to speak

I also thought of doing that, but I decided that the risk is that the 2nd hand ECM I purchase might have some fault and the only way of knowing would be to test it. Having the quite expensive Tornado map loaded on it and then finding out that the controller is faulty would be a bit of an expensive realization!
Hence the roundabout way of doing it.

Except that Mark is going to check out the ECU before he does anything to it.

Ah, I wasn't aware of that. Oh well, now I know for next time.

You mean there's going to be a next time?

Haha! Maybe, maybe not.
I like the P38, and I wouldn't mind another in the family once this one is they way I like it!

….. and I know it is too late, but Tornado is a source of ECUs. I bought on off them last year.

This is probably a stupid question but why don't you buy a UK ECU in the UK, and have the seller ship it to Mark Adams, who can then ship it to you when he's done?

Update:
The new to me ECU has arrived from the UK, but I have hit an unforeseen hurdle. I need to update the immobilization code in the BECM to match the ECU (which my Faultmate can do and was expected) but I can't access the new ECU with the Faultmate because it is locked to the serial number of my old ECU.

Is there some other way for me to read the immobilization code from the new ECU? An "unlocked" software module from BBS that will be able to read bot ECU's costs 175EUR, which is quite a bit, so if there is a cheaper way of finding the immobilization code then that would be awesome!

I assume the software in your Faultmate is locked to a single VIN?
P38 parts do fail and BBS allow you to change components on the car under certain circumstances, as long as you are not doing it every 5 minutes. If you have a word with them they can issue new codes for the Faultmate. There may be a small charge. You are stuck with one ECU though.
If you want to be able to swap ECU's backwards and forwards, to check out maps for instance, you will have to upgrade to the engine ECU software module that can do all cars. They may give you a credit for the what you have already paid.
I upgraded from single VIN to the full monty able to do all p38's inc SM035 and I just paid the difference, which was still a lot.

Hi Dave,
Yes, I am locked to a single VIN.
I have discussed upgrading to the fully monty covering all P38s, but they are unwilling to offer me credit for the modules already purchased.

How did you manage to upgrade from the single VIN license? Or did you pay the full price?

Full Monty is this: https://blackbox-solutions.com/shop/product/mp112
VIN Locked: https://blackbox-solutions.com/shop/product/mp015 (this is what I have, but I have also added SM029 to read all the newer gearbox ECUs)

They gave me full credit for the single VIN software package that I had paid for previously (MP015), but not the hardware part as that is the same, against the multi vehicle full monty price (MP112). I paid the difference.
They are very restrictive though. Before I did that I bought a second Faultmate on UK Ebay. It was s/h with just two modules on it. Multi vehicle engine ECU's and BECM's only. I registered it with them and thought I would transfer the modules across to my original Faultmate. They refused to issue the codes however. You can't transfer software modules from one Faultmate to another.
I ended up selling the second Faultmate @ half price to a guy in Zimbabwe (we still keep in touch but he ran into the back of a sugar cane truck a while back due to the dust clouds and wrote his p38 off).
I ended up forking out for the full monty version. I am not sure whether they will give you credit for the gearbox module you have.
As you found out the single VIN version scans the ECU's which are connected to the car (not sure how exactly) and it is then locked to that car. If you change an ECU it won't automatically read it. You have to get their permission and get them to issue new software codes.